Marrok exhaled shakily, his shoulders rising and falling as if wrestling with an invisible weight. His lips parted, but no words came.
Ulva and Raul exchanged a tense glance. They weren't just worried anymore—they were truly afraid now.
Twice in a row. Last night. And now again this morning. No break this time. No reprieve.
"Marrok, I'm really getting scared," Ulva admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. She pulled a handkerchief from her red backpack and gently wiped the tears streaking his face. "It's never been this close together before… It seems like it's getting worse since we arrived in Ridgehaven."
Raul hesitated before speaking. "Should we call Elder Rudina? She might know what to do."
"No," Marrok said firmly, taking the handkerchief from Ulva and finishing the job himself. "It'll only make everyone worry—especially my parents."
"But Marrok—" Ulva started.
Ulva," he cut in, his voice steadier now. "If this is their doing, then we're exactly where we need to be. Maybe this is exactly what they want—to make us back down. But we won't. Let's go. We can't afford to be late on our first day."
Ulva studied his face for a long moment before nodding. "If you say so." She latched onto his hand again, gripping it tighter than before, and they started toward the car.
Raul watched them for a moment, exhaling deeply before following.
→→→→→→→
The moment the school building came into view, Sumaya exhaled loudly, trying to steady her racing heart. For a brief second, she considered skipping school altogether. Her eyes were still puffy from earlier tears, but thankfully, her hoodie concealed most of her face.
Just as she was about to step inside, her phone buzzed with notifications. She pulled it out of her backpack and nearly groaned at the sight—25 missed calls and a handful of messages, all from Olivia.
"Shit," she muttered, unlocking her phone as she stepped onto the school premises.
The messages were typical Olivia—nagging, complaining about being ignored, and demanding to know if everything was alright. One mentioned that she had just returned from vacation with her family yesterday evening. That explained why Olivia hadn't been at school when it reopened for their 11th grade. If she had, Amanda and her cronies wouldn't have had the chance to corner Sumaya like they did.
The last message made Sumaya smile for the first time since Olivia left.
"I can't wait to see you at school!!!"
Olivia, her knight in pink clothing, was finally back. The one person who could help her keep Amanda in check.
She needed to find her ASAP because, after everything that had happened that morning with her mother, Sumaya didn't have the strength to face Amanda and her minions.
Picking up her pace, she made her way through the courtyard—only to spot the devil herself.
Amanda sat on a bench with Jenna and Bree, their laughter sharp and grating, cutting through the morning air like a blade.
Sumaya froze.
Amanda flicked her hair over her shoulder, her perfectly practiced smile never reaching her eyes. Jenna leaned in, whispering something that sent all three of them into another round of cruel laughter, while Bree adjusted her designer bag, a smirk twisting her lips.
They hadn't noticed her yet.
Without hesitation, Sumaya pivoted sharply and headed toward the side entrance, hoping to slip in unnoticed. She weaved through a group of students lingering by the lockers, keeping her head low, her heart hammering.
But luck wasn't on her side today.
"Hey, look! It's the freak," Bree's voice rang out, sharp and taunting.
Sumaya's stomach dropped.
"She's still alive?" Jenna sneered, sounding genuinely surprised—like she had expected Sumaya to just drop dead overnight.
"How great," Sumaya muttered under her breath and quickened her pace.
"Hey, stop her!" Amanda's voice rang out, filled with wicked amusement.
Their taunting voices trailed after her, growing louder as they pursued her, but she had no intention of giving them the satisfaction of catching up. They would make her pay for that stunt she pulled yesterday.
She slipped into the crowded hallway, weaving through the throng of students, her heartbeat drumming in her ears. Her expression remained neutral, though irritation simmered just beneath the surface, a slow burn she struggled to suppress.
Her eyes scanned frantically for Olivia while she moved through the bustling crowd, muscles tensed, every step calculated.
"Do they have nothing better to do?" She thought bitterly, her jaw tightening. She turned a sharp corner, her focus entirely on escaping—only to slam into something. No—someone.
The impact sent a sharp gasp through the air as the girl Sumaya had crashed into stumbled back, arms flailing wildly. But before she could hit the ground, a strong arm shot out, catching her effortlessly, steadying her with an ease that seemed almost unnatural.
Sumaya barely had time to process what had happened. Her heart lurched—not just from the collision but from the sickening realization that she had just drawn even more attention to herself. Great. Just what I needed.
"Are you blind? Watch where the fuck you're going!"
An irritated voice cut through the murmuring hallway. Sumaya's stomach twisted.
The voice belonged to the boy who had just caught the other girl. He hadn't even spared Sumaya a glance, his entire focus locked onto the one still clinging to him.
"I'm sorry," Sumaya said hurriedly, her voice soft but rushed, desperate to end the moment and move on before things got worse.
The boy's head snapped toward her. For a second, his expression faltered. Her voice—there was something about it. It was too soothing, like a whisper against his soul, slipping past his defenses with an unsettling ease.
His brows furrowed as something flickered behind his golden eyes. It's her. The strange human girl. Marrok frowned, his grip on the girl in his arms tightening slightly. It's happening again.
He should have been able to hear her thoughts. After colliding with someone, a human's mind should be unstable, erratic—a chaotic flood of emotions. He should've been able to pick up on her panic, her embarrassment, her irritation. But all he sensed was… nothing.
A complete silence. And that should have been impossible.
Sumaya, oblivious to his internal war, found herself staring at him a moment too long. His features were sharp, impossibly defined, almost surreal. The effortless way he had caught the girl, the way he held her as if she were something precious—it stirred something deep within her.
Ulva felt Marrok's grip tighten around her, his fingers pressing into her skin. She looked between him and the girl who had bumped into her, a deep frown forming as the girl's scent waltzed into her nose.
It's her. The owner of the scent on Marrok's body yesterday.
Her frown deepened, a flash of something unreadable passing through her eyes.
For a fleeting moment, Sumaya wondered what it would be like to be looked at that way.
To be held like that. Even if his words had been harsh, his voice was beautiful—low, commanding, almost hypnotic. The girl in his arms clung to him possessively, her fingers curling into his shirt as if she were staking her claim.
Yeah, nobody's taking him from you. Sumaya rolled her eyes internally, daring herself to look up at boy's face—and then she froze.
Those golden eyes. A shiver crawled up her spine. Why do they feel so familiar, like that black wolf? Her breath hitched. What a strange coincidence.
Her pulse pounded wildly as she stared at him, her mind screaming at her to move, to say something—anything. But she couldn't. Because all she could think about was the black wolf from the woods.
Before she could linger on the thought, movement from the side caught her attention. Shit. Her bullies.
A sigh threatened to escape her lips. Of course, they wouldn't just give up—with a sharp inhale, she took off, darting past Marrok and the girl at his side.
"Hey, freak! Wait up!" Amanda's voice followed her, obnoxious as always. "Stop running, dammit!"
Marrok didn't move. His golden eyes tracked the girl as she fled, chased by the ones who had spoken. Even now, he couldn't hear anything from her mind. But he could hear theirs—their cruel amusement, their twisted anticipation, the way they planned to corner her. How they saw her as nothing more than a game to play.
"Do you think she recognized you?" Raul, who had been standing quietly beside Marrok throughout the whole ordeal, spoke in a hushed tone, dragging Marrok back to the present.
"Recognized who?" Ulva, still clinging to Marrok, narrowed her eyes, suspicion creeping into her expression.
"It's nothing, love," Marrok replied smoothly.
"Don't lie to me. Stop lying to me!" Ulva's voice trembled, sharp with accusation. "Her scent was all over you last night when you came back."
Raul scratched his head, glancing between them. Ulva tightened her grip on Marrok's arm, her fingers digging in as her voice dropped to a soft yet dangerous whine. "Why are you hiding things from me?"
Marrok's jaw tightened. He looked down at her, forcing his expression to remain neutral.
"I'm not hiding anything from you, love. It was Zeev who let her pet him when she helped distract the hunters who caught Raul yesterday until I arrived."
What!?!
Ulva nearly screeched, her body tensing against his. Zeev did what?!
She was his mate, and yet that godforsaken wolf wouldn't even let her near Marrok whenever he was in his wolf form. But this girl—he let her touch him?
"Come on, love, you know how annoying Zeev can be," Marrok said, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. "Let's not attract unnecessary attention to ourselves. We need to find our class."
Raul let out an awkward laugh as Marrok walked forward with a still-pissed Ulva before following behind.
"Whipped fool," Zeev sneered in Marrok's mind. Marrok sighed internally.