Chapter 3

I left the dorm room as the sole occupant, a ball of fury in my chest making it hard to breathe.

I took a lone walk around the campus, Ken's words echoing relentlessly in my mind.

He believed I looked down on them, too aloof to bother with their company.

But he would never understand how desperately I had once wanted to be a part of his life, only to be coldly rejected.

After my father brought Ken into our family, he was gloomy all the time. To cheer him up, I invited him to the Full Moon Festival.

He brought Elise along, introducing her as his closest friend.

I treated Ken's friend as my own, warmly welcoming Elise.

But she always shyly hid behind Ken, as if I were some terrifying creature.

Ken said she was just a bit shy, but I clearly saw hostility in her eyes.

Elise wanted to attend a high-stakes poker game, so Ken, always attentive to her needs, insisted we go.

I was uncomfortable with the shady figures there, but not wanting to spoil the mood, I endured it and accompanied them.

Afterward, Elise suggested they explore a private back room, claiming she was scared but curious. Ken affectionately tapped her nose, calling her a "little wolf who can't resist a thrill."

Ken held Elise's hand protectively the entire time they were in that room, while I was left far behind, ending up startled when a fight broke out nearby and I was knocked to the ground. When I stumbled out of the club, shaking, they were already long gone. They probably thought I was a buzzkill or just completely irrelevant. It never crossed their minds to wait for me.

I paid for everything, yet I was ditched like a third wheel. I was nothing but a complete and utter sucker.

THUD! My thoughts were interrupted as a football slammed into my forehead. The pain jolted me back to reality.

A familiar figure came running towards me. It was Ryker, my pack's biggest rival.

He was the Alpha of the powerful Silvermoon pack. Throughout our youth, he always managed to find ways to outmaneuver my pack's business ventures.

Beyond pack politics, he also displayed an astonishing talent for business, repeatedly devising strategies that helped his family outmaneuver my father's projects.

Nobody likes to lose, so I always kept my distance from Ryker, viewing him as a formidable opponent.

Now, however, he was grabbing my wrist of his own accord.

"Hold on, your forehead's injured. We need to take care of that."

Only then did I feel the sting on my scalp. I touched it and found traces of blood on my fingers. The skin on my forehead must have been scraped.

Ryker had me sit on a bench by the quad while he quickly ran to a nearby store to buy supplies to treat my wound.

"What are you doing here? And who's that guy with you?" A familiar male voice rang out. I looked up to see Ken's sharp gaze fixed on Ryker.

Ryker didn't even lift his head in response to Ken's questioning.

"Can't you see your mate is injured? Or perhaps you no longer care?"

Ken was left speechless by Ryker's retort, his brows furrowed in displeasure.

Seeing Ken's discomfort, I felt a twinge of satisfaction and found myself warming up to Ryker.

Ken didn't pursue the matter with Ryker further, turning to me instead. "Don't think a little injury will earn you my sympathy. Did you deliberately step on Elise's pendant and break it?"

I was baffled. "What kind of baseless accusation is this? I've never even seen any moonstone pendant, let alone touched it."

Elise, with red-rimmed eyes, sobbed, "We left the suite to get dinner, and when we came back, the pendant was broken in half. You were the only one in the room. Who else could it have been?"

I was so angry I wanted to laugh. "Did you actually see me step on your pendant? If not, don't throw around accusations. How do we know you didn't break it yourself by accident?"

"Shut up! Don't you dare talk to Elise like that!" Ken's Alpha voice suddenly rose. "Do you have any idea what that pendant means to her? It was her mother’s only heirloom! She cherished this pendant and would never damage it herself."

Ryker silently stood up at this moment, positioning himself between me and them, a human wall of power.

He said, "Since we're at an impasse, why don't we check the campus surveillance? If someone witnessed Aurora stepping on and breaking the pendant, then she's indeed at fault. Otherwise, accusing her without evidence is slander."

Ken was momentarily speechless. His intention wasn't to blow this out of proportion; he just wanted me to admit my mistake and apologize to Elise to comfort her wounded heart.

Elise was even more flustered. She wiped her tears and nervously tugged at Ken's sleeve:

"Let it go. There are no cameras in the dorm suites, so we can't prove what really happened. Besides, how can an Omega like me go up against an Alpha's daughter? The Rosemoon pack just donated millions to this university. The school will definitely side with her."

Ken took the out Elise offered: "Don't be upset, Elise. I'll go to the city right now and buy you an identical pendant."

Elise’s tears turned to a smile as she affectionately linked arms with Ken and left. "Don't let those two jerks ruin your mood. Let's go for a walk together," Ryker comforted me.

As we strolled, Ryker and I reminisced about our past rivalries. To my surprise, Ryker was incredibly witty and humorous, recounting those competitive stories by making fun of himself, which had me doubling over with laughter.

All this time, I had thought he was just an arrogant, cold, rival Alpha. I never imagined he had such an adorable side to him. My fondness for him suddenly increased.

As night fell, Ryker walked me back to the werewolf dorm before saying goodbye.

When I returned to the suite, I discovered all my bedding had been soaked and thrown outside the door. Furious, I wanted to burst in and confront Elise about what she thought she was doing.

The dorm room was locked from the inside, and I couldn't open it even with my key.

With no other choice, I could only knock, but there was no answer from inside.

"What's with all the knocking in the middle of the night? Can't I get some sleep around here?" someone from the neighboring room protested irritably.

It seemed they had planned together to keep me out of the dorm. Not wanting to disturb others, I silently left the dormitory.