My Unexpected Alpha Harem

As people always say, fake friends are worse than enemies. My mom never liked the fact that Hannah White and I always hung out together. She always felt that Hannah was a bit gloomy and had an unpleasant personality. Of course, I do not agree with her. Hannah is my best friend. I always think so. Our families were neighbors, and so Hannah and I grew up together. She was a tall, strong girl, average-looking, freckled, introverted, and not very talkative. She didn't have many friends, honestly, very few. To be more specific, well, actually, it was pretty much just me. At school, she and I were the only ones who hung out together. And I was just the opposite of her. I'm very good-looking, and my parents often marveled at how I combined the best of both of them. I also had a very pleasant personality and played with both boys and girls. I am very popular at school. Whenever I was star-struck and playing with the other friends, Hannah would always stand outside the crowd at arm's length, looking enviously at us. Whenever that happened, I would try to find a way to get her to join in. Because, well, as I said, at that time, I believed she was my best friend. How stupid of me. My father was a doctor and my mother worked at a famous university, and I was the only child in the family. They love me so much. Honestly, they even spoiled me a bit. I grew up happily, and when I graduated from high school, I was lucky enough to be accepted to the the best college in our country, which I wanted to go to the most. I immediately messaged Hannah with the good news. My mom looked at me disapprovingly as I put the phone down. “Elara, you shouldn't have told Hannah this news.” “Why, Mom, you always say that happiness doubles when shared?” My mom shook her head, “Ever since that time when Hannah was eight years old, in the pouring rain, she grabbed your umbrella and ran home by herself. I never thought she was your friend anymore.” “She just accidentally forgot about me, she already apologized. How many times do you need to say it again?” “But after that rainstorm you got pneumonia and were sick for a month. She never shows up to see you.” “That was because I wasn't in good shape myself, and after that, I worked out hard, and now I'm in good health, isn't that a good thing?” Mom smiled helplessly. “Anyway, I heard that Hannah didn't get accepted to any of the colleges she wanted to go to. Listen Elara, maybe you think of her as a good friend, but I don't think that she'll be happy for you.” “Let's hope Hannah is a good girl and that I am totally wrong about her. Otherwise, you're going to suffer a big loss sooner or later if you keep going out with her.” She kissed me on my forehead, “It's Saturday in three days. Your dad and I plan to throw a party for you to celebrate. You can invite all your friends to come that day. Now, I'll leave you alone.” “Hooray mom.” Now that high school was out of session and college hadn't started yet, and I had been accepted to college, I had more free time all of a sudden. And Hannah did not reply after receiving my message. It wasn't until 11 p.m. that night, when I was about to go to bed, that Hannah suddenly called me. “Elara, I've got some good news, that boy I've been crushing on, Luke Turner, just called and confessed his love for me.” “Huh?” I sat up from my bed in shock, with slightly mixed emotions, but still sent my best wishes in the first place. “Hannah, that is great, though......” Luke Turner, a boy who was close to two meters tall and a little rough looking. Every time I walked past him at school, he stared intently at my chest and waist. I didn't like the aggressive look in his eyes. I told Hannah this when she first told me that she had a crush on Luke. At the time, Hannah was furious and didn't speak to me for a week. Later, other girls told her similar things. Luke was horny for all the pretty girls in school. That's when she believed I wasn't making up rumors and got back with me. How did she and Luke, get back together? “Luke and his friends invited me and my best friend to go on an adventure in the forest in the western countryside. Elara, pack up, and we'll leave first thing in the morning and come back after two days of fun.” “What, are you kidding me? didn't you see the news on TV? They've been reporting the Dark Forest disappearances every day this week. They say over ten people have gone missing in the forest, and what's even scarier is that many people went missing there back in August 20 years ago, and none of them were ever found. It's really terrifying. The police have now strictly forbidden anyone from entering that forest. "Of course I know about the disappearances. Relax, Luke said we'd play right at the edge of the forest. They've been there several times this week, so it's no problem, I promise. Don't you trust me?" I was still a little hesitant and Hannah suddenly got angry. “I've had a hard time getting a boyfriend, and this is the first time a boy has ever liked me. Elara, you're the only good friend I have. Are you, like, asking me to go by myself? It's so embarrassing.” Thinking that my mom said the party was in three days, and this forest adventure was only two days, I reluctantly agreed. Looking back, how I regretted agreeing to this trip. But life can't be started over. One always has to pay for one's blindness. Even if that price is so heavy and horrible. But at the time, I was still naively bugging Hannah: Then you need Luke to promise to never enter the forbidden areas of the forest.” Hannah's voice was back to normal in a flash, even sounding a little eerily agitated: Believe me, Elara, I promise to give you a ride of a lifetime.” She hung up the phone, but I felt a little funny. Was she wrong? I was just accompanying her to have fun. She was the one who would have a trip of a lifetime with the boy she loved. It was only right that she would have a trip of a lifetime that she would never forget.