Chapter 3

MEGAN’S POV

The next morning, I was standing by the door to the locker room, waiting for Jemma, when I saw Victor approaching. We’d talked in public before, rarely, but never like this….so I was caught off guard when he stopped in front of me.

“I’ve been calling and texting all night, Meg,” he said, his voice tense. “What the fuck?”

 I told you I needed time,” I shot back, my voice sharp with frustration.

”I didn’t think you meant all night… Jesus. You could’ve responded.”

Just as I opened my mouth to reply, Emorie suddenly ran up to Victor, throwing her arms around his neck and planting a quick peck on his lips. Without missing a beat, he quickly looked at me…eyes unreadable. He didn’t pull away or say a word.

That’s when Emorie turned to me, a sly smile curling her lips. “Oh, I didn’t see you there,” she said sweetly. “Run along now, doggy. Your kind is over there.” Her words dripped with venom, like she was taunting me, poking at my pain.

Something inside me snapped. My wolf, my true nature, fought to push its way to the surface. My eyes flashed a fierce, burning red before I clenched my jaw and shoved her back down deep inside, forcing the beast back into the shadows.

Emorie laughed softly, her amusement clear as I turned and started to walk away without a word. I could feel my pulse pounding in my ears, the raw power still simmering beneath my skin. I didn’t look back, knowing that if I did, I might lose control completely.

The air around us seemed to crackle with tension, the echoes of her taunts ringing in my mind, but I kept walking, trying to keep my human form intact, to hold onto what little sanity I had left.

I could hear Victor calling after me, his voice sharp with concern, but I didn’t turn back. Emorie’s voice echoed in my mind. Her teasing, her mocking…yet beneath her words, I sensed something more. A hidden layer, a whisper of truth I’d always suspected but never dared to confront: Emorie knows something about Victor’s feelings for me.

As I reached the safety of the hallway, I let out a shaky breath, trying to steady myself. Her words still stung, but what hurt even more was the possibility that there was nothing Victor could do to stop the engagement. I may lose him for good.

I wanted to believe he cared, that there was something real beneath the surface. But Emorie’s sly smile, her knowing glance…those were clues I couldn’t ignore. She always had a way of knowing more than she let on, of hiding her true motives behind that playful veneer.

Now, standing there alone, I wondered: Did Victor truly have feelings for me? Or was I just another pawn in some game I didn’t understand? The questions swirled in my mind, as I fought to keep my beast at bay and my heart from shattering.

I barely paid attention in class today. My mind kept drifting back to everything that had happened…Emorie, Victor, the tension. So, I asked Jemma if we could have lunch in her car. I just couldn’t stand to see Emorie all over Victor at their usual table, knowing how much that hurt.

We parked in the quiet lot, and she turned on the music, the soft beats filling the small space. But then, Jemma suddenly turned down the volume, her face alight with barely contained excitement.

“Girl!” she started, her eyes shining. “I found my mate yesterday!”

My eyebrows shot up. I blinked at her, smiling in disbelief. “What? You’ve been waiting forever… tell me everything.”

She threw her arms around me, hugging tight. “It’s crazy! I was stopping to get coffee after school at my usual spot, and that’s when I bumped into him. He goes to the school over on Elm Street. And the moment I saw him, I felt… this connection. Like, right away. And I think he felt it too.” Her voice was trembling with happiness. “It was so magical, Meg. Like everything clicked into place.”

I watched her, feeling a mix of happiness for her and a strange ache in my chest. A mate. Someone meant to be yours. My heart fluttered with both hope and doubt.

As I sat there, staring out the windshield at the quiet street beyond, it suddenly dawned on me…someday, I would find my own mate. Someone chosen by the Moon Goddess, just like Jemma. I’d always believed that my heart belonged to Victor, that no one else could ever compare. But lately, the thought of someone else…someone who might truly understand me, started to creep into my mind.

I hadn’t thought about it in months. I’d been so caught up in the chaos, in the drama of Emorie, Victor, and the secrets swirling around us. But now, with Jemma’s happiness fresh in my mind, I wondered: what would happen when I finally found the guy the Moon Goddess had destined for me? Would I still be holding onto Victor then? Or would I be ready to let go?

The idea of Victor marrying someone else, someone who wasn’t me, made my stomach turn. I’d always assumed I’d my fated mate in favor of him, that he was my future. But if he was moving on, if he was beginning a new chapter with another girl, I didn’t know anymore. Was my heart prepared to accept that? Or would I be left behind, longing for something I might never have?

A strange mixture of hope and fear swirled inside me. Maybe, just maybe, I needed to stop clinging to what I thought I wanted and start listening to what my heart truly needed. Because the truth was, I didn’t have all the answers yet. All I knew was that the future was uncertain and that I had to decide whether to chase after my destiny or hold onto the past, even if it was slowly slipping away.