Wrong Way, Wrong Mate Chapter 01

The day of freshman move-in is my first time traveling to a werewolf university alone.

My Alpha twin brothers, Paxton and Zane, tell me they’ll meet me at the North Gate. My fated mate, Alpha Nathan, also sends me a location pin.

My second brother, Zane, has always loved teaming up with Paxton to play pranks on me. Whenever I get lost, he’s always the one laughing the hardest.

Lacey keeps urging me in our family group chat. “Hurry up! You’re the only one missing. The five of us are waiting for you!”

Dragging two heavy suitcases behind me, I follow the navigation arrows on my phone and walk a full three kilometers.

But when I finally reach the destination, all I find is an abandoned training ground overgrown with weeds. There isn’t even a single orientation tent in sight.

I call Paxton immediately.

He laughs so hard he can barely speak. “Willow, are you seriously that stupid? That’s the old, abandoned campus!”

“We just sent you a random location pin, and you actually followed it all the way there?”

Zane laughs in the background. “Aren’t you top of your class every year? How can you not even figure out where you’re going?”

Lacey leans toward the phone, making no effort to hide her amusement. “Willow, aren’t you supposed to be the smartest when it comes to exams? How can you not even find your way to Lunaris Academy?”

I bite down hard on my lip, forcing back my tears. With no other choice, I call another ride and head for the new campus.

But when the driver drops me off at the East Gate, an orientation volunteer steps forward to stop me.

“Freshman check-in is over. Students who haven’t completed registration aren’t allowed into the dorms today.”

Panic surges through me, and tears spill down my cheeks before I can stop them.

Just then, a video call pops up on my phone.

On the screen, Nathan stands beside Lacey, holding an umbrella over her head. Paxton carries her pink suitcase, while Zane holds her training shoes.

Behind them, my parents smile as they take pictures of her.

And the white dress I love most is on Lacey.

She waves her phone at the camera with a cheeky grin. “Aw, don’t cry. It was just a joke.”

“Besides, check-in isn’t actually over. I just told the volunteer to say your paperwork was incomplete so they wouldn’t let you in.”

“Come on, you know how hilarious you look when you get lost. You’ve been like that since you were little!”

Paxton frowns, looking at me impatiently. “It’s the first day of school. Don’t ruin everyone’s mood.”

Zane backs him up. “Seriously, don’t be so sensitive. You took a wrong turn. So what?”

Nathan gives me a cool glance. “Willow, you need to get over this. No one’s going to spend their whole life babying someone who can’t even find her way around.”

I hang up and look at the volunteer.

“So there’s nothing wrong with my paperwork, right?”

I stand beneath the awning at Lunaris Academy’s East Gate, rainwater dripping from my hair.

The volunteer rubs his hands together awkwardly.

“I’m sorry. Lacey told me this was some kind of tradition among your friends.”

I glance at the call log on my phone, then calmly slide my rain-soaked admission letter back into its folder.

“I understand. Thank you.”

By the time I drag my mud-covered suitcases into the registration hall, they’re standing in front of the orientation display board.

Paxton holds two cups of hot coffee, adding sugar to Lacey’s drink.

Nathan crouches in front of her, carefully wiping the mud off her white sneakers with a tissue.

Zane steadies her suitcase and takes her empty coffee cup without being asked.

My parents circle around her with their camera, looking for the perfect angle.

“Lacey, give us a smile!”

Not one of them notices me standing ten steps away.

Lacey spots me first and immediately rushes over to link her arm through mine.

“Willow, you’re finally here! We were so worried when you didn’t show up earlier.”

Her voice is sweet and playful, but she can barely suppress her grin.

I slowly slip my arm out of hers. “You were worried about me? Then why did all three of you ignore my calls?”

Paxton frowns and holds out the black coffee he hasn’t sweetened.

“Well, you made it in the end, didn’t you?”

I leave the coffee untouched.

Nathan stands up and tosses the dirty tissue into the trash. “Your sense of direction is terrible. Think of this as a chance to improve it.”

“Willow, you need to learn to grow up.”

I look straight into his eyes.

When I was six, I got lost in the forest behind our pack territory. I cried so hard I could barely catch my breath.

Nathan was the one who found me. He took my hand and wiped away my tears again and again.

“Willow, don’t be scared. From now on, I’ll always help you find your way.”

That little piece of tenderness from our past now cuts into my heart like a dull blade, slowly and painfully.

“Time for pictures! Everyone, get over here!”

Dad waves us over, and Lacey immediately runs to join them, naturally taking the center spot.

Mom pulls me to the very edge of the group.

Paxton shifts slightly, positioning his shoulder so it blocks half my face.

The camera clicks.

Afterward, Mom looks down at the screen. “Lacey photographs so beautifully. This white dress really brings out her complexion.”

Not once does anyone ask whether I’m exhausted from walking three unnecessary kilometers, or whether my feet are covered in blisters.

That evening, my RA, Ms. Collins, hands me a form.

“Willow Bellrose from Darkhowl Pack, right? Your single room has been changed to a double room with Lacey Winfield.”

I stare at her in disbelief.

I specifically requested a single room so I could study in peace for the Lycan and Werewolf Warrior Selection Trials.

Lacey peeks out from behind me, smiling sweetly, “I asked Paxton to change it.”

“Your single room is at the end of the hallway. With your terrible sense of direction, what if you get lost trying to find the bathroom in the middle of the night?”

I look at her innocent face. For the first time, I refuse to take the easy way out they always expect me to accept.

I turn to Ms. Collins. “Could you please restore my original room assignment?”

The air goes still.

Lacey’s eyes turn red in an instant. “I just didn’t want you to feel lonely.”

Paxton immediately pulls her behind him, his expression darkening.

“Willow, Lacey is only trying to be nice and keep you company. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Zane shoots me an irritated look. “Can’t you just be reasonable for once?”

Nathan furrows his brow slightly. “We’ve barely started the semester, and you’re already causing trouble. Just apologize, and we can put this behind us.”

I look at my two Alpha brothers, who have protected me since childhood, then at my fated mate, who once promised to help me find my way whenever I got lost.

Suddenly, it all feels so pointless.

I take back the key to my single room, grab my suitcases, and walk away.

My phone vibrates just then.

It’s a final enrollment confirmation from Apex Fang Academy, the top Lycan university.

I have exactly one month left before the response deadline.