Shifted Fate
1495 Words
Diego stopped kissing me abruptly. Our mouths were still glistening, breaths uneven, chests rising and falling like we were sprinting instead of making out. We stared at each other, gazes meaning somewhere between desire and confusion.
"What was that sound?" he asked, trying to sound casual but failing miserably.
"I...I don't know," I breathed, scanning the dim room as if something would jump out and explain itself.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well... um... I'm a virgin. And I know you are too."
I blinked. Almost believed too. "Lie better, Diego. A man like you—"
"No, it's true." His laugh was soft, almost embarrassed. "Never truly found someone who loved me hard. s*x has gotta be harder than that, so I'm waiting for the first step to fall in love."
"Gosh... you're still such a romantic..."
My words evaporated as my head turned to look beyond Diego's shoulder...
Because someone was standing at the doorframe.
Jeremy.
My blood froze. My entire world dropped out from under me. It felt like my soul fell straight through the floor.
"J-Jeremy... listen to me..." Panic flooded my chest so fast I couldn't breathe. My hands trembled. My wolf shrank back inside me like she knew we were already dead!
"How could you...?" His voice was quiet but soaked in pain. A single tear slipped down his cheek.
To be honest, I didn't care if he found me cheating. But he was a crow. Would make the whole pack know of his story before anyone even breathed the next breath! And he had a problem...of spicing up things further than necessary.
Then I saw it—his phone peeking from his back pocket.
My heart plummeted. s**t!
I knew.
I knew exactly what he was going to do.
"Jeremy... no."
As if that would stop him.
"JEREMY!" I screamed, bolting after him.
He sprinted down the street—too fast. Too furious. Too gone. I chased him barefoot, lungs burning, but he was already halfway to the citadel. When I reached, the rave was still blasting, lights strobing through the night and looking more alive than never.
Jeremy leapt onto the fountain like a man unraveling and slammed his foot over the water pump.
"LISTEN EVERYONE!" His voice cracked but echoed over the crowd.
Music cut. Faces turned with curiosity for the pack's future Alpha. Of course they were gonna drop everything to listen to him.
"LISTEN TO ME RANT ABOUT MY CHEATING GIRLFRIEND! MY MATE!"
My chest collapsed.
"Jeremy, STOP! PLEASE!" I begged, throat raw.
He didn't hear me. Or maybe he did—he just didn't care.
"My mate left me! She was f*****g my best friend!" he screamed, holding up his phone like divine proof.
I felt the world tilt. It was as if someone pulled the ground under me and I felt so dizzy.
We weren't even close to doing anything like that. Diego had barely touched me. But nobody cared about truth. Wolves loved drama more than oxygen.
"What a cheating Beta! Ostracise her immediately!" someone roared.
My knees nearly buckled. My vision blurred. Tears slipped before I could stop them.
"No... please..." My voice cracked. But the crowd had decided. Judgment spread like wildfire.
Then—hands grabbed me.
Warm. Familiar.
Megan. Judy. Clara. My girls...
They pulled me away before the mob could escalate into chaotic madness. Orthodox wolves were worse than rogue beasts, and tonight I would've been torn apart. If only it weren't for my girls. Oof...
The four of us shifted, racing through the forest back to my apartment. The moment we shifted back inside, the dam inside me burst.
"F*CKING LIAR!! ARGH!!" I screamed, hurling anything I could grab—pillows, frames, chairs. Wood splintered. Fabric tore. My heart felt like it was cracking with each sound.
"I told you this would happen! Didn't I!? Didn't I!?" Clara yelled back, equally furious. Only now did I notice the hoodie and mask she'd worn earlier.
"Well, what can she do now?" Megan snapped, running a frustrated hand through her hair. "He's lying. He has fake proof. And I KNOW Aria wasn't even close to f*****g that healer."
Judy exhaled shakily—the voice of harsh reality. "We have to tell your parents the truth when they return, Aria. They'll send you away. Eventually people will forget. You'll get a new start." Her suggestion made my breath hitch. A million thoughts ran across my head.
"No... don't make me..." I whispered, voice shredded.
"There's no other choice, Aria," Judy said softly but firmly. "You know what we are talking about. Where you must go. And the fees? We'll figure it out. Don't you worry."
My girls. My backbone. My only lifeline. Now, I felt like crying not because of anger, but for love. I sniffled. Made up my mind. If there was nothing this pack would offer me except for taunts and rants, then a life outside seemed thousand times better. Heck! I wasn't even considering coming back! As long as HE was here...
Three days dragged by.
The application had been sent...apparently by my own ass, according to Clara. So yeah, the universe thought it'd be funny for ME to have done it myself.
"We should get an acknowledgement email, right?" Judy asked, pacing as the time for a bery important email reply was nearing.
"Yes," I said. "That's what they said."
"It'll be a positive acceptance," Megan insisted. "I know it."
I wished I could believe her.
Succubus Lycan Academy was halfway across the world, so their midnight was our evening. It was getting late, so we figured we'd fall asleep piled like wolves on my bed.
I'm actually a heavy sleeper. But anxiety rewired my brain into a light sleeper for these nights.
A soft ping woke me. Softer than a mouse's fart, to be honest.
I dragged myself to the glowing laptop, eyes squinting. It was all the way across the room, and my eyes were kinda blurry.
[ACKNOWLEDGEMENT LETTER – SLA]
My pulse spiked. I read it twice, thrice.
"G-Girls! WAKE UP!" I shook them violently.
Clara groaned. "Who died?"
"My WAIT died! My dull FATE died! Come on!"
We huddled around the laptop, breath held.
Silence.
My heart cracked.
"I... I didn't get in." My voice faded like a dying candle.
They hugged me the entire night. I felt like a hollow shell in their arms. Is this karma?
Three more days rolled out of the calender.
I barely spoke. Rain, my wolf, apparently had enough one evening.
'Your sadness is choking me. Get up.' She growled. Wait...what!?
Before I could react, she seized control, marched me to the chair, opened the laptop, and typed a response to the rejection letter.
Dear Admin,
I am Aria Hitchkin of the Bloodmine Pack.There must have been a misunderstanding. You rejected me for no reason. I believe I'm the best candidate. So please accept my rejection of your rejection.
Have a good day.
My eye twitched.
"RAIN!? Are you MAD!?"
'Yes. Let's see what they do.'
And she curled up and slept.
I swear wolves are feral by nature. Mine took it to another level.
The next day...
A reply.
"T-THEY WANT AN INTERVIEW!" Judy shrieked.
We screamed and danced so loud the neighbours banged on our walls. Oops.
The fated interview got scheduled on a late Wednesday afternoon. My hands shook but I straightened my spine and clicked "Accept Call."
"Good afternoon, Miss Aria Hitchkin."
My jaw dropped.
A stunning, older man appeared on screen—radiant, confident and so, so dangerously attractive. Behind him? Harnesses dangling from the ceiling. A full wall of s*x toys lined like trophies.
My thighs clenched.
My brain short-circuited so hard.
He noticed my stare, not on the walls anymore but back on him.
"I get that a lot, Miss Aria. You can stop staring," he said smoothly. "If we finish quickly, we can both go to sleep. And by sleep, I mean you touching yourself."
My soul left my body.
"I- I'm sorry, sir."
He chuckled, and I swear my wolf whimpered.
"I'm Prof. David Paine—your anatomy lecturer. Now tell me, why are you desperate to join the institute?"
Alpha. Had to be.
That confidence? Illegal.
"I...uh..." Words fled my brain. Anxiety flooded into my heart.
Rain? Useless.
A stuttering mess herself.
His eyebrow arched. Heavy judgment was passed on me, my parents, my ancestors...everyone! This was getting annoying. I was overthinking this.
Something snapped. What more could I lose?
"Look, professor...I just want to learn the body and feel s*x! Am I wrong for wanting to be loved sexually!?"
Silence. What the hell just flew out of my stupid mouth...!?
Then a smirk.
He wrote something down. Probably a quick scribble. Definitely a bad note in his book.
"I'll see you around soon with that attitude, Miss Aria. Have a good day."
"Sir, WAIT—!"
He hung up.
Shit...
Shit.
I messed up.
- Writer
