As we were leaving the farm, Nicolas suddenly let out a casual laugh and shook his head.“What?” I asked, curious.“You haven’t noticed?” He glanced at me, amusement in his voice. Seeing the confusion on my face, he chuckled again.“Just spit it out already!” I pressed.“Maxsuel is looking forward to the full moon. He’s hoping you’re his fated mate, and from the looks of it, his family is rooting for it too. I wonder if he’ll be that lucky.”“He won’t,” I replied, a little more serious this time. Maxsuel was playful but kind. I wished it had been him, but unfortunately, my fate was different.“How do you know?” Nicolas asked, his tone shifting as he cast me a sidelong glance.“Think about it. How do you think I recognized the twins?”He fell silent for a few minutes. We had just reached the city when it finally seemed to click for him.“You already have your wolf?” His voice carried a mix of denial and surprise. It was like everything suddenly made sense, yet at the same time, it was
"You know when someone asks, ‘Do you want it the easy way or the fun way?'"I was the kind of person who came from a full, fast-paced life and, at that moment, just wanted a little peace. But every time I thought I could start slowing down, life reminded me of who I really was. If I started begging the heavens for less excitement, would someone actually hear me?The week started off normally. After a brief explanation, the teacher assigned us an exercise. While I focused on answering the questions as quickly as possible, a sharp, high-pitched scream suddenly came from a girl sitting in the far-left corner of the room, near the window.“Sorry, professor!” she exclaimed, barely able to contain the excitement on her face.“So much enthusiasm on a Monday morning. That’s not like you, Gabi. What happened?” The teacher wasn’t the only one curious. Gabi was usually lazy and almost always started the week complaining. The entire class stopped what they were doing to pay attention to this unusu
They always used to say, "Let’s gather the group," or "The band’s playing at this place today," so if they ever mentioned the name, I never really paid attention.“Need some help?” Annie asked, probably noticing my confused expression. I decided to move around a bit to get where I needed to go without drawing attention.“Now that I’ve started using this, I need to follow some profiles, but I’m not sure where to start.” I gave her a warm smile and handed her my phone, hinting that she should do it for me. She immediately accepted, no questions asked, and was happy to do it.“Hmm, start with our band’s profile.” Bingo! I watched her search for "Howling Wolves" and held back my surprise so no one would notice.You’ve got to admit, that name makes sense, Lisa commented.Even so, I almost asked who came up with the name for the group and where the idea came from. The profile picture was of the band itself. They were standing on stage, which suggested the photo was taken during one of their
The scent of wet earth filled the air as the rain intensified. There was nowhere to hide. I shifted into my human form and let the rain completely soak my bare body while watching the waterfall swell, its raging waters growing fiercer by the second.Do you think the rain will ruin Annie’s night? Lisa asked me, concerned.It was around 2 a.m. when I quietly slipped out of my bedroom window. My goal was to return to the waterfall to map out the route more precisely and find the best paths. Although the night was darker and cloudier than usual, there hadn’t been any sign of rain—until I got close to the waterfall and was suddenly caught in a downpour. I walked slowly across the terrain, scanning my surroundings."Better for the skies to pour now than on the big night," I said hopefully. It wouldn’t be as fun if we couldn’t bathe in the waterfall or howl at the moon during our girls' night, which would take place in two days, on a Thursday. Just to be safe, I decided I should stock up on
I wandered aimlessly beside Annie, stopping the moment my eyes landed on a watch store’s display window. There were various models on display, ranging from the simplest to the most sophisticated.“Do you think Maxsuel would like a watch as a present?” I asked Annie while scanning the models.“I think so,” she replied with a bright smile, following my gaze.“Wait here a sec. I already have one in mind—I won’t be long.”The brand was known for its quality, and its watches were stylish without being flashy. As soon as I saw one in the display, I felt the urge to go in and ask about it. Though it wasn’t the most expensive watch brand in the store, the price would probably startle Annie if she came in with me, so I preferred to go alone.“Good afternoon! How can I help you?” the saleswoman asked politely.“I’d like to buy a watch as a gift for a friend. Do you have any other models of the Omega brand besides the one in the display?”“Yes, I do!” She took out three different models and plac
As Annie browsed through the options, she suddenly stopped, her gaze fixed on a particular dress. Her eyes lit up as she took it off the rack and held it against her body.“I love this one! It’s gorgeous!” she exclaimed excitedly.While she stepped into one of the fitting rooms, Lorraine stormed out of another, looking frustrated. She was wearing a dress but had to hold the side zipper and front in place to keep it from slipping. I couldn’t help but chuckle—a quiet laugh, but loud enough for her to hear.“What’s so funny?” she snapped, her eyes blazing with anger.“I didn’t say anything…” I turned my back on her, pretending I had nothing to do with it as I waited for Annie to come out. Lorraine marched over to the saleswoman, and even though she spoke in hushed tones, my sharp ears caught their conversation.“Is there any way to alter it?” Lorraine asked, her voice laced with desperation.“Impossible! If it just needed to be taken in, that’d be one thing, but letting it out…”Fashion
It was a long and exhausting hike. When I bought the tent and the rest of the camping gear, I had no idea how tiring it would be to cover this entire distance in my human form. Because of Lisa’s strength, I had thought the load would be light, but the distance felt countless times longer than when I traveled it in my wolf form. It wasn’t even midnight yet when I slipped out of my room, and even though I kept a fast pace, I felt like time was against me.Looks like you’re not getting any sleep tonight! my wolf commented.And I don’t need to, I replied. I had eaten dinner early and managed to sleep for a few hours before coming here. My next rest would probably be in the early hours of the following day since I’d be starting the journey with Annie before sunset.Still in my human form, I set everything down and inspected the area, using Lisa’s senses along with my flashlight. Finally, I stopped in front of the waterfall, staring at it for a few minutes. The water flow had already return
We started the hike right after I checked the items Annie brought. I wanted to put some distance between us before the sun set. After nightfall, the latest time for the wolf’s awakening would be during the peak of the full moon in the sky."Where are we going?""Putting some distance so we can strip down without worrying about being seen," I replied briefly. I was too focused on sensing the surroundings."How will you know there’s no danger without your wolf?""But I’ve got my wolf with me! The whole time!" I stopped for a moment, turned to her, and pointed to my nose, then my ears. "How do you think I found you so quickly?""I don’t get how you do that without being in wolf form. Isn’t that hard?""Remember when I asked you how I should teach you about this?""I remember. You said there was your way and the book way.""What you know says that you and your wolf are separate beings sharing the same body, but have you thought about the possibility that your wolf has been with you since
I took a deep breath, trying to hold back the tears, and walked over to the drink table. Even though I was underage, I felt an urgent need to keep myself from crying, and since people say alcohol is good for drowning your sorrows, I figured it might do the trick. I filled my cup with punch, and just as I was about to down it, someone grabbed it out of my hand. I looked to the side and met Nicolas’s eyes. He looked like he was trying just as hard not to cry.“Does it hurt?” I asked him. I wasn’t talking about our bond—I meant his arm, which was bandaged up. Without a word, he set the cup down on the table, turned around, and walked away. I stood there, unsure of what to do. Should I follow him or give him space? “Nicolas, wait!”He heard me, but he didn’t stop. It was clear he didn’t want to talk to me. So I gave up on the idea of drinking and tried to drown my sorrows in food instead while I waited for the performances to start. Every now and then, I found myself scanning the crowd fo
I passed by the hospital front desk and paid the entire bill in advance, leaving some credit for any unexpected needs. Then I slowly walked down the road as the first rays of sunlight broke over the horizon.I wandered aimlessly for a while, completely lost. I couldn’t remember where the little house Veronica had taken me to was. I reached into the pocket of my jeans, looking for the key. I was planning to track the house by its scent.“You forgot the keys!” Lisa said in my head. I smiled softly, hearing her voice in my mind again. She was right—I suddenly remembered I’d left the key on the bed and had only grabbed my wallet. I hadn’t even closed the front door.“We’re going to be okay,” I promised myself. I needed to believe that—to believe I could fix everything.“I’m starving!” she said the moment we passed by a café that had just opened. The smell in the air was irresistible. I stepped inside and picked a table to sit at.“Whoa!” the girl at the counter exclaimed when she saw me.
I sat on the bed, completely lost. I tried calling my aunt to find out how my grandma was doing, but her phone was ringing in the room next door. In the rush to help Grandma, she’d left it behind.Next thing I knew, it was almost midnight. My mom got back to me with a message. It was short but straight to the point:Mom: My friend will be there soon. Grab your stuff and go with her!Sure enough, not even five minutes later, a blue van pulled up in front of the house. A medium-built woman with long, curly black hair and dark skin stepped out. She was wearing pajamas."You’re Eliza?" she asked. I nodded slightly."Girl, what kind of mess did you get yourself into? Don’t worry, it’s gonna be okay. I’m Verônica, your mom’s friend."She held out her hand, but I couldn’t bring myself to shake it. Instead, I clutched the bag that held my Preciosa even tighter."Poor thing! I’ll help you carry your stuff, okay? Luckily, I had the perfect place lined up for you. Your mom already paid three mont
Everything in my head was just a high-pitched ringing, echoing persistently in the back of my mind. I started struggling to breathe and desperately searched for music. Lisa had abandoned me, and now Preciosa was destroyed. I was falling apart.By the time I started to get even a glimpse of what was happening around me, it was already dark.“How long have I been like this?” My head was spinning. I leaned against the bed and focused on listening for any sounds. The silence told me there was no one home. I pulled my phone out of my jeans pocket. The screen was cracked, but it still seemed to work. There was only one person who could make sense of everything that had happened.After trying over and over, I finally heard a familiar voice on the other end, and it made me want to break down and cry."Mom, it's me!" I said. "Mom, please help me!""Sweetheart, what happened?""I told Grandma about Dad, and she freaked out. I don’t know what to do. Mom..." I started crying again. The pain was j
William had dislocated Nicolas’s arm, and I couldn’t do anything about it because I couldn’t bring myself to fight against my mate. I felt awful. When I tried to help Nicolas, William grabbed my arm and dragged me along with him."William, he needs help. Please!" I begged again, but it was no use."Shut the hell up!" he shouted at me. He dragged me to his car, and as soon as he started the engine, he floored it, tires screeching."William, let me explain, please!""You bitch! Explain? What the fuck is there to explain that I didn’t see with my own eyes? You spend a week with him, and now you’re meeting up with him alone? You think you’re fooling me? You’re fucking worthless!""That’s not how it is, I—""I told you to shut the fuck up!"I couldn’t hold back the anguish and sadness in my chest. Even staying silent, I couldn’t stop myself from sobbing. William pulled over on a narrow street, out on the outskirts of the village. He was breathing heavily."William, your nose is bleeding. A
The day started off cloudy, with rain in the forecast for the weekend. I wondered if I’d still be able to watch the eclipse with Mr. Ghost. It had been over a week since I last saw him. After a full day of rest, it was time to get back to work. I grabbed Precious and started playing my songs, fine-tuning the arrangements. During my lunch break, I ended up thinking about Nicolas and sent him a short audio clip of a song’s chorus along with a message:Eliza: Congrats on your graduation, brother! Consider this audio a sneak peek of your gift!Nicolas: A sneak peek? Are you finally gonna show me the new songs? I should’ve graduated sooner!He replied just a few moments later. As I was typing out a response, my phone started ringing. It was him!“Lisa, we need to meet up,” he said as soon as I answered. I could hear the anxiety in his voice.“What’s going on?”“There’s no one home right now. Can you come over? I really need to tell you something. And while you’re here, you can show me the
The next day, wolf training got real. After getting sidelined with serious injuries from dueling with me, Nicolas and Arthur had to train with each other until John was finally satisfied. Meanwhile, I took a dip in the lake and sunbathed with Kate during two full days off.When they finally called me back to training, they looked confident. Arthur had that revenge spark in his eyes as he teamed up with Nicolas to take me on. It wasn’t a fair fight. Unable to intimidate me, the beta joined in, turning it into a three-against-one brawl. They snarled around me, circling, looking for any opening to strike. No matter how strong you are, when you're outnumbered, it takes more than skill to win. I started dodging defensively, avoiding hits while my mind raced to come up with a strategy. A few times, I had to shift into semi-human form to fully dodge the attacks and hit back. Eventually, I decided to cut down the numbers—starting with the weakest link.I aimed for Arthur, but mid-air I change
The real training was about to begin. A fight between two wolves was way more intense—and brutal. I felt awkward as I undressed and slipped on the robe they gave me.“No need to be shy, sweetheart. I’ll help you through it, okay?” said Kate, who was in the room with me, trying to reassure me.I walked barefoot out onto the backyard patio, with Kate right behind me. John and his sons were already there, standing at attention. The way they all stared as I approached made my face burn with embarrassment, and I ended up lowering my gaze.“Well, well… doesn’t look so tough now,” Arthur took the opportunity to tease me.“Since we know you’re a shy little wolf, we figured this was more appropriate,” John said, referring to the fact that his sons weren’t naked—they were wearing men’s robes.Wolves were used to running in packs, so nudity wasn’t a big deal for them. But for a lone wolf like me, it was a bit much. I was genuinely touched that they had considered how I’d feel.John went over a b
I took care of my hygiene before heading to my room and setting my alarm for the next morning. When I woke up, I felt completely refreshed and even helped Kate set the table for breakfast. When Nicolas and Arthur showed up, they looked like a pair of zombies."I'm dead. Do I really have to train today, Dad?" Arthur groaned."More than anyone," John replied. I could feel Arthur shooting daggers at me with his eyes, but I pretended not to notice. "Today and tomorrow, you’ll be doing hand-to-hand combat in human form. Eliza will be your opponent, and I’ll be supervising the whole thing."“I get to fight Eliza? Can’t wait,” Arthur said with a sly grin.“Should I tell him or do you want to?” Nicolas whispered, barely holding back a laugh.“Let the kid enjoy the moment,” I whispered back.“Just go easy on me, okay?” Arthur asked. I gave him a nod as I finished my breakfast.I stopped by my room to grab the training outfit they’d given me, then headed out to the garden. I started warming up