Every page Lena clicked, her body was the center of the comment section.
The forum was supposed to be a regular campus social board, but it had devolved into pure madness. Even on a tragic post about a student’s deceased pet, someone with a username @Bear_lips had dropped the loop of her with the caption: This will bring your cat back to life.
The grieving owner had actually replied: Thanks! It worked!
Lena stared at her screen, completely numb. She didn’t know whether to be deeply offended or just utterly bewildered.
The academy was full of supernatural killers, yet they were acting like absolute toddlers online.
But it didn’t stop there. It was her. Her. Her. Everywhere she scrolled.
Worse, one particular username @YourFavoriteProblem01 kept popping up under every single thread, commenting the exact same thing: I can’t stop staring at Jessica and Elle.
Lena squinted at the screen, a horrifying realization dawning on her. Did they seriously name my tits?
"What are you still doing on the bed? You’re going to be late," Khloe said, briskly buttoning her uniform shirt. Shaking her head at Lena’s glued-to-the-screen expression, Khloe took the initiative to intervene. Lena was already a target; she couldn’t risk the fresher getting into any more trouble.
With a sigh, Khloe snatched the phone right out of Lena’s hands.
"Hey!" Lena spat, instantly sitting up. "Give that back!"
Lena lunged forward, her hand stretched out, but the more she reached, the further Khloe held the device away.
"What are you even looking at?" Khloe asked, her eyes darting down to the glowing screen.
Before Khloe could read a single sentence, Lena aggressively snatched it back. She retreated to the edge of the mattress, modern technology feeling more like a curse than a privilege. She hated how little control she had over this digital nightmare.
Khloe crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Is that you they’re talking about?"
Lena didn’t answer, shoving the phone under her pillow.
"Look, you’re going to be late if you don’t get ready right now," Khloe warned, pointing toward the door.
"Late for what?" Lena muttered, finally looking at the bright windows. "It’s morning already?"
She groaned, falling back into her bed. She hadn’t had a single sleep because of her trending body. That was, without a doubt, the most disturbing part of her entire night.
"Yes. And we need to go for breakfast. And more importantly, you need to beat Julian to the bathroom. He spends three hours doing his hair, so you better go in now or you’ll—"
"I’m already up, Khloe," a groggy, irritated voice groaned from across the room.
Julian pulled off his sleep mask, shooting Khloe a fierce glare before sitting up. His perfectly coiffed hair was a wild, static mess.
"Couldn’t sleep either?" Lena remarked from her pillow.
"I spent my whole night scrolling on that wretched forum. I only liked and laughed at one picture of Lena, and now my entire feed is infected with her."
"That’s not how the algorithm works, dummy," Khloe retorted, rolling her eyes. "It just means Lena is completely taking over the forum."
Lena paused, blinking the sleep from her eyes as the weight of her words sank in. "Wait. What?"
Julian sat up straighter, looking at Lena as if really seeing her for the first time this morning.
Khloe started, gasping. "The only person who’s ever trended like this in the history of this academy is—"
"Gemma. And please do not compare our Gemma with Lena. That’s disrespectful," Julian pleaded, before turning to Lena with a dismissive wave. "No offense."
Lena didn’t say anything, but the casual slight pricked a fresh layer of irritation.
"If you had let me finish... My point is, Lena is—"
"She’s not a Gemma reincarnate," Julian interrupted flatly. "Gemma has only been gone for eight days."
Khloe ignored him entirely, leaning closer to Lena. "Lena, there’s just something about you. And I know Alpha Christopher can feel it too."
"Are you in his head now?" Julian scoffed.
Khloe turned aggressively. "Can’t you see the pattern?"
"Oh, I see a pattern," Julian said, nodding before fixing his gaze on Lena. "Lena, whatever you do, do not get noticed by the Quad."
"No! That’s the exact point! Get noticed by them!" Khloe argued.
Julian was beyond bewildered, staring at Khloe in absolute confusion. Was she genuinely rewriting history? "Khloe," he said through gritted teeth, hoping to slam some sense into her fantasy bubble. "Have you completely forgotten what happened with Gemma?"
Lena looked between them, her brow furrowed. "What happened with Gemma?"
"The Quad wanted Gemma," Khloe said, her face flushing with a strange, romanticized excitement.
"Excuse me, it’s not as hot as she’s making it sound," Julian cut in, shuddering. "It was terrible. Lives were ruined. Properties were demolished. I was personally violated."
"You were violated, or you violated someone?" Khloe shot back.
The air in the dorm room turned freezing. Julian’s jaw tightened, his fingers clenching into the fabric of his sheets as silence settled in the room.
Lena looked between them, her brow furrowing as she felt the shift in temperature.
Whatever had happened between the Quad must have been horrible.
Focusing entirely on Lena, Julian said, "It’s a brand of madness no amount of the academy’s therapy can fix."
Lena couldn’t hide her curiosity anymore. "What exactly did they do?"
"Which is why Lena won’t make Gemma’s mistake," Khloe insisted, ignoring Julian’s warning entirely. "She’d pick Alpha Christopher this time. No more of that indecisive bullshit."
"I’m sorry, what?" Lena blinked, snapping out of her thoughts.
"You’ll pick Alpha Christopher this time."
"Absolutely not," Lena defended, her hand subconsciously pressing against her ribs. "That wolf completely hates my guts. Did you not see how he slammed me into the lockers on my first day?"
"I saw," Julian said, raising a hand like a witness in court. "Though someone on the forum said you were on your fours begging him for more."
"I was not. I was struggling for my life."