Over the next few days, Chase called me one more time.

Under the guise of checking if I'd managed to snag a ticket, he wanted me to help him and Anna buy discounted movie tickets.

I really wanted to ask him - what am I, some kind of desperate bargain hunter glued to discount apps all day?

But I held back.

I turned him down, saying I was broke.

Meanwhile, Anna posted something on Facebook.

The photo showed her in a sparkly white wedding dress, holding a bouquet, looking up at the sky - exactly the kind of shot I'd once wanted to take with Chase.

The caption read: "Craving love like a starving person craves bread; longing to be loved like someone freezing longs to be wrapped in warmth."

Chase's comment below practically burned my eyes: "I'll always love you like a starving man loves bread."

I clicked on his profile with zero expression and blocked both of them.

Those cheesy lines were things I'd once said to Chase.

The day before the trip, someone knocked on my dorm door.

I opened it to find the two people I least wanted to see - Chase and Anna.

Anna flashed the most fake, over-the-top smile.

"Quinn! Chase and I came to check on you."

Chase just pushed past me and barged into my room.

His eyes swept every corner of the dorm, and his expression darkened.

"What do you want?"

I regretted staying up too late last night. I'd been groggy when I woke up and didn't react fast enough to stop him.

"We're leaving tomorrow. You're always forgetting things, so Anna was worried. We came to check on you."

Chase examined every inch of my dorm room.

"Did you get a ticket? Plane or train?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

Anna sidled up to me with fake concern, trying to link arms with me. I stepped aside to avoid her.

She didn't seem embarrassed at all:

"Did you get a plane ticket or train ticket? What time? If we're leaving around the same time, we could share a ride to the station."

Watching their phony act, I lost all desire to keep playing along.

I didn't say a word, just shook my head coldly.

"Oh no!" Anna looked concerned but was clearly enjoying this.

"You didn't get one? What are we gonna do? You won't be able to come with us."

Chase's face turned ugly as he snapped at me:

"Quinn, I told you to get a damn ticket! What the hell have you been doing? Throwing another one of your little princess tantrums?"

Anna quickly stepped in to restrain Chase.

"Chase, don't talk to Quinn like that. I'm sure she has her reasons. It's just too bad she won't be able to make this trip."

I watched their little performance, laughing bitterly inside.

"Don't worry about me. I'll get there. I have my own way."

"You? What way could you possibly have?"

Chase was getting seriously impatient, glaring at me with pure venom.

"Every time shit hits the fan, this is what you do. You throw your little princess fit, ignore the actual problem, then dump all the blame on me."

"Well guess what? I'm done babying you. That's not my job anymore."

"Do whatever the hell you want!"

"Chase, don't say that. Quinn's a girl, you know."

Anna grabbed Chase's arm and pulled out her phone, tapping a few times.

My phone pinged with a notification.

Anna put on this sickeningly sweet voice:

"Quinn, honey, this is a ticket I bought. I was gonna go there by myself, but Chase insisted I come with him instead."

"If you really wanna get out and have nowhere else to go, maybe check this place out."

I glanced at my phone.

It was some tourist spot in New York state.

Calling it a tourist spot was generous - more like a glorified park with a couple small hills and a man-made waterfall.

Admission was a only three bucks.

"No thanks."

I turned them both down coldly, with just a hint of a smile.

"I'm going on this trip, and I'm gonna have a blast. Probably better than whatever you two end up with."

Chase let out this bitter laugh.

"Stubborn as hell."

He grabbed Anna's hand and headed for the door.

"Do whatever you want. Live or die, that's on you. Don't come crying to me about it."

The next day was gorgeous - clear skies, perfect weather.

I didn't pack much, just threw a small bag over my shoulder with makeup, sunscreen, and my phone.

My luggage and clothes had already been packed by the omega servants and shipped ahead to the five-star luxury hotel Dad had booked for me.

If I forgot anything, I could always buy it when I got there.

Walking toward the campus gate, I ran smack into those two.

"Quinn, you're actually going somewhere?"

Anna sidled up to me, looking me up and down:

"You didn't bring any luggage. How are you planning to travel?"

"Wait..." She gasped dramatically, covering her mouth. "You're not planning to shift and run there yourself, are you?"

"You're not exactly built like a warrior. How could you possibly run that far? It'd take like fifteen hours. You'd never make it."

Chase crossed his arms and turned away in disgust.

"Even warriors don't run that far. Fifteen hours of running - you'd be covered in sweat and stink. Absolutely gross."

"Quinn, if you're planning to shift and run there, don't tell anyone you know me. That's embarrassing as hell."

That bitter smile crept back onto my face.

When Chase first came to New York for school, his parents couldn't afford train tickets. They had to shift and run the whole way.

Twenty hours on the road, completely exhausted.

Finally some convenience store clerk took pity on them, gave them free food and a place to crash for the night.

In just a few years, he'd turned into this kind of person.

I swallowed the sarcastic comment that was about to spill out.

I knew Chase was a hypocritical, arrogant guy with an incredibly fragile ego.

If I called him out in public like this, he'd fly into a rage and probably get physical with me.

I couldn't put myself in that position.

Anna kept going:

"You know what, Quinn? Maybe you should just skip it. Go to that place I told you about instead."

"There's hardly anyone there, and it's close by. You could walk there in two hours."

"No need. I can get there just fine on my own." I let out a cold laugh.

"Quit being ridiculous." Chase's tone was patronizing, like he was doing me a favor.

"Get there how? What's your brilliant plan?"

"What, you gonna charter a private jet or something?"

His voice was dripping with contempt and condescension.

But I surprised him by nodding seriously.

"Yep. Private jet."

Both of them froze.

It took several seconds for it to sink in.

Chase exploded:

"Quinn, you think we're idiots or something?"

"If you're gonna take the train, just take the damn train. Why say stupid shit that only a three-year-old would come up with?"

"You've probably never even been in first class on a train, let alone a plane. What's next, gonna tell us your family owns an airline?"

As far as I knew, our pack's business empire in the human world did include aviation.

I looked calmly at Chase's twisted, furious face, feeling completely satisfied.

Even if I told them the truth, they'd never believe it.

I couldn't wait to see their faces when they found out.

Anna grabbed Chase's arm with that soft, sweet voice, perfectly playing the manipulative innocent:

"Chase, don't get so worked up. Quinn's only saying this because we pushed her too far. If it wasn't for me, she wouldn't have to embarrass herself like this in public."

Chase was disgusted:

"Embarrassing herself? That's her own damn fault!"

"Acting like a princess when she's got nothing. Talking about private jets - what other ridiculous shit won't she say?"

Their angry and gleeful faces danced in front of me.

I checked the time. Dad's car would be here soon. I didn't want to waste any more time explaining to these two.

"Truth is truth and lies are lies. You'll see for yourselves soon enough."

I walked straight toward the campus gate.

A sleek black stretch Rolls-Royce had just pulled up.

Before it even stopped, a young man in a sharp suit, glasses, and tie jumped out of the passenger seat.

He hurried over, looking flustered.

"Your Highness, I'm Alpha's new assistant. Just call me Jason."

Assistant Jason bowed as he followed behind me.

"I'm handling your entire itinerary. There's also a female assistant who went ahead to set up your hotel suite."

"The jet's ready to go whenever you are."

"Sorry this was so last minute - we couldn't prepare everything perfectly. Please forgive us, Your Highness."