Adrian stood up slowly, wincing as his battered body straightened. But when he turned to , the expression on his face was oddly light, gentle, almost, like the storm he’d unleashed just monts ago had been neatly bottled back up.
"Don’t worry about ," he said with a lopsided grin that didn’t reach his eyes. "I’m already healing fine."
I wanted to argue, to ask him to let help, to say sothing, anything, to ease the crackling silence between us, but before I could, he was already walking away, limping slightly as he disappeared around the corner.
Gone.
Again.
And I just stood there beneath the fading light, the leaves above rustling in a cold wind that made the air feel thinner than before. I stayed rooted to the ground for a while, as if still carrying the weight of Adrian’s story, his pain, and the horrifying truth it bled into
But eventually, I forced myself to move. To breathe.
To go back.
Back to the hospital.
The hallway was quieter than before, and for a brief second, I thought maybe everything had been a horrible, broken dream.
Until I saw them.
Elise sat hunched on one of the cold benches in the corridor, her face buried in her hands. Her shoulders shook with silent sobs, her eyes red and swollen from hours of crying. Beside her, Felix stared ahead blankly, eyes wide and glazed like soone who’d seen too much to ever truly co back.
My steps slowed.
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and moved toward them, heart pounding with guilt, fear, sha, everything I couldn’t na.
But just as I reached them, a girl I didn’t recognize stord toward
A feral.
Her face was contorted with fury, and before I could even blink, she shoved , hard.
I stumbled back, falling to the floor with a painful thud.
"You bitch!" the girl scread, her voice raw and shaking. "You caused this!"
I barely had ti to to react before she was towering over , her eyes brimming with rage and grief.
"I lost three of my friends because of you! Three!" she shouted, voice cracking. "And you... you’re still walking around like nothing happened? Still breathing?"
I didn’t move.
I couldn’t.
My heart squeezed as her words landed, sharp and unrelenting.
"We knew our place in this hellhole. We knew!" she spat. "But you had to co in and play hero, riling people up, giving them hope, making them believe we could fight back. And now they’re dead. Dead! Because of you!"
Felix stirred beside Elise, his jaw tightening. He looked like he wanted to speak, to intervene.
But I caught his eyes and shook my head once.
No.
I deserve this.
The girl’s eyes were wild. "Don’t try to defend her," she hissed at Felix. "She made lose three of my friends this morning and the rest are brutally injured. She doesn’t get a defense."
Elise shifted, rising slightly from the bench, her lips parting to protest, but I stopped her too with a glance.
Please.
Let carry this.
The girl grabbed by the collar, dragging closer as her fists ca down, one after another.
"You should’ve died instead of them!" she scread. "You should’ve died!"
Her fists were weak with grief, her blows scattered and trembling, but I didn’t fight back. I didn’t lift a hand to stop her. I didn’t cry.
I just let her.
Because she was right.
They were dead.
And I was still breathing.
And maybe that was the real injustice.
...
It was getting dark by the ti I helped Elise and Felix back to the dorm. The shadows stretched long across the path, as if the night itself mourned the ones we’d lost. We used to walk in a group of four. Now... we were just three. And tomorrow, we’d bury Callum.
I don’t think any of us had really processed it yet.
Elise’s arm was draped over my shoulders, her body trembling from crying too much. Felix walked beside us like a ghost, his steps heavy, his face blank. He hadn’t said a word in what felt like hours. Grief does that. It steals your voice. Your breath. Your will.
"Tomorrow," he finally murmured as we reached the dorm, "we should bury them. Callum and the others."
I nodded. "We will."
There wasn’t anything else to say.
Once inside, I helped them sit in the common area. It felt cold. Empty. I made so weak tea from the dusty supplies we had. It wasn’t warm enough. Nothing was.
I was about to sit when my gaze flicked to the clock.
8:07 p.m.
Shit.
My stomach clenched. Kieran had told to be in his study by eight. Sharp. And judging by how he handled... everything, I doubted he’d take lateness kindly.
"I’ll be back," I muttered, standing. "Stay here. Just rest."
Neither of them asked where I was going. Elise just looked up with red-rimd eyes. Felix didn’t even blink.
I pulled on my hoodie and left, my steps quick but heavy. Every part of ached.
---
The academy halls were near silent. The only sound was the echo of my footsteps and the faint creak of the old floorboards. The Lycan dorm lood ahead like a fortress. Cold. Untouchable.
I reached his study door and knocked once.
I waited.
Nothing.
Maybe he wasn’t in?
I reached for the handle, slowly turning it.
The room was pitch black. The lights were off, and only a sliver of moonlight seeped through the curtains, casting eerie shadows across the floor.
"Kieran?" I called out quietly, stepping inside. "Are you here?"
No response.
Then—
A sudden swoosh of air—so fast I barely registered it—
And before I could move, before I could even breathe, my back slamd against tge wall with a harsh thud.
A gasp tore from my throat, only to be cut off as a hand closed around it.
Kieran.
He was right there. Pressed against . His chest bare and warm against my hoodie, his body a wall of muscle and restrained fury. His face was inches from mine, eyes glowing red in the dark, sharp like blades.
His grip around my throat wasn’t choking —but it was enough. Enough to make my pulse race. Enough to remind of exactly who he was.
His voice ca low, dark, and venomous, curling against my skin like smoke and steel.
"How dare you keep waiting?"
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