Chapter two

I passed out.

But my eyes slowly opened in the nurse’s office.

As my eyes opened, the nurse quickly moved to my side. “Hello dear, are you okay?”

I blinked and gave a slow nod.

She grabbed my hand and scanned it with a puzzled expression on her face. “I don’t understand…”

“What?” I asked. My throat was as dry as sandpaper; the words seemed to hurt. I gulped.

“You were in there for more than thirty seconds. You shouldn’t be okay. Your body should be swollen. You should be in pain…” Her voice trailed off as she looked into my eyes. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy you are okay, dear. It’s just… it takes three days for a wolf to heal from this. I heard that you do not have a wolf. It should take a week.”

“What about Dad’s necklace?” I asked. That was the only thing I cared about.

“Necklace?”

I sighed. Of course she didn’t know what I meant.

I tried to sit up to go look for it, but she quickly placed her hand on my chest and pushed me back down. “You may be okay, dear, but you have to lie down,” she said. “You can’t attend any more classes today.”

My teeth clenched tight in frustration, but I knew I didn’t have a choice. I had to wait here until school ended.

“Fine, Ms. Weathers,” I said.

The next three hours were hell. All I could think about was the necklace and whether I would ever get it back.

My mind would occasionally drift to Isaac. I could still feel his strong hands gripping me tightly. I could feel my body pressed against his hard chest as he carried me effortlessly.

Didn’t he get hurt by the wolvesbane?

Why did he look unfazed by it?

No… why did he save me? We had never spoken before.

Soon the bell rang for closing. I immediately rushed out of the office with my bag in my hand and headed for the bush to get my necklace. Maybe if I ran in as fast as I could and rushed back out, I wouldn’t pass out.

As I rushed out, I suddenly halted when my gaze caught Mia in front of her locker. Eva stood beside her, Lola on the other side.

“I wish I had fallen into the bush,” Mia said. “Isaac would have run to save me. It would have been so romantic. Instead he saved that idiot Charlotte.”

“Did you see how worried he looked?” Lola asked. “Do you think he’s in love with her?”

“He doesn’t have such poor taste,” Eva said.

“Besides, if he liked anybody, it would be me,” Mia bragged and shut her locker.

Before the girls could see me, I quickly ran out of the building. The students had already filled the surrounding area, some headed for their dorms while others headed for their homes.

As I rushed towards the bush of wolvesbane, panting and struggling for breath, the students continued to stare at me, whispering amongst themselves.

I halted as I stood before it, scanning the place with my eyes and making sure I spotted the necklace before I went in.

But no matter how hard I tried, no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find it. The necklace was gone.

My hands trembled.

I couldn’t go in there without spotting it first. The necklace… it was gone.

Tears clouded my eyes again, but all I could do was walk away.

As I made my way to my dorm, all I could hear the students talking about was Isaac’s real identity — the son of the Alpha King.

It was a surprise.

I had heard rumours that the Alpha King’s son was here, but his identity was unknown. I didn’t know he was in the same class as me.

But it didn’t matter now.

The only piece of Dad I had left was gone. Forever.

As I walked to my dorm, my eyes suddenly caught Isaac. He was dressed in his school uniform and stood before a car with a phone in his hand.

I halted and observed.

Maybe it would be best if I went to say thank you to him, right?

I took a step forward but suddenly halted again as a car screeched to a stop in front of him. I watched as two men in suits and white gloves stepped out and bowed to him. Then they began to carry heavy luggage out of the car.

Some girls who were headed towards their dorms paused to look.

“Who is that?” they gasped as they watched a girl step out of the car. She had blonde hair and wore a purple dress. She looked elegant and wealthy.

“Wow, she’s so beautiful,” another girl gasped.

Isaac pressed his lips together and stepped forward. He seemed displeased at her presence.

“Isaac!” she shouted as she ran into his arms.

Hmmm, she must be a new student.

She cupped both sides of his face and kissed him passionately. I quickly turned around. It felt as if I was invading their privacy.

I scurried away to my dorm room.

That night I couldn’t sleep. I still couldn’t stop thinking about Dad’s necklace. I couldn’t take it anymore. I quickly grabbed a hoodie and threw it on.

I stepped out of my dorm building and headed for the main school area with a torch in my hand.

There was a curfew tonight, so the students were inside.

My feet crunched against the dry grass as I approached the bush, but I slowed down, squinting my eyes as I saw a figure standing by the bush.

The person wore a black hoodie, his hands in his pockets. The light of the torch made him turn to face me.

It was him.

Isaac.

What was he doing here in the middle of the night?

“Who is that?” he asked, squinting as he tried to see past the light of the torch.

I quickly turned it off, leaving us in the dim moonlight. “It’s Charlotte… the girl you saved today. Thank you.”

He walked towards me and slid his hands out of his pockets. My lips parted as my necklace dangled from his fingers. My fingers brushed against his as I grabbed it from him.

A smile formed at the corner of his lips and my heart raced. I had never stood this close to him before.

His nose was pointed, his eyes and lips formed a perfect heart shape. I finally saw why the girls liked him. 

“I thought it was important to you since you walked into something that could kill you to get it,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said again.

As he parted his lips to speak, I heard the loud sound of footsteps behind me. I turned to see the girl who had kissed him earlier. She also wore a hoodie and had her blonde hair in a high ponytail.

“Lydia, what are you doing here?” Isaac asked.

She gave me a condescending look and then looked at him. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. It’s hard to follow your scent with so many strong werewolf scents around.”

“Hey, Lydia,” I said.

I turned to leave them alone when her voice halted me. “Hey.”

I turned to look at her. “Yes?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you doing with my boyfriend?”

I looked at Isaac and back at her. “Nothing,” I shook my head.

“He’s mine,” she spat.

I scoffed. “I didn’t say he wasn’t…”

“Shut up.”

“Lydia, please leave her alone,” Isaac begged.

But she wasn’t done with me. She drew closer. “Isaac and I are soulmates. I’ll be damned if I let another she-wolf try to steal him from me.”

“I wasn’t trying to…” Before I could finish, she landed a hot slap across my cheek.

My hand instinctively flew to my face and I gasped.

“How dare you speak when I’m speaking?” she asked.

Tears streamed down my cheeks.

Isaac quickly grabbed her. “I’m sorry.” He gripped her tightly and dragged her away.

I stood there for a few seconds, my face stinging from the slap, until my eyes caught a silver object on the ground.

It was Dad’s necklace. I dropped to my knees and picked it

up. I squinted as I noticed it was in pieces and covered in dirt.

“No, no, no,” I cried, my throat closing as I realized that Lydia had stepped on it and crushed it.