ŠŠ¾Š¹ŃŠø~Nicole~āI donāt want to do this anymore,ā I admitted. āI donāt care whether Iām wolfless or not. I already have people who make me feel like enough.āāThen thatās your answer,ā Lulu said softly.She reached for my hand.āThank God you didnāt do anything drastic.āMy chest tightened painfully at that.Because what if I had?What if I had actually used the wolfsbane on the King?What if Landon ever found out the truth?Would he forgive me?Would any of them still look at me the same way?And H.Pā¦No matter what the truth was, she didnāt deserve pain.A fresh wave of tears rolled down my face.āIām sorry,ā I whispered brokenly. āI almost became the villain.āThe words hurt more than I expected.Immediately, both of them moved closer.āThatās exactly why you have us,ā Lulu murmured, pulling me into another hug.āTo stop you when your brain starts doing nonsense,ā Enz added lightly.That earned a watery laugh out of me.A real one this time.And slowly⦠The tightness in my chest began to
~Nicole~āSo⦠uhmm⦠you guys remember when I said I wanted to get into the Royal Academy?ā I began quietly.āYeah,ā they both answered at the same time.āYou said you wanted to transfer schools even though your mom didnāt want you to,ā Enz added.I nodded slowly. āYeah⦠that.āMy fingers twisted together on my lap. āBut that wasnāt the only reason I came here.āThe mood shifted instantly.Both of them looked at me properly now.Concerned.Lulu leaned closer first. āNicole⦠whatās wrong?āI opened my mouth, closed it again.I didn't know how to go about it.But finally, before I could stop myself⦠I did.āI came here on a revenge mission. To kill the King.āSilence.Their eyes widened so fast it almost startled me.āWhat the hell?ā Enz hissed immediately.Both of them lunged toward me at once, covering my mouth like the walls themselves would report me.āAre you insane?ā Enz whisper-yelled. āDo you even hear yourself right now?āMy breathing turned uneven as I pulled Luluās hand gently
~Nicole~āWhat?ā I said sharply. āWhy would she even come for me?āSilence.And then it clicked.All those times during the school trip⦠all the moments I kept wondering who was feeding information back to Mom.My stomach tightened.āJeezā¦ā I whispered. āSo sheās the snitch all along. And I was wondering which teacher would do that. But it's herā¦āEnz exhaled through his nose. āYeah. Iām starting to think sheās worse than we thought.āI nodded slowly, but something still felt off.Because Lulu wasnāt just angry.She was distant, her expression wasnāt fully here.I narrowed my eyes.āOkay,ā I said, softer now. āWhat is it? Youāve been acting weird since earlier⦠since you and Vi⦠ā I gestured lightly between them. āYou know.āI leaned in a little. āArenāt you happy?āLulu forced a small smile. āI am. Really.āBut it didnāt reach her eyes.āThereās just⦠something bothering me,ā she added after a pause.Enz leaned in. āWhat is it? You can tell us.āShe hesitated again.Then finally, she
~Nicole~My brow furrowed as I turned from Lulu back to Enz.āStop keeping us in suspense and just tell us already,ā Lulu said, her voice sharper now.I nodded quickly. āYeah, Enz. Youāve been dragging this too long.āEnz raised both hands like we were attacking him.āAlright, alright. Relax,ā he said. āCome closer.āWe both leaned in immediately, eyes fixed on him.He lowered his voice like what he was about to say was dangerous.āGuess who I saw getting dragged into a classroom today.āI blinked. āDragged?āLulu frowned. āWho are you talking about?āEnz sighed loudly, clearly annoyed at our slowness. āYou two really have no patience.āThen he leaned in a little more. āI saw Rain⦠with Sabrina.āFor a second, it didnāt register.Then it did.āWhat?ā we both said at the same time.I straightened instantly. āNo way. Thatās not possible.āEnz shook his head. āIām telling you, it is. I wouldnāt have believed it either if I didnāt see it myself.āLuluās voice dropped slightly. āWhat were
~Nicole~I had a bad feeling about this entanglement.. The kind you donāt ignore⦠even when nothing has happened yet.āYeah⦠sure⦠ālow-keyāā¦ā I muttered under my breath, scratching the side of my neck.āAlright, breakās over!ā the director called out, clapping her hands. āLetās run it again.āWe reset. A few more takes later, we finally nailed the scene for our school drama.Albourbe Lunarise⦠a story about two enemies bound by the Moon Goddess, fated to love each other in every lifetime⦠and die for it every time.Sigh.By the time we left the building, evening had settled in. I didnāt bother calling Enz or Lulu⦠they were probably already at Enzās place. His private house had basically become our unofficial hangout spot⦠for the boys, Vi, all of us.Well, except Lucian. He was still dead serious about the teacher-student boundary, though even he showed up occasionally. When he did, we all tried our best to be respectful.And H.P?Sheād been surprisingly relaxed lately, fully
~Nicole~TWO WEEKS LATERSchool was back in session, and the tripās drama was finally dying down, fading into the usual background noise of hallway gossip.Well, for everyone but us.Somehow, my entire friend group had ended up with an extra person in their lives. Honestly, listening to them gush about their new partners was getting as exhausting as it was entertaining. Not that I could really talk. I never missed an opportunity to brag about my boyfriends.Yep. Boyfriends.After that last heated night, I finally stopped fighting it and told them I wanted them all. Iād expected a million questions or at least a second of hesitation. Instead, they just smiled and kissed me like theyād been waiting for me to say it since forever.And speaking of kissesā¦The marks they left were still staring back at me in the mirror. Iād tried everything to hide them from H.P, but she eventually caught a glimpse. Luckily, she still hasn't figured out who put them thereā¦.or how they did it.Things
~Nicole~I heard my name, like a whisper, almost too close.I shook my head slowly, like I could physically throw the feeling away. Thereās nothing wrong with me, Itās just the wind, just the cold.I glanced around, my shoulders tightening as the chill brushed past my neck again. A second ago the
~Nicole~āIām sorry for what happened with Lulu and the fire, you both.ā Vi began, her hands twisting the sleeves of the hoodie she wore, fingers squeezing the fabric together.I frowned, stepping closer. āNo. You donāt have to apologize.āāYes, I do,ā she cut in quickly. āThe fight between themā¦wa
~Nicole~Today, Iām alive.Yesterday was⦠a lot. Rain and Lulu? Well, letās just say theyāre in detention. That means theyāre excluded from todayās events, only allowed to join tonightās party.Typical.Right now, weāre in town, far away from the resort. And I finally learned we were actually in
~Enzo~I swear with everything in me.. I should have pushed this man.But damn it, I couldn't.He had me weak in the knees.And, wanting him felt like betraying myself.Although, he smelled different, clean, sharp, like antiseptic instead of his usual scent.Still⦠I liked it. I hated that I liked







