PREAMBLE

Sunday evening. Whitney Anderson calls Shawn Broderick from her apartment in Boulder.

"Were you threatened or maybe even Alpha commanded into doing that?" She questioned him, irritated.

"This is not a man you deny favors to, okay?" Shawn responded, tentatively.

"That was not a favor! A favor is covering someone else's shift because they had an emergency. A favor is stopping by the coffee shop and picking up an extra order for your coworker or your boss. A favor is going to your best friend's wedding dressed in a hideous color because you love her and want to be there for her on this special day. Derailing your son's happiness is not a favor, it's a crime." She stated, pissed off.

"I am sorry for–"

"You are not sorry yet, but you will be if you don't send an email right now recanting that statement and leaving the decision to me, his mother." She cut him off, annoyed.

"I can't do that, Whit–"

"What? Yes, you can! Shawn, this is not a joke! Jake and Skylar are in love with each other! As far as I can tell, you have absolutely no reason to stop their union from happening. I can only assume this was some ploy by a power player, but that stops now. NO ONE will stand in the way of my son's happiness!" She interrupted him yet again, livid.

"They are in love?" He gasped in shock at this news.

"Yes, they are! So, when my son called me hours after he left our apartment, crying because his father blocked the love of his life from being with him, that is something that I will not allow. I am asking you nicely, Shawn. Send that email. You should have never sent any email to Ravenwood in the first place." She is trying to contain her rage, but it is pouring out of her every pore. Whitney is pissed off about this. The nerve of that guy to pull something like that...

"I am sorry, but I can't do that right now. I–"

"Are you fucking kidding me? You have spent the last 18 years ignoring the fact that you had a child, only to pull this shit now?! Because of some power play that has nothing to do with you? No, I don't accept that!" Now she is off the rails, ferociously mad and protective of her son.

"I have never asked you for anything! I have never told you how to live your life! I shouldn't even be on the phone with you ruining my Sunday night, but here we are. My son is crying because the man who was supposed to love him unconditionally chose to block him from being with the person he loves. And not because he does not approve Skylar for him, if only... not even because of that. It's because he is a spineless guy who can't even say no to his boss when it comes to his son! Your own flesh and blood!" Whitney was livid, her eyes glowed in rage.

"I understand that you're mad–"

"Oh, you haven't even seen me mad yet! If you do not recant your decision, I will fly out to Texas and I will throw the biggest scandal at your place of employment. They will need to call the Army to get me out of there! I am not playing, Shawn! This is not a joke to me! My son's happiness is on the line and that is not something I take lightly, no matter who stands in his way! So, if you don't want me to claw your eyes out when I see you, I'd suggest you do what I am telling you to do. Trust me, you ain't seen nothing yet! I am not mad, I am fucking livid! It's bad enough you spent the last 13 years raising another Omega as your child when you had a son waiting for you to show up, but now you messed with my baby! And no one messes with my baby! I will fucking kill you before you jeopardize my son's happiness!" Whitney was off the wall mad. This is the angriest she has ever felt towards Shawn - including the time when she was abandoned by him while still pregnant.

"I am warning you! If I have to get on that plane tomorrow morning, only one of us will survive this meeting. You fucked with the wrong person! I can put up with many things, but not if you mess with my baby! Make it right! NOW! Before I show you just how mad I can actually be!" She threatened him, before hanging up the phone.

Tears streamed down her face, not of sadness, but of rage. How could any parent do this to their own child? It doesn't even make sense... It's not like it would be enough to stop them from being together... They are still legal consenting adults. No one can stop them from doing anything, but this is bullshit. Right now, she is furious!

JACOB

I am beyond angry.

What the hell happened?

I know someone manipulated Shawn into sending that email, that much is clear by now. But why? Who? It wasn't Frederick, that much I know, then who would even care about Skylar being prospected by me? It is so confusing!

After the assembly on Sunday evening, Skylar rushed to his dorm room to make a call, probably to his parents, while Seth and I walked to the Gamma House. I could use a shower before dinner, but right now it's next to impossible to find any empty shower stall. Instead, I rested my head on my bed. My mind is swarming with angry thoughts.

How could that man do this to me?

How can anyone do this to me? To Skylar and me, who only want to be happy together. I am sure that Alpha Stronghold is innocent of this. He wouldn't need to put Shawn up to do his dirty work, he is a father too. He has way more power than the man who I currently share a last name.

Seth consoled me with encouraging words while I try my best to not let this ruin my night.

"Do you know who did this to us? Who would put Shawn up to this?" I questioned him, point blank. I just realized that if Skylar knows, Seth probably does too. They are twin brothers.

He pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows, feeling conflicted about answering me.

"Maybe..?" He sounded unsure, but I got the feeling he was trying to evade the question.

I stared at Seth for a minute until he began talking, giving me a straight answer.

"I think my grandfather did this. He is not a fan of Sky prospecting a boy, especially one with no connections to help our pack." He confessed, painstakingly. I could see from his facial expression how that was difficult for him to admit. He knows how much this worries me and prays upon my insecurities of not being enough for his brother.

Well, for any Alpha of this academy in reality. I came here to throw a Hail Mary that somebody would see my worth deep inside, but with no expectations of that actually happening. I said this time and time again, I was prepared to settle for much less than a Stronghold. I did not even expect an Alpha to look at me, let alone two of them.

"This again? I thought we were past this by now! I cannot change who I am or where I come from! I can only be me and hope that is enough!" I cried out, revolted by this bitter lesson that keeps on being thrown in my face. When will I ever be enough for any Alpha?

"You are enough! You are more than enough for my brother, it's my grandfather who has an outdated notion of what a Luna is supposed to be. Please don't be discouraged by this feeble attempt to derail your happiness. Sky wouldn't want that for you." He argued, feeling bad for me.

I am angry, tearful, sad. I try so hard to live my life with honesty and integrity. When is it ever enough? You all can keep your fucking money, it's not why I fell for Skylar anyway! It couldn't be further from the truth.

I am heartbroken over this, feeling so disheartened by yet another stunt. I thought that when Skylar managed to persuade his father to approve of me, this would all be in the past. Apparently not.

Seth came into my bed and hugged me while I cried tears of sadness. This should not be my reality. The only thing I should be focusing on right now is to figure out the best approach to talk to Jayden when he arrives from Georgia tomorrow. He deserves my utmost respect and he shall have it.

I washed my face and walked to the first tower with Seth toward the cafeteria. I would skip dinner tonight, but it is still early in the evening and I would only starve later. My face gave away to all the other students how I was feeling tonight - most of them would have heard of Lockwood's announcement earlier.

Skylar was not pleased either. In fact, he was as taciturn as me in the Alpha section.

"I am sorry that you got rejected by Jake's mom. You can still fight for him. It's not all lost yet." Kyle tried to encourage his friend, not aware of the harrowing truth.

"I wasn't rejected by Dr. Anderson. It was Jake's father who sent that email." He clarified, sulking. The two of them were sat on opposite sides of the table as usual.

"What? I thought his dad loved you, why would he reject you for his son?" Kyle gasped in shock as he heard the unusual truth.

"Because someone made him do it. And I don't want to talk about this anymore!" Skylar spat at him, irritated at the touchy subject.

"Wow! Someone made Jake's father reject you? That's cold! I would never do that to my son!" Kyle was gobsmacked to learn this, which in turn was hurting me even more as he said that. I am outside of his peripheral vision, thankfully.

"Kyle!" Skylar raised his voice, demanding him to drop the subject. Yeah...

"Do not worry, Stronghold. Once Jake's mother gets on the case, the rejection won't stand for long." Roberto - remember him? - chimed in, trying to sound positive.

"What makes you think she can change his mind if he was threatened by someone powerful?" Kyle asked him, surprised by his statement. Roberto smiled at him and sighed.

"My parents are not together anymore. My father... cheated on my mother. Brazilian women are fierce, they take no bullshit from any man. Once upon a time when I was a young boy, I wanted to go on this trip with my classmates. Mother said not unless I raised my grades. So, I went to my father and he said I could go." He told us the tale, leading up to something.

Roberto leaned in from his table with a dark, somber expression on his face.

"My mother went to my father's place and threatened him with a knife. She said her son doesn't go anywhere unless she says so. Now, my father always asks her before he gives his permission to me, including this very trip to America." He continued the harrowing tale.

"She threatened the Alpha with a knife?" Kyle gasped in shock at the story.

"Yes... and not on his neck." He smirked, looking down south.

"Oh, my Goddess!" Kyle was horrified by that and he wasn't alone.

"There might be a possibility that she did not take the separation all too well. But she would never let my father disrespect her authority. In Brazil, mothers know best. Not fathers." He declared, wisely.

"It's not just in Brazil. My mother runs laps around my father in every single aspect. The only thing she is not keen on is business, but for everything else, her word was always the last in our household. It's in her marital contract." Skylar spoke, proudly.

After that frightening tale - and weekend gossip I heard from other students as I sat in the cafeteria - I was able to distract myself from my own drama. I did what I could, as I am sure Skylar did as well, now all we can do is wait.

I hope this situation gets resolved sooner rather than later because hell will freeze over a million times before I lose Skylar to some outdated bureaucracy. I am not against eloping now, so it's best if they don't test me. Yes, I would sign a prenup. Gladly.

Skylar invited me to come up to his room but I declined. It feels wrong to me.

Instead, he went downstairs and we stayed in the common area of the first floor of the Gamma House. There were only us at this hour, around 9 p.m. We only talked to each other and stole kisses from time to time. I mean, Skylar stole kisses from me.

"I am sorry that this happened, but please do not let it get to you. You are the one for me. I told my grandfather that. If it's not you, then it's no one. I want you to be my partner. I would claim you right now if I could." He assured me, lovingly. His hands caressed my head as we were plopped down on the couch together.

"Are you sure you don't want to be with someone more in your league?" I double checked, insecure about the whole thing.

"My league is wherever you are, Jacob Anderson! What part of 'I'm in love with you' do you not understand? You were made for me as I was made for you, I am sure of it! And I will never accept anything less than the love of my life! You are it for me!" He raised his voice, assertively. Skylar stared at me as his head was over mine in the position we were in the couch. His eyes furrowed angrily, trying to convince me of what he believed to be true.

"Where do you get this confidence that I am the one for you when we have nothing in common?" I asked him, baffled by this.

"We have plenty in common. Just because you did not grow up as the privileged Alpha, it doesn't mean that we don't share common values! Look at you and Seth, you two should not be friends. You two have way less in common than I have with my roommate. And yet, you are." He argued, convincingly.

Well... he is not totally wrong there.

"This is just something that we will tell our children one day. The story of how their dads found each other in the most unlikely place and broke the curse, freeing all werewolf kind in the world." He conjectured, romantically.

It's impossible to not be swayed by how romantic Skylar is. He is relentless. But not in an obnoxious way, he is actually sweet and caring. He is every queer boy's dream. I see why there were so many love interests in his past. Also, there is a matter of his ridiculously smoldering hot body.

"Children?" I stared up at him, quizzically.

"Did I not tell you this already? I want at least three." That surprised me the most so far.

"Three? Are you carrying them? Because I am not!" I protested vigorously. He laughed at me.

"You won't be able to get your hands off me. You'll get pregnant in no time..." He teased me, then leaned in to kiss me. Honestly, I am sold. Done for. I could walk out of this place tomorrow if he followed me, or the other way around.

Yet, let us see how this story will unfold, shall we?

https://youtu.be/o8pQLtHTPaI

A|N: Ironically, I was searching for another song by this singer to use in one chapter but found this instead. It's so beautiful.

There will be more twists and turns than ever before. Prepare yourselves! This story is far from being finished. But first, let us check in with our favorite Alpha from Georgia, shall we?

It's about to get heartbreaking over here. Prepare the handkerchief.

Next is "You Lost Me".

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The truth you won't want to miss is next!

Love,

Léo.