Chapter 2. Pack Dreams and Lecture Halls
Lia
I glanced around the cramped space, posters of fantasy book covers, fairy lights strung haphazardly on the walls, stacks of textbooks and notebooks teetering dangerously on every surface. It’s chaos, but it’s my chaos.
By 8:30, I’m out the door, backpack slung over my shoulder, earbuds blasting my favorite playlist. The walk to campus is short, but I savor it, the cool morning air, the crunch of fallen leaves beneath my sneakers, the way the sun casts long shadows through the trees. It’s peaceful here, even if the rest of my day won’t be.
In English Lit, my professor goes on about symbolism in Wuthering Heights. I try to focus, but my mind wanders to wolves and all the things I wished were real. The girl beside me, Sarah, doodles hearts in her notebook; I scribble wolf paw in mine.
After class I met up with Katie outside the library. She’s training for a marathon, and she gave me a look that says “you better be ready to buckle down.”
“I’m ready to buckle,” I said, “but only if there is coffee involved.”
She laughed “you and your coffee obsession.”
We sat on a bench, watching students pass by, some rushing, some strolling, some just in their own worlds.
“Do you ever think about how crazy it is,” I said, “that people fall in love over pizza slices and bad movies? Like, that’s supposed to be the big romance?”
Katie smirked “you mean like your Alpha mate fantasy?”
“Exactly.” I sighed. “I want something epic, something fierce. Not just "hey you wanna Netflix and chill?”
She shaked her head, amused “you’re hopeless.”
Maybe I am but I’m okay with that.
“Remind me after my training, I want to tell you about what happened at the party last night” she said.
“Sure. But don’t tell me you f**ked a random guy.” I told her,
“Stop asking questions, and wait for the whole story later. This one is not random.”
Later that afternoon, I was back at the campus bookstore where I work part time. It’s a cozy little place, the kind with creaky wooden floor and that perfect smell of old papers and new possibilities. I was rearranging the fantasy section when a guy caught my eye, a guy with a leather jacket and black jeans, flipping through the werewolf romance novels with an intensity that’s kind of creepy.
He didn’t say much, just nodded when I asked if he needed help. His eyes lingered on me longer than necessary, and I suddenly felt like I was on display.
“Are you looking for something specific?” I asked, trying to keep my voice.casual.
He shrugged. “Just browsing, you like these stories?”
I hesitated. “I guess you could say that.”
He smiled, but it’s not warm. “Be careful what you wish for.”
Before I could ask what he meant he was gone, just like that.
I shook my head and told myself it was nothing. Probably just some guy who likes his books dark and twisted.
Back home that night, I curled up with my boom again, trying to drown out the weird feeling he left behind. But the story pulls me on and soon I’m back in the forest, running beside my Alpha, feeling the rush of danger and desire.
I closed the book and looked around my room. It was still just a room filled with posters and dreams.
I didn’t know when exactly I drifted off. All I remembered was the faint hum of my humidifier and the scent of my werewolf candle. It was the same ritual every night, a fantasy lover's lullaby.
But the next morning I didn't care about my romanticism.
My alarm didn’t go off. My hair was a frizzed out rebellion. My phone had 2% battery. And worst of all, Emily had finished the last iced coffee in the fridge.
“Why are you like this?” I groaned as I yanked my hoodie over my tangled hair.
Because I’m not obsessed with fictional werewolves and I go to bed at a reasonable hour,” Emily said, sipping dramatically.
“You’re heartless,” I said to her, grabbing my bag and bolting out of the dorm.
The campus was buzzing. A protest was happening on the squad, something about book bans and academic freedom. Normally, I would’ve stopped to add a dramatic sign or a few quotes. But I had one goal today, to survive the day.
Still the weird vibe from the dream stuck with me. Something about how it seemed. Not like the spicy fantasy reads with covers of shirtless guys in flannel and glowing eyes.
At lunch, I couldn’t stop myself from bringing it up.
“There’s this dream I had,” I told my friends as I picked at my salad. “It’s weird like the world feels like they’re alive.”
Katie gave me a look “you need to hydrate yourself more.”
“No listen, I felt it. In my chest.”
Jordan chuckled. “Maybe it’s your mate bond awakening,”
I gasped. “Don’t tease. What if it really is?”
Tasha leaned in. “Okay real talk. If you really meet a real Alpha what would you do?”
I grinned. “Make him fall in love with me, obviously.”
“And then what?” Emily asked. “Quit school and run off to the woods?”
“No,” I said, pointing at her. “We’ll rule the woods. I’d be the Luna of a powerful pack. I’d still get my degree online.”
Katie, Emily and Tarsha burst into laughter.
Jordan shook his head. “You’re ridiculous”
But even as they laughed at me, I couldn’t stop the fluttering hope inside me. A real Alpha… was that crazy? Maybe, but in my heart it felt right.
After school that day, “are you ready to hear what happened at the party?” Katie asked.
