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 our pack for all these years. However, for no fault of hers, she was still a traitor’s daughter. At the peak of the war, her father, the Beta of the pack back then, had turned his back on his people and succumbed to cowardice.
If one trait truly distinguished us wolves from humans, it was our innate lack of fear. We were creatures unburdened by trepidation. I vividly recall my father’s words, echoing in my mind, as he taught me the invaluable lesson that even in the face of imminent peril when teetering on the edge of survival, it was crucial not to reveal fear to our adversaries. Denying them the satisfaction of witnessing fear in our eyes was a triumph in its own right.
For us, giving up warrants a bigger defeat than losing the war. It had always been a shame for our pack to accept that our wolf had betrayed us when we needed him the most. And for me to be associated with his name? I’d rather accept death.
I couldn’t marry a woman whose father was a traitor. She had his blood. I did not want to have to do anything with her. Although it was one of the most difficult things I had done, I knew I was right in rejecting her. If my father were to come to know of it, he would also support my decision. Ultimately, I was expected to carry his legacy and become the pack’s Alpha once he stepped down. He wouldn’t appreciate having a fugitive’s daughter as the future Luna.
Even if I were to agree to be with her, would my pack accept her as the Luna? Although not immediately, she would one day have to ascend to the role of great responsibility and leadership. When I’m away at war, she should be able to know what’s right for the pack and make decisions. Kiara is not the kind of person the pack would listen to. It would be tough enough to get people to respect her.
The more I thought about it, the more reasons I found to support my decision to reject Kiara. Every sensible part of my body was with me on my decision, then why was my heart not accepting it? I have a beautiful woman lying beside me in the bed, but I can’t hold her and bring her closer to my body. I no longer wanted to protect and cherish her as I previously did.
Heck! Merely hours ago, as I held her naked body in my arms, I couldn’t bear to meet her gaze. I felt like a betrayer, like I was deceiving myself by being with her. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t drown out the resounding voice in my mind insisting that we weren’t meant to be. She wasn’t mine to possess, and I wasn’t meant to be hers. Deep down, she and I knew we weren’t meant for each other. Kiara and I were.
****
I reluctantly pulled up in our school’s parking lot the next morning. After learning about Tyler’s distaste for my decision, I was not looking forward to knowing what the rest of the school was thinking about me. I wouldn’t typically care about what others thought of me if I wasn’t in line to become the Alpha. Regardless of my personal preferences, I needed to garner support from others. As my father had emphasized, it was the fundamental rule of leadership: to have unwavering backing from one’s followers. A pack could not endure disloyal members or unreliable leadership.
It would be a waste of a sacrifice if my pack weren’t happy with my decision. It would have been counter-intuitive as I had essentially rejected Kiara for them.
Kiara.
There you go again.
Since last night, I just couldn’t get my mind off her and every thought I had eventually led up to her. Why was I acting like this? Is this guilt? Or is it something more?
Sighing, I exited the car and started walking toward the school building. As I reached the corridor, I stopped in my tracks at once. Shuffling through her books, Kiara stood in front of the locker. Her brown hair was coming in the way of my vision, impairing me from looking at her face. She must have sensed my eyes on her as she slowly moved her head to acknowledge me.
She appeared devoid of life, her eyes bearing a dark circle and a hint of puffiness. Her lips, parched and trembling, reacted to my presence, eliciting fresh tears. Swiftly regaining composure, she averted her gaze and used a hand to brush away the evidence of her sorrow. Witnessing her in such a state was unbearable for me.
I couldn’t fathom why I couldn’t simply walk away, as if the blame rested solely on my shoulders. But deep down, I knew it was entirely my fault. I had robbed her of the opportunity to be with the mate she was destined to have. It was unthinkable to let her suffer the consequences of a decision she had no control over.
Sighing, I started to make my way toward her. However, I felt someone hug me from behind as I almost reached her.
“Hiya, Babe!” I heard Leslie’s voice near my ear. She let go of her hold on me and turned me around so I could face her.
“Hi, darling,” I said and met her kiss halfway.
“Thank you so much for last night, Babe. It was just what I needed,” she said. “My parents are going to be out of town this weekend. Maybe you can come for a sleepover, and we can repeat what happened last night?”
I could see Leslie deliberately bringing up us being together last night so that Kiara could hear us. I did not appreciate her trying to hurt her all over again, but there was little I could do. After all, I chose to remain with Leslie.
“Of course,” I said with a smile. “I can’t wait to be with you again.”
Leslie beamed at my support in her decision to torment Kiara. Stretching up on her toes, she pulled me in for another kiss before saying, “Alright, we’re getting late for class. Shall we go?”
“Yeah,” I said, walking with my arm around her waist.
Although I was tempted to look back at Kiara, I didn’t.
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
Kiara’s POV“Would you like to order anything else?”Marcus placed the empty wine glass on the table before he looked at me, “No, that will be all.”Just when I was about to ask him if he’d like me to bring the bill, he beat me to it, “When are you going to finish your shift?”His question made me frown. Why did he want to know? “Well, I was supposed to finish 40 minutes ago. I was about to leave when you asked for me.”He looked at me as though he had committed a crime, “Shit, you should’ve told me.”I shrugged, “It’s fine. I get paid for overtime.”“I’m so sorry for keeping you.” He said with regret, “You are free to go now.”“Are you sure? I don’t mind –““No, it’s alright. I’m almost done anyway.”I nodded, “Thank you. I’ll ask my friend to cover for me.”“Okay. See you.”I smiled at him before waving a quick good-bye. As soon as I got into the changing room, I heaved a huge sigh of relief. What was that? I never struggled to be around a man before but Marcus was just something el