Chapter 73 Chapter 73
I stood at the edge of the bonfire circle, the flames casting flickering shadows across my face. The loud growl from the forest had shattered the peaceful storytelling moment, sending ripples of fear through the students. Screams erupted as everyone scrambled to their feet, eyes wide with panic. Teachers and counselors shouted orders, trying to maintain some semblance of control, but the terror was palpable — young wolves shifting partially in instinct, witches clutching protective charms, and vampires baring fangs in defensive snarls.
I watched them all with a quiet, dark satisfaction blooming in my chest.
Good, I thought. Let them feel what my kind felt.
My mind drifted back to the old tales my mother had told me before the Alpha had slaughtered her. The demons had been hunted, sealed, and erased from existence, their power stolen and their legacy buried under lies. These students, these counselors, even the elders — they were all descendants of those who had cheered when the last demon fell. Guilty by blood. Guilty by silence.
My black eyes gleamed with cold intent.
Tonight, I’ll use my beasts. I’ll let them tear through this camp like my ancestors were torn through. No mercy. No survivors.
I could already feel the call — the ancient bond that allowed me to summon the rogue shifters that had attacked at the party. They were waiting in the shadows of the trees, hungry and obedient. One thought from me and they would descend.
My gaze swept the chaos.
Then it landed on Harper.
She stood shivering between Catherine and Sarah, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, eyes darting toward the dark tree line. The fear on her face was raw — not just for herself, but for the others. For the innocent ones caught in the middle.
I sighed.
The dark satisfaction curdled in my chest, replaced by something heavier. Something I hated.
Damn her.
I couldn’t do it.
Not with her standing there, looking so small and vulnerable in the firelight. Not when her presence anchored the last fragile thread of restraint I still possessed.
The growl echoed again — closer, louder.
Students screamed louder.
Counselors shouted, “Into the lodge! Now!”
Harper’s eyes found mine across the fire.
She looked terrified.
But she didn’t run from me.
She took a step toward me instead.
My jaw tightened.
I turned away from the forest, forcing the mental command back.
The beasts retreated — their growls fading into the distance like a receding storm.
I walked toward Harper, Catherine, and Sarah, my steps steady despite the chaos around us.
Harper met me halfway, her voice shaky but determined.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
I didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, I placed a hand on her shoulder — firm, grounding.
“Stay close,” I said quietly. “Don’t leave my side.”
Catherine and Sarah exchanged nervous glances but stayed silent.
I guided the three of them toward the main lodge with the rest of the panicked students, my black eyes scanning the tree line one last time.
Inside, the large wooden building was already filling with frightened voices and the shuffle of bodies. Counselors tried to calm everyone, lighting more lanterns and checking headcounts.
Harper stayed close to me, her hand brushing mine as we moved.
I didn’t pull away.
For now, the beasts remained in the shadows.
But the anger still simmered beneath my skin.
And I knew — sooner or later — it would demand release.
We all reached a spot inside the main lodge when I suddenly said, “Stop.”
Everyone froze around me, the panicked shuffling of feet and frightened whispers cutting off mid-sentence. The large wooden building was already packed with students huddled together, lanterns flickering on the walls, the air thick with the smell of fear-sweat and old timber. I could feel the tension vibrating through the room like a live wire.
I knew my beasts were already coming toward us.
My senses tingled, a familiar itch at the back of my neck that told me the pack of rogue shifters I had summoned was closing in fast. The ancient bond hummed in my blood, pulling them like a leash I could tighten or release at will. I turned slightly to look at the girl standing just behind Harper — the hybrid with witch blood running through her veins. My eyes twitched with raw hunger. The urge to rip her head from her body surged through me like liquid fire. Witches had always been the ones who sealed my kind away. Their blood tasted like old vengeance.
I could feel my beasts getting closer to her.
Maybe just allow this little sacrifice.
I smirked, already imagining the chaos — the screams, the blood, the sweet release of watching these descendants pay for what their ancestors did to mine.
Then a loud thud came, breaking the heavy wooden door with a splintering crash that sent shards of wood flying across the floor.
Students yelled in terror, the sound bouncing off the walls like shattering glass.
The beasts started entering the cottage — massive black shapes with glowing yellow eyes and dripping fangs, their fur bristling as they snarled and lunged at the nearest bodies. Panic exploded in every direction. Some students tried to fight back, shifting partially into wolf form or throwing weak spells that fizzled against the beasts’ hides. Others screamed and huddled together, pushing toward the back of the lodge in a desperate wave.
I saw the witch girl start casting spells, her hands weaving frantic patterns in the air as she sent my beasts crashing against the far wall with bursts of force. Of course — witches and their stupid spells. Always thinking their little chants could control what they could never truly understand.
“Harper, let’s go,” I told her, grabbing her hand as she watched the beasts maul a few students while others fought back desperately, their cries mixing with the snarls and the sickening sound of claws tearing flesh.
“You’re doing this, right?” she said, jerking her hand from mine, her voice sharp with accusation and horror.
“Stop this now,” she yelled at me, causing me to chuckle low in my throat.
“Why?” I asked, pulling her closer to me, my grip firm but not bruising, my body shielding her from the worst of the chaos. “They deserve it. Every last one of them carries the blood of those who hunted my kind to near extinction.”
“Please stop it,” she said, her eyes pleading, tears glistening at the corners as she looked up at me.
I sighed, the sound heavy in my chest.
My eyes became completely black as I raised my hand a little.
The beasts started retreating — growling in frustration but obeying the command, their massive forms slinking back through the broken door and into the night like scolded dogs.
The chaos slowly ebbed as the creatures slipped away, leaving behind overturned furniture, bloodstains, and terrified students huddled on the floor.
Harper stared at me, breathing hard, her hand still trembling in the air where I had held it.
I looked down at her, the black in my eyes slowly receding.
“You’re safe,” I said quietly.
But even as I said it, I could feel the hunger still simmering.
And the anger.
And the pull of the old mission that refused to die.
Kai came rushing through the crowd, pushing past panicked students until he reached Harper.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice tight with worry as he looked her over for injuries.
I smiled faintly, stepping slightly aside but staying close.
“She is fine, brother. Our sister is fine.”
Sarah and Catherine said at once, “Sister?”
The word hung in the air for a moment, surprising even me.
Kai looked at Harper, then at me, a mix of confusion and something softer crossing his face.
“Yeah… sister,” he said quietly, as if testing the word. “She’s our sister.”
Harper’s eyes softened, a small, tired smile touching her lips despite the chaos still echoing around us. She didn’t say anything, but I could see the warmth in her expression — the first time Kai had openly called her that since they became step-siblings.
Catherine blinked, then grinned. “Wait, you three are siblings? Like, actual step-siblings?”
Sarah laughed lightly. “That explains a lot. The protectiveness, the tension… this family is complicated.”
I didn’t respond. My focus remained on Harper. The black in my eyes had receded slightly, but the anger from earlier still simmered beneath the surface. The beasts had retreated, but the urge to finish what I started — to make them all pay — lingered like a shadow at the back of my mind.
Harper turned to me, her hand still brushing mine.
“Thank you,” she said softly, her voice barely audible over the murmurs of the other students.
I looked at her.
For a moment, the noise of the lodge faded.
Then I nodded once.
“Don’t thank me yet,” I murmured. “The night isn’t over.”
Kai glanced between us, his expression tightening with concern, but he didn’t push.
The counselors were still trying to calm everyone, directing students to safer corners of the lodge and checking for injuries. The air was thick with fear and confusion, but the immediate threat had passed.
Harper stayed close to me, her fingers lightly intertwined with mine.
I didn’t pull away.
For now, I let the moment be.
But deep inside, the hunger remained.
And the mission.
And the knowledge that, sooner or later, I would have to choose between the girl who kept pulling me back from the edge… and the revenge my kind had waited centuries for.