Chapter 73

Chapter 73
Olivia's Point of View

The moment we step out of the cafeteria and into the hallway, the noise of everyone else heading to their next class fades into the background. Liana walks beside me, her bag slung over one shoulder, her expression pinched with tension she is trying, and failing miserable, to hide.

“Well,” she finally says, blowing out a breath, “that was… not the lunch conversation I expected.”

“Same here,” I mumble.

We weave through the shifting crowd of students, moving towards our next class. I am trying to act normal, but my mind keeps circling the same thought Ripley dropped at the table.

Kieran, is watching us, and asking Ripley weird questions.

Liana nudges my arm. “You keep thinking about it too, huh?”

“Yeah.” I grip my binder tighter. “I do not like it. Why would he be so interested in the Stormfang attack? He is not even connected to any of the alpha families or to Stormfang.”

“Exactly!” Liana raises her hands. “It does not make sense. And honestly? Kieran has always been a little… weird.”

I shoot her a look. “Liana…”

“What?” She shrugs. “I am not wrong. He is quiet, but not in the ‘shy’ way. More like he is always listening, always waiting. And now he suddenly cares about an attack on one pack and training with another? No way.”

I hate it, but she is right.

“It just…” I sigh. “It reminds me of the wolf I saw at the night of the attack.”

Liana stops walking for a second, her eyebrows lifting. “Do you think he could be connected to that?”

“I really do not know.” I start walking again slowly. “But the timing feels weird. First Stormfang. Then a someone watching us here. Now Kieran acting… strange.”

Liana shivers. “Honestly, Liv? It feels like someone is watching all of us.”

I swallow, my throat tight. “Yeah. It does.”

We turn down the hall towards our classroom, the chatter around us fading as the weight of the conversation settles between us.

Liana glances my way, softer now. “Do you think Ripley is really okay?”

I smile faintly. “He will be. He is just worried. And trying not to show it.”

She bumps her shoulder into mine. “Well that sounds familiar.”

I roll my eyes, but warmth blooms in my chest. “Okay, okay. I am trying not to freak out.”

“And you are doing great.” She grabs the door handle to our classroom and pauses. “But seriously… do we tell the others to keep an eye on Kieran too?”

I nod my head slowly. “Yeah. After classes. We should all talk about it.”

Liana opens the door. “Then it is settled. Operation ‘Watch the Creepy Guy’ begins now.”

I snort, stepping inside. “Liana...”

“What? It is catchy!”

I shake my head, but the laugh that escapes me calms something inside.

Even with everything happening…
I am not alone.
None of us are.

And together, we will deal with whatever, or whoever, is watching us.

I sit through class pretending to pay attention again. But in truth my mind keeps on drifting back to Kieran and his questions.

The moment the bell rings, students surge towards the door, and Liana and I slip into the hallway with the rest of them. The class itself was a blur, something about assessment forms and emergency protocols, but neither of us was really focused. My mind keeps replaying our earlier conversation, and Liana’s sigh beside me tells me she was doing the same.

We fall into step together, heading down the hall towards our next class.

“Okay,” Liana mutters, flipping her hair out of her face, “I swear that lesson was actually an hour longer than usual.”

I snort. “You were shaking your leg the whole time. I thought you were going to vibrate straight through the floor.”

She gives me a lightly offended gasp. “Excuse you. I was being subtle.”

“No, you really were not.”

She elbows me, and for a moment, everything feels normal again.

But then, as we turn the corner, the normalcy cracks.

Kieran stands near the trophy case, leaning casually against the wall with a notebook in his hand. He is not talking to anyone. He is not even pretending to be busy. He is just… watching the hallway flow past him.

And the second his gaze lands on us, something in me tightens.

Liana stiffens beside me, muttering under her breath, “Oh, just perfect.”

But Kieran does not approach us.
He does not ask questions.
He does not do anything remotely suspicious.

He just smiles.

A calm, practiced, too easy smile.

“Hey, Olivia. Liana.” His tone is warm, friendly, almost disarming. “Hope classes are going well.”

I force a polite nod of my head. “Yeah. They are fine.”

Liana echoes me, though her tone is flatter. “Yep. Just another day.”

Kieran’s smile stays perfectly in place, his eyes unreadable. “Good to hear. Well… enjoy the afternoon.”

He pushes off the wall and walks away, disappearing into the flow of students as if he was waiting for that exact moment.

Liana grabs my sleeve the second he is out of earshot.

“Okay, nope. Nope,” she mutters. “That was weirder than usual, right? Tell me that was weird.”

“It was weird,” I whisper. “Just before lunch he was practically grilling Ripley. And now he is… polite?”

“Too polite.” She wrinkles her nose. “Like he knows we are onto him.”

A chill skates down my spine. I try to shake it off. “Maybe he is just in a better mood now.”

“Liv.” She stares at me. “That boy has not been in a ‘better mood’ since the first day of school.”

She is not wrong.

As we start walking again, I cannot stop glancing over my shoulder, half expecting to catch him watching us again.

But he is gone.

Which, somehow, feels worse.

Liana loops her arm through mine. “We are telling the group after classes. No way I am keeping this to myself.”

“Agreed,” I breathe.

We head to our next class, but I cannot shake the feeling that the easy smile he gave us was not friendliness.

It was a warning.
Or a promise.

And I hate not knowing which one.