Chapter 5

ELLA 

The rest of the morning unfolds in a way that feels strangely unreal, as though I’ve stepped into a life that was never meant to belong to me.

Sophie and I completely ignore the carefully typed schedule taped neatly to the refrigerator. 

Wake times, learning blocks, meals it all gets forgotten the moment she tugs me toward the living room with a mischievous grin.

We drag couch cushions across the floor, stack dining chairs into unstable towers, and gather every blanket we can find. 

By the time we’re finished, half the living room has vanished beneath a crooked fortress of fabric and furniture. Sophie crawls inside, clapping her hands excitedly, and announces that it’s a castle.

Apparently, I’m the princess who lives there.

I don’t bother correcting her.

We curl up inside the fort and read books, exaggerating our voices until Sophie is laughing so hard she can barely breathe. 

I make the dragon sound ridiculous. She insists on roaring louder. We have a tea party with her stuffed animals lined up around a tiny plastic table, each one patiently waiting their turn to be served imaginary tea and cookies.

She laughs freely. She smiles without fear. She relaxes in a way I haven’t seen since I met her.

She’s happy.

And that’s all that matters to me.

This warmth, this attention, this simple joy is what she needs. Not rigid rules. Not constant structure. Just someone willing to sit on the floor and be present with her.

Around eleven, Mrs. Chen finds us in the blanket fort, both of us wearing mismatched plastic crowns and eating cookies we absolutely were not supposed to have before lunch.

“You have afternoon classes,” she reminds me gently.

My stomach sinks. I’d almost managed to forget that there’s a world beyond this house. Responsibilities. Reality. Campus.

“I can watch Sophie for a few hours,” Mrs. Chen adds quickly, seeing my hesitation. “We’ll be fine, won’t we?”

Sophie’s smile disappears instantly. “No! Ella-mama stay!”

“I have to go to school, sweetheart,” I say softly, pulling her into my lap. “But I’ll come back. I promise.”

“No!” She clings to my shirt, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Don’t leave! Everyone leaves!”

My chest tightens painfully. “I’m coming back,” I whisper, holding her close. “I promise. I swear. I’ll come back.”

“Melissa promised too,” Sophie sobs.

The words hit me like a punch.

I rock her gently, murmuring reassurance after reassurance, wondering how many times this little girl has been left behind. How many promises have been broken. How many goodbyes she never understood.

Eventually, she calms enough to let Mrs. Chen take her, though her grip lingers on my sleeve longer than it should.

The bus ride to campus takes forty long minutes.

When I step off, everything looks exactly the same. Students laughing. Music playing. Life moving forward without pause. Of course nothing’s changed. The world doesn’t stop just because mine feels unrecognizable.

I check my phone to see three missed calls from my mom. Two texts from Amy asking if I’m okay.

And then I see them.

Vanessa and her group are gathered near the library steps, lounging like they own the place.

Exactly where I need to go.

I consider taking the long way around. Skipping class. Claiming I’m sick. Avoiding them entirely.

But something in me refuses to back down.

Not after standing up to Jax.

I lift my chin and walk straight toward class.

Vanessa spots me immediately. She always does.

“Well, well,” she drawls. “The whale resurfaces.”

Her friends laugh on cue Brittany, Madison, and a few others whose names blur together. Different faces, same cruelty.

I keep walking.

“Hey! I’m talking to you.”

She steps directly into my path. “Heard you disappeared after your fountain stunt. Finally figured out you don’t belong here?”

“I’ve been working,” I say evenly. “Some of us have to.”

Her smile sharpens. “Working where? You vanished.”

“That’s none of your business.”

I try to move past her. She grabs my arm.

Her nails dig into my skin.

Something inside me stills.

I look down at her hand. Then back at her face.

“Touch me again,” I say quietly, “and see what happens.”

The quad goes silent.

People stop talking. Heads turn. Whispers die mid-sentence.

Vanessa laughs, but there’s hesitation behind it. “You think you’re scary now?”

“Do you have anything besides cruelty,” I ask calmly, “or is that all you are?”

Gasps ripple through the crowd.

Her face flushes red. “You bitch.”

“Vanessa.”

She screams.

Jax steps into view, his hockey teammates trailing behind him.

Our eyes meet.

He doesn’t smirk. He doesn’t mock me.

Instead, he takes Vanessa’s hand.

“We need to talk,” he says coldly.

He pulls her away, leaving me standing there, stunned.

I don’t know whether he did it for me or because he was tired of her.

In literature class, I sink into my seat, heart still racing. Professor Williams lectures about Gothic literature, but my thoughts drift to Sophie’s tears, to Jax’s expression, to the way my wolf reacted to him.

“Miss Monroe.”

I straighten immediately.

When I answer, the room falls silent.

Professor Williams nods approvingly. 

“Excellent.”

Relief washes through me.

After class, I pack up quickly.

“Ella.”

Too late.

Jax stands behind me.

“That was impressive,” he says.

“Thanks. I should go.”

“I was wrong,” he admits quietly. “About Sophie. About the schedule. About everything.”

“She just needs you,” I say. “As you are.”

“What if that isn’t enough?”

“It is,” I tell him softly.

A whistle interrupts us.

“I’ll see you at home,” he says.

And the word stays with me long after he walks away.

Home…