Rule No 1: Don't Fall for the Alpha

Chapter 3

The monotony of classes was a feat in itself, and Jacob’s friends begging me to hear him out made it even worse. The only light amidst this dreadful day was the thought of returning home to chat with Lucien. Oh, how I thanked the heavens for that small mercy. It was the only thing that kept me sane today.

Although we had just started chatting, my attraction to Lucien was undeniable. I found myself thinking more and more about him, each time getting more and more excited to know him.

Sarah and I usually stay until the library is closed, then we head home. Once inside my room, I shed my clothing from the day, slipping into a comforting nightgown before sinking into the welcoming embrace of my bed. With a sigh of relief, I reached for my phone, eager to open the app.

“Lord, let him be online,” I prayed silently while sending him a message:

Me: Hiiii.

Despite the gnawing ache of hunger in my belly, I found myself lost in laughter as I read through our messages from yesterday over and over again.

“Are you planning on eating tonight, Allison?” Sarah asked from outside my door.

“Could you whip something up for me, Sarah?” I begged.

“You wish,” she retorted. “If you don’t tear yourself away from that phone, you’ll be dining on air tonight.”

“Fine,” I replied, a smirk playing at the corners of my lips. “But who’s to say Lucien won’t magically conjure up a feast for me?”

“Yeah. Let’s see him do that.”

I was about to reply to her when Lucien sent a message.

Lucien: Do I turn you on?

Me: Where had that come from?

I typed as I bit my lip to keep from shouting, though I was blushing.

Lucien: Just answer.

Me: No.

Lucien: We both know you’re lying.

Me: What are you going to do about it?

Lucien: I will find you and make you speak the truth.

Lucien: No matter what it takes.

Me: How are you going to do that? You can’t find me. If you do, are you going to chain me until I’m forced to say the truth?

Lucien: Why didn’t I think about that?

Lucien: It’s a great idea. A perfect one.

Me: You’re crazy.

Lucien: That has already been established.

Sarah barged into my room, a slice of leftover pizza dangling from her hand like a peace offering.

“I didn’t realize we had pizza,” I remarked, happily eyeing the greasy slice with hunger.

“I was too lazy to cook anything,” she admitted, depositing the pizza on the bedside table before folding her arms across her chest. Her oversized shirt swamped her petite frame, adding to her air of casual nonchalance.

“I’ll survive. Thanks, babe,” I replied, reaching for the pizza with a grateful smile.

“So, you’re really falling for this online guy, huh?” Sarah’s tone was teasing, but there was a hint of concern laced beneath her words.

“I want to meet him,” I confessed, feeling a flush of embarrassment tinge my cheeks as I met her gaze. “I think he might be the one.”

Sarah’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I’m serious,” I insisted, a slight whine creeping into my voice as I pouted. “I really like him.”

“I’m not saying you can’t meet him,” Sarah replied, her expression softening with understanding. “But maybe get to know him a bit better first, okay?”

“Of course,” I promised, nodding earnestly.

“Alright, well, I’m out. Get some sleep. We’ve got an early start tomorrow,” Sarah said, heading for the door.

“I will,” I called after her, already sinking back into the comfort of my bed, thoughts of Lucien swirling through my mind as I drifted off to sleep.

Lucien: You underestimate me.

Lucien: When I want a woman, there’s no corner of the earth she can run to, to hide from me. I’m like a wolf drawn to her scent, and I’ll follow that scent to the ends of the world.

Me: What if I’m not lying?

Me: What if I don’t want you and I’m only flirting with you because I’m bored?

Lucien: That’s going to hurt like a b***h.

Me: Wow.

Me: I’m surprised at how open you are.

Me: I’m not used to men being so open about their feelings.

Lucien: What type of men are you used to, then?

Me: Emotionally unavailable men. Men who think that being vulnerable affects their masculinity.

Lucien: I hope they didn’t hurt you.

Lucien: Otherwise, I just might commit murder.

Me: Easy there, big wolf.

After savoring the last delicious bite of pizza, I rose from my bed, tossing the empty carton into the trash with a flick of my wrist.

As I settled back onto my bed, my phone lit up with a message from Lucien:

Lucien: There’s just something about you.

Lucien: You intrigue me.

Me: I feel the same.

Me: Let’s see if you can indeed find me.

Lucien: Is that a bet?

Me: Good night, big wolf.

Me: I need to sleep now.

I yawned and wiped the corner of my eyes. I didn’t know how sleepy I was until I was done eating.

Lucien: Good night, baby girl.

Me: Hopefully, you’ll be here tomorrow.

With a weary sigh, I pushed myself off the bed and shuffled to the bathroom to brush my teeth before returning to my bed. As I slipped beneath the covers, a sense of anticipation lingered in the air. One thing was for certain: Lucien would find me. And deep down, I wanted him to. I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face.

When I woke up the next day, I immediately sent Lucien a message, but he didn’t reply until I was in the library. I was just about to turn to the next page in my economics textbook when his message popped up on my screen.

Lucien: How about a date tomorrow?

Lucien: I’ll give you more than a glimpse into my life if you agree to this.

I tossed my phone on the table, feeling my heart begin to race. I wasn’t expecting him to ask that we meet so soon. It’s only been a week since Lucien and I started chatting. Was I ready for this? The thought sent a surge of nervous energy coursing through me. On one hand, I was eager to finally see him face-to-face, to unravel the mystery that surrounded him. But on the other hand, I was filled with a sense of apprehension. What if he wasn’t what I expected? What if it was dangerous?

Despite the doubts nagging at the back of my mind, an undeniable excitement bubbled within me. It was the ambivalence that was driving me mad—the conflicting emotions pulling me in opposite directions.

Lucien: I am more than ready to meet you.

Me: I don’t think I’m ready myself.

After getting dressed, a glance in the mirror reassured me—I was satisfied with what I saw. The jeans hugged my wide hips, an inheritance from my mother, though she and I both shared the same small, perky bust. My Black mother and white father had given me a complexion the shade of light caramel, but my curly brown hair made sure no one ever mistook me for anything else. High cheekbones and slightly slanted, cat-like eyes completed the picture—a face people often stared at longer than they intended.

As I stepped out of my room, I waved at Coraline, my nosy neighbor, and her tiny, yappy dog. She was already tugging him along toward the park—her sacred morning ritual. My apartment building creaked ominously as I shut the door, the plaster peeling in jagged strips along the stairwell. It wouldn’t surprise me if the whole thing collapsed one day. My parents would cluck their tongues and tell me they’d warned me, but honestly? I’d rather be buried under these bricks than move back home and commute from there. Sweet as my family was, being the middle child meant living in the shadow of everyone else’s noise. I needed space—even if that space came at the cost of forfeiting luxuries like my rare liquid blush.

Oh my God, I was still mad about that one.

I hailed a cab, and in less than five minutes it rattled me to the front of my department. My stomach sank the moment I stepped out. Jacob was there, leaning casually in front of the building like he had all the time in the world.

I knew he was waiting for me.

“s**t,” I muttered, trying to slide past unseen. Too late. He caught me before I could retreat.

He planted himself in front of me, broad shoulders blocking my way. “Hey, Allison,” he said, closing the gap with the easy confidence that once made other girls swoon—including me—but now made me want to scream.

“I told you to stay away from me,” I snapped, my voice sharper than I intended, but not sharp enough to cut through the knot in my chest.

“That breakup text you sent was garbage. You didn’t even care that I’d gone missing. What if I had died?” His voice rose, edged with accusation, pulling attention from students around us like iron filings to a magnet.

Of course they stared. They always did. Jacob was that guy. Tall, athletic, smooth in a way that made it seem like the world bent toward him. Girls whispered about him as their “chocolate prince,” the millionaire’s son with the smile and the style to match. I’ll admit it—his rings and diamond studs were what first hooked me. But what good is shine if the man behind it disappears for a week without a word?

“I’m not supposed to tell you this, but I know you deserve an explanation. I was attacked by a wolf, Allison. Knocked out cold,” he blurted, his eyes wide, desperate.

I barked out a laugh. “Oh really? Just one wolf, or was it a whole pack? Maybe a lion too while you’re at it?” My sarcasm curled sharp. He reached for me, but instinct jolted me back, my skin crawling at the thought of his hand on me again.

“I swear to God I’m telling the truth! I’m an A student—why else would I miss lectures? Miss you? I’ve been healing…”

“Stay away from me,” I hissed through clenched teeth, and turned on my heel.

A wolf. In this city. Did he think I was stupid?

The rest of the day crawled. Classes blurred together under the drone of lectures, made worse by Jacob’s friends cornering me between sessions, pleading his case. My only anchor—the one spark in the gray monotony—was the thought of Lucien. The moment I could get home and hear from him. That small miracle kept me from unraveling.

We’d only been talking for a short while, but I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

“Rumors are flying that you and Jacob broke up,” Sarah said, her voice infuriatingly casual as we walked out of our first class. She was just behind me when the words landed, and my heart stumbled in my chest. “Now every girl’s circling him. Rich, handsome, and newly single—and with you as his ex, his value just skyrocketed.”

Her words clung to the air, heavy with implications I wanted no part of. I dropped my bag onto the chair in the next class with more force than I meant to, its weight suddenly unbearable.

“Well, that’s their f*****g business. I don’t care.”

“You sure?” she teased.

“Like they haven’t always been after him,” I muttered, resignation and irritation tangling in my voice as I forced a smile at a few classmates. Sliding into my seat, I tried to make it sound final. “They can have him for all I care.”

Sarah sat down beside me, unbothered as ever. “I’m making mac and cheese later. You eating?” she asked, her tone softening into the kind of everyday comfort that almost steadied me.

“Yeah, sure. What do you think?” I forced a lighter tone, praying she wouldn’t catch the exhaustion curling under my words.

The lecturer walked in, papers in hand, but I barely registered it. My pulse quickened, panic slipping through the cracks of my composure. Could I really move on from Jacob? And if I saw him with someone else—what would I feel then?

After classes we swung by the library, and the moment we got home I bolted straight for the bathroom—I’d been holding it in forever. By the time I emerged, Sarah was already in the kitchen, pots clattering as she moved with her usual restless energy—a jarring contrast to the storm still twisting inside me.

It was the first time I’d managed to ignore Jacob for an entire day, and the effort was gnawing at me, leaving my thoughts messy and unsettled.

“I see you cleaned,” she said, her eyes flicking around with a sly gleam.

“I always clean.” A faint smile tugged at my lips.

“And I always cook,” she shot back, smirking as she chopped with practiced ease.

“That’s why we’re the best flatmates ever.” I blew her a kiss before collapsing onto the couch, the cushions swallowing me whole as if they could absorb the weight pressing down on my chest.

I flicked on the TV, letting the familiar hum of Netflix fill the silence, desperate for a distraction. But before the opening screen even loaded, Sarah was suddenly beside me. I blinked. How the hell did she always move so quietly?

“Stop sneaking up on me!” I yelped.

“Sorry.” She laughed, not sorry at all.

Then, with a mischievous spark in her eyes, she dropped it. “So… can I have Jacob?”

The remote slipped from my fingers, clattering against the coffee table. Her words hit out of nowhere, sharp and merciless, leaving me breathless.