Taming the Hybrid Mate: Desired by Five Alphas-Chapter 122: Can Mel join us?

Andria’s POV

"Yeah, well, words aren’t my problem right now." I slid inside, setting my bag on the table. "Mel wants to join our little study group."

The room went still, just like I had expected.

Arlo, who had been sprawled across the couch flipping through his economics textbook, looked up lazily. "Mel?"

"Yes," I confirmed. "She asked me directly. She said she doesn’t want to be alone anymore, and I’m actually considering it, because I wouldn’t want her feeling alone to the extent of attempting what she did the last time."

Another round of awkward silence befell the room.

Becca let out an exasperated groan. "See? I told you she was actually considering it."

"I mean, can’t she just see a therapist or something?" Michaela chipped in.

"I didn’t expect you to be outright against Mel, knowing that you were once on Larissa and Tracy’s side. You can blame it on the spell, but you know that you two have a lot in common," I reminded her, my tone calm but pointed, making sure the words sank in.

Michaela looked up at me with a surprised expression, her words catching in her throat. She just nodded, realizing her forward judgment.

Liara set her notes down slowly, her expression thoughtful. "Did she say why?"

"She mentioned Larissa and her inability to concentrate on what she was reading. I think she has been traumatized, and she just needs to be around other wolves that actually care. She sounded... broken, Liara, and I don’t want a repeat of what happened two weeks ago."

The faintest pitiful expression crossed Liara’s eyes. She folded her arms, then nodded slowly. "I understand. If anyone knows how close to the edge she is, it’s you and me. That note she left wasn’t just a cry for attention, Ari, I feel like she meant it."

She paused and then turned to Becca and Arlo. "Let’s give her the benefit of the doubt. Who knows, we may get to love her even more eventually."

Michaela winced. "So you think letting her in is the solution for her suicidal tendencies?"

"I think giving her hope is part of it," Liara replied firmly. "We don’t have to trust her completely, not yet. But shutting her out now could push her further into despair."

Becca crossed her arms. "Or it could pull us into her chaos. Aria’s already got Allison breathing down her neck. Do we really need to invite another storm into our circle?"

"Becca." Liara’s tone sharpened slightly. "This isn’t about Allison. It’s about saving someone from herself."

Arlo stretched lazily, finally speaking up. "I don’t care either way. Suppose she’s quiet and doesn’t distract us, fine. If she’s not, I’ll just walk out. Simple."

Becca rolled her eyes. "Of course you don’t care."

"Exactly," Arlo replied with a shrug, flipping a page.

I rubbed my temples, the headache pressing against my skull. "Look, I didn’t say she’s joining tonight. I told her I’d bring it up with you all first. If the majority says no, then it’s no. But I had to at least try for her sake."

Silence stretched for a moment. Liara was nodding slowly, Michaela chewing her lip, Becca scowling, and Arlo still pretending his book was more interesting than life.

Finally, Liara broke it. "Let her come tomorrow, who knows, the others may adjust if she poses no threat to us."

Becca groaned again, flopping onto the couch. "Fine. But if she starts her drama, don’t say I didn’t warn you."

Michaela glanced between us nervously, then whispered, "I’ll... go with what Liara said, just for tomorrow. But I’m scared, Aria. I really am. I was under an influence, she wasn’t under any influence, remember."

I reached over and squeezed her hand. "I know. But sometimes, being scared means we’re about to do something right."

She smiled faintly, though her worry didn’t fade.

The rest of the night, we actually got down to studying.

Prof. Garrich’s economics notes looked more intimidating under the lamplight, but Liara tried to patiently explain everything to us, making sure we grasped every word.

Becca, despite her earlier sulking, was surprisingly sharp with math problems, helping Michaela grasp a tricky formula. Arlo, who wasn’t so sharp in maths, seemed to be rapidly picking up.

We managed to grasp economics, mathematics, and history, which were the first subjects we were to write exams in.

I handled mathematics, while she handled economics. Becca, who understood history very well, handled history.

"Should we continue chemistry?" I asked as Becca completed her teaching.

I was still very energetic to continue, so I didn’t notice Arlo was already dozing off.

"I think everyone is already exhausted. We can handle the revision tomorrow, since that has been one subject we have been reading over and over since this week began," Liara suggested.

Everyone dispersed to their usual sleeping positions, and I was once again left to my thoughts.

*****************************************

The week that followed was nothing but books, late nights, and tired eyes. Mel joined us the very next day for the study group.

I’ll admit, the air was tense when she first joined us, but eventually they grew to love her.

Becca sat stiff with her arms folded, glaring as if daring Mel to make one wrong move. Michaela avoided her gaze entirely. Arlo barely looked up from his textbook.

But Mel didn’t flinch. She simply placed her books neatly on the table, sat down quietly, and listened.

Mel was a shadow of her former self. The lively Mel, who could have easily distracted the whole group with her boisterous nature, was cold as ice, like fragments of her have been chipped away.

And to everyone’s surprise, she wasn’t bad at all. In fact, she was pretty good.

"Wait, hold on," Michaela muttered one night, squinting at a confusing math problem. "I thought we skipped this last week."

"You can solve it if you reframe it like this," Mel said softly, reaching across and flipping Michaela’s notebook. She worked through the steps patiently.

Michaela blinked at the solution. "Oh. That actually makes sense."

"See? Told you I wasn’t completely useless," Mel murmured with the faintest smile. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Even Becca’s expression softened a fraction. Not much, but enough for me to notice.

Liara, on the other hand, was beaming. "Looks like our little risk is paying off."

And so, little by little, the walls we had built around her began to crack.