Chapter 54 Suspicious Whispers
Calix Pov
I pretended to read the bulletin board near the student center. There were flyers for clubs and events and study groups. I didn't care about any of them. I wasn't here to read. I was here to watch.
Specifically I was here to watch Maddie. She was sitting on a bench about fifty feet away with a textbook open on her lap. She was alone like always. She didn't have many friends here. She kept to herself. She stayed invisible.
That's what worried me. Because invisible people got noticed when they stopped being invisible. And Maddie was getting harder to ignore.
Two sophomore girls walked past me toward the student center entrance. They were talking in low voices but I heard every word. My wolf hearing picked up everything within a hundred feet.
"The new girl is definitely weird," one of them said. She glanced over at Maddie. "I swear I saw her move too fast in training yesterday. Like not human fast."
My blood turned to ice. I stood perfectly still and listened harder.
"What do you mean not human fast?" the other girl asked.
"I mean she was on one side of the mat and then suddenly she was on the other side," the first girl explained. "It was like she teleported or something. Nobody moves that fast."
"Maybe she's just really athletic," the second girl suggested. "Some people are just naturally gifted."
"No way," the first girl insisted. "I've seen athletic people. This was different. This was wrong. There's something off about her."
They walked into the building and their voices faded away. I stood there frozen. My heart was pounding hard in my chest. My hands clenched into fists at my sides.
People were noticing. People were starting to question. It was only a matter of time before someone figured out the truth about what Maddie really was.
I needed to do something. I needed to protect her. But how could I protect her when I was supposed to be staying away from her? How could I keep her safe without getting close enough to trigger my curse?
"You have to warn her," my wolf said urgently. "She needs to know people are watching. She needs to be more careful."
"I can't talk to her," I said quietly. "I told her to stay away from me. If I go to her now it will confuse everything."
"Then watch from a distance," my wolf suggested. "Follow her. Make sure nobody gets too close. Make sure she stays safe."
That's what I had been doing for weeks now. Shadowing Maddie from far away. Watching her walk to class. Watching her eat lunch alone. Watching her train at night when she thought nobody was looking.
I had become obsessed with keeping her safe even though I couldn't be near her. It was torture. Every day was torture. Seeing her and not being able to touch her. Feeling the bond pull and not being able to answer it.
But the alternative was worse. The alternative was her dying because of me. Because of my curse. Because I loved her too much.
Maddie closed her textbook and stood up from the bench. She put her bag over her shoulder and started walking across campus. I waited a few seconds and then followed her at a distance. Far enough that she wouldn't notice. Close enough that I could intervene if something happened.
She walked toward the gym. Probably going to train. She spent a lot of time there. More time than most students. She was driven in a way that reminded me of myself. Always pushing. Always trying to be better. Always fighting something internal.
I followed her until she went inside the gym. Then I stopped outside and leaned against the wall. I couldn't go in without being obvious. I couldn't watch her train without her seeing me. So I just waited.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw a text from my father.
"Have you made progress with the Hendrix girl? The alliance is important for our pack's future."
I stared at the message for a long moment. The Hendrix girl. Simone. My supposed future mate. The person my father expected me to marry for political reasons.
I deleted the message without responding. I couldn't deal with my father's expectations right now. I couldn't deal with anything except making sure Maddie stayed safe.
Another person walked past me toward the gym entrance. A junior guy from the wrestling team. He was talking on his phone.
"Yeah I'm telling you something is up with that Vale girl," he said. "She almost threw Marcus across the mat yesterday and she's supposed to be wolfless. Nobody that small should be that strong."
He walked inside and I heard the door close behind him. I felt sick to my stomach. More people talking. More people noticing. This was getting worse faster than I expected.
I pulled out my phone again and opened a new text message. I typed quickly.
"Be more careful. People are noticing you're different. You need to hold back more during training."
I stared at the message for a full minute before deleting it. I couldn't text her. I had told her to stay away. I had made it clear we couldn't have contact. If I reached out now it would send mixed signals.
But if I didn't warn her then what? She would keep making mistakes. She would keep showing too much strength. Eventually someone would figure out she wasn't human. Eventually someone would discover what she really was.
And then everything would fall apart.
I put my phone away and pushed off from the wall. I started walking away from the gym. Away from Maddie. Away from the pull of the bond that never stopped.
"Where are you going?" my wolf asked. "We should stay. We should watch over her."
"I can't," I said. "I can't keep doing this. I can't keep torturing myself by being close but not close enough."
"Then what's your plan?" my wolf demanded. "Just abandon her? Let whatever happens happen?"
"No," I said firmly. "I'm going to find another way to protect her. A way that doesn't require me being near her."
"What way?" my wolf asked.
"I don't know yet," I admitted. "But I'll figure it out. I have to."