Chapter 3
The next morning felt different, though everything looked the same.
The same morning breeze, the same clatter of dishes from the kitchen, and the same warm smile from my mom. But I couldn’t shake the strange weight in my chest, like I was carrying something I didn’t fully understand yet.
I got ready and left for university. On the bus, I kept thinking about Ian. Over and over. I tried to push him out of my mind, but the memory of his eyes—dark and unreadable—kept coming back.
When I reached campus, Abigail was waiting near the gates, sipping her coffee.
“Hey, space girl,” she teased. “You look like you didn’t sleep all night.”
I tried to smile. “Just thinking.”
“Oh, I bet I know who you were thinking about.” She wiggled her brows dramatically. “Tall, dangerous, and smells like trouble?”
I rolled my eyes, but my cheeks betrayed me. “It’s not like that.”
“It’s exactly like that,” she said, linking her arm through mine. “And don’t even try to lie to me. I’ve seen the way you go silent every time Ian’s name comes up.”
I didn’t answer. Because she was right.
“Listen,” she said more seriously, “I know he’s… intense. But he’s also out of reach. You know how things work in this pack. You’re an omega. He’s an alpha. There’s a whole world between you two.”
“I know,” I said quietly.
I knew it better than anyone.
Classes dragged by. I couldn’t concentrate. Every time someone opened the door, my head turned, expecting to see him. Hoping not to. Hoping to.
By afternoon, I was exhausted—not physically, but emotionally. I decided to skip the library and walk home alone, even though Abigail offered to come.
Halfway home, I took a shortcut through a wooded path behind campus. It was quiet, peaceful.
Until I heard footsteps behind me.
I turned quickly.
Ian.
He was standing a few steps away, his eyes locked onto mine. No smirk. No teasing. Just silence.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
He walked closer, slow and sure, like he had all the time in the world.
“I was watching you,” he said.
My stomach flipped.
“Why?” I asked, heart hammering.
He didn’t answer right away. His gaze dropped to my lips, then back to my eyes.
“I don’t know,” he finally said. “But something about you… it won’t let me look away.”
I swallowed hard, backing up a little. “You don’t even know me.”
“I know enough,” he said. “You keep your head down. You try to disappear. You wear things that make you invisible. But it doesn’t work. I see you.”
My breath caught.
“Ian…” I said softly, unsure what I was feeling. “This can’t mean anything.”
He stepped closer, now only inches away. I could feel his warmth, smell his skin—something wild and fresh and masculine.
“It means everything,” he whispered.
Then, just before I could respond, he leaned down and breathed against my neck. A shiver ran through me. Every nerve in my body reacted like it was waking up from a long, cold sleep.
“I don’t care about pack status,” he murmured. “I don’t care what they say. If fate made you mine, no one else gets a say.”
And with that, he walked away.
Leaving me standing in the quiet woods, breathless and trembling, with my world suddenly spinning in a different direction.