*****
The room stood still.... breathless.
All eyes were on Alistair Ashthorne as he stepped out from among the elite students, the heavy silence around him amplifying every footstep he took
Astrid Voss held up the knife with the sigil of the Crimson Hunt still gleaming coldly in her gloved hand. Her voice sliced through the room like a blade.
"Is this yours?"
Alistair stared at her, those slate-grey eyes betraying nothing. Not a blink. Not a twitch. Just a quiet stillness that made the room feel even colder.
He didn’t nod.
He didn’t shake his head.
He said absolutely nothing.
The silence was damning.
Astrid tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing. "Alistair Ashthorne. Are you a mber of the Crimson Hunt?"
Still nothing.
Magnus Thorn stepped forward now, the lines of his face hardening. "You think this is a ga, boy?" he growled. "Do you have any idea what that symbol ans? Or what the penalty is for housing Crimson Hunt weaponry within academy grounds?"
Alistair didn’t so much as flinch.
Astrid’s eyes never left him. "You understand what your silence ans?"
He tilted his head, a ghost of sothing dancing at the corner of his mouth, a smile so faint it was almost imaginary.
Magnus bristled. "Enough of this."
He turned to the guards flanking the hallway. "Arrest him."
The guards stepped forward in unison, silver cuffs in their hands, expecting resistance, so form of protest, a last burst of arrogance or defiance.
But Alistair... simply held out his hands.
No struggle. No smirk. Just calm compliance, like he was accepting a fate he had seen long ago.
The cuffs clamped shut around his wrists with a harsh tallic click, and still, he said nothing.
They began marching him toward the exit, the weight of everyone’s gaze heavy on his back. The elite students watched with a mixture of horror, suspicion, and disbelief. So were too stunned to react, others whispered his na like it was already turning into legend.
As Alistair was led out, he looked over his shoulder once.
Right at Astrid.
And smiled.
Not mockingly. Not triumphantly. It was sothing far more unsettling, knowingly.
Astrid’s jaw tensed.
Magnus glanced at her. "What the hell is that smile supposed to an?"
"I don’t know," Astrid said under her breath. "But I intend to find out."
Lorraine’s POV
I stord out of the hospital like the walls were choking .
Anger churned in my chest. My hands were shaking, my breaths ragged, my thoughts spiraling. Elise.... Elise was lying in there pale, barely breathing, her body poisoned and broken. Her tongue cut out. Her voice stolen. My best friend reduced to nothing but pain and silence.
Why?
Why does this academy keep taking pieces of us?
Why does it feel like we’re screaming into a void that just keeps devouring everything good?
I didn’t see him coming.
One second I was lost in my own head, the next I was almost colliding with a solid wall of muscle and heat.
Kieran.
He appeared so suddenly I nearly crashed into him. He caught fast, one arm sweeping around my waist, anchoring . My breath hitched as I steadied myself, but the fury still thundered inside , louder than my pulse.
I stepped away from him instantly, needing space. Needing clarity.
His red eyes bore into mine. They weren’t glowing with rage or arrogance or desire. They were... searching.
"You think I did that to her too."
It wasn’t a question.
His voice was low, dangerous... not because of its sharpness, but because of the silent pain it held within his depth
I opened my mouth, but nothing ca out.
Because I didn’t know.
I wanted to believe it wasn’t him. I wanted to scream that I trusted him. That I knew he wouldn’t do sothing that sick, that cruel.
But....
What if it wasn’t him?
What if it was his wolf?
His wolf was spiraling. He couldn’t control it. I’d seen what his wolf almost did to . What if Elise had been another mont of weakness? Another ti he couldn’t take the reins?
I said nothing.
I just looked at him, looked into those beautiful, broken eyes, and let the silence answer for .
And that was worse than any blade.
Without another word, Kieran stepped back. His jaw clenched once.
Then he was gone.
He vanished with a gust of wind and a blur of speed, disappearing from the hospital grounds before I could even reach for him.
"Wait," I called out. "Stop!"
But it was already too late.
And I hated myself for letting him walk away.
Because deep down... I still believed him.
And yet... I had hesitated.
I shouldn’t have stayed silent.
I should have said sothing, anything.
I breathed in, trying to trace him. His scent still lingered faintly in the air, earthy and electric, but the wind wasn’t kind. It scattered it too fast. He had moved quickly, too quickly.
Still, I wasn’t giving up.
I needed to find him.
So I ran.
Across the empty courtyard. Down the shadowed corridors. Through the training grounds, past the feral dorm, around the Lycan dorm. My chest heaved with every step, but I kept moving.
I followed any wisp of him I could catch. But it was hard. Like chasing ghosts.
Sotis I thought I had him, just to lose it again, the scent too faint or too tangled with too many others. My legs ached. My lungs burned.
Please, Kieran.... don’t go far.
Then finally.... inally, I caught it again. Stronger. Steady.
It led behind the east wing, past the academy buildings and into a small, quiet grove I’d never even noticed before. Tucked away like a secret.
There was a small stone bridge ahead, stretched across a serene pond I didn’t even know existed.
And there he was.
Standing at the center of the bridge, still as a statue, his back to . His long black hair was loose again, swaying slightly in the breeze. His hands rested on tge railing as he stared into the still water below like it held all the answers to his tornt.
I slowed my steps.
My heart thudded, loud and anxious.
He looked like a god carved into flesh.
And I didn’t know if I should disturb him. If I had the right to.
But I stepped onto the bridge anyway.
He didn’t turn.
"Kieran..." I said softly.
He didn’t flinch. Didn’t speak.
"I’m sorry," I breathed. "I should’ve said sothing back there. I should’ve trusted you."
Still, nothing. Only the soft ripple of water below.
"I don’t think you hurt Elise," I continued, inching closer. "I really don’t. Not you."
His shoulders tensed slightly.
"I was scared. And confused. But deep down, I knew. I know. You wouldn’t do that."
Finally, he turned.
His face was unreadable
He stared at for a long second. "You hesitated."
"I know," I whispered. "I’m sorry."
I reached out slowly, gently taking his hand.
He let .
"I’m sorry," I said again, the words barely a whisper between us. "It’s not that I believe you hurt her. I don’t. I know you wouldn’t."
Kieran’s jaw clenched slightly, but he said nothing. So I kept going.
"It’s just... I thought maybe, maybe it was your wolf. That side of you... when it took over your body. What if it wasn’t you, but it was still a part of you?" My voice cracked. "That scared ."
He turned fully to face then, eyes burning red beneath the sun light. But they weren’t wild. They weren’t angry.
They were... resolute.
"It wasn’t him," Kieran said, voice calm and cold, like a glacier breaking through fire. "Elise was kidnapped during my father’s visit. That was before I actively began the Total Lycan Ascension. My wolf was still chained inside then."
My brows furrowed as I blinked, unsure. "But..."
"And her injuries..." he continued, cutting gently across my hesitation. "Lorraine, when a wolf attacks, it’s brutal. Primal. Violent. But it’s chaotic. There’s no structure. No rhythm. It’s just instinct ripping through flesh, nothing more."
He stepped closer, his shadow brushing mine.
"A wolf doesn’t torture," he said. "A wolf doesn’t know how to cut in precise lines. Or inject wolfsbane repeatedly. Or chain soone in silver just enough to keep them alive while breaking them. A wolf doesn’t plan."
My breath caught. I hadn’t thought of it like that.
He nodded slightly, seeing the realization dawn in my eyes.
"Whoever did that to Elise wasn’t just trying to kill her," he said, voice dipping lower, colder. "They were sending a ssage. A slow one. A painful one."
I felt sick.
"She wasn’t left in my bathroom by chance," Kieran continued. "She wasn’t hidden there on a whim. It’s all deliberate. A twisted part of sothing bigger. Sothing we haven’t even begun to uncover yet."
I looked down at our joined hands.
My fingers had been gripping his tighter than I realized.
"So it’s not just about hurting her," I murmured. "It’s.... part of a plan."
He nodded once. "And the fact that none of us saw it coming, that not even Astrid or Magnus or the entire Lycan students had a clue who could’ve done it, ans one thing."
He leaned in slightly, eyes locking onto mine.
"This person.... whoever they are, they’re smart. Very smart."
I exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of his words settle deep in my chest.
"And do you know what’s deadlier than a strong enemy?" Kieran asked, his voice barely above a whisper now.
I shook my head.
"A smart one," he said. "Because they don’t strike when you expect them. They build the storm slowly. And when it hits.... it’s already too late."
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