Author's note: this is from Luca's point of view

- - -

Just watching Zoe and Ash hold hands is painful, and if they proceed further, I won't be able to handle it.

The incident at my birthday proved it. True, I didn't like when I saw Ash getting handsy with Zoe, but I told Shadow to let it go; Zoe and Ash are dating, and she has the right to make her own mistakes, but Shadow went ballistic and took over and I couldn't stop him from attacking Ash while I saw red. The next thing I knew, Drago was holding me and Ash like we weigh nothing.

I regret not punching the daylights out of Ash when he left for his internship without coming clean with Zoe. Why didn't he tell her that he is seeing other girls?

I guess Ash plans to confirm if they are mates or not before facing the music. Coward.

If they are mates, Zoe won't care about Ash's previous shenanigans, and if they are not mates, then it won't matter at all because I'm quite confident that if Zoe finds out that Ash is not her mate, she will break up with him.

For Ash, his eighteenth birthday will clarify his relationship with Zoe, but for me, the eighteenth birthday means that too many things will change.

After our eighteenth birthday, we will officially be grownups, and we need to decide on our next steps.

Living here under Fynn's protection is only a temporary arrangement, and I'm unsettled with the uncertainty of what will come after it.

Zoe still talks about sticking to Serina, but it's obvious that she hopes Ash is her mate.

Will Zoe be able to stay by Serina's side and be with Ash? If she can't have both, which one will she chose?

What will I do if it turns out Zoe and Ash are mates? Where does that leave me?

As far as my memory serves me, Zoe was part of my life. How can I continue without her?

I know, I know… I'm overdramatic.

Zoe finding her mate (Ash or not) does not mean that she will forget about me, but I will definitely go down on her list of priorities and it's not like I can tag along and be the third wheel forever.

There is also a variable of my mate. How will my life change when I find her?

I don't want to grow up. I don't want that eighteenth birthday to happen for Zoe or for me. I want us to stay like this forever.

Yes, I'm childish and selfish, but my whole life I followed Zoe and I gave my best to protect her. What will I do if I lose that?

- - -

Author's note: this is from Zoe's point of view

- - -

I don't know why Fynn insists that we do extra cleaning before Serina comes.

Omegas are doing a great job with cleaning, and there is not much to do, but it's his order and if we don't do it, it will count as disobedience.

I was concerned when I heard that Serina will come outside of her scheduled visits. The possibility that she will ask us to leave this place and not accompany her is scary.

But then Ari came and started her usual nonsense.

Why is she always talking like werewolves think only about sex?

Does she believe that everyone is slutty just because she is?

And she even insinuated that I would sleep with Luca just because I might get horny!

Everyone knows that she-wolves go into heat only after mating, which means that unless I find my mate and he marks me, I won't go into heat, and I will be able to control myself no matter how much a guy is handsome.

My wolf still doesn't speak to me, but I could clearly feel her irritation amplifying mine.

I chanted internally for my wolf to calm down. There is no point in losing my temper because of a nobody like Ari.

She can flap her mouth, but that won't affect who I am.

Besides, I don't care if Fynn or anyone hits on me because there are only two boys who can stir me up emotionally.

The first one is Luca. The fact that I'm protective of him and I want him to be happy is normal because he is my brother.

The second one is Ash. He is handsome and dashing and I really really hope that he is my mate. He took my first kiss and I'm ready to give him my other firsts as well… as soon as we confirm we are mates!

Ari talking about me having sex with Fynn was disgusting. Just because she fancies him, it doesn't mean I do.

Ari often mentions other guys as well and says all kinds of nasty things, and I usually tune her out, but this time, the more she spoke, the more my fury swelled.

I didn't want Luca to think that I would sleep with just anyone. I know that he sees me as his precious sister, and I don't care about Ari's or Bia's opinion, but I do care about Luca's.

Luca placed his hand on my shoulder, his protective touch impacted me immediately.

"She is not worth it.", Luca said, and I agreed completely.

With one glance, we shared understanding to move on and complete our duties, starting with cleaning the common room. Duster it is!

For the last three years, I'm dreaming about leaving this place and joining Serina and the longer we stayed here, the more that feeling intensified.

It's not so bad here. Comparing to the Dark Walkers pack, this is like living in luxury. But everyone is above us, even Omegas are telling us what and when to do, and it's suffocating.

Yes, I know that for them, we are just kids, but I don't want to be everyone's doormat.

Serina is different. She always talks to us as equals and gives us options, and she allows us to make our own decisions without pushing her will on us.

I didn't think that education will bring us any benefits, but now I know better. I hate math and I'm not good at music, but I enjoy history and social studies. I learned a lot about the world outside the forest, and it opened my mind to various possibilities.

Of course, Serina is providing us with materials that cover beyond what humans teach.

Serina mentioned that if we show good results and there is an opportunity, she will take us to realms where other creatures live. Dragons, mermaids, elves, goblins, dwarves… we can meet them! How cool is that!?

Every time Serina takes us for a day in the town (how she calls it), I get to see the sights that excite me, and I find the confinement to this place suffocating.

I am grateful to Fynn and everyone else. They took us in and guided us, but I feel that we reached the wall of how much they can do for us.

I'm ready for the next step. With Serina.

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