Chapter 152 Forget About It
TESSA
Zaria was right.
A year and a half has passed, and she was right.
She’s in Elite Order Academy now, halfway through her last term. It was my dream school, and she made sure to rub it in my face every opportunity she was given. She came home often during the weekends because of her Beta duties. After she finished her schooling there, she was bound to inherit the title from: my uncle David.
However, along with that, she came home to bask in her own glow, parading it in front of me like a crown I’ll never wear.
She’d throw herself onto the couch, laughter spilling from her lips, and talk about the numerous men scrambling to her feet. About how she’s going to be part of the United Factions. About how she’ll excel as Beta of our pack, surpassing every expectation set for her.
Zaria didn’t tell me these stories because she wanted to talk to me. She told me because she wanted me to know she was thriving… while I wasn’t.
And I listened every time, pretending her words didn’t scrape against me like broken glass.
In that same period of time, Ellana considered me one of her greatest friends. She’d say it often, her voice so full of sincerity it almost felt like a lie. Not because she was lying, but because I wished she were. Because every time I saw her, I also saw Rowan.
They had this way of gravitating toward each other without meaning to–or maybe they did mean to, and I just hated admitting it. I could catch them at the far end of the room and still feel the shift in the air when they stood close.
There were also times when they didn’t care who was watching.
Like now.
They kissed in front of me before Rowan sat across afterward. I did what I’ve always done–held myself together.
However, the truth was, I felt the ache in my heart again. My heart was the same as usual. I went to the hospital more often ever since I found out Rowan and I were mates, and the doctor said it wasn’t looking good.
My heart was already weak as it is, and the added stress was making it worse.
However, I hadn’t done anything about it.
Seeing them together like this still hurts. The pain hadn’t dulled. I wasn’t numb to it.
Maybe I’d just gotten used to living with it.
I excused myself, pushing my chair back a little too quickly. “Bathroom,” I muttered. Ellana nodded in
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Chapter 139 Forget About It
response
My legs carried me away from the table, away from them away from that unhearalde desené 1 be a part of
The bathroom was quiet–blessedly so. I locked the door and leaned against the sink, closing my lives for a moment. My hands pressed against the cool porcelain as I drew in a breath, then another
Until when?
Until when will I feel like this?
I stared at my reflection, trying to recognize the girl looking back at me. I didn’t. She had the same egen, but they looked tired. She had the same lips, but they didn’t smile much anymore.
Maybe Zaria was right about it more than I thought.
I sighed, long and heavy, and turned toward the door.
I kept my eyes down as I moved, not really paying attention to where I was going.
I must have rounded the corner too quickly because I felt myself colliding with someone, sparks erupting across my skin. It didn’t take long for me to recognize I had bumped into Rowan.
The impact was sudden, the kind that made my breath catch. Before I could take a step back, his hand shot out–whether to steady me or himself, I didn’t know. However, I still lost balance, and instead of falling toward him gracefully, there was too much impact to the point we fell to the floor.
I fell on top of his body, but it wasn’t just that.
Our lips met.
It wasn’t planned at all. However, it still stole my thoughts entirely, leaving only the shock of our closeness and the sharp, pounding rush in my ears.
The feeling was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. My first kiss… was with my mate.
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
It wasn’t supposed to happen at all.
Still, I was in the middle of a moment that didn’t feel real, with my heart pounding so hard it almost drowned out every other sound. His lips were warm, soft, and just the right amount of hesitant. My whole body froze, but my mind didn’t. My mind screamed “don’t move and move closer” at the same time.
My wolf, however, was ignited by the pull. It appeared she had wanted this for a long time.
Before I knew it… I was kissing him.
Crap. What was happening with me? My hands had curled into fists at my sides like they were afraid to touch him, but my lips didn’t get the memo. They pressed into him with a quiet desperation.
His taste was something I couldn’t describe. Not sweet. Not bitter. Just… him. Something familiar in the unfamiliar. Something I never expected to crave.
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Chapter 14 Forget About It
And then, Just when I thought I could sink deeper in it, I felt him kiss me bark
Wait.
What?
That was even more confusing. The world tilted, my thoughts spiraling in a mess of questions Wasn’t he upposed to be the one resisting this?
It only lasted for a second, but it was enough to set my chest on fire.
However, like everything else in my life, it ended.
He pushed me away.
The warmth vanished instantly, replaced by the cold air between us. I staggered away from hirm and steed. feeling foolish for leaning in like I had. My breath came quicker than it should have, like I’d just run a race I didn’t sign up for.
He bit his lip, then shook his head.
“It’s only because of the bond,” he said. “That’s why it happened.”
Oh.
The bond.
That invisible pull between mates that tied us together, whether we liked it or not.
We stood there, locked in this strange space between silence and too many words. The air was so thick I could practically hear my own heartbeat.
He stared at me, but not in the way you’d look at someone you despised.
And then he cursed under his breath.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
My brows knitted. “Like what?”
“That bunny stare you have,” he muttered.
I blinked, completely lost. “Bunny… stare? What does that even mean?”
His jaw tightened. “Just forget it happened.”
My breath hitched.
“Forget that anything happened.”
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