First day of my senior year. I put on my uniform and slipped on my white sneakers before walking to school—just an eleven-minute walk from home. I headed straight to the auditorium and found a seat toward the back. In less than thirty minutes, the place was packed. Annie showed up a little late but managed to snag the seat next to mine—where, for some reason, no one else seemed to want to sit.“Lucky there was still a spot left,” she said with a smile. I’d say “lucky” wasn’t exactly the right word here…As soon as the principal walked in, everyone stood. She welcomed us and went over the school rules again before introducing the teachers who’d be on staff this year.At that moment, I regretted sitting in the back. Every girl around me started whispering and giggling about William the second he walked in.“Although our future alpha was only a substitute teacher last year, this year he’s officially taken on the role and will be teaching combat classes for our newly awakened wolves,” the
I posted the story and uploaded the cake video right after getting back to the kitchen. It took me over an hour between putting on the disguise and then taking it off. All that work for just a few seconds of footage. Definitely not doing that again anytime soon.When I checked my phone again, there were thousands of comments under the post. A lot of people were praising how the cake looked and saying they were going to try the recipe. I scrolled all the way to the top and started reading through, stopping at the fourth comment.Looks like a birthday cake. I can’t believe Lisa and I have the same birthday! I’m so excited!I liked her comment as promised and replied:Yep, today’s my birthday. Congrats on being the first to guess it—and happy birthday to you too! Wishing you all the best!My comment quickly racked up thousands of likes and replies full of birthday wishes, and my heart started to fill with emotion.— My fans are truly amazing! — I said to Lisa, wiping away a tear that had
After a few more weeks, I could finally call my new house a home. I’d gotten used to the new routine I’d set for myself. It was the early hours of January twenty-ninth, a date that should’ve meant something special—but for me, it just made the sadness heavier. The first thing I did when I woke up was go talk to Mr. Mysterious.“It’s my birthday today. Don’t I deserve a gift?” I hadn’t planned a party—didn’t really have anyone to invite anyway. The only birthday wishes I’d gotten so far were from Marcos and his family, who sent me a message as soon as the day started.My mom would probably only text me late at night—if she remembered. As for my friends, I didn’t tell any of them about today. I was afraid they’d find out and still not say anything, just like my old classmates used to do. Being ignored like that… it hurt too much. So I figured, if they didn’t know and didn’t say anything, I wouldn’t have to deal with that pain.“Guess what! I finished the last few songs for my new album.
As soon as the truth slipped from my lips, I lowered my gaze, feeling my heart tighten with a reality I didn’t want to accept. I felt like a caged bird, desperately longing for freedom.“I don’t get why he won’t just reject me already.” My voice came out slightly hoarse as I held back the urge to cry. I took a deep breath while Annie wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. I rested my head on her shoulder. It felt so good to have someone there for me.“You should tell everyone,” Liam suggested. “That way he won’t be able to keep messing with your feelings.”What’s up with Liam? He seemed genuinely pissed about all this, but I could tell his frustration wasn’t just because of me.“I’m keeping this to myself, and I need you to do the same,” I said firmly. “You’re worried about Nicolas, aren’t you?”He didn’t answer right away, but his shift in posture made it clear I had hit the nail on the head. Lorraine had, in her own way, played with his best friend’s feelings, leading Ni
It was a cloudy morning, and the cool breeze was enough to make any regular human throw on a jacket. It was my training time. After a round of warm-up exercises, I started striking thicker branches in my semi-human form. The improvement in my skills in that form was obvious. The diameter of the branches I could break kept getting bigger, and all the movement I needed to reach them up high was getting faster and more fluid.Sweat dripped down my face as I stepped back into the house. I checked my phone one more time before hopping in the shower. There was a message from Annie: “Girl, it’s way past time you came to see my new place. I planned a dinner at 7 p.m. with the band crew. Don’t miss it!”“Well, that wasn’t on my schedule…” I muttered to myself.After a quick shower, I popped my lunch in the microwave and scrolled through Lisa’s profile to get more familiar with it. Among the accounts I followed, there were a lot of influencers and celebrities. But in the middle of all of them,
If I said that William and Lorraine dating didn’t affect me, that’d be a damn lie. I couldn’t fool my wolf’s feelings, and I sure as hell couldn’t go back in time and stop myself from coming to Siram and meeting him.I cried most of the night, curled up in the Mysterious Man’s cloak. Wrapped in that cloak, I sought comfort—the sense that someone was there, that I wasn’t alone, that everything would be okay. I just wanted to sleep for a bit, to find a moment of peace, but I couldn’t. I gave up trying and forced myself to run. The pain wasn’t going anywhere, no matter how much I cried.The rushing water—that place that had become my sanctuary—was exactly where I needed to be.“Mr. Mysterious, were you waiting for me?” After a week apart, he was there—on the exact day I said I’d come back. “You have no idea how much I worked during that trip…”I started telling him everything that had happened while I was gone—the good and the bad. I didn’t have secrets from him anymore, and opening up a