MY PSYCHO ALPHA

CHAPTER 18

The funniest part about my “fake breakup plan” was that I wasn’t even good at it.

I was trying to be cold.

I was trying to be casual.

I was trying to act like my heart wasn’t doing backflips every time I felt Alex watching me from across the courtyard like I was his oxygen supply.

But the moment the guy from my sociology class—Miles—smiled at me and said, “Want to sit with us?” my entire body screamed:

This is a terrible idea.

And I did it anyway.

Because I was stubborn.

Because I was mad.

Because I wanted Alex to feel what “distance” actually looked like when it wasn’t just a word he threw at me like a shield.

So I smiled wider, tucked my hair behind my ear like I didn’t have a care in the world, and said, “Sure.”

Miles blinked like he hadn’t expected me to say yes that fast. “Cool. We’re over by the fountain.”

“Perfect,” I said brightly.

Then I walked with him—two steps—before I felt the air behind us tighten.

Not cold air.

Not night air.

Alex air.

I didn’t even have to turn to know something in him had shifted.

But I did anyway, because I wanted to see it.

Alex stood across the courtyard in the shadow of a building corner, arms at his sides, posture still like he’d carved himself out of stone.

His face stayed blank.

His eyes didn’t.

His gaze was locked on Miles like he was calculating the exact amount of strength it would take to throw him into the sun.

And the worst part?

Alex still didn’t move.

He was holding his mask.

Holding the fake cold.

Holding back the storm.

I lifted my chin and smiled again—right at Miles—just to push the blade a little deeper.

Miles chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “So… are you new here?”

“I’m new to drama,” I said sweetly.

Miles laughed. “Same.”

Behind us, I heard a soft sound.

Not a step.

Not a voice.

A low exhale—like someone grinding their teeth in silence.

I pretended not to hear it.

Miles kept talking as we crossed the courtyard. He was nice. Normal. Human in the way that now felt like a fragile kind of peace.

“I saw you at the basketball game,” he said. “You okay? That hit looked brutal.”

“Oh, yeah,” I said lightly. “My face and I are in a long-term argument.”

Miles laughed. “You’re funny.”

I gave him a look. “Don’t encourage me.”

He grinned. “Too late.”

We reached the fountain area, where a few students sat on the low wall, talking, scrolling, laughing. Someone had a speaker playing music too quietly to be annoying.

Normal.

I wanted normal.

I also wanted to scream.

Miles gestured toward an open spot. “You can sit here.”

“Thanks,” I said.

I sat.

Miles sat beside me.

And the moment I did, I felt it again.

That pressure.

That watchfulness.

I glanced sideways.

Alex had moved.

Of course he had.

Now he stood closer—still not close, but close enough that I knew he could reach me in seconds if something happened.

His jaw was tight.

His hands were fists.

His eyes were storm-dark.

And he was pretending he didn’t care.

I wanted to laugh.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to throw a plush wolf at his head.

Miles leaned toward me slightly. “So… what’s your major?”

“Survival,” I said without thinking.

Miles blinked. “Huh?”

I coughed. “I mean… undecided.”

Miles laughed. “That’s a mood.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

I pulled it out, expecting Lina to be screaming for details.

Instead, it was an unknown number.

My stomach dropped.

Unknown Number: You’re doing great. Keep smiling.

My blood went cold.

I stared at the screen.

Miles glanced at my face. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I lied automatically. “Just… a weird text.”

Another buzz.

Unknown Number: He hates that. He hates you near humans.

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry.

Miles frowned. “Is someone bothering you?”

“No,” I said too quickly.

Across the courtyard, Alex’s gaze sharpened like he’d felt my fear spike.

My phone buzzed again.

Unknown Number: Want proof your Alpha can’t protect you?Unknown Number: Walk to the boundary sign. Alone. Right now.

My heart slammed so hard it hurt.

I didn’t breathe for a second.

Walk to the boundary sign.

Alone.

My skin went prickly.

Miles kept talking—something about professors and class schedules—but his voice sounded far away now, like my ears were underwater.

Because that text wasn’t a prank.

It wasn’t Lina messing with me.

It wasn’t campus nonsense.

It was the same energy as the red ink message.

The same sense of being watched.

The same cold certainty: they know where you are.

I looked up instinctively toward Alex.

He was already moving.

Not running—yet.

Just walking fast, straight toward me, like he’d decided the breakup act was over.

But then something happened that stopped him.

A group of students crossed his path.

Three. Maybe four.

They laughed loudly, stepping into his line like they didn’t even notice him.

Except they did.

Their eyes flicked to his face.

Their laughter shifted into something fake.

Like a distraction.

Like a wall.

Alex stopped.

His jaw tightened.

He glanced around them, trying to keep sight of me.

And in that moment—one small moment—my phone buzzed again.

Unknown Number: Now.

My stomach flipped.

The trap wasn’t the boundary.

The trap was timing.

They were separating us.

My pulse spiked.

I stood up so quickly Miles blinked.

“Hey—where are you going?” he asked.

I forced a smile that felt like cracked glass. “Bathroom.”

Miles pointed in the wrong direction. “It’s—”

“I know,” I said, and walked away.

Not toward the bathrooms.

Toward the brighter path near the dorms—because I wasn’t stupid.

I wasn’t going to the boundary sign.

I wasn’t going anywhere alone.

I threaded through students, keeping to the lights, keeping my shoulders straight like I wasn’t panicking.

My phone buzzed again.

Unknown Number: Wrong way.

I didn’t stop.

I walked faster.

I didn’t look back.

Because if I looked back and saw Alex’s face, I might break.

Then my phone buzzed again.

This time the message wasn’t a command.

It was a picture.

A blurry photo.

A hallway.

A door.

My door.

And taped to it, in bright red, was a piece of paper.

My name.

Again.

My blood turned to ice.

I stopped walking without meaning to.

My hands started shaking.

Miles called from behind me, confused. “Hey—are you sure you’re okay?”

I didn’t answer.

Because my brain had already decided something before I could stop it:

They’re in my building.

Or they can make me believe they are.

Either way, they were pulling me like a hook in my ribs.

My phone buzzed once more.

Unknown Number: North path. Two minutes. Or your friends get curious.

Lina and Bree flashed through my mind, sitting on that couch, trying to pretend the world wasn’t dangerous.

My throat tightened.

My fear turned into fury.

Fine.

If they wanted to lure me, they were going to have to do it in the light.

In public.

Where Alex could find me.

I turned sharply and started walking toward the north path—still lit, still busy, but closer to where campus thinned out and trees began.

I didn’t run.

Running looked guilty.

Running looked alone.

I walked fast, head high, like I belonged.

My phone felt like a live wire in my hand.

I typed one word to Lina without thinking:

WAFFLES

Then hit send.

My stomach twisted.

If Lina saw it, she’d call.

If she didn’t—

I didn’t finish that thought.

I kept walking.

The north path curved, lights getting spaced farther apart. Students thinned out. The music and laughter faded behind me.

The air changed too—cooler, damp, smelling faintly like rain and metal.

Storm.

My stomach clenched.

I shouldn’t be doing this.

I knew it.

But the image of my door with red ink taped to it kept flashing in my head like a warning sign.

The path forked ahead.

One route curved back toward dorms.

The other led toward the boundary area.

The trees loomed beyond, darker, thicker, like they’d been waiting.

My phone buzzed.

Unknown Number: Closer.

I swallowed hard and stepped toward the tree line—

And froze.

Because someone stepped out from behind a lamp post.

Ponytail girl.

The one from the clearing.

She wore a hoodie like any other student, but her stillness wasn’t student-still.

Her eyes weren’t normal.

They caught the light and flickered faintly gold.

She smiled like she was greeting a friend.

“Hi,” she said.

My skin prickled.

I forced my voice steady. “What do you want?”

Her smile widened. “You came.”

“I’m not stupid,” I said, lying through my teeth.

She stepped closer, slow. “You’re stubborn.”

“Move,” I said.

She didn’t.

Instead, she tilted her head slightly, like she was listening to something I couldn’t hear.

Then she said, softly, “He’s not here.”

My heart slammed.

I forced my eyes to stay on her face. “He’s always here.”

Her smile turned sharp. “Not when we choose the timing.”

My stomach dropped.

From behind her, two more figures emerged from the shadows near the trees.

Varsity guy.

And another boy I didn’t recognize—quiet, eyes too bright, posture too relaxed for midnight-ish campus.

They fanned out slowly, forming a loose triangle.

My breath caught.

I took a step back.

The ponytail girl laughed softly. “Don’t run. You’ll make it fun.”

My blood turned cold.

“Where’s Alex?” I demanded again, because saying his name out loud felt like striking a match.

The varsity guy’s grin was lazy. “Busy.”

“Doing what?” I snapped.

“Being tested,” he said.

My stomach dropped.

They’d distracted him.

Those students crossing his path.

A wall.

A delay.

My hand tightened around my phone.

I turned to run back toward the lights—

And someone stepped out from the other side.

Blocking my path.

A girl with braids, eyes faintly gold.

I didn’t even hear her arrive.

My lungs tightened.

The ponytail girl’s voice softened, almost kind. “You really don’t belong in this.”

“I didn’t ask to be in it,” I whispered, voice shaking.

Varsity guy shrugged. “And yet, here you are.”

My pulse hammered.

I backed toward the trees without meaning to, because my brain was trying to avoid being surrounded—even though the trees were worse.

The air got colder with every step.

I felt the boundary nearby like a line my skin recognized now.

The ponytail girl watched me drift backward and smiled wider.

“Yes,” she murmured. “There it is.”

“What?” I snapped, panicked.

“The forest likes you,” she said softly, like she was telling me I’d been chosen for an award.

My stomach flipped.

“No,” I whispered.

Varsity guy took one slow step closer. “You did this to yourself.”

I swallowed hard. “I crossed because I wanted answers.”

He grinned. “And now you’re part of the question.”

My heart felt like it was trying to claw out of my chest.

I raised my phone like a weapon. “I texted my friend.”

Ponytail girl’s eyes flicked to it. “Cute.”

“I screamed at Alex,” I lied. “He’ll find me.”

Varsity guy smiled wider. “He’ll find you.”

The way he said it didn’t sound like comfort.

It sounded like a promise of violence.

The ponytail girl stepped closer, voice almost gentle. “We don’t want to hurt you.”

I stared at her, breathing hard. “Then let me go.”

She smiled sadly. “That’s not our choice.”

Cold flooded my limbs.

“What do you want?” I whispered again, smaller this time.

Varsity guy’s gaze slid over me like I was a message. “We want him to stop pretending.”

Ponytail girl’s eyes gleamed. “We want him to pick.”

My throat tightened.

“Pick what?” I whispered.

Varsity guy’s grin sharpened. “Pack. Or human.”

My stomach twisted.

The trees behind me rustled—no wind.

The air tasted metallic again.

And then my phone buzzed.

A call.

Lina.

I almost sobbed.

I lifted it to my ear—

A hand shot out.

Fast.

Too fast.

Braids girl grabbed my wrist, twisted gently but firmly, and knocked the phone out of my hand.

It hit the pavement with a c***k and skidded toward the shadow line.

“No,” I gasped.

Ponytail girl clicked her tongue. “No help.”

Varsity guy tilted his head. “Run.”

My blood turned to ice.

“What—”

“Run,” he repeated, smiling. “That’s what you do, right?”

I didn’t wait.

I ran.

I spun and sprinted back toward the lights, lungs burning, heart exploding, tears stinging my eyes.

Behind me, footsteps followed.

Not loud.

Not frantic.

Controlled.

Like they were letting me run because it was part of the game.

The path blurred.

Lights stretched.

My shoes slapped pavement.

I heard a laugh—too close.

I heard a breath—right behind my shoulder.

I swerved left—

And almost collided with a tree as the path narrowed near the boundary.

The air snapped colder.

My skin prickled.

No.

No no no—

A hand grazed my hoodie, fingertips catching fabric.

I screamed and yanked forward—

The boundary sign flashed ahead through the trees like a ghost:

DO NOT CROSS AFTER DARK

My lungs burned.

My vision blurred.

I was going to hit the forest line—

And then the air changed.

Not colder.

Heavier.

Like thunder arriving.

A sound hit the path—footsteps, fast, violent, impossible.

Not running like a human runs.

Running like a storm with legs.

Someone slammed into the space between me and the shadows behind me.

My arm was grabbed—hard, urgent.

I was yanked backward so fast I stumbled.

And then I was ripped behind a solid wall of a body.

Alex.

He was breathing hard, chest rising and falling like he’d been sprinting from hell itself.

His eyes were glowing.

Not a soft flicker.

A real, dangerous gold that made my blood freeze and my heart ache at the same time.

His jaw was clenched like it might shatter.

His hand locked around mine, grip tight enough to anchor me, not hurt me.

He didn’t look at me first.

He looked at them.

At the shadows near the tree line where ponytail girl and the others emerged, calm as if they hadn’t just hunted me for fun.

Alex’s shoulders rose.

A low sound rolled from his chest—not quite a growl, not quite words.

The air around him tightened like the world itself flinched.

Varsity guy smiled, slow and satisfied. “There you are.”

Ponytail girl’s eyes gleamed. “Right on time.”

Alex took one step forward, keeping me behind him like a secret he’d kill for.

His voice came out low and layered, that inhuman tone sliding under the words like claws under skin.

“I said stay away from her,” Alex growled—“or I end you.”