033
1181 Words
~iris
“Iris?”
My heart dropped straight into my stomach.
I froze.
Slowly, I turned.
Alice stood a few steps away, dressed for class, her hair pulled back, her expression shifting from confusion to something sharper the moment she registered where I was coming from. Her eyes flicked past me,to the gates, the guards, the unmistakable crest of her family’s estate.
Her father’s house.
I knew the question that was about to come out, but I didn't have an answer. Yet.
“What are you doing here?” she asked quietly.
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
A thousand explanations rushed through my head, colliding and collapsing into each other. I was looking for your dad. I needed answers. I saw a video of him with another woman. I think he’s my mate. He cheated on me. We've been having s*x since the day you brought me to him.
Every single one of them would destroy us.
“I...” My throat tightened. “Alice, I can explain.”
She took a step closer, her gaze searching my face like she was piecing together a puzzle she didn’t want solved. “You came from my father’s estate,” she said slowly. “Early in the morning.”
The silence stretched, thick and dangerous.
My hands curled into fists. If she pushed, if she asked the wrong question, I didn’t know how I’d survive answering it.
“Iris,” she said, softer now, and that somehow hurt more. “Why were you here?”
Before I could crumble completely, a calm voice cut in.
“She was looking for me.”
Both of us turned.
Thorne stood just inside the gates, posture relaxed, expression unreadable. He walked toward us like this was the most ordinary thing in the world, stopping beside me with easy familiarity.
Oh God I love him.
Reminder not in an intimate way.
Alice frowned. “You?”
“Yes,” Thorne replied smoothly. “Iris had questions about her reinstatement paperwork. There were some… discrepancies.”
My head snapped toward him, eyes wide.
He didn’t look at me. Not once.
Alice glanced between us. “You made her come all the way here for that?”
Thorne shrugged lightly. “She insisted. Said she didn’t want any more misunderstandings after what happened before.”
I swallowed hard, catching on just enough to nod.
“I..I didn’t want any more trouble,” I said weakly. “I thought if I handled it directly..”
Alice’s jaw clenched. Guilt flickered across her face, fast and sharp.
“Oh,” she said. “I didn’t realize.”
The tension eased a fraction, but her eyes still lingered on me, searching, suspicious. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming here?”
I forced a small, tired smile. “I didn’t think it was a big deal.”
It was a lie.
And she felt it.
But Thorne stepped in again before she could dig deeper. “I’m sorry if this caused any concern, Miss Blackwood. That wasn’t my intention.”
Alice straightened instinctively at the title. “It’s fine,” she said quickly. Then, quieter, to me, “You could’ve just waited for me.”
“I know,” I murmured. “I’m sorry.”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Come on. We’re already late.”
Thorne had just saved me.
As we were about to leave, Alice called “ Thorne!”
“ Yes miss.” He answered.
“ Eunice told me there's meeting today at the pack house. What about dad?” She asked.
“ He's out. Didn't he text you ?” Thorne asked.
“ Oh…I saw his missed calls. “ She said.
This confirmed that Alpha Duncan had seen my messages.
“ Well, tell her I won't be available.” She said, and he nodded.
As we walked away together, I felt Thorne’s gaze on my back—steady, knowing. He’d saved me. Lied for me. And somehow that made my chest ache even more.
We didn’t speak much on the way back. Alice kept glancing at me like she wanted to ask something but didn’t know how to phrase it without breaking something fragile between us.
At the dorm entrance, she finally stopped.
“You’ve been different,” she said quietly. “I don’t know when it started, but… you are not okay. You're slipping away.”
I looked at her—really looked at her. The girl who had loved me fiercely, who had fought for me when no one else would, who stood between me and the world even now.
And I hated myself.
“I’m not trying to,” I said honestly. “I’m just… lost.”
She reached for my hand, hesitated, then let it fall. “Just don’t shut me out, Iris.”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure I knew how to keep that promise anymore.
As she walked inside, I stayed back for a moment, my heart pounding.
Across the courtyard, Thorne was already gone.
But the lie he’d told lingered between my ribs, heavy and dangerous.
Because lies like that didn’t stay small for long.
And sooner or later..
Alice was going to realize the truth had been standing right in front of her all along.
Later in the night, I let the cool night air brush over me, trying to steady the storm in my chest.
The dorm lights glowed softly behind Alice as she disappeared inside, laughing lightly at some passing joke with another student, unaware of the turmoil that had just passed between us.
I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling the weight of every unsaid word, every hidden truth.
Thorne’s interference had saved me, yes,but it had also highlighted just how fragile the line I was walking had become. One wrong step, one slip of honesty, and everything I had tried to protect would unravel.
I thought of Alice, her amber eyes searching, her trust so easily shaken. I wanted to run to her, explain everything, pour my heart out, but the words stuck in my throat, heavy and bitter. Instead, I let silence be my shield, wrapping myself in it like armor, even as it cut me from the one person I needed most.
But one thing was sure, I knew everything would be back to normal. I just knew.
My phone buzzed, faintly in my pocket. I ignored it. Messages from Alice, probably checking if I’d made it back safely.
She decided she would go for the pack meeting. So she won't let her dad down. I stared at it anyway, the glow reflecting in my eyes. I wanted to respond. I wanted to say everything. But all I could manage was a soft whisper to myself:
“I’m trying, Alice. I’m trying… just don’t give up on me yet.”
And with that, I lay down on the bed.
I was going to get over this.
I hope so.
I mean it's just a man.
But deep down, he wasn't any man, he was my f*****g mate.
- Writer
