Chapter 27: Killer eyes
STEPHEN
I was buried in paperwork, half-distracted, when my phone buzzed.
Julia.
Her name flashed on the screen, and instantly, my jaw clenched.
Why the hell is she calling me? I hadn't blocked her not yet but every time I saw her name, my stomach turned. She might still carry the label of “girlfriend,” but it meant nothing now. The connection was long dead. Honestly, just hearing from her made my skin crawl.
I picked up with a cold, flat voice.
“What?”
“You need to come to the main hall,” she said. Her tone was too calm. Too casual.
A spark of irritation lit inside me. “Why would I do that? You know no one’s allowed in that hall. I made it clear.”
That space no, that shrine was off-limits. It held the last traces of my mother, the very room where Luca slaughtered her with his bare hands. I'd preserved it exactly as it was... untouched. Sacred. And Julia, of all people, knew that.
Her next words made my blood run cold.
“Selena broke the urn. Your mother’s ashes... they’re all over the floor.”
I didn’t say anything. Couldn’t. My hand tightened around the phone until I heard it creak, then I ended the call without a word.
The chair scraped hard against the floor as I stood. My body moved before my mind could catch up. I was shifting fast. The wolf in me clawed to break free, rage boiling in my chest like a volcano ready to erupt.
I stormed toward the hall, footsteps thudding down the corridor. The second I entered, the air shifted. Students scattered. Staff froze, fear thick on their faces as they backed away, giving me a wide berth.
And there she was.
Selena.
Standing dead center in the room like some helpless, pathetic thing. The shattered remains of the urn sparkled like broken glass at her feet, the ashes of my mother smeared across the marble floor.
My heart twisted rage, grief, everything all at once.
The scent of betrayal flooded my senses. My mother died in this room. Her blood had stained these floors. And now... this?
I locked eyes with Selena. And in that moment, I didn’t see her. I saw him—her father. Luca. The killer.
And I wanted to give her the same death he gave my mother. No, something worse.
SELENA
The air grew thick, heavy, and charged with fear as Stephen entered.
His footsteps echoed, slow and deliberate, like the final ticks of a countdown. I could see it the shift in his form. Muscles bulging, bones stretching. His eyes were no longer his own.
They glowed.
And he was looking at me like I was the reason his whole world fell apart.
Tears blurred my vision, but I didn’t move. Couldn’t. My heart pounded like a war drum, but I forced my voice to rise.
“I didn’t do it,” I choked out. “I swear—I didn’t break it. This wasn’t me, Stephen. Please listen to me!”
But he didn’t.
His lips twisted into a cruel smirk, and then came the growl low, guttural, unearthly. His body began to transform, bones cracking beneath his skin, claws forming where fingers used to be. A monstrous roar tore through the hall, and everyone scattered.
They ran. Every last one of them. Except me.
I stayed.
Because this is what death felt like—stillness in the storm.
He towered over me now, more beast than man. His breath hitched like he was fighting the urge to rip me apart.
I shut my eyes.
If this was it, then so be it.
“She's innocent!” someone yelled.
My eyes snapped open just in time to see Adam burst into the room, pushing past the crowd. “She didn’t do it! Julia set her up!”
He was too late.
Stephen didn’t even blink. He turned and shoved Adam so hard his body crashed against the wall with a sickening thud. I screamed.
My instincts screamed at me to run to him, but I was frozen. One step, and I was dead. I could feel it. My legs trembled, and my throat closed with fear.
Then, without warning, Stephen lunged. In a single, terrifying movement, he grabbed me—one hand, as if I weighed nothing.
The wall shattered behind us as he burst through it in his full wolf form, carrying me like I was a ragdoll.
“Let me go!” I cried, thrashing, but it was pointless. His grip was iron, his body blistering with heat and power.
Where was he taking me?
Why wasn’t he killing me here and now?
The wind roared in my ears as he ran, and I realized something terrifying.
Stephen wasn’t just angry.
He was out of control.
And I was at his mercy.
Author’s Note
Hello lovely readers,
Thank you so much for reading my story.
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