Adrian's POV
The wolves were closing in.
I could hear them somewhere beyond the trees—the faint rhythm of paws striking damp earth, branches snapping beneath their weight, and low growls carried through the cold night air.
They were hunting her.
And they were getting closer.
The forest had swallowed the last traces of daylight, leaving only darkness and pale fragments of moonlight filtering through the branches. Cold, damp air carried the scent of earth, leaves, and something far more dangerous.
I tore through the forest, moving so fast that the trees became nothing more than dark streaks around me. The wind howled past my ears, unable to keep pace.
Drek kept pace beside me, barely a step behind.
My heightened senses caught every sound—the snap of branches, the rustle of leaves, and the faint rhythm of footsteps pursuing us from behind.
They were getting closer.
Drek glanced at me.
"They're closing in on her."
"How close?"
"Too close."
I clenched my jaw.
"What are we going to do?"
"We need to distract Jake."
"How?"
I stopped abruptly and pulled off my jacket before holding it out to him.
"Wear this."
Drek stared at the jacket for a moment before understanding dawned in his eyes.
"You want him to follow your scent."
"Yes."
He frowned.
"That bastard is intelligent. He'll figure it out."
"I know."
I looked toward the darkness behind us.
"I just need to buy some time."
Drek studied me for a moment.
"How much time?"
"Enough to reach the college."
He nodded slowly.
I pointed toward the eastern trail.
"Start running that way."
Drek slipped my jacket on.
"Once he catches your scent, he'll follow me."
"Exactly."
Drek gave me a faint, humorless smile.
"You're asking me to become a target."
"Temporarily."
He shook his head.
"You really know how to make a man feel appreciated."
A faint smile almost touched my lips.
"Go."
Drek turned and disappeared into the darkness, sprinting toward the eastern side of the forest.
I waited.
Three seconds.
Four.
Then I moved.
I turned in the opposite direction and headed toward the college.
Behind me, Drek's footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
If Jake followed the scent clinging to my jacket, he would waste precious time chasing Drek while I took the shorter route to the college.
I couldn't let Jake reach her first.
Eira's POV
The cursor blinked relentlessly on my screen.
I stared at the unfinished paragraph, fighting the urge to close my laptop and forget the entire thesis.
"Come on…"
I rubbed my forehead.
The library had grown unnaturally quiet.
Hours had passed without me realizing it. I glanced at the title on the screen.
Treatment of Lymphocytosis.
I sighed.
"Why did I leave this until now?"
I forced myself to continue.
One paragraph became another. Slowly, painfully, the thesis began to take shape.
I checked my references, corrected the final errors, and finally typed the last sentence.
Then I stopped.
Finished.
I stared at the screen for several seconds before a tired smile appeared on my face.
"Finally."
I saved the document and closed my laptop.
At least one thing was finally done.
I gathered my books and stood.
Then I glanced at the clock.
My smile disappeared.
"That late?"
The library was nearly empty.
I hurried outside.
The moment I stepped onto the pathway, an uneasy feeling settled over me.
The campus was quiet.
Too quiet.
A cold breeze slipped through the trees.
I glanced over my shoulder.
Nothing.
Just an empty pathway.
Yet the feeling wouldn't leave.
Someone was behind me.
Watching.
Following.
I quickened my pace.
Then a sudden ache tightened across my chest.
I stopped.
My hand went instinctively to the spot.
The pain wasn't sharp. It was deeper than that—a strange pressure beneath my ribs.
Then warmth spread beneath my palm.
I frowned.
"What is happening to me?"
The sensation slowly faded.
I took a deep breath and continued walking.
I didn't notice him at first.
Then I saw a figure standing beneath the dim light ahead.
Adrian.
I stopped.
"What are you doing here?"
He looked at me.
His expression was unusually tense.
"We have to leave."
I frowned.
"What?"
"Now."
Something in his voice made my stomach tighten.
"Why?"
"We don't have time."
"For what?"
He glanced toward the trees before looking back at me.
"Eira, come with me."
I stared at him.
"No."
His expression hardened.
"You can't stay here."
"Why?"
"Because you're not safe."
"From whom?"
He didn't answer.
My frustration grew.
"Adrian."
"Just trust me."
"How?"
His eyes met mine.
"I don't have time to explain."
"Then make time."
His jaw tightened.
"Eira—"
"No."
I shook my head.
"You don't get to disappear and then suddenly appear here, telling me to leave without giving me a single explanation."
"I am trying to keep you safe."
"Then tell me what I'm supposed to be safe from."
His gaze shifted toward the trees.
"They're coming."
My heartbeat quickened.
"Who?"
Silence.
I stared at him.
"Then I'm not going anywhere."
His expression tightened.
"Eira, you need to leave. Now."
"No."
I turned and started walking in the opposite direction.
"Eira."
I ignored him.
I had barely taken a few steps when Adrian suddenly went still.
Something changed in his expression.
His head turned sharply toward the forest, as though he could sense something approaching.
"Run."
I stopped and looked back.
"What?"
"Run!"
Before I could understand what he meant, a howl tore through the darkness.
My blood ran cold.
Another howl answered.
Then another.
Panic surged through me.
I turned and ran.
The pathway blurred beneath my feet. My bag bounced against my side as I sprinted through the darkness.
Behind me, I heard movement.
Branches snapping.
Footsteps.
Growls.
I didn't dare look back.
Then I saw someone ahead.
A man stood among the trees.
Relief flooded through me.
"Help!"
He turned.
I slowed.
"Please!"
He didn't answer.
Something about him felt wrong.
His breathing was ragged, and something feral burned in his eyes.
I took a cautious step backward.
"Are you okay?"
His body suddenly convulsed.
I froze.
"What…?"
A sharp crack echoed through the darkness.
Then another.
His shoulders twisted.
His spine arched unnaturally.
His hands struck the ground.
Claws pushed through his fingertips.
My breath caught.
"No…"
The transformation continued.
His jaw stretched.
His body expanded.
His clothes tore apart as bones shifted beneath his skin.
Within seconds, the man was gone.
A massive wolf stood before me.
Its eyes locked onto mine.
A deep growl vibrated through its chest.
I couldn't move.
My entire body had gone numb.
The wolf lowered itself, ready to attack.
"No…"
It lunged.
I screamed.
But before its claws could reach me—
A hand seized the wolf by the neck.
Adrian.
He tore the creature away from me with terrifying force and slammed it into the ground.
The wolf barely had time to recover before Adrian seized its throat again.
With one brutal movement, he twisted its neck.
The creature went limp.
I stumbled backward.
Adrian stood between me and the dead wolf.
Then three more wolves emerged from the darkness.
They charged.
Adrian moved with such impossible speed that my eyes could barely follow him.
He caught the first by the throat and hurled it against a tree.
The second lunged at him.
He caught it mid-air.
Its claws tore across his shoulder.
Blood immediately spilled down his arm.
Adrian didn't even flinch.
He slammed the creature into the ground.
The third attacked from behind.
Adrian spun and struck it down before it could reach him.
Within moments, all three wolves lay motionless on the forest floor.
Blood dripped from Adrian's hands.
He stood among the bodies.
His normally black eyes had turned red.
His teeth had lengthened into sharp fangs.
His expression was cold.
Blank.
Terrifying.
I stared at him.
I couldn't breathe.
This wasn't the Adrian I knew.
Or perhaps—
This was the Adrian I had never known.
He slowly turned toward me.
Our eyes met.
I took a step backward.
Then another.
His expression changed.
"Eira…"
"Stay away from me."
He immediately stepped back.
"Eira, I…"
"Who are you?"
He said nothing.
My breathing quickened.
Memories began flashing through my mind.
The wolf that had once run from him.
The bus he had stopped with one hand.
His impossible strength.
The way he moved.
The way he always seemed to know things he shouldn't.
The things I had dismissed as strange suddenly felt terrifyingly obvious.
My eyes widened.
"You're not human."
Pain flickered across his face.
"Don't look at me like that, Eira."
"How am I supposed to look at you?"
My voice trembled.
"You're…"
I couldn't finish.
I stumbled backward.
"Stay away from me!"
"Eira, please."
"Help!"
The word tore from my throat.
Adrian froze.
Pain crossed his face.
"You're asking for help…"
His voice was quiet.
"…from me?"
I stared at him.
For a moment, the terrifying creature disappeared.
There was only Adrian.
But I couldn't think clearly anymore.
I turned and ran.
"Eira!"
I kept running.
I didn't know where I was going.
I only knew I had to get away from him.
Then the pain in my chest returned.
Stronger this time.
I gasped.
My hand flew to my chest.
My vision blurred.
The trees seemed to spin around me.
I tried to keep moving.
l another.
My legs suddenly gave way.
"Eira!"
Adrian caught me before I hit the ground.
He lowered me carefully into his arms.
My body trembled.
I tried weakly to push him away.
"Stay… away…"
My voice was barely audible.
Adrian loosened his hold immediately.
"Easy."
I struggled to keep my eyes open.
"You're… not human."
His expression broke.
"Who… are you?"
My eyes closed.
My body went limp.
Adrian held me tightly against his chest.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"Don't hate me, Eira."
He closed his eyes for a moment.
"I never wanted you to see me like this."
Jake's POV
Adrian's scent was unmistakable.
He was here.
And if he was here—
Then she had to be nearby.
I ran through the forest, following his scent deeper into the trees while the Wakintion moved alongside me.
One of them suddenly stopped.
"Alpha."
I turned.
"What?"
He inhaled deeply.
"The girl's scent."
My expression sharpened.
"Where?"
The Wakintion pointed toward the opposite side of the forest.
"Her scent is coming from there."
I frowned.
I looked back toward the trail I had been following.
Adrian's scent was strong here.
But the girl's scent was coming from somewhere else.
I clenched my jaw.
"That bastard."
One of the Wakintion looked at me.
"Alpha?"
"He's playing games."
I looked toward the different trails branching through the forest.
"You go this way."
I pointed toward another path.
"You two search that side."
The Wakintion immediately split up.
I continued forward.
The farther I went, the stronger Adrian's scent became.
Then I noticed something hanging near the edge of the forest.
An old scarecrow stood beneath a crooked tree, something dark draped over its wooden frame.
I approached.
My eyes narrowed.
A jacket.
I pulled it free.
Adrian's jacket.
I stared at it for several seconds.
Then I laughed.
A low, humorless laugh.
"That bastard."
I held the jacket up.
His scent was unmistakable.
But now everything made sense.
He had deliberately used the jacket to draw me away, knowing I would follow Adrian's scent instead of hers.
"He wanted me to follow this."
I shook my head.
"You really thought you could fool me?"
I looked into the darkness.
"I knew you'd play games."
A slow smile spread across my face.
"But this time, I came prepared."
I let the jacket fall to the ground.
"You may have bought yourself some time…"
My expression hardened.
"…but you're not leaving this forest tonight."
I turned toward the direction of the college.
Whatever Adrian was hiding, I would find it.
I took a few steps before stopping.
A dark amusement flickered across my face.
"I know you, Adrian."
My voice was low.
"You'll always choose the game if you think it will protect your secret."
I looked toward the distant lights of the college.
"But this time, I'm not playing by your rules."
I clenched my fists.
"Neither you nor the Stone will leave this place."
A cold smile touched my lips.
"I'll get the Stone…"
I paused.
"And killing you will be a bonus."
I turned toward the college.
The hunt wasn't over.
It had only become more interesting.