"YOU!"

It was none other than Ryan Iversen. I felt disgusted. He had only recently returned to this pack and was already making out with girls!

He arched an eyebrow and replied,

"Yeah, it's me, and for your kind information, it's my party, baby."

I got angry when he addressed me as "Baby".

My phone kept ringing, so I ignored him and continued walking. I came to a stop a short distance away and received the call.

"Dad"

"Where are you, Allison?"

"W-Well Dad, I came to a party."

"A party? What party?"

My father's voice came out desperately. He always cared about me a lot. Since I was an Omega, he and my mother cared about my safety.

"My school's party. I came here with Teresa. So don't worry, Dad. She will drop me off at home."

"That's a relief. You were not receiving calls, so your mom got worried."

"Tell her that I will come back soon."

"Okay, take care and come back safely."

"Yes, Dad."

He hung up the call, and I sighed. I did not tell him that I was in a club. I was not a kid anymore. So they did not need to worry about me.

I turned around to go back to Teresa.

But the moment I turned, I gasped.

"Done talking?"

I glared at Ryan. "You almost scared me to death."

The left corner of his lips lifted slightly. "Well, most of the girls died on my handsome face, baby."

He winked at me and chuckled after seeing my stunned reaction.

He did not look like someone I could mess with. His black clothing gave him a dark aura.

I did not tell him who I was. He might not recognize me, just like I didn't when I first saw him.

I took a step to pass by his side, but he stopped me.

"Where are you going?"

"Let me go," I said with a cold tone.

"Tsk. What about the damage you caused?"

When I heard his words, I looked up at him. He was very tall. He was indeed handsome, but it did not grab my attention. He was not a good boy.

"What damage are you talking about?" I asked.

"You just ruined my sweet time with a beauty. Now who will pay the compensation?"

I was confused. What exactly was he talking about?

He took a step closer to me, and I was startled.

The buttons on his shirt were undone. Under the dim light from behind me, I could see his chest.

“Esto quod es”

It was written across the right side of his ribcage. It was almost six inches high, wrapping around the majority of his side, and it was hard to miss.

Before his body almost touched mine, I pushed his chest hard with my hands.

"Stay away from me."

I rushed out of the corner but bumped into another person.

'How come I keep bumping into people today?' I sighed and grumbled.

Unfortunately, it was Ethan. When he noticed me coming around the corner, he grimaced. When he peered behind me, his expression became solemn.

Ryan appeared around the corner as I turned my head. He smirked at Ethan when he spotted him.

I returned my gaze to Ethan.

"Excuse me."

I moved away from Ethan and reached the dance floor.

Teresa was nowhere to be found. I started to look for her.

To locate Teresa, I continued lightly pushing people on the dance floor.

A hand grabbed my hand and drew me away from the crowd.

"Here you are! Where were you? When I came back to the barside, I could not find you." Teresa said while huffing.

"Dad called me, so I went to take his call."

"I thought I lost you at the club," Teresa said and hugged me.

"Let's go back," I murmured.

She nodded at me, and we went out of the club.

I took a deep breath as the fresh air reached my face.

I felt smothered on the inside until I got out and felt alive.

Partying was definitely not my thing. Clubs were not my place. I was happy with a simple life. These people were not like me. Their lives were drastically different from mine.

We walked to Teresa's car and got in. Teresa started the car.

"Where were you, by the way? I looked for you in almost the whole club."

"I was in a corner."

"Oh. I didn't search the corners. My bad."

"Hmm." I glanced outside.

"Why is your mood off?"

"I met the most ridiculous man I have ever seen."

"Who?"

"Someone who only knows how to disturb girls."

I heard the sound of a chuckle. I turned my head toward Teresa.

"What?" I asked.

"You look irritated. Who made my bestie angry?"

"That Ryan Iversen." I muttered.

"WHAT?" She shouted.

"Hey, stop shouting. Focus on the road. I don't want to die."

"Allison, what did he do?"

"Nothing. I ruined his lovely time, so he asked for a substitute."

"What the hell!"

"Yeah, exactly. I pushed him hard before he could get close to me."

"That bastard!"

I exhaled when Teresa started to curse Ryan.

"Allison, stay away from Ryan. I got to know many things about him. He was a playboy at his last school. Everyone from the outside knows him, especially girls. He is very popular among girls. He does not date but only fu-"

"OKAY OKAY STOP IT."

I shouted and stopped her from telling me more.

"I don't want to hear those stupid things."

"Okay." Teresa shut her mouth and kept driving quietly.

We reached my home. I got out of the car. "Thanks, Teresa."

"I should not have asked you to go with me. I only made you feel bored."

"No, I enjoyed the moment with you. So thanks again. It was a new experience."

Teresa nodded and smiled, then she drove away.

I entered my house and saw my parents waiting for me.

We had dinner together, then I went to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up early.

After I had finished getting dressed for school, my mother insisted that I eat breakfast before leaving the house.

My father chuckled,

"What's the hurry?"

"Dad, I will be late."

"Tell them your father took your time, so you became late."

I shook my head. "Dad, no one knows that I am the beta's daughter."

"Why?"

"I don't want to grab any attention. They will start to treat me differently, which I don't want. Just like they treat Ethan."

My mother spoke out,

"Ryan is also going to join your school."

I nodded and kept eating.

"Luna Ella told me to tell you if you could show him around since he is new."

I paused and thought,

'Yeah, he is new and has started to make out with girls already.'

Suddenly, my father shook his head.

"No, he is not like Ethan. You can be friends with Ethan, but not Ryan. I don't want you to be around him, okay?"

I looked at my father with confused eyes, but then I realized that everyone knew about Ryan's personality. So it was good to be far away from him.

"Don't worry, Dad. I will stay away from him."

My mother did not say anything. We had breakfast silently after that.

I caught a bus to go to school. When I arrived at my school, I noticed that the girls were in a variety of moods. Some of them appeared pleased, while others were depressed.

I was strolling through the hallway. My gaze was drawn to Ethan. Julie was there with him. Their arms were locked, and they headed to a class.

'Did they patch up last night?' I wondered. I felt heartbroken.

I turned aside and went to the locker room. I unlocked my locker but was taken aback when someone slammed the door and stood behind me.

In shock, I turned around.

"What made you think I could not recognize you, Allison Clark?"

I stared at Ryan. There was an amazement in his eyes as if he had just caught me red-handed.

He raised a brow. "What?"

I averted my gaze from him and looked around to see if anyone had heard him. Everyone was looking at us while whispering to each other.

He was not loud enough to be heard. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him.

"Can you just move?"

"Why?"

"What do you want, Ryan?"

"Why didn't you tell me about yourself when I asked you who you were?"

I rolled my eyes. "I didn't find it important to tell you about myself. And we are not that close anyway."

He was silent. I glanced at him, thinking I might be a little bit rude.

But I was so wrong! He was smirking. I wanted to smack his smirk.

"Ryan, what are you doing with her?"

I heard a voice and looked behind him. It was Sophia. She was our pack's Delta's daughter. Everyone knew about her identity, and that was why she roamed around our school like a queen. Her first target was Ethan; however, he never gave a damn about her.

Ryan moved back from me and turned around.

"Nothing, Sweety. I thought I needed someone to show me around the school."

"What? You should tell me that. Let's go. I will show you around." Sophia said happily. A few girls looked interested too.

I felt sick looking at them. How could they like a boy like Ryan? Unless they were also up for a one night stand like him.

Ryan turned to me.

"And you."

I looked at him. I was afraid he would tell everyone about me.

"Nice to meet you, baby." He snickered and winked at me.

I was dumbfounded. He turned around and walked to Sophia. He wrapped his hand around her waist, and they headed to see around the whole school.

Everyone was still looking at me. I felt so angry that I could not explain it. I was fuming. He just gave others a reason to pay attention to me, which I did not like from the start.

Teresa rushed to me. "Is everything okay?" She asked with a worried face.

"What would happen?"

"I saw Ethan and Julie. Then I saw Ryan and Sophia coming out from this side. Now everyone is staring at you."

"Nothing happened. Ryan was annoying me."

"He what? Why?"

I shook my head and opened my locker again.

"What are you all looking at?"

I heard Teresa yelling at others. Everyone looked away from me.

Teresa had an aura to shut anyone down, I must say. She was a beta female.

She also took out her books, and we went to our classes.

When it was the last class, it was a combined class with all-year students.

Schedule-wise, Teresa was not in the class with me today.

I was not friendly with others, so every time, I had to attend the class alone.

However, Ethan was also in this class. I looked around and saw there were two empty seats at the back, beside the window. But then I saw who was sitting in front of those seats.

Ethan and Julie were sitting there.

I bit my lips nervously and walked ahead. I did not look at Ethan. The way he insulted me last night was enough to make me avoid him, and he had a girlfriend again. So I should retain myself.

I sat on the seat behind Julie. I tried to avoid looking in front.

I looked outside from the window. The sky was clear today. It was a sunny day. Sunlight fell on my bench from the window.

"Mr. Iversen, you are late."

I heard Professor William's voice. I turned my head and saw Ryan standing at the door.

"Well, I was busy roami- I mean looking around, Professor." He replied carelessly.

Professor William was tough. He did not even treat Ethan like a king, so Ryan was not special to him either.

"It's your first class, so I'm letting it go. Next time, don't be late. Otherwi-"

"Otherwise, give me detention or cut my marks. It's okay, Professor. Take it easy."

The way Ryan interrupted Mr. William, it made others shock.

Ryan looked around, and his eyes met mine. His infamous smirk came back to his face.

"Look how hot he is!"

I heard some girls. How could they whisper so loudly!!

I tried to hide my face with my hands from Ryan immediately.

Ethan turned his head to me as if he saw who Ryan was looking at.

I did not look at Ethan. Why would I? Didn't he say I was not his type?

"Stop hiding, baby. You are not even hiding properly. Come here. Let me hide you in my jacket."

Everyone heard Ryan and laughed.

I moved my hands from my face and glared at Ryan, who was now standing beside me.

"ATTENTION, EVERYONE."

Professor William shouted at everyone. I glanced at the other girls. They were glaring at me as if I had committed a crime.

'What? Do they think I am with him? He just came back yesterday. What's wrong with them??'

"Focus, focus. Or do you want to go on a detention with me?" I heard Ryan again.

I closed my eyes and tightened my fists.

This boy was getting on my nerves.

Why was he even talking to me? We did not know each other that well.

Well, I sometimes went to the pack house with my mother when I was a kid. So I saw him for quite some time. That was it. Or we played one or two times, maybe, not more than that.

I avoided him and tried to give my attention to the class.

"Please try to understand everything, and I will not repeat it again." Professor William said this and turned to the projector to show something.

However, my eyes were on Ethan. He did not look okay in his seat there. His face was gloomy. I did not see Julie talk to him in the whole class.

Another thing I noticed was that these two brothers never talked to each other. There was a rumor that they did not like each other. Why was that?

I somehow got lost in Ethan's side profile. He was the only one for me. No matter who came in front of me, I would choose him without any second thought. However, his face also reminded me of what he said last night in the club.

Suddenly, I felt a breath in my right ear. I almost gasped loudly but prevented myself when I heard Ryan.

"I see. You are in love with him."

It had been one week since I started to avoid Ethan.

That day, I did not reply to his brother, Ryan. He said I was in love with Ethan. I was surprised at first, but then I realized he could read my eyes when I was looking at his brother.

After that day, he did not come to bother me again.

He became very popular in our school. As Teresa said, he did not date. I only saw him with different girls each time.

Ethan also looked strange whenever he was around me. I did not know why. Since I was avoiding him, I should not think about it either.

"My honey's birthday is tomorrow. I am so excited."

I heard Teresa cheer up about my birthday.

It was going to be my eighteenth birthday. I somehow felt nervous. It was the time when werewolves found their mates. If before that someone marked me, I could be his mate. But I had not mated with someone yet, so I would get someone as my mate.

"What are you thinking?" Teresa patted my shoulder.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

"Are you still thinking about Ethan?"

I sighed. I was not, but at the same time, yes, I was thinking about him.

His relationship with Julie was not clear. He did not declare it either. But I was not his type, and my birthday was tomorrow, so I had to think only about my mate.

Since he did not like me, I should not think about him either.

"I am worried about my mate." I explained to Teresa.

"Don't worry. He will understand you. You know a mate can change your life with happiness."

I nodded my head. But it was not that.

I always felt like Ethan was my mate. I felt that for a long time. I felt somehow connected with him. I was sure he could not feel that otherwise; he would at least try to talk to me about it.

We talked for some time and then went back to our classes.

After my last class, I was waiting for Teresa. I was passing a few classrooms when I heard growls.

My legs stopped. I turned my head towards the classroom and went close to the door.

The hallway was empty. I looked around and discovered that I was the only one there.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a thud. I immediately opened the door and saw two boys holding each other's collars.

I was shocked when I saw their faces.

"Ethan!"

I shouted and rushed to him. But before I could reach him, Ryan had already thrown a punch in his face.

Blood was coming out of the corner of Ethan's lip.

Ethan backed away, and his back rested on a wall. I cupped his cheeks and asked,

"A-Are you o-okay? What is happening?"

He frowned when he saw me. He slightly moved my hand from his face.

My own actions astounded me. Ethan wiped the blood off his lips with his thumb.

I looked at Ryan, who was glaring at me.

"What's happening? Why are you hitting him?" I asked him.

He stared at me for a few seconds, and his eyes became dark, which made me frightened. In those days, he only behaved childishly with me. I had never seen him like this.

I remembered when he was a kid, he always got mad at others.

Without my realization, Ethan walked to him and punched him hard.

I was shocked. They started to fight again. Like wild beasts, they were up to each other's necks.

"Can you both stop?" I said and tried to move Ethan.

I did not know what to do. Should I call someone for help? One of them broke his lips, and the other broke his cheek.

What would I do?

I tried again to move them but got pushed by them.

"Aaah!"

I fell on a wall and got hurt in my head. I held my forehead.

Ethan and Ryan both stopped fighting and looked at me. They looked stunned. They did not think that I would get hurt.

"Fuck! What happened to you?" Ethan said and rushed to me.

Ryan was standing where he was while looking at me.

I felt dizzy.

"D-Don't fight."

I felt darkness engulf me and everything blanked around me.

When I woke up I saw a white ceiling. I tried to sit up but felt a hand pushing my shoulder lightly.

"Don't sit up. You need some rest."

I heard Teresa. I turned my head to the right side and saw that she was sitting on a tool close to the bed.

I touched my forehead and felt a bandaid on the left side of my forehead.

"What happened?" I asked her.

I remembered the fight and then suddenly I got hurt.

"I called you. Ethan received the call and told me to come to this infirmary."

"Ethan? How is he?"

"He looked fine to me. Just a cut in his lips."

"Where is he?"

"He left the moment I came here."

I nodded and closed my eyes.

I took some rest and Teresa waited for me for an hour while sitting there.

I stood up. The nurse told me I was fine to go. I took a painkiller and went out of the hospital with Teresa.

She dropped me home and told me to take care of myself.

When I entered my home, my mom saw my forehead and asked,

"What happened to you?? You got hurt!"

"Mom, I was feeling weak then I slipped."

"You need to eat more. Should we go to the pack doctor for a check up?" She looked hella worried.

"No, mom. I am totally fine. I just need some rest."

She stroked my head and nodded. I went to my room and lay on my bed. I thought about today's fight. Why were they fighting?

When it was night time, I was going to have dinner when my mother came with a bag.

"Wear this and come down, honey."

It was a beautiful brown colored dress inside the bag. I took it out and smiled.

"Mom, you did not have to do this."

She kissed my forehead and said,

"Your dad threw a party tonight. Teresa is waiting for you downstairs."

I was not surprised. Every year my father called Teresa and arranged a small party for us four, on my birthday night. I was happy with it.

"Okay, mom." I replied with a bright smile.

But my smile froze when I heard my mother's next sentence.

"It's such an honor that Alpha Neil and his family also came tonight to celebrate your birthday with us."