"Angela... are you ready?"

A knock sounded on the door. It was not the first time today. Bellezza had been knocking again and again, checking on her, hoping she was finally ready to leave for school.

Angela let out a slow sigh as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Time was moving too fast for her liking. It had been almost two months since the harvest moon, yet the pain still felt fresh. The holiday that was meant to bring joy had turned into a complete mess.

There was not a single night she went to bed without tears. Marcus had noticed it. He had been so worried that he went to her grandmother, begging her to remove the curse of no rejection. But the goddess, always loving drama and chaos, refused without mercy.

"Breakfast is ready," Bellezza said again from outside the door. She knew Angela could hear her.

"Alright, aunt. I will come down soon," Angela replied out loud, hoping that would send her away. Instead, the door opened and Seraphina walked in.

Everything had gone wrong with her mother. Two days after the harvest night, Seraphina had been declared missing, said to be kidnapped by strangers. Marcus had been forced to take her back to her mother and take the blame for what the alphas had done. The police knew who he was, so they let him handle it.

Since then, Seraphina had been coming around often to check on Angela. Hailey did too, even though Marcus refused to accept either of them. He did not want to fall in love with anyone, and he believed it was best for the girls to find their own paths with other men, young men who were not tied to his world.

"I am sorry for disturbing you," Seraphina said softly as she walked closer. "I am going with you."

"No, it is risky, and I do not want you involved," Angela said, turning to look at her. Seraphina was already dressed in an academy uniform. It looked strange but convincing. Bellezza had styled her well, making her look like a boy.

"Do you think I will get caught?" Seraphina asked, running her hands over her shirt as she stared at herself in the mirror. She turned around, checking if anything gave her away, but the loose trousers hid her shape completely. "I do not look like a girl anymore."

"No, you look good," Angela said with a small chuckle, but the smile faded quickly. "There is going to be a lot of drama at the academy, and now that I am no longer with..."

"I understand," Seraphina said, nodding as her head lowered. The disappointment was clear on her face. "I just did not want you to feel lonely over there."

"Thank you for thinking about me," Angela said as she stood up and pulled her into a hug. They stayed that way for a while before pulling apart. "I will never forget your kindness."

"You have been kind to me too," Seraphina replied softly. Then she looked at her with worry. "Are you sure you can stay away from the alphas? It is going to be hard, if you ask me."

"No. They do not call anymore, so I think they have given up too," Angela said as she walked to her bed and picked up her books, sliding them into her bag.

During the first week after the harvest night, the alphas would not stop calling or texting her. Her phone never rested. She never replied, not even once, even though her heart kept breaking and begging her to give them a chance.

By the second week, Renn stopped calling. Soon after, the others followed. It was clear they had grown tired and decided she was not worth the effort. As for Kaito, he never called or sent a single message after the harvest night.

Angela often wondered what was going through his mind, what made him act like she never mattered. He seemed fine without her, living his life like nothing had happened. The thought made her feel stupid for ever loving him.

He did not deserve her.

"Angela..." Seraphina touched her arm, her face full of concern. "Do not tell me you were thinking about Kaito again?"

Angela swallowed hard and looked away. She had drifted off again, lost in thoughts of him, missing Seraphina calling her name. It had been happening for weeks now. "I was not thinking about him," she said, though her voice lacked strength.

"Do not lie, girl, because I am not buying that."

Angela nodded slowly, already tired of pretending. She fell back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. "I cannot stop thinking about Kaito. Did he ever love me? I want to believe he did, but the way he acts now says something else."

"You should stop hurting yourself over that," Seraphina said gently. "If Kaito does not want you, you still have other mates who would die just to hear from you."

"Pfftt," Angela sat up, zipped her bag, and hung it over her shoulder. "I have no mates now, Seraphina. You need to understand that. I am alone."

"There is something I do not understand," Seraphina said carefully. "You forgave Stales and Alex even though they lied to you too. Why can you not forgive Taros and his brothers?"

"They made my friends lie to me," Angela said quietly. "It was the first time my friends ever betrayed me. That hurt too much. I had to forgive them."

Seraphina sighed. "Still, I think you should forgive Taros as well."

"We are not having this conversation," Angela said with a small smile as she stood up and walked toward the door. She knew Seraphina wanted to beg for the boys, but it was better she did not.

Outside her room, Bellezza paced back and forth. Her worry was written all over her face. Angela was going back to the academy, and her mates were now her enemies. That thought refused to leave Bellezza’s mind.

Marcus, on the other hand, sat quietly at the table, finishing his breakfast as if nothing was wrong. He ignored his sister completely.

"Sweetheart," Bellezza called the moment Angela came down.

"Aunt," Angela replied as she walked into her arms. They hugged tightly.

"I am so scared of you going back to the academy," Bellezza said, pulling back slightly to look at her. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes," Angela answered calmly. "It is best I finish what I started." She was talking about the awareness group she had created. It had grown bigger than she expected, and many weak students depended on it. She needed to return and lead them.

"And your mates," Bellezza said carefully. "Are you going to forgive them?"

"Oh please, sister," Marcus cut in sharply. He was clearly annoyed by the pressure. "If my daughter does not want them close, then that is how it will be, mates or not."

"You are not helping at all," Bellezza snapped. She refused to let him sway her. "You are forgetting that those boys are her mates. She cannot just throw them away. Do you think they will stay away from her?"

"I am sure they will," Marcus said with a nod.

He remembered the deal he made with them. They would stay away from his daughter until she asked for them herself. In return, he would pin Eliza’s death on someone else so her brothers would never come after Angela. The agreement was clear, and the boys had sworn to it. They would not break their word. At least, that was what he believed.

"I do not want them close," Angela said softly. "I want to think about my life and move forward." She kissed her aunt’s cheek, then stepped back, waiting for her father.

Marcus stood up, walked to her, and kissed her forehead. He lowered his voice. "If you are ever in danger, call me first. I will come running to you. Do you understand?"

Angela nodded.

Going back to school felt different this time. Almost everything had changed, except for one painful truth.

Her mates were strangers again.