Chapter 5
1566 Words
5
SELENE
The rest of the school day passed in a blur of half-remembered lessons and careful observation. I watched Celeste from a distance, noting her interactions, her expressions, cataloging every detail for later analysis. She smiled at all the right people, said all the right things, but I caught her glancing at me several times with an expression I couldn't quite read.
By the time the final bell rang, I was exhausted—not from the classwork, but from the mental gymnastics of living a life I'd already experienced while trying to change its course.
I was heading toward the parking lot, planning to walk the three miles home rather than accept a ride from Celeste, when I heard my name called across the quad.
"Selene Harrison!"
The voice was loud, commanding, and unmistakably Damian's.
I froze mid-step, my stomach dropping. Around me, conversations ceased as heads turned toward the source of the voice. I slowly pivoted to find Damian striding across the quad, his entire clique flanking him like some kind of royal entourage.
*No. Not now. Not this.*
In my previous life, Damian had approached me privately after my first shift, drawn by the mate bond he hadn't fully understood yet. Our relationship had developed quietly at first, away from prying eyes. This—this public spectacle—was new. Different.
And I had a sinking feeling I knew why.
He stopped a few feet away from me, close enough that I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. His friends formed a semicircle behind him—other pack heirs and high-ranking wolves, all watching with varying degrees of interest and amusement.
"Damian," I said carefully, keeping my voice neutral. "Can I help you?"
His lips curved into a smile that would have made my seventeen-year-old self swoon. Now, it just made me wary.
"Actually," he said, his voice carrying easily across the suddenly silent quad, "I was hoping we could talk. About us."
My blood ran cold. "There is no 'us.'"
"Not yet," he agreed, that infuriating smile widening. "But I'd like to change that. Selene Harrison, I'm interested in you. I'd like to take you out this weekend. Make this official."
The quad erupted in whispers. I felt dozens of eyes on us, heard the excited murmurs spreading like wildfire. *Damian Westwood. Interested in Selene Harrison. The Alpha heir and the quiet junior. Oh my goddess, did you see this coming?*
I opened my mouth to refuse—firmly, publicly, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
"I don't think—"
"Oh, come on," interrupted Jake Morrison, one of Damian's closest friends, his grin wide and teasing. "Don't act shy now, Selene. Everyone knows you've had a massive crush on Damian for years."
Heat flooded my face—not from embarrassment, but from sheer, white-hot mortification as memories I'd tried to suppress came flooding back. My past self. My stupid, naive, desperate past self.
"Remember last year?" Jake continued, clearly enjoying himself. "When you followed him to that away game? Sat in the stands wearing his jersey number?"
*Oh goddess, make this stop.*
"And yesterday!" Another voice chimed in—Chelsea Van der Berg, a senior who'd never been anything but cruel to me. "During PE, you literally gave him water and kissed his cheek before running away like some romance movie heroine. It was adorable. Pathetic, but adorable."
Laughter rippled through the growing crowd. I wanted to sink into the ground and disappear. Every stupid, lovesick thing I'd done in my previous life was being paraded in front of me like evidence at a trial.
I had followed him. I had worn his number. I had—goddess help me—I *had* kissed his cheek yesterday during PE, a moment of impulsive boldness that my old self had replayed in her mind a thousand times.
"So why the cold shoulder now?" Damian asked, his tone gentle but his eyes sharp, calculating. He stepped closer, lowering his voice just enough that only I could hear his next words. "Unless yesterday was just for show? Were you playing games with me, Selene?"
I gritted my teeth. Any denial now would sound like exactly what everyone expected—a shy girl overwhelmed by finally getting what she wanted. If I refused him publicly, I'd look like I was playing hard to get. If I accepted, I'd be walking right back into the trap that had destroyed me before.
*Damned if I do, damned if I don't.*
"I—" I started, but movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention.
Celeste stood at the edge of the crowd, and the expression on her face made my words die in my throat.
She was *furious*.
Not the carefully concealed irritation I'd expect from someone whose plan was unfolding perfectly. This was raw, barely controlled rage. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides, her jaw tight, her eyes blazing as she stared at Damian's back.
My mind raced. In my previous life, Damian had approached me privately. He'd been gentle, almost hesitant, as if he wasn't quite sure what he was feeling but knew he needed to explore it. This public declaration, this performative interest—it wasn't his style.
Unless someone had pushed him to do it this way.
But if Celeste had orchestrated this, why would she be angry?
Unless... unless she hadn't.
"Selene?" Damian prompted, drawing my attention back to him. "What do you say?"
A new theory formed in my mind, pieces clicking into place. What if, in my original timeline, Celeste had seen Damian's genuine interest in me and *that* had triggered her schemes? What if this time, something had changed—something that made Damian pursue me openly, publicly, before Celeste had a chance to manipulate the situation?
What if I had already altered the timeline more than I realized?
"I need time to think," I said finally, the words careful and measured. "This is... unexpected."
Damian's eyebrows rose slightly. Around us, I heard gasps of surprise. Apparently, making the future Alpha wait for an answer wasn't standard protocol.
"Unexpected?" he repeated, amusement coloring his tone. "After yesterday?"
"Yesterday was..." I fumbled for words, cursing my past self's impulsive romanticism. "I wasn't thinking clearly. I got caught up in the moment. But this—" I gestured between us, "—is different. You're asking for something real, and I need to consider if that's what I want."
The amusement faded from his expression, replaced by something sharper. Interest, perhaps. Or irritation. I couldn't quite tell.
"Fair enough," he said after a moment. "Take the night to think about it. But Selene?" He leaned in, his breath warm against my ear. "Don't make me wait too long. I'm not a patient man."
It wasn't quite a threat, but it wasn't entirely friendly either. A reminder of the power dynamic between us—future Alpha and ordinary pack member.
He straightened and turned to his friends. "Come on. We've got practice."
As his clique dispersed, the crowd slowly began to break up, though the whispers and speculative looks continued. I stood frozen, my mind spinning with implications.
A hand touched my elbow, and I spun to find Maya beside me, her eyes wide.
"What the hell just happened?" she whispered.
"I have no idea," I admitted, which was partially true. I understood the mechanics of what had just occurred, but not the why. Not the deviation from my original timeline.
"Are you going to say yes? Obviously you're going to say yes, right? It's Damian Westwood!"
I didn't answer, my gaze tracking to where Celeste still stood. She was on her phone now, her fingers flying over the screen with barely contained violence. As if sensing my attention, she looked up, and our eyes met across the quad.
The hatred in her expression was undisguised for just a moment before her mask slammed back into place. She smiled—that perfect, practiced smile—and turned away, disappearing into the crowd of students.
"Selene?" Maya prompted.
"I'm not sure," I said slowly. "Something about this feels wrong."
"Wrong? The hottest, most powerful guy in school just publicly declared his interest in you! How is that wrong?"
I couldn't explain without revealing everything—that I'd lived this before, that Damian's interest had led to rejection and exile, that my perfect stepsister was actually a monster in designer clothes.
"I just need to think," I repeated.
Maya squeezed my arm. "Okay. But for what it's worth? This is amazing. You deserve something good, Selene."
As she walked away, I stood alone in the emptying quad, my mind racing through possibilities. Tonight, I would shift for the first time in this new timeline. My wolf would emerge, bringing with her power I hadn't fully appreciated before.
But more immediately, I had a choice to make. Accept Damian's interest and potentially walk right back into the same trap, or refuse him and risk making an enemy of the future Alpha.
In my previous life, I'd desperately wanted his attention. I'd been pathetically grateful when he'd chosen me.
This time, I knew better.
This time, I knew exactly what his "interest" would cost me.
The question was: could I use that knowledge to change the outcome, or would trying to avoid my fate only ensure I met it faster?
- Writer
