Chapter 107 HOT AND COLD
MERRIELYNN.
Sitting with my leg crossed on the bench in the courtyard, I was flipping through my science notebook with one hand, while scribbling notes with the other. The peaceful quiet was nice, at least I could focus out here without any distractions.
“Hey Mere,” a voice said suddenly, and I looked up to see who had called my name.
It was Valtor, and he was standing there with hands stuffed into his hoodie pockets.
I instinctively glanced around, scanning the courtyard for the nearest person I could call out to in case I needed help.
Valtor didn’t look threatening but my body tensed anyway.
“What do you want?” I asked, closing my notebook.
“Relax,” he said, holding up his hands. “I just want to talk.”
Talk? He and I weren’t exactly on talking terms so what was this about? I kept my guard up as he sat down on the bench next to me, fixing his gaze on a tree nearby.
“I owe you an apology,” he said after a moment.
“An apology?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. And he nodded, avoiding my eyes.
“Yeah. For how I’ve been acting lately,” he said. “ I know I’ve been... weird.”
“Weird isn’t the word I’d use,” I muttered, leaning back and crossing my arms.
Valttor huffed a laugh, but he didn’t look at me. “Fair. Look, I noticed something going on between you and Cormac, and...” He trailed off, scratching the back of his neck and finally looking into my eyes. “I got jealous.”
Jealous?
I was more than surprised, but he looked... serious.
“Are you kidding me?”
“I’m not,” he said quickly, meeting my eyes again. “It’s just... I don’t know. Seeing you two—” He broke off, shaking his head like he was embarrassed. “Forget it.”
I wasn’t buy it, not for a second. Something... everything he was saying felt off. And I found myself glancing around again till my gaze landed on Tobias.
He was sitting a few tables away with four of his friends, and they were all laughing at something.
I forced my attention back to Valtor when he leaned forward. “So,” he said casually, “how’s the planning for the auction going?”
“It’s fine,” I replied. I closed my notebooks, trying not to show how uneasy as I felt.
“Yeah?” he tilted his head.
We had an oddly normal conversation, and yet, it still felt weird.
Valtor asked a few more questions, and by the time he got up to leave, I felt more confused than ever.
“See you around,” he said with a small wave before walking off.
I watched him go, replaying everything we’d just spoke out.
Every time I thought I’d figured Valtor out, he flipped the script. Charming one minute, unsettling the next.
“You okay?”
I turned to see Tobias standing by the edge of the table, looking at me.
“Yeah,” I tried to convince myself. “Just... weirded out.”
Tobias was quick to pull out the chair across from me and sat down. “What’s wrong? Just saw you talking with Valtor.”
I nodded, letting out a sigh. “I don’t get him.”
“There’s nothing to get,” Tobias said. “I hate him. Valtor’s a menace.”
I raised an eyebrow when he said that. “What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say I don’t know how he’s supposed to step into the role of Alpha one day,” Tobias said, leaning back. “The guy’s bad news.”
“Bad news how?” I asked curiously.
“Well, his family runs the biggest animal farm in the realm,” Tobias began.
“When we were kids, Valtor used to pull all kinds of crap with the leftovers from their butchering sessions. Dead rabbits, bloody organs, stuff like that. He’d sneak into people’s rooms and leave that stuff on their beds. Once, he shoved a cow heart into someone’s backpack. Just because they looked at him the wrong way.”
My stomach turned at the thought. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Tobias nodded. “If you pissed him off, he’d make sure you regretted it. No one was safe. And the worst part? He didn’t even need a reason half the time. He just liked scaring people.”
I could only listen, my mind whirring.
Images of the bloody threats I used to get flashed through my head—the rotten big heart, the blood in my locker, the bloody X. It had all started when Cormac and I were at each other’s throats.
Could it have been Valtor? He would’ve had access to all of it. And if what Tobias said was true, he wouldn’t have thought twice about using those things to mess with me if he had such each access to those things.
“Mere?” Tobias’ voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah,” I said quickly. “I’m fine.”
But I wasn’t fine. Infact, far from it.
However, I kept my thoughts go myself and carried on with the rest of my day.
As I was heading to class that afternoon, I passed a hallway that seemed quieter than usual. Well, it was quiet until I heard low voices arguing.
I listened closely, and the voices were familiar.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I slowed my pace, rounding the corner to see Cormac and Valtor standing face to face. Cormac looked angry, his fists clenched at his sides, and Valtor wore that cocky smirk I was starting to hate.
The second they noticed me, their conversation stopped. Both of them turned to look at me. Cormac frowned, while Valtor’s smirk widened.
“Umm, sorry,” I apologized, already backing away. “I didn’t mean to interrupt…”
“Mere!” Valtor exclaimed, stepping closer to me. “You’re just in time.”
“For what?” I asked, glancing at Cormac, who hadn’t moved.
"Actually," he started, "I was just checking with Cormac here to see if it was cool for me to ask you this.
What was going on between these two?
“Will you let me take you––”
“You’re not taking her anywhere,” Cormac interrupted in a dark voice. “And there’s something else I’d like to add,” he continued. “She my girlfriend.”