Chapter 4 · Harvard Mind Spurns Gilded Alpha Cage

Time flew by.

Soon, I was already a graduate of the Undergraduate Academy.

Thanks to my strong artistic skills, I was already getting high-paying offers from packs that specialized in design before I graduated.

Two luxury packs tried to recruit me.

I turned them down.

I wasn't interested in fame or fortune, and I didn't want to get caught up in the benefits of the packs anymore.

All I wanted was to be free.

After graduation, I headed straight back to North Pack territory.

I wanted to spend some real time with Griffin and take care of him.

As soon as I got back to North Pack territory, Griffin started setting things up for my career.

At his art exhibitions, he'd hang my paintings right next to his. He'd tell everyone that those were my work and I had outdone him.

He'd even show off my degree, making sure everyone knew I was a Harvard grad.

Soon, I started getting noticed in the art scene.

*****

Meanwhile, Noemi was about to graduate from the Undergraduate Academy.

In her senior year, with a little matchmaking from my parents, her path crossed with Adam.

After that, she started pursuing Adam.

She won Adam over in no time.

My parents bought her ovulation medication.

Right in front of me, they kept urging Noemi, "Make sure you get pregnant with his pup. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Don't let it slip away."

Noemi took the meds, overjoyed. "Mom, Dad, don't worry. I promise I won't disappoint you this time."

After my parents left, Noemi said smugly, "Eleni, big deal you went to Harvard. In the end, your mate isn't better than mine."

She spoke as if she'd already married into the top pack.

I gave her a dismissive smile. "Good luck getting what you want."

She thought being the mate of a top Alpha was all sunshine and roses.

But in fact, hardly any Lunas of top Alphas were happy.

From what I had seen, plenty of them were stuck in miserable lives.

If Noemi were so eager to suffer in the top pack, I would let her.

Before Noemi graduated, she ended up pregnant with Adam's pup. Then her status in the pack skyrocketed.

Adam never planned to mate with Noemi.

But my parents posted photos of them together on Twitter.

They announced Noemi was pregnant.

They paid to get them trending on Twitter and blew the whole thing up.

Adam was the Alpha of the North Pack and a famous philanthropist in North Pack territory. His reputation was everything to him.

To keep up appearances, he finally gave in.

He agreed to make Noemi his mate.

*****

The mating ceremony was a grand affair.

Noemi was the center of attention.

She couldn't stop grinning.

But Adam was not loyal at all.

When I walked past a quiet corner, I caught Adam and his secretary, Sophie, hugging with their clothes half off, doing something intimate.

The scene was so wild that I nearly threw up.

Sophie nestled into Adam's arms, her voice dripping with flirtation. "Alpha Adam, I'll be waiting for you at my place tomorrow night. You must come."

Adam looked at her with a lecherous gaze, his fingers brushing through her hair.

"Okay, wait for me," he replied.

Sophie, thrilled, couldn't help but plant a big kiss on his cheek.

I was so disgusted that I nearly threw up everything I'd eaten yesterday.

I hitched up my dress and snuck out of there.

In my previous life, Adam was fooling around with his secretary, Sophie.

It was an open secret.

People in the pack had no respect for Beta Sophie, but they were a little intimidated by her.

Sophie once strutted up to me and warned, "You're nothing but a pawn for Alpha Adam to grow his empire. I'm the one he truly loves. How could you compare to me?"

Noemi had no clue about any of this.

Of course, I never breathed a word to her.

I didn't want anyone to see how humiliated I had been.

By the time I hit 25, I was running on fumes. Years of chronic insomnia and relentless stress had wrecked me, and honestly, I kept whispering to myself, "My body's falling apart. I'm dying."

It was not like I never thought about rejecting him.

But those filthy memories were like brands seared into my skin. No matter what I did, I could never wash them off.

Honestly, sometimes I thought it'd be better to end my life.

Noemi had no clue that I never held any grudge against her for setting me on fire and killing me.

Chapter 4

Time flew by.

Soon, I was already a graduate of the Undergraduate Academy.

Thanks to my strong artistic skills, I was already getting high-paying offers from packs that specialized in design before I graduated.

Two luxury packs tried to recruit me.

I turned them down.

I wasn't interested in fame or fortune, and I didn't want to get caught up in the benefits of the packs anymore.

All I wanted was to be free.

After graduation, I headed straight back to North Pack territory.

I wanted to spend some real time with Griffin and take care of him.

As soon as I got back to North Pack territory, Griffin started setting things up for my career.

At his art exhibitions, he'd hang my paintings right next to his. He'd tell everyone that those were my work and I had outdone him.

He'd even show off my degree, making sure everyone knew I was a Harvard grad.

Soon, I started getting noticed in the art scene.

*****

Meanwhile, Noemi was about to graduate from the Undergraduate Academy.

In her senior year, with a little matchmaking from my parents, her path crossed with Adam.

After that, she started pursuing Adam.

She won Adam over in no time.

My parents bought her ovulation medication.

Right in front of me, they kept urging Noemi, "Make sure you get pregnant with his pup. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Don't let it slip away."

Noemi took the meds, overjoyed. "Mom, Dad, don't worry. I promise I won't disappoint you this time."

After my parents left, Noemi said smugly, "Eleni, big deal you went to Harvard. In the end, your mate isn't better than mine."

She spoke as if she'd already married into the top pack.

I gave her a dismissive smile. "Good luck getting what you want."

She thought being the mate of a top Alpha was all sunshine and roses.

But in fact, hardly any Lunas of top Alphas were happy.

From what I had seen, plenty of them were stuck in miserable lives.

If Noemi were so eager to suffer in the top pack, I would let her.

Before Noemi graduated, she ended up pregnant with Adam's pup. Then her status in the pack skyrocketed.

Adam never planned to mate with Noemi.

But my parents posted photos of them together on Twitter.

They announced Noemi was pregnant.

They paid to get them trending on Twitter and blew the whole thing up.

Adam was the Alpha of the North Pack and a famous philanthropist in North Pack territory. His reputation was everything to him.

To keep up appearances, he finally gave in.

He agreed to make Noemi his mate.

*****

The mating ceremony was a grand affair.

Noemi was the center of attention.

She couldn't stop grinning.

But Adam was not loyal at all.

When I walked past a quiet corner, I caught Adam and his secretary, Sophie, hugging with their clothes half off, doing something intimate.

The scene was so wild that I nearly threw up.

Sophie nestled into Adam's arms, her voice dripping with flirtation. "Alpha Adam, I'll be waiting for you at my place tomorrow night. You must come."

Adam looked at her with a lecherous gaze, his fingers brushing through her hair.

"Okay, wait for me," he replied.

Sophie, thrilled, couldn't help but plant a big kiss on his cheek.

I was so disgusted that I nearly threw up everything I'd eaten yesterday.

I hitched up my dress and snuck out of there.

In my previous life, Adam was fooling around with his secretary, Sophie.

It was an open secret.

People in the pack had no respect for Beta Sophie, but they were a little intimidated by her.

Sophie once strutted up to me and warned, "You're nothing but a pawn for Alpha Adam to grow his empire. I'm the one he truly loves. How could you compare to me?"

Noemi had no clue about any of this.

Of course, I never breathed a word to her.

I didn't want anyone to see how humiliated I had been.

By the time I hit 25, I was running on fumes. Years of chronic insomnia and relentless stress had wrecked me, and honestly, I kept whispering to myself, "My body's falling apart. I'm dying."

It was not like I never thought about rejecting him.

But those filthy memories were like brands seared into my skin. No matter what I did, I could never wash them off.

Honestly, sometimes I thought it'd be better to end my life.

Noemi had no clue that I never held any grudge against her for setting me on fire and killing me.