Lunar Shift: Entwined Destinies

Where did my life go wrong?

How could I have ever expected my life to change by reconnecting with my childhood crush, only to discover that he had been in love with someone else throughout our entire childhood? In just a matter of seconds, my entire childhood was shattered, and the world became a stranger place to live in.

Bricklyn Scarlign. Just breathe

*****

Bricklyn Scarlign's presence commanded attention as she walked through the bustling high school hallway, with a smile that could rival that of a shining star. As she passed by the other young male wolves looking for potential mates, all were ogling at the brown-haired, hazel-eyed woman, despite being a recessive omega. She stood out effortlessly amidst the sea of students going about their day.

A young male alpha wolf named Darius found himself getting lost in a trance of looking at Bricklyn, talking to her alpha friend Cara. His sandy-blonde hair, neatly styled, framed a face that held a hint of a smirk.

Darius navigated through the swarm of students to get to the two women. His eyes fixed solely on Bricklyn's bright face and her long hair, which perfectly cascaded down her slender body. Her eyes twinkle with delight as she chatters away with her friend.

"Hey girls!" he beamed to the girls to get their attention. Bricklyn shyly looks down while Cara greets him back.

"Good morning, Cara!" He turns to the shy Bricklyn, still looking down. "Bricklyn?" he muttered.

The girl with the beautiful face finally looked up at him. He smiled and sweetly said, "Good morning."

Bricklyn smiled bashfully, "We-hi. Um good morning, Darius," then looked down again. The girl is red and clearly shy.

Darius smiled to himself and lifted Bricklyn's chin up. "Smile wider. You're cuter when you do." He then left for his classroom, leaving the two women alone.

"Bricklyn, you okay?" her friend worriedly asked.

"I-Im fine"

Bricklyn thought that her heart would explode into a million pieces as Darius lifted her chin.

For the longest time, he had a crush on that boy. She fell so hard for him not because he's one of the best-looking guys in her school, not even because he's an alpha, but because she finds him really kind and charming. She hasn't confessed yet, as she is timid and figures that an alpha wolf like Darius wouldn't want a mate who is considered a lower-ranking wolf than him.

So until she could gain the courage to confess, the only thing she could do was stare and bumble like an idiot in front of him.

"Math sucks." her friend beside her muttered tiredly.

They just got out of their math subject, the last class they have this day, and Cara clearly struggled from their surprised quiz. And usually, Bricklyn excelled in a lot of their subjects, but she also struggled as her headspace was swallowed by Darius' blue, piercing eyes, staring and smiling at her. Although he has sharp features, his eyes encapsulate those of an innocent and friendly wolf. But as far as she knows, he isn't innocent in the slightest, as Darius is flirtatious by nature.

As they walked along the hallway, she could feel the disappointment in herself. She's pretty ambitious and prioritizes her studies above everything else, and yet Darius, doing his usual greetings and wearing that same killer smile, could shake her resolve.

But something feels off about him, she mused. Though she chalked it off to her imagination.

"Shoot!" Cara exclaimed.

"What's wrong?"

"I forgot to submit the list of expenditures." She rummaged through her bag and took out a bunch of notes stacked together. "Oh, I'm such a scatterbrain."

"Want me to help you?"

"No, I got this. You go on ahead without me," she said as she ran to the student council office.

Bricklyn then continued her walk as she brushed her hair with her fingertips. As It's the end of classes, students are out and about, either on cleaning duties or on their way home. Of course, Bricklyn turns some heads just by walking the hallway. She was, after all, an attractive girl, and guys—even some girls—are clearly smitten by her looks. She doesn't want this attention, but at the same time, she takes pride in being the center of it.

Before she got out of the building, a voice called out from behind her.

"Wait up, Bricklyn!" he said.

She turns around, and her eyes widen at the sight of Darius slightly panting in front of her. He's in his PE uniform. His hair is slightly disheveled and all over the place, with beads of sweat falling down on his face.

Although wolves are pretty athletic by nature, there are some who excel more than others, and one of them is Darius.

"Do you... Can we talk?" he asked as he wiped away his sweat with the back of his hand.

Huh? She didn't know what to do as her brain was suddenly overwhelmed with an extreme case of jumbled drivel. With nothing coherent registering in her mind, she just nods slightly.

He beamed, grabbed her hand, and led her out of the school building. They arrived at one of the secluded spaces near the track and field. There, he finally let go of her. Even though it was brief, she basked in the warmth of his hands holding hers.

Her nerves were replaced with confusion as he turned his back on her. He cleared his throat and turned back around again. His expression changes from his usual smiling one to a serious one.

"I've been wanting to ask you if you'd like to go out somewhere today? That is, if you're free."

"S-somewhere?" Her voice was meek, but at this point, she was just glad that she was able to say something amidst being on the brink of blabbering idiot.

He nodded and, once again, smiled. The smile that always makes her heart ache is the fact that she will never own it. She will always share this one aspect of him with any other female wolves out there.

She fiddled with the strap of her string bag as she tried to gauge every possible route she wanted to take. As she was taking a bit too long to speak, Darius spoke. "Somewhere... like a date. So?" He raised his eyebrows and flashed her an expression of hopefulness.

Darius is a handsome man, and beside that, he actually looks fierce and very commanding, but when he needs it, he could basically turn that fierceness into another expression, one of which is what he's doing now. His face is akin to that of a puppy, begging for something, and Bricklyn, on the other hand, is susceptible to it.

Her eyes darted around them, not wanting to land on him. But by uncontrolled force, she was drawn to him, especially his eyes.

He smiled again as he caught her eyes.

She clenched her fist, took a deep breath, and quietly, almost inaudibly, said, "Alright. It's a date."

To his delight, Darius grabbed her hand and kissed it gently, saying, "You'll never regret it."

They walk to a coffee shop together near the school. She walks behind him, and when Darius notices this, he matches her pace and lays his hand on her. She was hesitant, but when he swiveled his head around to look at her, her hands just moved by themselves. It gently landed on his warm one, and he gripped it tightly, seemingly scared that she would let go. She was uncomfortable, yes, but her heart and her stomach were fighting each other; one was swarming with millions of butterflies, and the other was warm enough to burn her face into redness.

She could feel every nerve in her body waking up, wanting to jump outside. Her mind is swirling with happiness, even intoxicating to the point that she slightly feels dizzy.

Oh, how I love this man.

They arrived at the cafe in the blink of an eye. She was dazed, so she didn't let go of him, though he didn't seem to mind it. But as she pulled her hand back frantically when she came to her senses, he chuckled.

"That's too bad. I actually love the feeling of your fingers wrapped around mine." He smiles again, and her heart jumps to her throat, rendering her ability to speak. And once again, his hands gently touched hers. "Let's go inside."

She was thankful that the food they ordered came early. This gave her an excuse for not talking and made her stumble through her own words. As she sipped her juice, she could feel his eyes boring into her. She clumsily put her cup down, almost spilling it.

I can't concentrate. I'm too nervous to speak. What should I do? And why does he keep looking at me?

Her hands gripped the cup like her life depended on it.

Darius notices this, so he thinks of something to relieve her nervousness. He thought that for someone who confidently presents herself, or at least has an aura of it, she's actually very shy, to the point that she's incapacitated by it.

His hand traverses the table and into her nervous mitt. He cupped both of them and said to her, in a gravelly tone, "Close your eyes, Bricklyn."

She does so. "Breathe in and out. Relax. Think of this as a... Well, a day out with a friend." He could see Bricklyn following him and seeing her shoulders rise up and down a couple of times. "Take your time."

After a while, she finally opens her eyes and slowly looks at him. Sorry," she said, her voice, just as meek as ever. "I'm-I'm just not used to this kind of stuff before. I… I'm having fun, but I'm a bit uncomfortable."

She's not really this shy toward anyone. But this is her childhood crush, the one that she's been wishing to have since she was just a young pup. And now, being invited by him to go out… on a date… while holding hands is too much for one day.

"I understand. I'll wait until you get comfortable, okay?" he smiled, and once again, her heart was swallowed by happiness. And without noticing this, she smiled too.

"There you go. You smiled. That's what I've been waiting for." He chuckled. "It's all worth it, just for that."

She blushed. She bit her lip and smiled to herself.

As time went on, on their date, she slowly became comfortable with his presence. She didn't even know how her poor heart could survive their trip to the coffee shop, the movies, and the walk in the park, but it did hold on, granted that it was on its last hinges of hanging on her chest. It's probably the result of him having casual conversations with her from time to time that made it last.

Meanwhile, Darius was ecstatic that he was walking along with Bricklyn. He refrained from holding her hand to make her feel at ease, but he would've likely done so until the end of their date. Even so, he feels pride that his date is a beautiful woman who's radiant, gaining the attention of every mateless wolf they encounter.

He accompanied her home, as it was already dark.

"Thanks for… taking me home," she said, cupping her hands together while looking down.

"Don't mention it."

"So, um, goodbye," she said, and she finally looked up, met his eyes, and smiled.

Before she could go, he grabbed her arms and pulled her closer to him. "I like you, Bricklyn. I always have."

Her eyes widened in surprise. She could only hope that her poor heart could hold on just a little longer. She parted from him. His face returned to the serious expression he had as he asked her out earlier. She didn't expect to actually be caught off guard again.

She clenched her fist, and her long fingernails penetrated the strap of her bag as she tried to stop herself from doing any impulsive actions that her body was pushing her to do.

"I love you. Will you be my girlfriend?"

She blinked, and the action that she was holding back poured out like a broken dam. Tears fell from her eyes uncontrollably. She was in the process of wiping it and covering her face when Darius held her hands. Worriedly, he asked, "What's wrong?".

"I-this… I-I ca- Darius…" she stumbles through her words, finding the right thing to say. "I'm dreaming... r-right?"

Darius earnestly shook his head.

"No, this... I'm so happy." She sobbed even more and looked down. Darius let go of her hand and cupped her face. He smiled and said, "I'm real. And I'm here."

He lifted her chin and kissed her gently.

They parted for a while just for Darius to ask her, "I take this as yes?"

She nods as her tears slowly subside. After he let out a soft chuckle, he kissed her again.

They're official. She cannot wrap her head around the idea that she's dating her childhood crush in the first week of their relationship, but because of Darius, she's finally realizing that she really isn't dreaming. And as expected, some people are not supportive of their relationship, as she has a lot of suitors. But what's important to her is that the majority of their schoolmates are supportive and that Darius doesn't care either way.

And she didn't even expect that the longer they are together, the more comfortable and brazen she has become with a lot of things. Thanks to Darius' support, that is. And as for Darius' attitude, she didn't expect him to crank up that flirtatious side of him to a hundred. Though she loved him all the more, he opened up to her.

She's currently waiting for him in the park. They've been dating for months now, and Darius invited her to an arcade for some fun as they haven't spent time together for a week because of studies.

"Bricks" Darius greeted from behind, wrapping his arms around her. "Sorry for making you wait."

She gently removes it, turns to him, and smiles. "It's fine; let's go," she said while playfully tapping his cheek with her finger.