Lucas, my elder brother have not been at home for months because he was touring his favorite countries. The last time we talked was the day he left for his vacation. We never had any reasons to call each other because it would always end in bickering, fighting or some yelling.
We were never on the same page but the most shocking thing was that, this was not obvious to the other members of the pack. He would take care of me and pamper me like an egg whenever we were out of the palace.
“What a loving brother he is. I want to be have one like him,” I heard one of the boys remarked one day as we walked through the pack together with father but I only scoffed because they didn’t know that he was a viper underneath his façade.
When he left for his tour, I felt relieved. The fact that I didn’t have to pretend around others was refreshing. I would have been worked up now that he was back if I were at home but thankfully, I would be living in the school till further notice.
“So what are you doing here?” I lashed out as soon as I got to the car
“Come on! Be respectful. I am your older brother. I came to wish you well after hearing that you will be staying back at the dorm for the time being,” he chuckled
“Are you that jobless to come all the way here?” anger welling up in my voice
“Calm down smallie. You don’t have to be that defensive. We both know this is the best option for the both of us right now. Enjoy your dorm, I will take care of the house till you come back,” he mocked, and blew his gum loudly in my face before motioning for the driver to start the engine.
I just watched him go away in silence because I was not in for his dramatic ass. I was actually glad that I didn’t have to deal with him for the time being.
“This is actually for the better,” I mumbled and headed for the dormitory.
****
I went to fetch my suitcase from the security but I was told that an assigned potter had taken it to my room. The staff there gave me a spare key to the room for my own personal use and also gave me a card for the dormitory’s door passage.
On getting to my room, I found my roommate already settled in. His suitcase was opened on the floor with all his clothes littered everywhere. He already took the other side of the room so I just dragged my suitcase closer to the other side in order to arrange my clothes in the wardrobe, silently.
“Nice meeting you. I never knew we would be roommates,” he suddenly started
“Well, we are here now” I responded, not sparing him a glance.
“My name is Ali. I am the last son of the family of twelve sons and eight daughters. You can say we are pretty much a community with that number. I’m sure you must have figured out that I am an Indian, and yea what else?” he blabbered away, disturbing my thoughts
“Maybe you can take some break. I need to clear my head,” I almost shouted but managed to control my tone
“You need to clear your head? What could you possibly be thinking about? You are too young to think about complicated things,” he remarked, his mouth filled with the cream accompanying his bread
For goodness’ sake, what was my offense that I was got paired with a chatterbox? I couldn’t hold myself any longer. He should just shut up and stuff his face with his cream at this point.
“Do I need to explain things to you? Do I owe you any explanation? Uhn?” I growled, my wolf nature taking the best part of me already
He was slightly taken aback by the intensity of my voice but he shrugged it off quickly and smiled. His messy cheeks and mouth annoying me the more.
“Well, I just thought I could help you with it since we are now roommates but since you are getting worked up, I will just focus on my bread and cream,” he responded, raising his bread slightly with a painful smile before turning to his bed.
I felt bad for a second but I didn’t let myself get absorbed in the feeling. I didn’t have the tolerance to endure his chattering at that moment. I had a lot going on in my head and entertaining him was the last thing on my mind.
A loud silence filled the room afterwards, and by the time I was done, he was fast asleep. The cream on his face was still there on his huge cheeks as he snored away in his awkward position.
“He could have at least cleaned up after himself,” I mumbled and wiped his cheeks before correcting his posture
Even in his deep sleep, he muttered an inaudible “thank you” before turning to the side. I stared at him for a while, wondering what his world looked like for him to think so simply of life. He looked like he had no worries but I know that it was only a mask. People like them talk so much in order to hide their true self.
I was about turning back when a thought popped up in my head that I could actually get the information I wanted from him. Given his free spirit nature, he would probably have access to several information and secrets.
“I should move closer to him. Listening to him talk wouldn’t kill me at least,” I concluded before going to shower the day’s stress off.
I didn’t realize that I was that tired until I took the shower and slept off immediately without eating anything for the night.
The next day being a Saturday, we were allowed to sleep in till around ten in the morning before the announcement came in that we should assemble at the great hall in the next hour. Ali already woke up way earlier, freshened up, and was at the reading desk already. I didn’t take him to be someone academically serious since he came off as a chatterbox and foodie the very first time we met yesterday. He had always been in my class but we never had any personal encounters until we were paired as roommates.“Good morning, trust you had a great night?” he greeted me cheerfully and I wondered if he didn’t read meaning into how I shouted at him last night.That was remarkable so I had to apologize for yelling at him. Immediately, he turned it down and said that he was wrong for being pushy when we only met the first time.The response got me relieved and burdened at the same time. It gave me the realization of being a better person. “I should be more accommodating,” I scolded myself as I sl
|Annabel|Ever since the school declared the plan to stay at the dorm, I didn’t know what to think about it. It had always been like that for the senior students, though, but I just wasn’t prepared for it. I still couldn’t understand why they would never give a notification ahead, it was always a sudden announcement.My mother had gotten my suitcase packed before I even got home. She must have been waiting for the school mail.“You should use this period to bond with Bernard since you will be in the same proximity as him. He will show you what he is like and not just want you to see from afar,” she advised, throwing the rest of my clothes on the bed for the maids to pack.I was tired of her making everything about him. She just wouldn’t talk about me as a person. Bernard this, Bernard that, every single time.“So if I don’t get to like him after all this, will you break off the engagement?” I slammed her and she pausedShe probably wasn’t expecting what I just asked. I never voiced ou
The only person that could chuckle that way was Bernard. Instantly, my fears were replaced with anger. I felt irritation from the deepest part of my belly and pushed him off me with full force.“What the fuck do you think you are doing right now?” a loud yell ran out of my throat.My fists folded in anger as I walked forward, giving some distance to the wall.I couldn’t understand the reason why he created such a drama just to talk to me. Although we were engaged, we did not talk unless it was highly necessary because it was obvious that we hated each other. We were very much aware of the fact that we needed each other for business, so we didn’t stress it out. Nothing like romance or love was ever mentioned between us.“Are you sane? What is this scenario? What are you trying to pull here?” I shouted at him, my anger shooting through the roof.“I saw how interested you and the new boy are in the sick boy’s affair. Don’t bother to dig up anything, I will not stay still,” he threatened.
The next morning, everyone was woken up by a loud scream on the male side of the dormitory. We all rushed outside at dawn to check what was happening because the sound was too loud to ignore.“Who did this? How could anyone be this terrible?” we heard a boy shout on top of his lungs.Since everyone was in pajamas, we confidently marched towards the boys’ dorm to witness the scenario.Dan, one of the students, held his shredded uniform close to his chest as he tried to control his tears. He explained that he had washed the clothes in the washing machine and hung them to dry in the laundry room. Although he had wanted to pack it in last night, he just felt it would be nice to leave it there till morning where he would iron it and put it on for school immediately.“So who did this? How did it get to this state?” one of the boys asked, and he shook his head.“I don’t know. If I knew the person, would I be here standing and screaming like a fool?” he answered.Nobody knew what to say. Ever
|Oliver|I couldn’t bear the fact that everybody was silent about the boy. They all went on with their activities as if nobody was missing. I had discussed a lot with my wolf, Rye, over and over, but he just kept telling me to mind my business.“I think I should press her further so she can tell me what I want to hear. Bernard doesn’t seem like an option because he’s inaccessible for now. I can also threaten her with a little secret between us,” I told him in the shower as I prepared for school.“Just let go of your obsession with this case. You are not someone who gets involved in people’s affairs. Why are you suddenly nosy?” he warned, but I just wouldn’t listen.“Don’t you feel that something is off about this school? Everybody is afraid of the bully and that fairy girl is just pretending to be nice. I need to know what’s going on,” I countered, and poor Rye could only sigh.“Should we do some mind reading? I can get some info out of her through that method”, I proposed, and a subt
Judging from her looks and the murmurs that filled the entire classroom, it was obvious that none of them knew my family. She kept tilting her head to see if it would ring a bell but her brain couldn’t comprehend it. “Isn’t that some lowly family? The name doesn’t even ring a bell,” Courtney mocked but I just kept silent. “Let’s look up the family with such a lowly name that has the money or audacity to send their kids to this prestigious school,” Bernard remarked, his thumb gliding through the face of his phone as he made his research. Every one of them brought their phones out to follow suit while I fixed my gaze on Annabel herself. I wanted to see her reaction when she finds out about my family. “Oh my God!” one of them gasped, dropping her phone in shock. Rye chuckled and it took all the strength in me not to follow suit. “Fuck!” “He’s on another level” “His family is untouchable” “Incredible! Isn’t that even bigger than rank 1?” Several comments were flying arou
Something was strange about her. It was as if she was scanning through my mind with her fixed gaze. I have never had any encounter with her prior to that moment but I felt a strange chill down my spine.“Yes, I did. He looked like a human, just like you and I,” I responded and everyone burst into a laugh.I didn’t mean to hurt her, it was the truth. The president was a human just like us. There was nothing special about them. The ranks they had been segregated to clouded their thoughts and constantly fed him with the idea that the politicians and celebrities were demigod.“They are just like you are. Don’t feel bad for not meeting any. There’s no big deal. Every human is equal, isn’t it?” I added.Her lips curved slightly into a smile as the beam of happiness radiated on her face. My words must have done wonders, she felt relieved instead of being embarrassed by the laughs.The next word that flew out of her mouth was “Let’s be friends.”My heart skipped a bit. The words were too sudd
|Lisa|As soon as the tires of our plane touched down on the runway, a huge sigh left my mouth. I was welcomed with the strange but familiar atmosphere of Virginia blew on my skin. I didn’t know if I was happy to be home or sad.It was a mixed emotion.Checking out my luggage didn’t take long and I was out of the airport in no time. My father had specially come to the airport to pick me up alongside the driver. Considering how busy he was, it was one of the most considerable acts he had ever carried out.The change in weather was setting in faster than I had thought. It was summer in South Africa where I was coming from but Virginia was a bit chilly. I slipped on the huge wool jacket my father had brought for me without wasting any second.I hated being cold.“My Princess, how was the flight? Tired?” his soft hands rubbed my back as he pulled me into a hugI had missed his scent. His wooden musky scent filled my nostrils. I could smell home on him. My mother’s favorite mint scent was
Oliver never let Annabel’s coldness get to him. He was just fixated on his own things and prepared aggressively for the final exams. Bernard, on the other hand, was always giving a gift or the other to Annabel so he could buy her love and favor.It was obvious to everyone that she was only tolerating him and he needed him just as he needed her.She was reading in the library when Bernard appeared with a box of chocolates to cheer her on but she was not in the mood to be disturbed, thanks to her dream that had been disturbing her for several days continuously.“Can you get this out of my face? I can’t deal with you right now,” she remarked, pushing it back to him"Oh, come on, Annabel. It’s time you stopped playing hard to get. We will get married anyways so why don’t you start tolerating me?”Those words hit Annabel on the wrong side. She flared up to the surprise of everyone, Bernard included.“Do you think all I care about is the damn engagement to you? I don’t care about you or you
For several days, Lisa couldn’t get the rejection out of her head. Nothing was pleasing to her. She refused all the water and food that were served and just got herself curled up under her blanket.Her mother, who was worried about her health, couldn’t bear her daughter sulking terribly because of a mate that didn’t belong to her in the first place.“Are you going to spend all week on the bed? I think you should get over this and move on to the next thing. As long as this doesn’t affect your relationship with Luna.”That only added fuel to the fire. Lisa flew up in anger. Her face laced with dried tears that strode down her cheeks in the past hours.“Do you know what this means? I sacrificed a lot to be by his side. How could he be so wicked? His mate rejected him; did he have to chase her over and over? I am here looking at him so why is he not looking at me too? I want to die right now.” As soon as she completed the sentence, she dived back under the blanket and continued her tears.
The late-night silence in Annabel’s room was broken by her sharp gasp as she bolted upright, her chest heaving with each passing second. Her sheets were twisted around her legs, damp with sweat, and her heartbeat drummed loudly in her ears. The dream—no, the memory, as it felt more and more like, was still vivid. She had been standing in a forest bathed in silver moonlight, her hands outstretched as if summoning something. Shadows danced around her, and a voice she didn’t recognize kept whispering her name.But just as she thought she could grasp the meaning, the image dissolved into darkness, leaving her with only fragments she couldn’t piece together. This wasn’t the first time. For weeks now, these dreams had come, each one pulling her deeper into confusion and fear.She threw her legs over the side of the bed and walked to the mirror. Her reflection stared back, but it didn’t feel like her own. Her hazel eyes looked darker, almost stormy, and her usually calm expression seemed ten
The corridors of the school buzzed with the usual energy as students prepared for the final stretch of exams. Oliver walked through the hallways with quiet determination, his focus set on his studies. After the whirlwind of emotions and confrontations at his birthday party, he had resolved to put his energy into his academics and let other matters settle themselves. His decision wasn’t easy, but it was necessary.A lot was going through his mind as he found his way to class. So many tasks were ahead of him. Once the final exams were out of the way, he would have to advance to Alpha classes. He would be attending meetings with his father, ruling over some affairs, and learning several things before his ascension in six months’ time, when he’s expected to have found a mate.He wasn’t sure if anything would change between him and Annabel because she seemed to have made her resolve and was firm with it. She suddenly became distant and would not even spare him a glance. The fact that she c
Lisa stood before her ornate mirror, the soft glow of candlelight casting a golden hue over her room. Her emerald gown clung perfectly to her frame, the shimmering fabric accentuating her curves. She adjusted her earrings with steady hands, her reflection revealing a look of determination.Tonight was the council meeting where Oliver would formally address the pack. Rumors had swirled about him confirming his mate, but Lisa dismissed them as nonsense. She was certain that Oliver had no one in his heart, not any she’s aware of. She had worked tirelessly to position herself close to him, earning his trust and proving her loyalty to the pack. This evening felt like the culmination of her efforts. It was the night she would inch closer to her goal."He’ll see it," she murmured to herself, smoothing the folds of her dress. "He’ll see that I’m the one who belongs by his side."With a final glance in the mirror, she turned and left her room, her heart light with hope and expectation.***Th
Annabel sat at her desk in the back corner of the classroom, staring blankly at her notes. The words on the page blurred together as her mind wandered, consumed by thoughts of Oliver. She hadn’t seen or heard from him since his birthday celebration, and the tension gnawed at her. Was he okay? Had the tests begun? The questions plagued her, but she couldn’t allow herself to reach out. Her father’s expectations and Bernard’s constant presence weighed heavily on her.Across the room, Bernard’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Annabel,” he called softly, leaning closer. “You’ve been quiet all day. Are you feeling alright?”She forced a polite smile, nodding. “I’m fine. Just tired.”She didn’t have any strength to fight him. The more she ignores him or frowns, the deeper he would press so it was better for her to just give out the smile he wanted to see.Bernard didn’t seem convinced even with the smile but he left. Later that afternoon, he approached her in the hallway, holding out a
Lucas stormed through the dimly lit halls of the estate, his fists clenched at his sides. The news of Oliver’s steady success in the tests was a bitter pill he couldn’t swallow. How was it possible? Despite his injury, Oliver continued to prove himself, his strength and determination shining through every challenge.“This has to stop, I cannot just stand and watch him take what belongs to me!” Lucas growled under his breath as he entered the servants' quarters. His sharp eyes locked onto a young maid who froze under his furious gaze.“You,” he snapped, pointing a finger at her. “You’re going to help me.”His movement started closing in on the maid who trembled at his presence. He had always been a terror whenever he was around. Everyone runs from his gaze, attacks, or presence because he picks offense at any little thing.One thing about Lucas was that he doesn’t hide his jealousy or hatred for Oliver. He has always been vocal about how he wants the throne and would do anything to get
The morning sun broke over the horizon, casting a golden glow on the expansive training grounds where Oliver would begin his ascension tests. The air was crisp, alive with anticipation. This was the day he’d been preparing for and the day to prove his worth as the future Alpha of the pack. Despite the weight of expectation, Oliver stood tall with his chin up.He had prepared for this all his life and had come this far not to be intimidated by the scary tests. He just have to do his best and let the heavens deserve the rest.“Do you like your clothes? Or would you like to get it changed?” his attendant whispered by his side but he just shook his head“This is perfect” his gaze fixed on the mirror in front of him.As he adjusted the cuffs of his shirt, the soft sound of footsteps reached him. He turned to see his mother approaching, her presence was commanding yet comforting. Her auburn hair was swept neatly into a bun, and her eyes held a warmth that cut through the tension in his ches
The night had taken on a strange quality, as if the air itself carried whispers of secrets too old to be spoken aloud. Annabel stood in the garden, gazing at the table adorned with trinkets meant for guests to admire and take as mementos. Her fingers hovered over a bracelet made of silver and lined with tiny, delicate runes. It was simple yet conplex, catching the light in a way that made it seem almost alive.Without thinking, she picked it up. The moment her fingers closed around it, the world seemed to shift. The cool night air grew heavy, and her vision blurred as an intense wave of dizziness washed over her. Images flooded her mind, fragmented and disjointed at first but quickly taking shape.***She saw a woman with striking green eyes clutching a baby to her chest. Fear etched deep lines into her face as she whispered hurried words of comfort to the child. The woman was hiding, her breathing shallow as she crouched in the corner of a dimly lit room. Footsteps echoed, drawing c