Chapter 100: Lecture Notes and Lies

The morning after the party, my head was pounding—not from alcohol, but from overthinking. That map Damien slipped me burned a hole in my pocket all night. I’d unfolded it at least a dozen times, staring at the crude circle drawn in ink, the single word scrawled across it: Choose.

Choose what? Choose who?

By breakfast, Elena was already mocking Ethan about his “creepy wallflower routine” at the party.

“You stood in a corner all night, Ethan. That’s not undercover, that’s antisocial,” she said, stabbing her fork into a waffle.

“I was scanning the house for hidden signals,” he retorted, not looking up from his tablet. “Which, by the way, I found.”

“Uh-huh.” Elena leaned back, smirking. “Scanning. Right. You were hiding from social interaction. Admit it.”

He finally looked up, deadpan. “If observing human behavior makes me antisocial, then yes. I’m guilty.”

“Observing?” Elena snorted. “You mean staring like an owl on caffeine.”

Rhea, quiet as ever, murmured from her seat, “Owls are effective hunters.”

Elena blinked at her. “Don’t take his side.”

Rhea shrugged and bit into her toast, like she’d just scored a point in a game only she understood.

Aidan cleared his throat, pulling us back to business. “We need to talk about Damien.” His eyes flicked to me. “And whatever he gave you.”

I pulled the map from my pocket, smoothing it on the table. The inked circle looked even rougher in daylight, as if drawn in a rush.

Ethan leaned closer, scanning it. “It’s not just a circle. Look—see these lines? They’re coordinates. He overlaid a map point on the campus layout. Right here.” He tapped the upper right section. “Lecture Hall C.”

Elena frowned. “You’re telling me he passed you a creepy treasure map to a lecture hall? That’s… anticlimactic.”

“Or deliberate,” Echo said from the end of the table. She hadn’t touched her food, as usual. “Lecture Hall C is big. Open. Easy for someone to watch who comes and goes.”

“Or easy for someone to set a trap,” Aidan muttered.

“Either way,” I said, “we’re going.”

Ethan adjusted his glasses. “When?”

“Today,” I said. “During classes. If Damien wanted us to find this, he’ll expect us to show up soon.”

\---

Lecture Hall C was a cavernous room that smelled faintly of chalk and old wood. Rows of creaking seats curved around a stage where professors usually lectured. Today, though, the place was half-empty. Just scattered students with laptops open, most of them pretending to listen while secretly scrolling on their phones.

We split up. Elena and Ethan took seats in the middle rows. Echo lingered near the back, eyes sharp. Rhea slipped into a side seat, pulling her hoodie low. Aidan sat beside me in the far corner, his posture relaxed but his hand brushing against mine under the desk, grounding me.

The professor droned on about modern political systems, his monotone voice making half the room yawn. But I couldn’t focus. I kept waiting. Watching.

And then I saw him.

Damien.

He strolled in ten minutes late, no books, no bag, just that same smug smile. He didn’t sit down. He leaned against the back wall, arms crossed, eyes scanning the room until they landed on me.

My pulse spiked.

“What’s he doing?” Aidan whispered.

“Waiting,” I murmured.

After a few minutes, Damien pushed off the wall and walked down the aisle. Students glanced up but quickly returned to their screens, uninterested. He stopped two rows ahead of me, leaned against the seat, and smiled.

“Enjoying class?” he asked softly.

I clenched my jaw. “Thrilled.”

He chuckled. “You came. Good. I was worried you’d ignore my invitation.”

“Pretty sure passing secret maps at frat parties isn’t the usual RSVP process,” I muttered.

“Normal invitations are boring,” Damien said. His gaze flicked to Aidan, who was glaring at him like he wanted to rip his throat out. “Relax, Alpha. I’m not here to fight. Not yet.”

Aidan stiffened. “How do you know who I am?”

Damien ignored him, focusing on me. “There’s a reason they call it a Circle. It’s not about power. It’s about choices. And Roxanne?” His voice dipped lower. “You’ve already been chosen.”

The words chilled me.

I tried to keep my face neutral. “Chosen for what?”

He smiled wider. “That’s what you’ll find out. Tonight. Midnight. Old science building.” He stood, straightened his jacket, and added, “Come alone.”

“Like hell she will,” Aidan growled.

Damien’s eyes glittered. “Bring company, and you’ll regret it. Some truths aren’t meant for an audience.”

Before we could respond, he strolled out, whistling.

Elena immediately twisted around in her seat, whisper-shouting, “What the actual hell was that?!”

Ethan’s fingers flew over his tablet. “I’m tracking his phone. Already got a ping—wait. No. He just scrambled it. Damn it.”

Echo appeared at our side, eyes narrowed. “He’s baiting her.”

“No kidding,” Elena hissed. “Alone? Midnight? In a creepy abandoned building? This guy’s straight out of a bad horror movie.”

Rhea’s voice was soft but steady. “Maybe he’s telling the truth. Maybe he really does only want her.”

Aidan’s jaw tightened. “That’s not happening. If she goes, I’m going too.”

I stayed quiet, staring at the empty doorway Damien had left behind. My gut twisted, caught between fear and curiosity.

Because deep down, I knew one thing.

I was going.

\---

Back at the dorm, the argument exploded.

“You can’t actually be considering this,” Aidan said, pacing the room. “It’s obviously a trap.”

“I know,” I said.

“Then why—”

“Because if I don’t go, we’ll never know what he wants,” I snapped. “And he won’t stop until I listen.”

Elena threw herself onto the couch, groaning. “This is insane. Like, next-level insane. You don’t walk into traps. That’s rule number one.”

“Sometimes you do,” Echo said calmly. “If what’s inside the trap matters more than the risk.”

Elena glared. “You’re not helping.”

“I’m being honest,” Echo replied.

Ethan rubbed his temples. “We can at least prep surveillance. Track her through a comm device, monitor her vitals. That way she won’t technically be alone.”

Aidan shot him a look. “She won’t be alone because I’ll be there.”

I turned to him. “If he sees you—”

“I don’t care,” Aidan cut in. His voice was low, dangerous. “You’re not walking into this without me.”

For a long moment, we stared at each other, neither backing down. Finally, I sighed.

“Fine. But the rest of you stay out of sight. Backup only if things go south.”

Elena groaned again. “Oh, this is going to end so badly.”

Ethan muttered, “That’s an understatement.”

But it was already decided.

At midnight, I was walking into the old science building.

And I wasn’t sure if I’d walk back out.