Filed To Story: Falling for the Alpha As a Student Novel
The next morning, I woke up to a text from Brianna.
“We should go into town tonight and go shopping for your trip!” she said excitedly.
That actually sounded really good. I could use some girl time and Bri had a good eye for fashion. She could help me pick out some really nice clothing for my trip to Monstro.
“That sounds great!” I texted in return. “I’ll see if Becca wants to come with us.”
“I’ll come to Higala tonight! They have the best boutiques. We can grab some dinner too!”
Later that night, Brianna arrived at the academy.
Becca and Brianna came to my dorm room, excited for a little shopping therapy. I was excited too. We hardly ever got to do something like this, and it would be nice to get my mind off of things.
It’ll be nice to get my mind off Enzo.
Higala on a Friday night was absolutely perfect.
The lights around the city were perfect; it was swarming with people and music.
We went to different boutiques and picked out a bunch of clothing, a lot of cute summer outfits, and bathing suits.
As we walked on the sidewalks of the busy city, I smelled something absolutely delicious.
Val perked up as well and I could feel her excitement.
It had to have been a restaurant with the most delicious food. My stomach was growling at the very thought. I went in the direction of the amazing aroma with Bri on my trail.
I paused as I got to a window of a small restaurant.
I breathed in the amazing scent and heard the howling of my wolf in my mind. She was way too excited for this food.
Once I got a look in the window to see the food that was making my mouth water and my wolf crazy, my heart dropped into my stomach, and I stared in shock.
It wasn’t food at all.
It was Professor Enzo.
And he wasn’t alone.
Sitting across from him, chuckling and touching his arm, was Bethany.
They were on a date.
Lila’s POV
“Is that Professor Enzo?” Becca asked, stepping beside me, and following my gaze to the window of an incredibly fancy restaurant.
My heart clenched in a tight knot, and I felt Val lowering her head in sorrow as we watched our mate on a date with another woman.
“Yes,” I said, my voice sounding incredibly far away.
Brianna gasped as she also saw what we were looking at.
“With Bethany Rochelle?!”
“They are interested in each other,” I said, my voice now sounding strained.
“We should get out of here and finish shopping. We didn’t get nearly enough clothes,” Bri said, trying to avert my attention.
She draped an arm through mine and began pulling me away, but I couldn’t peel my eyes away from the scene in front of me.
This was too painful; it felt like someone had punched me straight in the gut.
“Are you okay, Lila?” Becca asked with a timid frown.
That’s right; she doesn’t know that Enzo is my mate.
“Yeah,” I said to her, but I knew she didn’t believe me.
They both stared at me for a moment longer before Bri pulled me even harder.
“Come on,” she whispered for only my ears. “You don’t need to see this.”
I wasn’t sure I had the heart to continue this shopping spree. Every time I blinked; I would see Enzo with Bethany. It just hurt too much.
Val was in such agony that I didn’t think she would be able to stay in control. Her heart was so broken and because of that, my heart was broken too. Even if I didn’t want Enzo as a mate, the mate bond was too real to ignore.
I was drawn to him whether I wanted to be or not. Val was drawn to his wolf.
I couldn’t explain this feeling other than sorrow.
We left the restaurant and went to another boutique. This one was filled with elegant gowns. I wasn’t sure there was anything in this store that would be fit for my trip, but both of my friends were incredibly eager to check it out.
Brianna picked out a gorgeous pink gown that she insisted I try on.
I have to admit, the gown made me feel like a princess.
I stared myself over in the mirror with a frown; the gown wrapped around my body so elegantly and pushed up my breasts to make them appear much bigger. It expanded in silky fabrics around my waist and fell naturally around my feet.
The dress brought out the blonde in my hair as I let it out of its usual ponytail and watched as it flowed evenly around my body.
“You look beautiful!” Brianna cooed as I stepped out of the dressing room.
“Oh, my goddess. That dress was made for you!” Becca agreed.
Even with their kind compliments, I found it difficult to smile knowing that Enzo was with someone else. But I tried my best to force a smile; a smile that Bri knew right away was fake.
“I don’t know when I’ll ever wear this dress,” I admitted; though, I liked it very much.
“It doesn’t matter,” Becca said with a shrug. “You’ll have it just in case.”
Once we were done in this boutique, I insisted that we went home. I didn’t have it in me to continue this shopping spree and besides, I had enough clothes.
“But we were having so much fun,” Becca said with a frown. “Something changed when you saw Professor Enzo. Are you sure you’re, okay?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Bri beat me to it.
“She said she’s fine,” Brianna said, wrapping an arm around me. “You should go back to your dorm room. I’ll walk with Lila.”
Becca frowned, staring between the two of us. I said nothing; I knew Bri just wanted to be alone with me.
“Are you sure?’ She asked, raising her brows at me.
“I’d like to hang out with Brianna alone,” I admitted. “It’s been a while since we had quality time together with just the two of us.”
Becca sighed, but she didn’t argue.
“Okay…” she said with uncertainly in her voice. “I’ll see you later.”
Soon, it was just Brianna and me.
“I can’t believe your mate is on a date with some other she-wolf,” Brianna hissed, folding her arms across her chest.
I knew she was pissed, and she hated seeing me like this. I lowered my gaze, trying to keep the tears from falling out of my eyes.
“It’s not fair. We need to teach him a lesson! Maybe you should go on a date too! I know Brody likes you and—”
“That’s not the answer,” I said, stopping her words. “Plus, I can’t do that to Brody. It would hurt him.”
Brianna sighed.
“Why do you always have to be so good?” She asked, pouting. “But you can’t just do nothing. It’s not fair to you.”
“I don’t know what else I can do, Bri…” I said, my voice no longer sounding like my own as I pushed away the tears that so desperately wanted to escape my eyes.
“I just don’t understand how he can do that when he knows he has a mate…”
“He doesn’t want a mate,” I reminded her, meeting her eyes with my tear-filled ones. “He doesn’t want me.”
“Then, why hasn’t he rejected you?” Bri asked, now placing her hands on her hips and cocking her head at me.
“I don’t know…” I admitted. “Maybe he likes having a backup plan in case he ends up alone.”
As much as it pained me to say those words, I felt they were most likely the truth.
I hated this feeling, and I hated how much pain Val was in.
I pressed the palm of my hand to my chest to provide her with some sort of comfort, so she knows that I’m there for her. But she stayed silent, lowering her head as her heart continued to break.
…
Third person POV
Bethany sat across from the handsome Enzo; she had to admit that she didn’t think he would agree to this meeting, especially at such a fancy restaurant. But she has a way with words and she knew Enzo wouldn’t be able to resist helping someone in need, regardless of their past mistakes.
She ordered baked Salmon and a glass of wine, while he ordered steak, cooked rare, and a glass of wine as well.
“Why exactly did you want to meet with me?” Enzo asked, eyeing her carefully from across the table.
They were in a secluded area, as requested, near a window overlooking the city. This was Bethany’s favorite restaurant and her favorite seat.
“Because I owe you an apology,” Bethany said, gazing over at him. “I acted childishly. I don’t expect you to forgive me. But I wanted to treat you to a meal to show you my gratitude for your hospitality.”
“I don’t really think I’m the one you should be apologizing to,” Enzo said, keeping his tone emotionless.
She was used to his coldness; she found it incredibly attractive. She needed a man who was cold and stern at times… yet tender and loving the other times. She knew Enzo was capable of both.
“I will send Deanna my sincerest apologies as well,” she assured him. “I will also reach out to that Lila girl. I’m afraid I also treated her terribly and I just feel so awful.”
Enzo didn’t say anything, he stared at her from across the table with a face she couldn’t quite read.
Soon, the waiter came and placed their wine glasses before them.