Too Late, Alpha: I Choose Your Rival

Ch 9: I Had To Get Out Of Here!

Elisa’s POV:

I truly hadn’t realized how quickly the situation would take a drastic turn.

My fingers clamped around the handle of my small suitcase while I stood numb outside the giant metal gate of the Lycan dormitory.

A cold thread of fear wrapped around my throat, and I gulped, exhaling a long sigh.

What the hell was I doing?

Earlier, as I impulsively declared before Maria and the girls that if they wouldn’t let me stay there at the wolf wing, I would go to the lycan wing, was one thing. But now, actually standing here was another thing…

A thousand years of bloody, merciless hatred had divided our species. The hatred cut so deep that almost every child born in wolf and lycan races was taught to tear each other’s throats out since our early childhood.

And staying in the dorm of the race that was responsible for my father's brutal death felt like a horrific betrayal to my own blood.

Biting my nails, I was reluctant, terrified, and utterly out of options. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to turn back, but the pack girls had already vandalized my old room.

And now, if I got kicked out of Marvian Academy, my revenge would end before it could begin.

After giving it some serious thought, the only conclusion I could draw was that I couldn't afford to leave yet…not until I succeeded in dismantling Ethan and Maria’s lives piece by piece.

Inhaling a deep breath and straightening up my shoulders, I dragged my luggage past the gates and marched directly towards the Dean’s office.

"I'm sorry, Miss Ashford.”

But to my surprise, the Dean muttered in a flat voice as he didn't bother looking up from his paperwork after hearing me out.

“Your request is denied. Since everyone has already arrived, there are no available dorms for you in this wing."

"Denied?" The word slipped out of me, as my voice laced with disbelief. “What do you mean…it is denied?”

I took a step forward, pressing my hand flat against the edge of his desk, as my voice was desperate.

"It was stated in the academy rule book! The cheer squad captain will be entitled to a room in the dormitory of their designated hockey team. The lottery chose Blood Fang for me… And by the institutional rules, I must be assigned a room here!”

The Dean finally raised his face from the desk and held his troubled gaze glued on me. His eyes shrank, swirling nervously a little. But his expression looked quite exhausted.

More than that, he seemed to be deeply anxious about picking my side.

I was well aware that, after last night’s explosive confrontation between Kael and Ethan, it had sent shockwaves through the entire campus.

Now that the rift between the two sworn rivals had grown intense, the academy administration seemed desperate to avoid another massive fallout.

And undoubtedly he must’ve been aware…I was the volatile trigger for what happened between them last night.

"Miss Ashford, the administration would decide everything, including the rules you've stated."

The Dean said, his tone hardening as if he deliberately wanted to sound rigid. "If you find our housing rules unsatisfactory, Miss Ashford, you are more than welcome to withdraw from the academy and pursue your degree elsewhere."

The moment I heard him, my breath hitched violently in my chest. "W-Withdraw?"

"Yes. However, according to the rules you’ve mentioned, your tuition fees would be entirely non-refundable. Now…the choice is yours."

A cold, dreadful jolt of shock washed over me as I couldn’t process what was happening to me for a second.

Non-refundable.

His words that echoed in my ears made me feel as if the blood had drained completely from my face.

To think that I was such a goddamn lovesick fool to waste a huge sum of money, including every single penny of my life savings, for enrolling here…just because I wanted to stay next to Ethan, I wanted to slap myself first.

Only if I had been reborn a few days earlier, before the enrollment day, I swear…I never would've committed this pathetic mistake, which would get me stuck with an enormous debt for repaying the loan I had taken for the tuition fees.

Now…sadly, I had nothing left along with me…and leaving this place wasn't an option either.

Moreover, when I inhaled a deep breath, a vicious, burning resolve flared up in my chest.

I need to stay around Ethan to ensure he would be stripped of the Ice Hockey Champion title this time…

I had to snatch away the glory that had elevated him to become the Supreme Alpha and allowed him to destroy me in my past life.

This time, I would rewrite my fate, even if it means I have to sleep on the cold footpath outside the gates of this campus. But I would still never beg for Ethan’s help.

"I understand…" I whispered, my jaw locked tight as I didn't wait for his permission to leave the room.

With another heavy sigh, I spun on my heel and walked out, the wheels of my suitcase rattling loudly against the marble floor.

The suitcase was already too light, holding only a few handfuls of clothes I had managed to save after the girls destroyed the rest of my belongings.

Dejected and running on adrenaline, I needed some space first to map out my next move. With a blank mind, I found myself walking along an elevated glass corridor, just above the lycan wing’s massive ice rink.

Since I had never gotten the chance to step inside the lycan den in my past life, curiosity took over me when I looked down through the glass, watching over the rink.

But then, my heart instantly stopped when I noticed him!

No…I didn’t even want to see him right now…

Standing near the center of the rink, in his casual gear, stood Kael Blackthorn.

I had been praying to the Moon Goddess desperately since last night to avoid even going near him at any cost after the chaotic kiss we shared at the welcome party.

But I don’t get it… Why was my fate wicked enough to throw me straight in his way?

However, it was a relief that he wasn't alone. A girl was standing directly in front of him, looking elegant and boldly dressed in a tight-fitted leather jacket.

Her wavy dark hair curled down her shoulder, and I noticed her posture was stiff. However, her expression seemed perturbed when her lips moved rapidly.

I couldn't hear the words through the thick glass walls, but when I unknowingly leaned a little closer to the railing, an unusual knot tightened in my stomach.

Undoubtedly, she was gorgeous. An elite she-lycan like her looked perfectly suited to standing beside someone as terrifyingly elegant as Kael.

And strangely, in the back of my mind, I let out a low chuckle, realizing Kael must’ve been truly bored out of his mind to play along with my game last night.

Otherwise, knowing the rumors about this ruthless playboy prince, he wouldn’t even think of batting an eye at a wolf-less outcast like me.

But strangely, from his body language, I could notice that, down below, Kael looked thoroughly bored throughout their entire conversation.

He shrugged his broad shoulders, and his eyes were scanning the ice with utter indifference.

But all of a sudden, without a second warning, when he tilted up his head, his gaze rolled at the glass corridor…and landed straight on me.

The moment those piercing emerald eyes locked onto mine, my whole body froze as if the air was violently sucked from my lungs.

I couldn’t comprehend why my heart pounded furiously against my ribs as if it would jump out of my chest at any second!

His eyes didn't waver…instead, they narrowed on me…and he didn’t blink while gawking with such an intense, predatory gaze. As if, even though I was standing far, he had recognized me instantly in a second!

A shudder of panic washed over me, as if my brain had somewhat short-circuited.

Without a single rational thought, I turned my face away, gripped my suitcase, and spun around as fast as I could.

I had to get out of there. Now.

And I was deliberately praying that he had actually not realized it was me… even though we had just locked eyes for a few seconds.

I bolted down the corridor, as my sneakers squeaked frantically against the floor.

My mind was completely black, with my racing heart showing no sign of calming down a little. But as I reached the heavy stairwell, my breath came in ragged gasps.

The exit doors were right there after I rushed off to the ground floor, and I was already planning to book a cheap inn for tonight outside the campus.

But before I could cross the premises of the lycan wing, a giant shadow appeared behind me.

Within seconds, a strong arm draped around my waist from behind, and before a scream could escape my throat, I was yanked backward off my feet and dragged out of the lobby into a shadowed, narrow alleyway between the buildings.