Chapter 5 I'll have her expelled

Atlas's POV

The door slammed shut behind me, rattling the frame, but it didn't drown out the chaos already filling my room.

My dorm wasn't just mine, not really. Not when I had the entire pack of them lounging around like they owned the place. My so-called friends sat across the couches, chairs, even the floor, half-empty soda cans and snack wrappers scattered everywhere like they'd been waiting for me to return and tell them everything.

And I knew the second they saw me, the smirks, the raised brows, the knowing glances, that they weren't going to make this easy.

"There he is!" Liam, my beta and the loudest of the lot, shot up and grabbed me in a headlock, ruffling my hair like I was a kid. I shoved him off, but not before he laughed in my ear.

"So, did you see her? Mira's back, huh? What's it like seeing your ex-mate walk through the door?"

I scowled and shoved him harder, but it only earned me more chuckles from the others.

"Ex-mate? More like a curse," I muttered, crossing the room to drop onto the arm of the couch, trying to ignore the thudding in my chest. I wasn't scattered. I wasn't. I'm fine.

But their words dug under my skin. Mira! That name again. I clenched my fists, trying to shake off the image of her. The girl who walked in like she didn't even know me, like she hadn't wrecked my head last semester and disappeared without a word.

Zara. That's what they said her name was. But how could it be?

"Damn, man. You look like you've seen a ghost." Sam, always the observant one, grinned at me from his perch on the windowsill. His eyes gleamed with mischief. "Or maybe the one that got away, huh?"

"Shut up," I snapped, but my voice came out lower than I wanted, more strained.

They wouldn't stop.

"Maybe she's here to apologize," Finn offered, mock-serious, leaning back with his hands behind his head. "Maybe she realized she couldn't stay away from you after all."

Laughter. It filled the room, bouncing off the walls, and I hated how it made my skin itch.

"Or maybe she's here to finish the job," Liam added, eyes glinting. "You should've seen yourself last semester, bro. Acting all tough while she walked all over you."

That hit harder than I'd admit. My jaw clenched. I dragged a hand through my hair, the weight of their stares suffocating.

"She's not Mira," I said, voice low but firm. But even I wasn't sure who I was trying to convince, my friends or myself.

The room quieted just a little, the laughter fading into curious glances.

"Come on, Atlas," Sam said, his grin still lingering but softer now. "You expect us to believe that? You really think some random girl just shows up here looking like her twin, acting like she doesn't know you?"

I didn't answer. Couldn't. Because I didn't have one.

All I saw when I looked at her, Zara, Mira, whoever the hell she was, was confusion in her eyes. Like she was as lost as I felt.

"Maybe she's playing you again," Finn said, breaking the tension with another laugh. "Maybe you're about to get your heart stomped on twice."

"I don't care," I growled, pushing off the couch. My chest felt tight, my wolf pacing just under my skin, restless and agitated. I paced to the window, trying to catch my breath, staring out at the woods beyond. The shadows between the trees felt safer than this room.

"I'll have her expelled," I said suddenly, the words sharp, suddenly leaving my mouth, yet I meant every word. "I'm not putting up with her games this time. She can go back to wherever she came from."

The room fell silent. For a beat.

Then Liam whistled low. "Harsh. But hey, maybe that's what she deserves."

"Yeah," Sam said, though his voice wasn't as sure. "If she messed you up that bad last time... maybe it's for the best."

But I could feel their eyes on me. Like they knew. Like they saw through me, through the cold front I was trying so damn hard to keep up.

Because the truth was, I didn't want her to leave. Not really.

Their voices kept echoing, filling up the room. I stared out at the forest, at the dark sky, and I tried to pull myself together. But the more I tried, the more I felt like I was splintering apart inside.

"She even changed her name," Liam said quietly, breaking into my thoughts. "That's cold, man. Like she's trying to wipe you out of existence."

I gritted my teeth. "She's not Mira."

But the words tasted like ash. But how could she ignore me and pretend like she doesn't know me? But if she wasn't Mira, then why did everything about her feel the same?

Her scent. Her voice, soft, but with an edge like she was fighting the world. Her eyes, the same ones that haunted my dreams.

"You sure about that?" Finn asked, watching me too closely.

No. I wasn't sure about anything anymore.

I ran a hand through my hair, yanked open the mini fridge, and grabbed a soda. The hiss of the can opening was too loud. I took a swig, the sweetness sharp on my tongue, but it didn't help. I hated this.

Hated feeling like I didn't have control.

"Bro, let it go," Sam said, his voice easy, like this was just another joke. "She's not worth it."

I didn't answer. I downed the soda all at once, the sweetness sharp and bitter. The room was filled with their voices, but they sounded far away now.

She's not worth it. But maybe she was. Maybe that was the problem. But I couldn't let them see that.

Can't let her see that.

"I'll have her expelled," I said again, harsher this time. "I can't stand her."

But my wolf howled inside me, the sound raw, filled with something I didn't want to name.

The door banged open, and another guy, Jude, strolled in like he owned the place.

"Yo, Atlas! I heard Mira's back-oh, wait. She's calling herself Zara now, right?" His grin was all mockery. "Damn, you've got a soap opera going on."

The others laughed again.

"I'm serious," I snapped. "If she thinks she can come back in here and mess with my head, she's out. I'll make sure of it."

But no matter how hard I tried to convince them, I couldn't convince myself.

....

Hours passed. They stayed, talking, teasing, speculating.

Some said, "You'll get back with her, you always do."

Others laughed, "No way. She really dealt with him last semester."

Some tried to console me with platitudes that meant nothing. And I just stood there, torn between wanting her gone and wanting her to stay.