Chapter 34 Glass Walls
Luna’s POV
My palms were still pressed to the glass window in the door.
On the other side, the hallway was chaos—blurred shapes, flashing red emergency lights, with bodies moving too fast.
And Kai.
I could still hear him.
That sound he made… it wasn’t human anymore. It wasn’t even anger.
It was pain.
It was the sound of a wolf being caged.
“Kai…” My voice came out thin, trembling.
I tried the door handle…it was locked.
My throat burned like I was about to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come. My body felt stuck in that awful space between panic and shock, like my brain hadn’t caught up with what my eyes had seen.
I turned to Mr. Halden.
He stood behind his desk, pale and sweating, hands shaking as he gripped his radio like it was a weapon.
“This is… this is insane,” he whispered. “This is insane….what is he?”
“He’s not a monster,” I snapped, surprising myself with how sharp my voice sounded. “He’s trying to protect me.”
Mr. Halden flinched.
He looked at me like I was the dangerous one now. Like I was infected with something.
And maybe I was.
Because my skin still buzzed and my power was still awake.
It pulsed under my ribs like a second heartbeat.
Ethan leaned against the far wall like he had all the time in the world.
Calm, unbothered, and too composed.
He looked like a student waiting to be called into the principal’s office for cheating on a test, not someone standing in the middle of a nightmare
.
His gaze slid to me, softening—perfectly timed.
“Luna,” he said gently, “sit down before you pass out.”
I stared at him.
My body didn’t move, but something in my gut twisted.
He was acting like he cared, like he was the steady one, and like he was the safe one.
And I hated that my mind wanted to cling to it.
Because it felt easier.
Easier than accepting the truth that my entire life was breaking open.
“I’m not sitting,” I muttered.
Ethan’s mouth twitched, almost amused.
Then he pushed off the wall and walked closer.
Not too fast and not aggressive.
Just… close enough that the air changed.
My power reacted instantly.
It tightened in my chest, sharp and restless, as it recognized him as a threat even if my eyes couldn’t prove it.
Ethan stopped a few feet away.
His voice dropped lower, and almost private.
“You saw what he almost did,” he murmured. “He could’ve killed someone.”
I swallowed hard. “He didn’t.”
Ethan’s eyes held mine.
“Yet.”
The word slid under my skin like poison.
Mr. Halden cleared his throat shakily.
“We… we need to call the police,” he stammered. “Or animal control, or….”
“No!” I snapped again.
My voice echoed too loudly in the small office.
Mr. Halden looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn’t.
Because outside, Kai’s roar shook the hallway again.
I turned back to the window.
I could barely see through the reflection of the office light, but I caught flashes of security guards wrestling, bodies shifting, and someone yelling orders.
Then a shadow moved…it was not a person.
Not a student, it was something darker and something that didn’t belong in the world.
It slid behind the guards and behind Kai.
And my breath stopped.
Because I knew that shape.
I’d felt it.
That thing wasn’t here to hurt the guards…it was here for Kai…it was here because he was weak and it was here because I’d been pulled away.
My fingers curled into fists.. I didn’t think, didn’t plan.
I just reacted.
“Open the door,” I demanded.
Mr. Halden blinked at me. “What?”
“OPEN IT!” I yelled.
My voice cracked with desperation.
Ethan stepped in smoothly, voice soothing like he was talking to a frightened animal.
“Luna, you can’t go out there. You’ll get hurt.”
I whipped toward him with my eyes narrowed.
“Or you’ll make sure I do?” I hissed.
For the first time, something flickered across Ethan’s face.
Not guilt and not fear, but annoyance.
Just a quick flash…gone in a heartbeat.
But I saw it.
And it made my stomach turn.
Ethan’s expression softened again, too fast.
“Luna… what are you saying?”
I stepped toward him, trembling, and my power buzzing harder.
“You’re always there,” I whispered. “Every time something happens… you’re there.”
Mr. Halden’s eyes darted between us, confused.
Ethan gave a small laugh, light and easy.
“You’re scared. That’s all. You’re looking for someone to blame.”
I should’ve believed him.
I should’ve….
But my instincts were screaming.
And somewhere deep inside me, something dark and ancient stirred, like it recognized his lies.
The intercom crackled and the office speakers hissed.
Then that whisper returned, low, and satisfied.
“She’s starting to see.”
Mr. Halden jolted, nearly dropping his radio.
“What the hell was that?!” he shouted.
My skin went cold.
The voice wasn’t coming from Ethan, not directly.
But it felt connected.
Like threads leading back to him.
Ethan’s eyes flicked to the speaker, and he smiled faintly.
Not for long.
Just enough to confirm my worst fear.
He enjoyed this and he enjoyed watching me panic.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Kai…” I whispered again, and this time my voice was a promise.
I turned back to the window.
The shadow-thing moved closer to Kai.
The guards didn’t see it…they couldn’t, they were too busy wrestling him down, and too busy shouting orders, too busy treating him like the threat.
But the real threat was right behind them.
It raised itself like a blade of darkness.
A weapon made of shadow.
And Kai….
Kai was still fighting, eyes wild, and teeth bared.
But he was slowing.
The taser had done damage.
His body shook.
His breath came in harsh, uneven bursts.
And the shadow was about to strike.
I didn’t care anymore, I didn’t care about rules or principles or security guards or prom, I just moved.
My hand slammed against the door.
Nothing, it was locked.
My panic spiked, and my power surged with it.
The air in the office tightened and the lights flickered.
Mr. Halden stumbled back, eyes wide.
“What….what are you doing?”
“I’m opening it,” I whispered.
Ethan’s voice sharpened.
“Luna, stop.”
I ignored him.
My palms pressed against the door again.
I focused.
Not with my mind, but with my instinct.
With the raw part of me that had been waking up more every day.
The shadows in the corners of the office shivered.
Like they were waiting for my command.
And then…
The lock clicked and it swung open.
Mr. Halden gasped.
Ethan went still.
For the first time since I’d known him, his calm mask cracked.
Just a hairline fracture.
But it was there.
His eyes darkened and calculating.
Like he hadn’t expected me to be able to do that yet.
I ran.
The hallway hit me like a wave, cold air, chaos, screams, and the metallic tang of fear.
Kai’s roar snapped my head toward him instantly.
He was pinned against the wall now, one guard gripping his arms, and another pressing a knee into his back.
Kai’s body trembled.
His claws scraped the floor.
His eyes were still locked on me, even through the frenzy.
And behind the guards….
The shadow lifted, it was ready.
My blood went ice cold.
“No!” I screamed.
My power surged.
The shadows in the hallway answered me like soldiers.
They snapped forward, whipping across the floor, slamming into the dark shape behind Kai.
The shadow-thing hissed, it didn’t make a human sound.
Not even a living sound.
It recoiled, unraveling like smoke in the wind.
The guards jerked back, startled.
“What the hell?!” one shouted.
Kai’s head snapped up, his eyes blazing.
He saw it too, he saw what I’d done, he saw the shadow retreat.
And for a second, the wolf in him paused.
Confused and alert.
Watching me like I was something new.
I stepped closer, shaking, and my hands raised.
“Kai,” I whispered, voice trembling. “It’s me.”
His chest heaved and his eyes were still too dark and still too wild.
But he didn’t lunge.
He didn’t attack.
He stared at me like he was fighting his instincts just to hear my voice.
“Luna…” His voice broke on my name.
One of the guards shouted, “Get away from him!”
I ignored them.
I moved closer anyway, slow and careful.
“Kai, breathe,” I whispered. “Look at me. Just look at me.”
His eyes locked on mine.
And slowly….
So slowly….
His claws began to retract, not fully. But enough.
His teeth shortened, just a fraction.
The wolf eased back, retreating into his skin.
His body still shook, but the violence in him faded into something else.
Something raw and something terrified.
The guard’s grip loosened, and unsure.
Kai’s gaze never left mine.
He swallowed hard.
And then he spoke, voice hoarse and broken.
“They took you,” he rasped. “They took you from me.”
My throat tightened painfully.
“I’m here,” I whispered. “I’m right here.”
Kai’s breath shuddered.
His shoulders slumped, just a little.
Relief and rage tangled together inside him.
Then….
A slow clap echoed down the hallway. Soft and mocking.
I froze.
My head snapped toward the sound.
Ethan stood near the office door, hands together, clapping like he was impressed.
His expression was calm again and perfect.
But his eyes were glittering.
Like he’d just watched a performance and enjoyed it.
“Well,” Ethan said lightly, voice smooth. “That was… dramatic.”
Kai’s head turned toward him.
And the wolf in him stirred again.
A low growl rumbled from Kai’s chest, not loud…not yet.
But it was a warning.
Ethan’s smile sharpened and then he looked at me.
Straight at me.
Like he wasn’t even afraid and like he knew he had control.
“You should’ve stayed inside, Luna,” Ethan murmured. “Now everyone’s going to see what you are.”
And then I realized….
That was the point.
The sabotage, the chaos, the separation, and the guards.
It wasn’t just to hurt me. It was to expose me.
To force me to usee my power in public.
To make sure the school…and anyone watching….knew I wasn’t normal.
Kai stepped forward, body tensing again.
“Ethan,” Kai growled, voice dripping with danger. “Back. Away. From her.”
Ethan didn’t move.
He only smiled wider.
And in the reflection of the flickering hallway lights…
For a split second…
I saw something behind Ethan.
Not a shadow and not a trick of light.
It was something else, something inhuman and something with eyes that glowed too bright.
Then it vanished.
Ethan blinked, innocent again.
But I had seen it.
And my stomach dropped.
Because whatever Ethan was…
He wasn’t just a boy with secrets.
He was the reason the darkness kept finding me.
And now Kai was staring at him like he finally understood it too.
The guards shifted nervously.
Mr. Halden stumbled into the hallway, with his face white.
“What… what is going on?” he whispered.
Ethan’s voice stayed calm, too
calm.
“We’re going to need to keep them apart,” he said smoothly, and nodding toward Kai and me. “Before someone gets hurt.”
Kai’s growl deepened.
My power buzzed harder and the shadows along the walls began to crawl.
Like they were ready.
Like they were waiting for my next command.
And Ethan…
Ethan’s smile never faltered. Because he knew he had us exactly where he wanted us….