For a solid 20 seconds, Asher stood frozen in disbelief. His complexion turned pale, resembling someone who had encountered a ghost. While everyone else seemed perplexed by his reaction, I understood all too well. My heart pounding within me was deafening, and I dreaded its intensity tearing me apart. This couldn’t be real. It simply couldn’t be happening.
“Babe, are you alright?” Leslie touched her boyfriend’s face. “Why do you look so scared?”
“I…” He was at a loss for words, “Leslie…”
I could see that Asher lacked the courage to confront the truth, let alone admit it to his girlfriend. What did this mean for us? Asher has a girlfriend, and I end up being his mate? How are we ever going to resolve this? Will Leslie even let us be together? Will Asher fight for us?
A million questions were racing through my mind. As Asher struggled to compose himself in his newfound reality, I shook with the fear of endless ways this was going down.
I watched as Leslie wrapped her hands on either side of Asher’s face trying to bring him to answer her question. A foreign sensation gripped my heart as if someone were poised to snatch away what rightfully belonged to me. I could no longer endure the sight of her hands on him. Asher remained hesitant to disclose the truth to her, yet I felt prepared. I didn’t want to keep her in the dark anymore.
“I am his mate,” I said in a low tone.
As soon as the words slipped my mouth, Leslie whipped her head to look at me, “What?” She shrieked, “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“It’s true,” I breathed out. “I am his mate.”
With her mouth agape, she looked at Asher, “Please tell me this is a load of bullshit. No way she’s your mate,” she said.
Asher slowly faced Leslie, and his guilty eyes spoke of the words he was afraid to speak, “She is right, Leslie.” He slowly mumbled, “She is my mate.”
A feeling of warmth rushed through my veins at his declaration, and I couldn’t help but feel elated. It was finally happening. I found my mate!! I knew he was not completely ready to accept it yet, but I was glad that he at least admitted it in public.
“How is that possible? There must be a mistake,” Leslie said, almost crying. Despite what she did to me, I truly felt sad for her for a moment. In what way could she possibly come to terms with the revelation that her boyfriend was, in fact, another person’s mate?
In quiet disbelief, I shook my head, struggling to comprehend the situation fully. Leslie’s boyfriend was my mate? The future alpha of our pack was my mate? How could such a seemingly impossible connection exist? And what did this revelation mean for me? Observing Asher’s expression, I could empathize with his initial shock. While I understood his surprise, I couldn’t help but yearn for a glimmer of happiness to surface within him.
His lack of emotion scared me. I dreaded entertaining the possibility, yet it incessantly nagged at the recesses of my mind. I longed for him to break the silence and acknowledge the situation. It became increasingly clear that discussing this matter privately with him would be the wiser course of action.
“Asher, can I talk to you in private?” I asked.
“Of course not,” Leslie hissed, sliding her hand around his arm. “He is not going anywhere with you. I will kill you if you try to get anywhere close to him.”
I frowned at her proximity to him as I expected her to keep her distance after knowing he was my mate. I wanted to open my mouth and ask her to back off kindly, but I was never given a chance. Instead, Asher finally seemed to have found his voice.
“That won’t be necessary, babe,” Asher said with a slight distaste. He tried to open his mouth again, but it seemed he had no words to spare.
Finally, when he found his voice, his words shattered my heart. “I reject her,” he uttered, leaving me devastated.
The concept of heartbreak had always seemed abstract to me, but at that moment, I was experiencing its tangible reality. Asher’s gaze locked with mine as he uttered those words, and it felt like his words pierced my chest like a sharp dagger. Instantly, a profound sense of emptiness engulfed my being, as if a vital part of my soul had been irretrievably lost. In many ways, it had. I had lost my soul. I lost my mate.
Tears started surfacing in my eyes, and there was no way I could hold them back. Unable to look at Asher, I turned away and started walking toward the exit. A small part of me hoped that perhaps he would follow me. But he didn’t.
Once outside, I started running to my dorm room. I didn’t stop until I reached my room and opened the door. As soon as I hit the bed, uncontrollable tears flowed down my cheeks. My throat hurt from sobbing hard, but I couldn’t do anything about it.
It hurt. It hurt everywhere.
Why would he do that to me? Was I really so bad that he couldn’t accept me as his mate? We were destined to be together, but he thought rejecting me would be easier than being with me.
It was perhaps because of the lies Leslie had been feeding him. But even then, how could he reject me without trying to get to know me better? Ever since I discovered he was my mate, it felt like a piece of me had already united with him. But he didn’t waste a minute to destroy everything I had at that moment.
In retrospect, I felt like a fool to have waited for this day all my life. Ever since my dad died, my only hope was my mate. I was sure I would eventually find someone loving and caring for me. However, I had never considered the possibility that they would reject me.
The more I thought about what had just happened, the more Leslie’s offensive words kept playing.
“Your father should have dragged you into the pit with himself. It would have been good riddance.”
Her voice echoed in my head. I never thought about it before, but perhaps she was right. Maybe I should have died with my father that night.
Asher’s POV As a wolf, the luxury of choosing one’s mate is nonexistent. In many respects, everything is predetermined, including the course of your life and the partner you will be bound to. However, whether you embrace that connection or opt for your chosen one remains within your realm of control. Yet, this autonomy comes at a significant cost, one whose gravity had eluded me until now.After the party, Leslie decided to stay the night at mine to keep my mind off things. However, I suspected that she would be the one to benefit from it rather than me, as unlike her, I did not fear losing my partner. Since Leslie learned she wasn’t my mate, her hold on me got stronger. She was reluctant to leave my side for fear of losing me to someone else. Someone like Kiara. She had to be a mate out of all the people in the world.Honestly, I never had any personal problems with her. She was a harmless person and never did anything to anyone for her to deserve the wrath she’s been subjected to by
Kiara’s POVAfter lunch, I ran very fast to the locker room to get ready for PE, trying to avoid as many people as I could. I think I should have skipped one lesson, to get out of my awkward situation and give my broken heart a break, but I really need the credit to graduate. Furthermore, combat training became a crucial aspect of our education, preparing us for the inevitable wars that lay ahead. was customary for all the students to get training in combat twice a week. Being werewolves made us immensely strong, and we needed to know how to use our strength to our advantage. “Hi!” As I entered, my gaze landed on Anna standing by the locker. “Babe, you still look pale,” Anna greeted me with a comforting hug. In an attempt to lighten my mood, she exclaimed, “Let me tell you something fun! Do you happen to know if the new guy has arrived?”“Ugh, no, who?”“He’s our new combat trainer, Principal Benton had spoken highly of him! He’s supposed to join us this week,” Ans said. “But tha
Kiara’s POVDespite no longer being my mate, deep down, I couldn’t help but believe that if anyone would stand up for me, it would be him. Even though my mind had come to terms with my destiny, my heart stubbornly resisted. A tiny fragment of it still clung to the hope that he would reconsider and pick me instead of her. Yet, his hesitance to act spoke volumes, providing my sought answer.Moving my head away from him, I tried to focus on the problem at hand. I knew for a fact that I could not train with Leslie. Even though it was meant to be a practice session, Leslie wouldn’t miss any opportunity to harm me. Despite being aware of this, I couldn’t afford to back down.“Let’s start, shall we?” Leslie said and brought a fist toward my face. Instinctively, I ducked down and took a step back.I once again looked at Asher, pleading with him with my eyes to do something. In response, he only looked away from me. In my distracted state, I failed to notice that Leslie was coming at me again.
Marcus’ POVWith my palm pressing against the cold tile of my bathroom, I lost track of how long I was standing in front of the shower head. Endless streams of water dribbled down my spine as I lay there, reminiscing about yesterday. I struggled to understand the significance of that encounter.I had just finished speaking to the authorities and was returning to my car when I heard someone sobbing. Curious, I went to see if they needed help. I could see a girl sitting by the tree, but I couldn’t see her face. I only noticed her arm was bruised and wanted to know if she needed my help. Little did I know she would be the only thing running through my mind all night. I never felt a connection so strong before. And I didn’t even know who she was.Exhaling deeply, I turned off the tap and stepped out of the shower. A glance towards the basin compelled me to focus on the small charm resting on it. It was a delicate gold bracelet I had stumbled upon near the tree just yesterday as I was about
Kiara’s POV: We weren’t supposed to have a combat class until Thursday, but much to my dismay, we did. When I tried to find out why, I was told that it was because the new combat trainer had joined for duty today and in order to conduct our introductory session, our combat class was postponed. To be honest, I was relieved to know that I no longer had to see the substitute teacher who did not care enough to supervise our sessions. It was in his class that Leslie beat me and it didn’t even come to his notice. As I made my way to the combat class, I secretly prayed for a better combat trainer who acted like a professional. Little did I know what was in store for me. As he stepped into the class, I felt my breath hitch in my throat. Blood drained from my face as I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Of all the people in the world, how did he end up being my trainer? How was I supposed to take this seriously after knowing that I wept in his arms merely a day ago. This was beyond embarra
By this point, I was beginning to gain some of my composure back, but I still did not have the strength to move. When I was placed on a soft surface, I lay limp, unable to form any words. Seconds passed before I could see again. As soon as I opened my eyes, I found my trainer looking down at me.I felt his hand on my head as he rubbed my forehead all the way back to my hair. “Are you alright?”He was so close to me that I could feel his breath on me. If I moved just a few inches, our lips would meet. Afraid of the consequences, I remained in the same position and mumbled a quiet, “Yes.”Relief flooded over his eyes at the sound of my voice. Leaving my side, he quickly went to fetch me some water. As he was approaching, I slowly started getting up. The wound on my back made me wince in pain, and I struggled to sit straight. Seeing me struggling, he wrapped an arm around my back and pulled me up with him so I could rest against the wall behind.“Have some water,” he said and pushed it t
Marcus’ POV The principal’s office lay at the epicentre of the school’s administration department yet remained shielded from the chaos. A couple of couches lay outside his room and a glass teapoy was placed in the middle. Since it was after the official hours, I doubted that he was with any company. Taking my chance, I walked up to the black wooden door that lay as a passage to his chamber. A golden metal plate was firmly fixed into the wood, with the words ‘Sherman Fields’ written on it with black ink. I knocked on it twice, and instantly heard his voice. “Come in.” Twisting the door knob, I stepped into the room as I opened the door. Sherman looked up from his paper and gave me a grin. “Oh, Marcus, please come in.” Nodding, I closed the door behind me before I walked to his table, “You wanted to see me?” “Yes, but before that, how was your first day?” I shrugged, “It was alright. Nothing I hadn’t expected.” “I’m sure you’re impressed with our students. They are very skilled.”
Marcus’ POVLater that evening, I stepped out into the neighborhood to go for a quick run. Back home, I went for a hunt almost every other day either alone or with my pack. We made it a ritual to meet at least once every fortnight in the forest to go for a duel. It was all healthy yet purposeful as it was a means to understand, grasp and interpret each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This drill was an essential part of our training as it enables us to develop a stronger bond with our pack members and reorient our strategies.Ever since I moved here, I hadn’t been able to step into the wild to satiate my wolf's hunger. I lacked the proficiency when it came to the geographical boundaries of these areas and nor was I sure if it was even allowed to go for hunts in the forest here. Moreover, most of the people here would perceive me as their enemy for my arrival into this town isn’t public knowledge. However, I had to quickly find a solution to this as my wolf was already growing impatie