AstridA heavy silence fell between Eddie and I as I mulled over what he’d told me. My mom wasn’t the much beloved Luna that I thought she was. There were people in the pack that hated her for being human so much that they were glad to hear about her death. They were probably the same people that mocked and bullied me when I was a kid. I was so wrong about my mom—about a lot of things. Guilt shot through me like a bullet and I had to fight to keep myself from breaking down. If I couldn’t still feel the judgemental stares all around us, I might have let myself cry. This was a lot to take in. I let Eddie lead the way. I wasn’t really paying attention to where we were going, so I was surprised when I looked up and realized we were on Haronia’s campus. “What are we doing at the college?” I asked. “I promised you lunch,” he said. “The best cafe in town is on campus.” “Are you a student here?” I asked. I couldn’t imagine Eddie having the patience for college. He laughed.
Astrid As we wandered through campus, the silence between us was oddly comforting. It was like Eddie and I had always been friends. Maybe it was the fact that we grew up in the same household, and had a similar upbringing. Well, similar in the sense we were both children of higher members of the pack—not similar in the sense that my dad and Solomon were two very different men. “So, tell me more about your life,” Eddie started, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Do you have a lot of human friends?” “Not a lot,” I replied. “But I do have some very close friends. A few of the ladies I met in college still live in the city, so we spend a lot of time together. They even offered to come home with me so I wouldn’t have to deal with this mess with my dad alone. I couldn’t bring them, obviously, but, yeah.” “Could you imagine?” he laughed. “If you showed up with humans, my dad would have lost his mind.” “Oh, I know,” I agreed. “You know,” Eddie began, leaning in a bit closer to me
Tristan Holding office hours on Saturday afternoon was supposed to be a way to guarantee myself some uninterrupted work time. Not once in the three years I had held Saturday hours had a single student shown up. No one goes to campus on Saturday unless they live here. I was sitting in my office grading papers and doing my best not to think about the past week. I was still having trouble getting the image of Astrid’s tear streaked face out of my mind. I’d spent the entire night thinking about her. Seeing her in the window clearly didn’t help—much to my own embarrassment, I had even dreamt of her. I felt myself growing uncomfortably warm as memories of the dream flickered through my mind. I forced them away. Allowing myself to think about her like that was a mistake. If I let myself fantasize about her, I would never be able to be near her. My self control was already failing me when it came to Astrid. I never should have inserted myself into her drama at the party. She was
AstridI had been prepared for the worst when I arrived on campus on Monday morning. After what happened with Eddie in the cafe, and the way Lilian had smirked at me and run off, I was sure that rumors would have circulated campus by now. I did notice people staring at me as I walked through the grounds, but it wasn’t what I expected. The looks were curious, not judgemental. I found myself feeling oddly optimistic as the day wore on. Maybe I had misjudged things. This wasn’t high school, after all. There was no reason for university students to waste their time gossiping about people’s relationships. My position as the Alpha’s daughter was a technicality more than anything. It made sense that people wouldn’t pay much attention to me. My stay here was temporary, anyway. Being the child of the Alpha had dictated every part of my early life, but that wasn’t the case anymore. I reminded myself that I have accomplished great things for myself and that I have a life waiting for me
AstridTristan wasted no time deepening the kiss. He walked me backwards until my back hit one of the bookshelves that lined the wall. The collision hurt, but I didn’t care. I wrapped my arms around Tristan and dug my nails into his shoulders, pulling him closer. ‘This is a mistake,’ I thought. ‘We shouldn’t be doing this.’ Tristan’s fingers slipped into my hair and he titled my head to give him a better angle. I moaned against his lips as he pressed himself firmly against me. ‘We should stop,’ I thought, almost desperately. ‘But I can’t.’ I felt like my body was on fire. All I could do was reach for Tristan and try to pull him impossibly closer. The pressure in my chest had finally reached a peak and I felt like I was overflowing. There were small, needy sounds coming from me and I couldn’t even bring myself to be embarrassed by it. Tristan didn’t seem to mind. He had me crowded against the bookcase so close that the shelf was digging painfully into my back. This was al
TristanMy heart was hammering against my ribs as I struggled to process what was happening. A moment ago, Astrid had been kissing me. Now, Lilian had shoved her way into the room and was glaring at both of us. My lust clouded mind was keeping me from de-escalating the situation. There was no reasonable excuse I could think of for the state that we were in. We had been locked in my office alone. If that weren’t bad enough, Astrid’s blonde hair was a tangled mess and her cheeks were stained a pretty pink. It was obvious from looking at her that she was nervous and embarrassed. The rapid rise of her chest made me think she was on the verge of a panic attack. I had to get her out of here. I nodded towards the door, urging her to go. I would handle Lilian by myself. There was nothing good that could come of Astrid staying. I saw relief and guilt in her eyes. “We’ll talk soon,” I promised. I had no intention of letting this be the last time I saw her. It would be smarter of me
AstridI felt like such a coward as I ran from Tristan’s office. I made the first move, I was to blame for the situation. Yet here I was, panic stricken, and leaving him to deal with the consequences. I messed everything up for him. He was going to have to answer for my mistake and he was doing it willingly. I was so grateful that he had let me leave, but that only made the guilt stronger. I didn’t even consider calling for a ride. I needed time to calm myself before I got back to the packhouse, and walking was the only way I could think to do that.By the time I got to the packhouse, I was still spiraling. I couldn’t let dad see me like this. He would demand to know what happened and there was no way I could explain it away. So instead, I picked up pace and ran past the house towards the edge of the town. My wolf was losing her mind. I had promised to let her out and now seemed as good a time as any. I didn’t want to be in control right now. The pack greeters saw me as I
AstridDespite the continuous thoughts circling in my head, I couldn’t avoid going to dinner. I promised my dad that I would be there and I knew that if I didn’t show up, he would be worried. I understood the concern in his eyes when he thought that I was sick. I was sure that he was remembering the early phases of mom’s illness. I didn’t want to put him through any undue stress. I had to show him that I was physically okay. I showered and changed into a baggy sweater and leggings. After seeing those fake images of myself, I was feeling incredibly self conscious. I wanted to wear something that would cover me up. I cursed to myself as I entered the dining room. Somehow, I kept forgetting how many people lived here. Solomon and Victoria were sitting at the table on either side of my dad. When dad saw me enter, he cut off whatever conversation they were having and stood up. He walked to me in a few quick strides and grabbed both of my shoulders gently. He kissed the top of my