Evaline:
I leaned further into the gap of the window. The slit was barely wide enough to breathe through, but the dark night outside and the flickering firelight within worked in my favor.
Shadows were dancing inside the room - long limbs and shifting bodies, heads bowed, arms folded.
There were more students than I expected. More than a dozen or even two. Probably more, considering how packed the room was looking. And the sheer number made my stomach drop. If this group was half as dangerous as I feared... Why were so many part of it?
From my low angle, I could only glimpse the lower halves of their bodies - boots, shoes, nervous tapping feet, the occasional glimr of silver buckles or crest rings. They were all standing, or at least most of them were. Like they were waiting for sothing... or soone.
Then, out of nowhere, a figure stepped right in front of the window.
I flinched, my heart leaping into my throat.
For a second, I thought they had seen . My breath caught, body stiffened, and fingers curled so tightly I almost tore the skin on my palms. But they didn’t look down. They were just... there, blocking my view completely.
So I leaned back.
I couldn’t see anymore, but I could still hear.
"...This is a mistake," a girl said, her voice quivering. "We shouldn’t be here. After what happened, after Carson-"
"Do you think we have a choice?" soone else - another girl, bolder - snapped back. "You think I want to be here?"
"Carson should have been a wake-up call," a third voice added, sounding solemn and heavy. "We should have disbanded after that."
That na, Carson, fell like a stone in the room. The murmurs stilled. No one spoke for a beat. The weight of it lingered thick in the air.
The more I was hearing this na, the more sure I was becoming that he was the Soul Dead senior.
Then, a fourth voice, slower and heavier than the rest, broke the silence.
"Carson didn’t just end up like that because of bad luck," the person said. "He found sothing. Sothing he wasn’t supposed to see and that was his mistake. And we all know... he doesn’t like mistakes."
They paused. I could hear the shift of fabric, like soone leaning in.
"And if any of us make the sa mistake... we’ll end up just like him."
A few audible inhales echoed in the room. The fear was real... palpable. Thick enough to seep through the wall and infect too.
There was that ntion again - him.
The man they seed to be afraid of. The one ntioned by the second-years earlier that day.
I didn’t know if he was the leader, the founder, or just so terrifying enforcer, but every ti soone ntioned him, it was accompied by pure fear.
Like speaking his na would summon him.
Suddenly, soone - one of the boys - broke down.
"I-I can’t do this anymore," he cried, his voice cracking. "I can’t-I can’t end up like Carson. I never even wanted this! He scares . He scares . I want out-I want out!"
His words were desperate. Raw.
Then...
A new voice, one I hadn’t heard yet, cut through the chaos like ice on bare skin. It was a girl, but her tone was unlike any of the others - sharp and commanding, cold as the stone walls around us.
"If you don’t shut your mouth right now," she said calmly, "I will kill you where you stand."
Silence.
Complete, terrifying silence.
There wasn’t even the sound of a breath.
Her words echoed like a whip crack, and in that mont, I could feel every soul in that room freeze.
And so did I.
I was so stunned, so horrified by her words that a small, involuntary gasp escaped .
And then... ca instant regret.
I slapped a hand over my mouth, but it was too late. Everyone inside that room was a werewolf, and I knew better than to believe they didn’t hear .
Inside the room, there was a pause. And then-
"Soone’s there."
The girl’s voice was no longer calm. It was sharp, urgent. "Soone’s listening-catch them!"
Panic slamd into my chest.
Run, my mind scread.
I didn’t need to be told twice.
I bolted from behind the crates, my heart hamring as I tore down the corridor. My shoes thudded against the stone floor, echoing louder than they should have, too loud, too fast.
Door flew open behind and sound filled the hallway.
They were coming.
And I was already too slow.
I hadn’t even made it halfway to the stairs when they almost caught up with . I pushed harder, trying to recall the way out. Stairs. Then the side corridor. Then up... don’t miss a step... don’t trip... don’t fall...
I turned the corner and saw the base of the stairwell - thank the stars.. then a hand grabbed my coat.
I shrieked, yanking away, spinning toward the shadows as I wrestled free.
Voices behind barked commands, and I heard their footsteps gaining again. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. I was running on pure adrenaline now.
Up the stairs, two at a ti. Through the narrow hallway. My lungs were burning, my legs screaming.
But they were gaining. Fast.
I reached the tower landing and shoved open the door, but the mont I stepped through... a hand shot out of the shadows and grabbed .
I scread again, but it never left my mouth.
The hand clamped over my mouth, another arm wrapped around my waist, and before I could fight, I was pulled into darkness.
A door clicked shut softly as I blinked wildly, but there was only pitch blackness.
My heart was thundering so loud I couldn’t hear a thing for a few seconds. Then, slowly, I realized sothing.
I wasn’t in the corridor anymore.
I was in a room, or maybe a hidden alcove. There was barely any light, just enough to make out the faint outline of the person holding . I couldn’t see their face. Just the glint of their eyes.
Their hold on wasn’t cruel, but it was strong. Secure.
I wasn’t alone anymore.
And I didn’t know if that was better or worse.
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