Lorraine’s POV
I stood frozen, staring back at Kieran.
His red eyes were locked on mine, unblinking, unreadable, furious. The noise of the academy around us dulled into a muffled echo. My blood turned cold.
There was no mistaking the silent threat in his gaze. He didn’t need to say a word.
I thought about going to him, maybe to explain, maybe just to talk to him
I shifted my weight and took a step forward.
Adrian grabbed my wrist.
"Don’t," he said firmly.
"Adrian...." I whispered, eyes still on Kieran.
"I an it, Lorraine." Adrian’s voice dropped, low and serious. "He’s a dangerous man. You know that."
I looked at him. His easy smile was gone.
"He only helped you because he had sothing to gain," Adrian continued. "You being alive, there’s a reason for it. But being around him? Letting yourself be pulled deeper into his orbit? That’s like walking into a fire and hoping not to burn."
I hesitated, Kieran’s stare still burning into from across the courtyard.
"We’re supposed to assemble at the auditorium," Adrian said, tugging my wrist gently. "Co. Let’s go before we’re late."
I glanced once more at Kieran. He hadn’t moved. Still watching. Still furious.
And I let Adrian drag away, away from the prince who had saved .... and the one who just might destroy too.
We reached the towering double doors of the auditorium, the buzz of gathered students leaking out like static.
Just as I stepped forward, soone blocked my path.
"Well, well...."
The sound of her voice made my jaw clench.
"Look who it is," Varya said with a cruel smile, stepping directly in front of . Her crimson hair rippled in the wind like a banner of war, her eyes gleaming with mocking delight. "The little feral who just doesn’t know when to die."
She tilted her head, circling slowly, her voice venom-laced.
"Against all odds.... and unlike the rest of your bunch... you survived."
I stiffened.
Unlike the rest of my bunch?
My breath caught.
What the hell did she an by that?
Before I could even form the question, Adrian moved.
He stepped quickly in front of , his body blocking mine like a shield. "Let’s just go, Lorraine," he said, urgency threading his voice. He grabbed my arm and pulled toward the door.
But my feet dragged for a second longer, my eyes still fixed on Varya’s smug expression.
What did she an?
Was it just another one of her taunts, or had sothing happened?
"Lorraine," Adrian hissed under his breath. "Co on."
I let him pull through the doors, the heavy weight of Varya’s words pressing into my spine as we stepped into the crowd of students already seated.
But her voice clung to like smoke.
Unlike the rest of your bunch...
My heart pounded.
Sothing was wrong.
Sothing was very, very wrong.
We slipped into the auditorium and headed straight for the back row. far from the chatter, the glares, and the judging eyes. Adrian picked the corner seat, and I dropped down beside him, the weight in my chest getting heavier by the second.
I looked around.
Row after row of Lycans. Elites. Nobles.
But no purple collars.
No familiar faces.
My fingers clenched the hem of my sleeves as my gaze swept the hall again. Still nothing. Not a single feral.
Just .
Alone.
I turned sharply to Adrian. "Where are they?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. "Tell what happened. Why am I the only feral in this auditorium?"
Adrian shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his jaw tight. For a mont, I thought he might dodge the question again.
But then he looked at , and his eyes softened with sothing that felt like pity.
"They’re dead," he said quietly.
The words struck like a slap.
"What?" I breathed.
"Most of them were killed during the hunt yesterday, Lorraine," Adrian said, his voice low but firm. "Your dorm had the highest number of deaths and captured preys"
I stared at him, my heart thundering.
"That ant.... the feral dorm lost," he continued. "The dorm points dropped below zero. The dormitory doors were locked. The feral survivors had nowhere to go. So tried to sleep in the courtyards, others just wandered."
My stomach twisted violently.
"And then the moon rose," Adrian said bitterly, glancing down at his hands. "It was a full moon. The elites.... they were furious. Selene Ashthorne’s death shook their pride. They blad you. So they hunted down every feral they could find in the academy."
I couldn’t breathe.
"With no dorm to hide in. No walls. No protection," Adrian added. "It was easy for the elites to sniff them out."
A hollow silence fell between us.
My chest ached. My throat felt like it had been scraped raw.
All of them. Gone.
All the ferals
Hunted like animals.
"I’m sorry," Adrian whispered
I turned my head slowly to look at him, tears blurring my vision. "But you said Elise... and Felix...?"
Adrian nodded. "They are still alive Lorraine, but the only reason they’re alive is because they were in the academy hospital. They weren’t out there last night. They were the lucky ones."
The lucky ones.
Because they were too wounded to be slaughtered.
I let out a shaky breath, my hands trembling in my lap.
Felix, Elise and I, we were the only ferals leftt
The last ferals
The siren wailed throughout the academy grounds
Sharp. Piercing. Familiar.
In an instant, hundreds of bodies shuffled toward the auditorium, the sound of shoes scraping the marble floors echoing through the Academy halls.
I sat stiffly beside Adrian as the rows filled. My eyes stayed glued to the front stage, where Astrid Voss usually appeared with her cold smile and venom-laced words.
But she wasn’t here.
The murmurs around grew louder as the seconds ticked by, until finally, the heavy curtains parted, not for Astrid, but for soone else.
Professor Alaric Cain.
He stepped up to the platform in his usual grim black coat, his hair pulled into a tie at his nape. He adjusted the mic, then stared down at us, expression unreadable.
"Yesterday’s hunt," he began, "was.... eventful."
Eventful.
A massacre was what it was.
He continued, voice smooth, almost amused. "Unfortunately, the ferals perford poorly. They lost the hunt. Badly. Many of them didn’t make it back."
Not a flinch. Not a flicker of remorse.
He said it like the dozens of bodies ripped apart in the woods were no more than spilled ink on a report card.
Maybe to them, that’s exactly what it was.
The auditorium remained silent.
Professor Cain clasped his hands behind his back. "Now, you may have noticed the absence of our esteed Director, Astrid Voss. She is currently.... away away on an important trip. However, let assure you, classes will continue as scheduled and attendance of all your classes remains very important
Trip?
I clenched my fists.
Liar.
Astrid Voss hadn’t gone on a trip. She’d been captured. Taken by the Black Guards.
As much as I still found it hard to believe, Astrid Voss had tried to save by trying to awaken my wolf, and apparently that ritual was forbidden and she waas taken by the Black Guards .
Astrid Voss wasn’t just missing.... she was being interrogated. Maybe worse.
Cain gave a curt nod. "The new month begins next week. We’ll hold another assembly to announce the Lunar distribution. Until then, return to your classes. Dismissed."
Just as he was about to step down from the podium, the doors exploded open.
Gasps rippled through the hall as rows of n stord in, dressed in matching blue suits, so wielding swords, others ard with just their long sharp claws
They marched with precision, encircling the auditorium like predators closing in on prey.
Then, from behind them, a massive figure erged.
He walked with the slow, deliberate confidence of a man who knew no one would ever stop him. His presence sucked the air out of the room. Thick arms, silver-streaked beard, and eyes as cold as steel.
He stepped onto the podium, shoving Alaric Cain aside like he was nothing more than a fly.
The microphone cracked as he leaned in.
"Hello, students," he said, voice low and husky, laced with nace. "My na is Desmond Ashthorne."
Ashthorne!!!
My stomach dropped.
No.
No, no, no....
"I am the Alpha of the Bloodfang Pack," he continued, his eyes scanning the silent crowd. "King of the Elites."
He paused, lips curling into sothing between a smile and a snarl.
"And I am here.... for the one who killed my daughter."
My lungs constricted.
Every heartbeat thundered in my skull.
"Kieran Valerius Hunter," he said, the na falling like a blade through the silence. "Your Lycan prince."
A collective gasp tore through the room.
Every eye turned, to the place where the Kieran should’ve been sitting.
But his seat was empty.....
Reviews
All reviews (0)