Abandoned by My Mate, Saved by the Rogue Alpha King

Eleanor had no choice but to head back to the academy, but her mind was a complete mess on the way. Martin had basically vanished. And once the police found out he might be a rogue, they straight-up refused to help. She couldn't even prove that he wasn't dangerous, just a regular werewolf. But what could she do? She wasn't someone with resources or any kind of power. She could barely afford tuition, let alone launch a full-on search. She hadn't slept a wink last night, and now her head was pounding as she rushed to class. With five minutes to spare, Eleanor finally made it to the classroom right before the bell rang. Dragging her feet, Eleanor squeezed into a corner seat, hugging her books like a lifeline. The chatter around her caught her attention. "Oh my god, did you hear? A snake got into the dorms yesterday!" "I'm seriously worried. If Phoebe got bitten, what if there's more? What if there's one in our room right now?" "What happened?" Eleanor couldn't help but ask. A werewolf sitting nearby gave her a weird look, then muttered, "You really don't know? Last night Phoebe got bit multiple times by a venomous snake in her room. Even the healer couldn't help-she had to be rushed to the hospital." A venomous snake showing up right in the dorm area? Eleanor's brows pulled together. She had a sinking feeling in her chest-something wasn't right. "Eleanor, look what you've done!" A shrill, furious voice suddenly cut in. She slowly looked up and saw Poppy storming toward her, face twisted in anger. Without hesitation, Poppy grabbed the books out of her hands and tossed them all onto the floor. "Oh really? And what exactly did I do?" Eleanor asked flatly, giving her a cold stare. "You're not even staying on campus, but you still requested access to the dorms. I actually thought you were living there for real," Poppy spat, her fists clenched tight. "Then boom-you leave a damn venomous snake in the room and nearly kill poor Phoebe!" "You're a murderer! A psycho!" she shrieked. Turns out Phoebe had let the snake out too early by accident last night. It had latched onto her the moment it was freed. Lucky break though-the snake wasn't that venomous. If it had been, she probably wouldn't have made it. "Eleanor did that? That's insane..." All the werewolves in the classroom glanced over, uneasy creeping into their eyes. Eleanor stayed calm. "I was supposed to stay there... but you all made sure I couldn't." "That's total nonsense!" Poppy snapped, her face dark and stormy. "How could a snake just show up in the dorms-right where we live? And it just so happened to come from your room. You're not even staying here anymore, so why is your stuff still in there?" Eleanor didn't respond right away, her brows drawn together as she tried to piece it all together. Poppy seized the moment to twist the story. "That was a venomous snake, okay? If the healer hadn't come fast enough, Phoebe would've died. You're basically a murderer!" "Oh? Well then, go ahead and call someone to arrest me," Eleanor shrugged, completely unfazed. "If you're so sure it was me, get an actual werewolf tracker to check where that snake came from." Poppy froze, pointing at her with a shaky hand, eyes wide. "You... you..." "What? Scared now?" Eleanor raised an eyebrow, voice dripping with sarcasm. "If this is such a big deal, why didn't you report it to a detective or the cops? Unless... you're the one behind it and can't risk getting caught?" Poppy clenched her jaw but didn't dare say anything back. Their whole plan had been sloppy-plenty of people already knew they'd bought a snake. If anyone really started digging into this, they'd get found out in no time. Eleanor let out a cold laugh, pulling out her phone to make the call. Poppy's face went pale, and she lunged forward, snatching the phone right out of Eleanor's hand. That's when she caught sight of the pattern on the back of it. "Ah! This is the phone I lost two months ago!" she shouted, eyes lighting up. Poppy's face twisted in a nasty grin, her eyes locking onto Eleanor like she'd just won the lottery. "See those initials? P. H. That's my name. You stole it, you thief!" She was practically bouncing with joy. After all this time trying to catch Eleanor slipping, she finally had what looked like hard evidence of theft. "I've even got the receipt to prove it's mine," Poppy added smugly, chin high, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Look at this pathetic little thief. Not only did she try to steal someone's mate, now she's out here swiping my phone too. Seriously? Stormfang Pack's Luna can't even afford her own phone? That's just sad and disgusting." Just then, Professor Gibson walked in, his tone sharp as he scanned the chaotic classroom. "What is going on? Class has started." "Professor Gibson," Poppy was quick to step forward. "I need to report Eleanor. She stole my phone." The whispers among the students started immediately-eyes filled with judgment turned toward Eleanor. Most looked doubtful and skeptical. But a few still quietly stood by her, silently lending support. "What's all this about?" Joshua Gibson asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. He looked like he already had a headache forming. Eleanor was always that top student-the kind professors loved to brag about. Before the plagiarism mess, almost every professor had her back. But now? Completely different story. She'd basically become the embarrassment of the design school-professors included. "Eleanor, do you want me to call your instructor to sort this out?" Joshua asked, straight to the point. "Professor Gibson, I didn't steal the phone," Eleanor said firmly, not backing down. "I bought it from a street vendor near school just two days ago. The guy said someone didn't want it anymore. Cost me only three hundred." "I even have the receipt, and the vendor can vouch for me. If Poppy really thinks I stole it, feel free to check. You'll see I didn't do anything wrong." She quickly fished the crumpled receipt from her pocket. "Well, in that case," Joshua exhaled, clearly relieved as he nodded, "hurry up and take your seat. We've got class to start." Poppy pouted, shooting Eleanor a glare before slumping back into her chair, clearly fuming. The werewolves all went quiet at once, shuffling back to their spots without another word. "Maybe she did steal it," Poppy grumbled, refusing to let it go. She leaned toward the werewolf beside her. "She probably got the shopkeeper to cover for her. Seriously, she's the Luna of the Stormfang Pack, and she's out here buying a secondhand phone for three hundred bucks?" She knew full well Eleanor didn't have the guts to steal a phone. She just couldn't stand not being able to pin something on her. So now, she had to take a shot at Eleanor's pride-calling her broke, hoping it would sting. The werewolf next to her just gave a half-hearted nod. "Yeah, sure." Poppy kept throwing in quiet jabs, but Eleanor acted like she didn't hear a word. After class, Poppy stormed out of the room, looking ticked off. She ducked into a corner of the hallway and quickly dialed Katherine. "Babe, I have some news you're gonna love," she said with a wicked little grin. Caught up in the thrill of gossip, she had no clue Eleanor was standing silently just a few feet behind her. Eyes narrowed, Eleanor pulled out her phone and hit record. She wanted to know exactly what Poppy would say. "You would not believe how pathetic that loser is right now," Poppy said, practically buzzing. "So, my old phone, the one I lost? Apparently, some thief sold it to a secondhand shop. And guess what-I saw Eleanor bought it today. She didn't even peel off the stickers!" "Wait, she's really that broke?" Katherine's voice came through, shocked. "And what about the snake thing last night? Did it bite her or what?" Poppy muttered, clearly annoyed, "Ugh, drop it already. She suddenly moved off campus. That snake bit Phoebe-she's still in the hospital. Eleanor is just disgusting, seriously. Anyone who gets near her ends up screwed. Don't worry, Katherine. I'll figure something out. As long as she's still at the academy, she's not getting off easy." "Even if we can't get her expelled, I'll make sure she totally loses it. Consider it my little gift for you and Carl," she said with a smug little laugh before hanging up, turning around with a hum. Only to freeze-Eleanor was right there, just a few feet away, staring her down coldly. Startled, Poppy yelped, slapping a hand over her face. "Ahh!" Once she came back to her senses, she glared at Eleanor and snapped, "What is wrong with you?!" "So, it was Katherine pulling the strings all along," Eleanor said, voice calm and even. "Which not only clears me of planting the snake, but also shows this whole setup was Miss Snow's doing. That's your so-called genius Alpha's daughter?" "Don't drag her into this!" Poppy shot back, eyes sharp. "Like anyone's gonna believe what you say." Eleanor raised an eyebrow, then casually hit play on her phone. From the speaker, Poppy's voice rang out, "Don't worry, Katherine. I'll figure something out..." "You seriously recorded that?" Poppy went pale. "Shit, you bitch, delete it now!" She totally didn't see that coming. In her head, Eleanor was just some brainless girl trailing after Carl. Frantic, Poppy lunged at her, but Eleanor smoothly stepped aside, letting her fall forward awkwardly. "I already sent it to someone else to keep safe. Even if you snatch my phone, it won't matter," Eleanor said, voice sharp with a smug edge. "You really think I'd be dumb enough to let you destroy something like that?" "You think Alpha Carl won't come after you?" Poppy snapped, her voice trembling with rage. "He'll do whatever it takes to protect Katherine. She's his favorite, don't you get it? Now delete the damn thing, skank!" She was practically screaming, but still didn't dare lay a hand on her in the hallway. "Say that again," Eleanor said coldly, her lips curled in a smirk. Poppy looked up, ready to throw more insults, but froze when she met Eleanor's eyes. Gone was the timid, clueless girl. What stood there now was someone cold, sharp, and dangerous-like she wouldn't hesitate to destroy her. "You..." Poppy swallowed hard, fear creeping in. She couldn't believe a delta's daughter could scare her like this. "What are you gonna do?" "It's nothing serious. But if I hear you trash-talking or messing with me again, that recording's going out immediately." "How dare you!" "Go ahead, try me." "It's just a few words. That's not even proper evidence," Poppy muttered, though her voice shook and she couldn't hide the trembling. "Oh yeah? Then be my guest." Eleanor's tone was cool and unfazed. She turned on her heel and walked off, head held high like a queen-calm, fierce, and not looking back.