He Claimed My Best Friend, I Claimed My Future Chapter 05
Lucian stared at me furiously for a long time. For a second, I thought he might tear out my throat. But then something called him away.
I let out a breath. The mate bond still sent faint pangs of pain through me.
But soon, I told myself, I wouldn’t have anything to do with Lucian anymore.
But the silver-sealed acceptance letter from Ironclaw Warrior Academy never came.
Young wolves all over the North were waiting for that letter. Getting it meant you had earned a spot at the most elite Wolf Guard academy.
I searched every corner of Silverpine’s mail room. Nothing.
Just when I was about to give up, Lucian appeared in the doorway.
He leaned against the frame, hands in his pockets, no apology in his sky blue eyes. “Stop looking, Nora.”
I looked up.
“I destroyed your silver-sealed acceptance letter.”
I thought I’d misheard. “What did you say?”
“I said,” he repeated, each word clipped and matter-of-fact, “I threw it in the incinerator.”
“With your skills, going to Ironclaw would be suicide. You fall behind on moonlight runs all the time. Your shifting speed is the slowest in class. Did you really think you could pass Ironclaw’s entrance trials?”
My voice shook. “Lucian, who gave you the right to destroy my things?”
“Because I’m your—” He stopped. The word “mate” didn’t come out. He couldn’t even admit it in private.
“Anyway, it’s done,” he said, softening his tone. “Stay in Silverpine. I’ll train you myself. Ironclaw isn’t for Omegas. It’s not for you. You’d just get eliminated.”
For my own good?
He had destroyed three years of my hard work.
“Lucian?”
Several wolves walked over from the other end of the hall. They looked at me, then at him, their noses twitching like they’d caught a scent.
“What are you doing with Nora?” one of them jeered. “No wonder Serena’s eyes have been red lately. Nora, are you trying to come between them?”
“She claimed she got the silver-sealed acceptance letter to Ironclaw,” another scoffed. “Clearly she was lying.”
“Lucian, how could you betray Serena for someone like her? Serena is the most impressive she-wolf in Silverpine.”
Lucian’s expression was unreadable. He glanced at me, then at the others. Finally he spoke. “I will only fight alongside Serena. Don’t compare me to an Omega.”
Everyone stared at me.
My wolf curled up in pain deep inside me. But she didn’t cry.
I didn’t listen to the rest of their mockery. I turned and ran out of the mail room.
I just wanted to find my acceptance letter.
I searched every corner around the pack incinerator. Nothing in the ash pile. Nothing in the trash. My hopes were gone.
Just when I was crouched on the ground, shaking with despair, a rough hand patted my shoulder.
“Young lady. Are you looking for this?”
I jerked my head up.
Old Bram stood in front of me. He was an old border guard of Silverpine. His wolf was aged, but his eyes were sharper than any young wolf’s.
“I found this while patrolling the border,” he said, handing me the envelope.
His voice was raspy. “It was tossed in a ditch outside pack territory. If these old eyes of mine weren’t still good for something, it would’ve been ruined by rain.”
I took the letter. My fingers trembled.
“Thrown away by that young man, I assume?” Old Bram looked at me. “The Alpha heir has quite a temper. But young lady, I support you going out to see the world.”
He patted my shoulder again, and I nearly burst into tears.
I opened the envelope and read the words on the acceptance letter.
[Nora Vale,
You have been accepted into Ironclaw Warrior Academy.
Report within thirty days of the new moon.
Come alone. Come ready.]
Right then, I could hear the laughter of young wolves in the distance. I could smell bonfire smoke and roasting meat. Lucian and Serena were probably there, basking in everyone’s congratulations.
I clenched my fists.
That night, I went home. Marina had already packed all my things.
“Nora,” she asked softly, “are you really leaving?”
I nodded.
I opened my phone. A text from Lucian appeared.
[Stop being difficult, Nora. You’re my mate. You’ll come back eventually.]
I closed my eyes and blocked both Lucian and Serena. The pain of the mate bond seared through me as I made my decision. He had shut me out. So I would tear him down.
My wolf howled inside me. Then I stood under the moonlight, cut my palm, and let my blood soak into the earth. I spoke the words of rejection.
“I, Nora Vale, reject Lucian Blackwood as my mate.”
Somewhere far away, Lucian felt the pain I had carried for the first time.
I did not look back.
I took Ironclaw’s silver-sealed acceptance letter and left Silverpine Pack.
