CHAPTER 101: BONDING WITH HIRO?

"I did nothing to him except give him a little warning," Angela said, glancing in Xavier’s direction. Did he really take it so seriously? Was it that threat that made him start acting this way? She sighed and turned back to her friends. "Let’s forget about him. He’s dealing with his own shit at the moment."

"You are right," Stales said, standing up from his seat. The break was almost over, so he had no choice but to leave for his class.

Angela and Alex went through their notes, revising before the next class. Every now and then, she turned around to look at Xavier to see if he was just pretending, but to her surprise, he never once looked at her. His eyes stayed on the floor the entire time. It was strange, but she decided not to care.

The rest of the day went by without much trouble. Angela did not dwell on her worries because she had a lot of classwork to finish. The swimming classes were cancelled because Kaito had a board meeting, so she stayed back in the library, going through books about the prophecy of a promised she-wolf.

She couldn’t find anything new compared to what Stales and Alex had already told her. Still, something about the prophecy left her uneasy. The Alphas’ powers and packs were written about in detail, but hers were not mentioned at all. Nothing was said about her being an Alpha.

The part about claiming them to end their painful transformation wasn’t in any of the books either. Angela had no choice but to give up on her research because it was starting to contradict what she already knew. She took her bag and left the library with Alex.

When they reached the dormitory gate, Hiro was there waiting for her. She was surprised because he was the last person she expected to see.

"Hello, Alpha Hiro," Alex greeted before heading to his room. He didn’t wait for a reply and just walked past, leaving them alone.

"Hey," Hiro said, his hands in his pockets like always. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Angela replied, looking at him. She couldn’t stop thinking about the horrible pain Stales said they went through during the full moon. She was starting to feel like it was her fault since it was tied to her. "Hope you’re not here to taunt me again. I’m not in the mood."

"No, I want us to talk. Why do you think badly of me?" he asked, clearly surprised.

"Don’t forget you’re the big bad wolf who scared me the day I arrived at this Academy," Angela reminded him in case he had forgotten. She was not going to forget that day.

"I am sorry, Angela. Forgive me. And it’s not like you didn’t make things difficult for yourself," Hiro said.

"Are you shifting the blame to me?" she asked, ready to walk away if he said yes.

"No, I never said that." He shook his head. "Okay... let me apologize to you properly. I’m sorry for how I treated you. I didn’t even know you were..."

"It doesn’t matter who I am, Hiro. You should be nice no matter what."

"I was. Have you forgotten the night we first met? I offered you my clean white handkerchief, yet you rejected it with an insult."

Angela tightened her grip on her bag and rolled her eyes upward. She knew he was going to bring that up. She had been wrong that night, but he had taken it too far and ended up hurting her. "Do not look for ways to justify your wrongs."

"Okay, Madame. Have you forgiven me?" Hiro asked, hoping she would say yes.

"No. I have to think about it," Angela shrugged.

Her answer surprised him, but he said nothing. He already knew girls could be difficult to handle, and Angela was not just any girl—she was far more challenging than most.

"Why don’t you go in and change so we can talk?" he asked politely.

"What do you want us to discuss?" Angela narrowed her eyes at him, suspicion all over her face. Then it hit her. "You want to read my mind, right? I knew it."

"I won’t... that’s not my aim," Hiro said, rubbing his forehead with a sigh. She was going to be both his headache and his cure. "I’m not going to read your mind. We’ll have a clean discussion together. Okay?"

"Promise?"

"I swear... I promise."

"You better keep that promise or I won’t hesitate to break your bone..." Angela stopped herself just in time. How was she going to break the bones of an Alpha? Yes, she was their equal now, also an Alpha—but a baby one who hadn’t even taken her first step.

"You haven’t changed at all... only your identity changed," Hiro said with a small smile, shaking his head. "You’ve kept your stubbornness."

"I’ll go up and change," she said quietly, heading to her room while he waited. Kaito wasn’t there, which meant the board meeting was taking longer than she expected. She changed into her casual clothes and went back to meet Hiro.

They strolled along the path that led to the security houses. Hiro told her there was a small river named after Mistvale’s first founder. He loved the atmosphere and the nature there, so she followed him.

The river flowed past the houses into the woods. A wooden bridge crossed over it, and they sat together at its edge, enjoying the cool breeze that brushed across their faces.

"I love the atmosphere here," Angela said as she closed her eyes. The place felt like it was breathing peace into her. It was good to sit in this quiet, beautiful spot away from all the noise of life. "What did you call it?"

"Malyster Water. Named after the founders of Mistvale Town," Hiro replied.

She nodded slowly. "Were they werewolves?"

"Yes. The first and the strongest," he began. "They stood strong for many years until something happened, and they vanished. Some believed it was better for the kingdom that they disappeared, while others said they were the reason there was peace and stability in the first place. People had so many different opinions that, over time, no one bothered about them anymore."

"Wow. How powerful were they?" Angela asked with curiosity. She caught the silly smile on his face, those deep dimples showing. She wondered how he managed to smile so easily, even when life seemed to be weighing on him. She wished she could smile like that too.

"More powerful than us," Hiro said, finally looking at her for the first time since they sat down. His gaze lingered for a few seconds before he continued. "They had different powers. Even though they were few in number, they could destroy a town in just a few hours. People fear Taros, Kaito, Renn and me. Now imagine living with the founders, who were far stronger than we are."

"Were they that powerful and wicked?" she asked.

"That’s what the stories say," Hiro replied. "But don’t worry, I don’t think they exist anymore."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. And even if they do, I doubt there are more than three of them. Can we change the topic?"

"Sure," Angela said with a nod, and he smiled again.

"Tomorrow is visiting day. Is there anyone coming for you?"

"No. Unfortunately, I’m not expecting anyone."

"Then we are swimming in the same boat," Hiro said with a soft laugh. "I’m thinking of organizing a picnic since we have no reason to be there tomorrow. We could just spend the day without worrying about parents who are gone."

"I love that idea. I don’t want to think about my mom or the trouble my uncle will cause if I ask him to come," she said, laughing. He joined in, and Angela couldn’t stop stealing glances at him.

She slowly placed her hand over his. Then, leaning against him, she rested her head on his chest.

A comfortable silence fell between them, filled only with the sound of their hearts beating and the birds singing in the trees.

Hiro lowered his chin to rest on her head and wrapped his arm around her. They stayed like that, saying nothing, simply soaking in the warmth of the moment.

**