Chapter 3 #3
I shove the thoughts down, burying them under the warmth of this moment.
Stop it. You're allowed to have nice things. At least…allowed to hope.
Even if hope is terrifying and burned you in the ass before.
We finish our meal with lighter conversation.
Sage tells me about her hockey team, the Omega league she's been fighting to legitimize since she arrived.
Jace shares stories about his classes, the professors he likes, and the ones he's convinced are secretly supervillains.
I tell them about my three years of spreadsheet hell, the way my soul slowly died under fluorescent office lighting.
It feels normal. Easy. Like thirteen years didn't pass between us.
Maybe that's the magic of real friendship. It picks up where it left off, no matter how long the pause.
Eventually, Sage glances at her phone and winces.
"Crap. I've got a thing in twenty minutes. Omega league meeting." She looks at me apologetically. "I'd skip it, but our coach is terrifying, and I value my kneecaps."
"Go," I tell her. "I need to grab my timetable anyway. Miss Phillip said the administrative office would have it ready."
"We'll walk you," Jace offers, already standing.
They do. The three of us navigate the halls of Valenridge together, and I try to memorize the route. Left at the fountain. Right at the painting of some stern-looking founder. Straight past the trophy case full of hockey championships and figure skating medals.
Trophy case. Medals. Achievements displayed for everyone to see.
Maybe someday there'll be one with my name on it.
Or I'm getting ahead of myself. Again.
We stop outside the administrative office, the same golden door I vaguely remember from earlier.
My luggage is still there, tucked against the wall where I left it. One sad suitcase and a duffel bag, containing everything I deemed essential for my six-week escape plan.
"This is me," I say, gesturing at the door. "Paperwork round two. Timetable acquisition. Thrilling stuff."
Sage pulls me into a hug before I can react. It's fierce and sudden and smells like cherry blossoms and peppermint and everything I've missed.
"I'm so glad you're here, Mae," she mumbles into my shoulder. "Seriously. This place just got a hundred times better."
I hug her back, blinking against the sting in my eyes.
"Me too."
She pulls away, grinning.
"Text me later? From your ancient phone?"
"Beatrice will do her best."
"That's all I ask."
Jace offers a casual wave. "Good luck with the timetable, MaeMae. And the roommates. And the, you know." He gestures vaguely at everything. "All of it."
"Thanks. I'll need it."
"Nah." He shakes his head, something knowing in his golden eyes. "I think you've got more going for you than you realize."
Before I can ask what he means by that, Sage is dragging him away, already complaining about being late and coach's wrath and something about running laps until she dies.
I watch them go, their bickering voices fading down the hall.
Friends. I have friends again.
Weird. Wonderful. Terrifying.
I turn to face the administrative office, squaring my shoulders.
The door looms in front of me, golden and gleaming and full of bureaucratic promises.
On the other side: my timetable. My schedule. The structure that will shape my next six weeks.
Beyond that: a tiny room in a house full of Alphas. Three men who represent my past, my trauma, and possibly my undoing.
A figure skating club I'm too scared to join but too hungry to ignore.
A deadline ticking down like a bomb strapped to my future.
And somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a chance.
A real chance to figure out who I am when I'm not defined by fear or failure or other people's expectations.
Six weeks. That's all you have.
Make them count, Mae.
I take a breath. Push open the door. Step inside.
The administrative office is quiet and efficient, staffed by a Beta with kind eyes who hands me a folder without making me fill out seventeen more forms. My timetable is inside, along with a campus map and a list of clubs accepting new members.
Figure skating club. Right there at the top. Like the universe is mocking me. Or challenging me. Hard to tell which.
I tuck the folder under my arm, grab my luggage, and head for the exit.
The hallway is emptier now. Most students have filtered off to classes or practice or wherever they go when they're not being ambushed by their pasts.
I pause at a window, looking out at the campus spread below.
Valenridge University. A place I'd never heard of six weeks ago. A place that was supposed to be nothing more than a temporary hideout.
Instead, it's become a battleground. A proving ground. A second chance wrapped in ice and Alpha pheromones and the ghost of a girl I used to be.
You came here to survive…and hopefully, you'll actually live up to the opportunity.
I adjust my grip on my suitcase, feeling the weight of everything I'm carrying. The physical bags. The emotional baggage. The thirteen years of hurt that I've been dragging behind me like chains.
Time to start letting go.
To start moving forward.
The sun is starting to dip toward the horizon, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold. Somewhere across campus, a hockey practice is probably starting. Somewhere else, Omegas are laughing in their lounge, safe and unbothered.
And here I am. Standing at the crossroads of my old life and whatever comes next.
I think about Sage's wild hair and wilder laugh. Jace's mysterious smirk and unexplained designation. Miss Phillip's knowing eyes and slammed doors.
I think about Rafe and his mood swings.
Cal and his dimples.
étienne and his jersey that smelled like safety.
I reminisce on the rink, waiting for me like an old friend who never gave up hope.
And I realize, with a certainty that settles into my bones:
This really is going to be the start of my six-week academy life.