Chapter 38

Matthew leaned back against his car, stretching his arms lazily as he watched the entrance of NexGen Academy. The place was bigger than he had expected, with tall, modern buildings and security guards at every entrance.

"Quite the fortress for a bunch of snobby teenagers." He muttered to himself, lighting a cigarette.

He sighed, rolling his shoulders.

"This kid better be here, or I'm going to start flipping desks."

For the past two days, he had been watching. He had memorised the shift patterns of the guards, noted the teachers who stayed on after hours, and observed the students who walked in and out. But nothing stood out.

No sign of Gabriella.

It was getting annoying.

He took another drag of his cigarette before flicking it onto the pavement, crushing it under his boot. If watching from the outside wasn't getting him anywhere, then it was time to go in. He already had a lead, but he wanted to do things the easy way instead.

Slipping into the driver's seat, he pulled out a neatly forged ID from the glove compartment. The name on it wasn't his, but it didn't matter. Nobody would question it.

He turned back to look at the school. He would be back tomorrow.

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Matthew adjusted his cufflinks, staring at his reflection in the rearview mirror. His face was calm, composed. His face was perfectly ordinary. For today, he was just another father coming to visit his daughter at school. 

Funny how people believed anything when you dressed the part. 

He got out of the car, running a hand through his hair as he approached the school gates. NexGen Academy was a prestigious, heavily secured school, but nothing was impenetrable. The guards didn't even look at his ID properly before waving him in. Amateurs. 

Inside, the school was buzzing with students moving between classes, teachers scolding stragglers, and the occasional administrator was scurrying by, too busy to care about an unfamiliar face.

Matthew strolled down the hall like he belonged there, taking everywhere in, just in case.

Two days of watching from the outside had gotten him nowhere. It was time to take a different path. A more direct approach. 

He checked all the classes, knowing that Gabriella was a senior student, and he saw a student slipping out of a senior classrooms, and so he reached out and grabbed the boy's arm. 

   "Hey, kid." He said. "I need to know something." 

The boy frowned, glancing around nervously.

"Uh... who are you?" 

Matthew smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes.

"That's not important. What's important is whether you know anyone with the last name Anderson in your class." 

The boy's looked confused, and then suddenly he hesitated. That was all the confirmation Matthew needed to see. 

"Listen." He said, tightening his grip around his collar, his fingers pressing just enough to make a point. "I don't have time for games. If you lie to me, I'll know. And if I find out later that you wasted my time, I will kill you.”

The kid swallowed hard.

“I know an Anderson. Allison Anderson.” He nodded, whispering. “Let me go.”

Matthew let him go, nodding.

“Good boy. Thanks for your cooperation.”

Pulling a simple black mask from his pocket, he slipped it over his face and walked into the classroom. Students were chatting, laughing, completely unaware of what was about to happen. 

Matthew shut the door behind him. 

"Who is Allison Anderson?" 

The room fell silent. No one answered, they all looked at him curiously. 

Matthew sighed, dragging a single seat and setting himself on it.

“Let me make this simple.” He said, voice eerily calm. "If no one speaks up, I'll kill every single one of you." 

The students all looked panicked erupted. Several students gasped, others looked at each other in terror, like they were worried and didn’t know what to do.

“Who is Allison Anderson?” He asked again.

As soon as he asked, all at once, every finger in the room pointed towards a girl sitting near the window. 

Allison Anderson. 

She sprang to her feet, furious.

“Seriously? What the hell is wrong with you guys?He was obviously bluffing, he can’t kill every single one of us!" 

Matthew tilted his head.

“You really think that I bluffing, Allison?" He said the last name with venom.

His bones cracked, shifting and moving under his skin as he let go of his human form. His fingers extended into claws, his spine stretched, and his hind legs grew as his body was morphing into something far more monstrous than the terrible person he was. 

That was all it took and the classroom erupted into chaos. 

Screams filled the air as the students scrambled back, their chairs clattering to the floor. A few tried to run away, and Matthew moved too fast, blocking the door with his massive wolf frame. 

He could smell the fear radiating off the students, and it was intoxicating.

Two students managed to slip past him, but the rest were trapped. Allison stood frozen, her eyes wide in disbelief. 

"Holy—" She whispered, taking a huge step back, contemplating whether to jump out of the windows.

Matthew bared his teeth. Not so brave anymore, was she? Pulling a second jump would kill her, and he wanted to take her back alive.

Outside, Sophia had just returned from the library when she heard the screams of the students. Her heart slammed against her ribs as she turned toward the source of the noise. 

Something was wrong. 

She ran, pushing past the students who were fleeing in the opposite direction. And then she saw it. 

Right in her classroom was a massive wolf, its fur brown and shiny, and it had its fangs bared. They looked as sharp as knives.

Her breath hitched. She had seen something like this before in her visions. A giant wolf, towing over everything in its path. 

She felt nothing short of fear. Immediately, she ran back to meet with the closest security men and alerted them of what was going on.

The security guards rushed past her, informing others and barking orders. One of them turned to her.

“Stay back!" 

Sophia shook her head.

“I can help!" 

The guard grabbed her arm, pulling her away.

"You'll do nothing but get yourself killed! Make sure that you stay out of the way!" 

She struggled for a second, but deep down, she knew he was right. 

So instead, she watched helplessly as they ran to the classroom and stopped short in sheer horror and disbelief.

“Who is that?” One of them asked. “How is he so big?”

Sophia wondered if she had heard well, but she didn’t have time to think as the security men rushed in with their guns drawn, ready to take down the beast inside the classroom.