Chapter 172 Chapter 172

Chapter 172 Chapter 172
Erlan

She was older, yes. Taller. Her hair was longer now, pulled back into a messy ponytail that exposed the creamy slope of her neck. But her eyes... gods, those eyes. Still that same glacial blue, the same ones that stared at me across the clearing all those years ago, asking if I wanted to be her friend. Her freckles hadn’t faded, not one. They were still scattered across her face like constellations, the same stars that lit up my childhood.

My entire world tilted.

She was real.

Here.

Back.

And my chest exploded with so much longing I thought I’d suffocate on it.

It didn’t take long for me to learn her story, everyone at Hunter Valley High was talking. She had presented as an Omega last year, and her bastard of a father had thrown her out like trash. No ceremony. No protection. No support. Just tossed her aside for something she couldn’t even control. She’d been living in the Omega shelter ever since, fending for herself, surviving on her own damn strength, clawing her way through school one day at a time with no one to catch her if she fell.

She was stronger than me.

So much stronger than I ever was.

And I knew right then—this was my moment.

My chance.

I would show up for her.

Be the knight in shining armor she deserved. The prince from the fairytale she probably stopped believing in. I’d swoop in, wrap her in warmth, and give her a home she never had.

I had it all planned out in my head, down to the exact words I would say.

I’d walk up to her, reintroduce myself—“Remember me? Erlan. From the woods. We made a promise, remember?” I’d smile. She’d smile. Then I’d invite her to come live with me. No more sleeping in shelters or worrying about where her next meal would come from. I’d take care of her.

And then I’d ask her out.

We’d date.

I’d spoil her, make her laugh, protect her with my life. Then, when the time was right, I’d get down on one knee and ask her to be mine forever.

It was perfect.

Flawless.

Fate had brought her back to me. The universe was finally righting its wrongs. I just had to take that first step.

So I did.

Heart pounding, palms sweating, I made my way over to her. She was standing by her locker, clutching a worn textbook to her chest, a little furrow between her brows as she flipped through a page. She looked tired. Fragile. But still the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

I stopped a few feet away, cleared my throat.

She looked up.

Startled.

Her eyes flicked over me, wide, uncertain.

Then she dipped her head and looked away.

As if I was no one.

As if I was just another Alpha passing her in the hall.

My heart cracked.

No. No, no, no.

She didn’t recognize me.

She didn’t remember.

The woods. The tree. The handshake. That day that lived in my bones, in every heartbeat—it meant nothing to her.

My mouth opened.

But the words I’d rehearsed died on my tongue.

I stared at her like an idiot—mute, frozen.

And then I turned around and walked away like a coward.

It was the most humiliating moment of my life.

That single second undid me more than all the meaningless sex I’d ever had, more than all the belt marks my mother ever left on my skin.

Because she didn’t remember.

The only person who had ever seen me—the real me—had forgotten I existed.

And yet…

I couldn’t stay away.

At first, I told myself it was just curiosity. Just… observation.

But then days passed. Weeks. And I found myself watching her from a distance.

Following her between classes. Sitting in the back of lecture halls I wasn’t even enrolled in just to catch a glimpse of her profile. Peeking into the library to see if she was reading something new. Watching her through classroom windows like a goddamn ghost.

It wasn’t stalking.

Not really.

At least… not at first.

It was devotion.

Obsession.

I had no control anymore.

I, Erlan Lark, the infamous playboy who could make a nun sin with a glance, was completely tongue-tied around one girl. One Omega who didn’t even remember my name.

I couldn’t understand it.

Was that what love did?

Turned you into a spineless idiot? Turned your mouth to ash and your confidence to mist?

Because every time I tried—every single time I walked up to her with the intention of speaking, of reminding her who I was—my knees would lock and my brain would shut down. The words would shrivel up and vanish.

So I did what cowards do.

I watched.

Silently.

Painfully.

And I kept watching until the day I graduated.

Then came the real crisis.

I wouldn’t get to see her anymore.

The thought of never seeing her again made my chest seize. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

So I did something drastic.

I started dating Brittany.

One of the hottest girls in Amber’s class.

It was convenient. Strategic. She was always inviting me to school events, parties, lunch breaks. I smiled. I nodded. I fucked her occasionally to keep her interested.

But she wasn’t Amber.

No one was.

Still, it gave me access.

Rayne and I would drop by the school almost every day after that. I made excuses; said I was visiting friends, picking up Brittany, dropping off lunch. But the truth?

I just wanted to catch a glimpse of her.

Of Amber.

I was twenty years old. A full-grown Alpha. And I still couldn’t talk to her.

Couldn’t approach her. Couldn’t ask her out. Couldn’t even say her name out loud without my chest aching.

It was pathetic.

I was pathetic.

But I didn’t care.

Because if I couldn’t be near her, I’d go insane.

Then one day, it hit me.

A realization sharp enough to tear skin.

If I didn’t move, someone else would.

Someone else would see her. Want her. Claim her.

And I wouldn’t survive that.

I couldn’t survive that.

So I made a plan.

A desperate, dangerous, stupid plan.

The kind that changes everything.

The kind that ruins lives.