Lost him!

~

For months, Aiden had watched Lucian and Jackson leave for school every morning.

He never joined them, never once considered stepping into that place again.

School felt like another lifetime ago. Another version of him, one that had vanished the night his parents died.

Not like he minded, that was the very place he never wanted to be! And he didn't hide the fact that he disliked school.

And It wasn't that the late Alpha Noman hadn't brought it up, he had, many times. In fact, it had become a regular topic, casually slipped into conversations or spoken with firm insistence.

"You need to continue your education, Aiden. You're still young."

"I will. When I'm ready. I was told I can resume when i get over the trauma of loosing my parents."

That had been his excuse, his shield. He had used his grief like a weapon, deflecting every attempt to push him back into a normal routine.

And it had worked. For a while, the Alpha had let him be. Hadn't pushed. Hadn't forced.

But after the last summer break, the alpha couldn't ignore it anymore. He knew Aiden, he was like a stubborn rat. And without pushing him, he won't push himself to the right way.

"You're going back to school, Aiden. Prepare."

There was no room for argument this time. The decision had been made, and this time, Aiden had no choice but to obey.

He wasn't happy about it.

Not even a little.

When he imagined school, all he saw was dull classrooms, long lectures, useless lessons.

A prison disguised as education. He had convinced himself it would be nothing but a waste of time.

He had never been so wrong.

The moment he stepped into Evertorn High, - not his old school, but the school that Lucian and Jackson went to... that moment, everything changed.

It was nothing like he expected.

The place buzzed with life, filled with energy that wrapped around him the second he walked through the gates.

Unlike before, school didn't feel like a prison, it felt like an opportunity.

At first, he had planned to keep his head down, blend in, do the bare minimum just to get through it. But that plan lasted for exactly three days.

By the end of the first week, Aiden was everywhere.

With the fact that Lucian totally ignored him even at school, he considered everything fun that he could engage in-store in school.

He joined every sport imaginable- track, swimming, soccer, even martial arts, drama club.

If there was a game, he was in it. If there was an event, he was part of it. His natural strength and endurance as a wolf made him unstoppable, and the thrill of competition kept him moving.

He became the reason teams won championships, the name everyone whispered in the hallways, the student who could run faster, swim longer, fight harder than anyone else.

The teachers and students loved him for his athleticism, his raw potential. Even the jealous ones, those whose spots he had taken, couldn't deny the impact he had made.

Aiden thrived.

And with every game, every victory, every roaring applause- he forgot.

Forgot about Lucian. Forgot about the strange emotions that had started creeping up on him. That made him think he had started admiring Lucian.

There was no time to think about those things anymore.

He had friends now, a whole crowd of them. People who wanted to be around him, to invite him to parties, to pull him into conversations.

He was everywhere—laughing, running, winning.

At home, things were different. He skipped pack training. Went home late. Made excuses. And when he wasn't competing, he was out, at birthdays, at gatherings, at places he knew the Alpha wouldn't approve of.

But no one stopped him.

Because Aiden was brilliant.

Even the Alpha had grown fond of him, often watching him with amusement. Aiden brought home trophies, brought laughter, brought life.

And if he had to lose himself a little in the process, then so be it.

He didn't realize how much he had changed.

But Lucian did.

Lucian noticed everything.

At first, he pretended it didn't matter. He had never cared about Aiden's choices before, so why should this be any different? Aiden was always restless, it made sense that he would throw himself into school with that same wild energy.

But what Lucian hadn't expected was how much it would bother him.

How much he hated it.

Aiden was everywhere except where Lucian wanted him to be.

He wasn't at home.

He wasn't at training.

He wasn't beside him.

He didn't bother him anymore, didn't barge in his room like he used to.

Didn't insist on sleeping in his room anymore.

Lucian refused to acknowledge why that made him so, so angry, so frustrated, and maybe jealous. But not jealous because Aiden was making it, that he became famous.

No, because he was still the hottest, the one girls wanted so bad, gave gifts, but he didn't acknowledge them even once.

His problem was not that. Maybe he just didn't like the fact that Aiden stopped bothering him, that was giving other people his attention- rather than him.

Every morning, Aiden was already gone. Every night, he came back late, smelling of places Lucian had never been, surrounded by people Lucian had never met.

Girls clung to him. Guys treated him like a legend. Teachers praised him.

~Lucian had never been interested in school events, never bothered with sports or clubs.

He had always been indifferent to the attention he received, the girls who tried to get close, the classmates who wanted to be his friends.

He didn't do co-curricular, but in academics? Everyone feared him because he scored every single thing.

Not even one in any subject did he fail to answer correctly. And he was contented with that. So he was jealous of Aiden's success.

He didn't want to acknowledge the real reason behind his frustration. He wouldn't.

Instead, he did the only thing he could.

He pushed harder.

Trained harder.

Studied harder.

Fought harder.

If Aiden was going to ignore him, then Lucian would erase him first.

He made sure to lead in every subject, every exam. While Aiden shined in competitions, Lucian destroyed records in academics, standing at the top of every list. He made himself untouchable, unbeatable.

And yet, none of it helped.

Because no matter how hard he pushed, no matter how perfect his scores were, he still noticed.

He still noticed Aiden.

Noticed how he smiled too easily, laughed too loudly, moved through life with that infuriating carelessness.

Noticed the way people reached for him, admired him, wanted him.

Noticed the way Aiden barely looked at him anymore.

And that realization drove Lucian insane.

Every time he saw Aiden surrounded by people, by girls, by a world that didn't include him.