CHAPTER 3
1010 Words
Harper's POV
I bolted down the corridor towards the exit, my legs moving faster than my brain.
My heart pounded heavily in my chest. My breath came out in ragged gasps, but I didn't stop. I couldn't.
Not when I'd just seen something strange in Ryker's eyes. His light brown eyes practically glowed red. Or was I beginning to see things now?
The moment I got to my dorm, I pushed the door open with more force than necessary.
Maya, my roommate, jumped out of bed. Her palms clutched her chest as if trying to stop her heart from falling.
"Jeez, Harper," fear widened her eyes. "You almost got me killed," she sighed in relief when she looked behind me and saw no one.
"I'm not being chased," I shrugged my shoulders, acting like I had not almost collapsed from fear a few minutes ago.
"But you ran in like you were being chased by the grim reaper," she yelled, her face scrunching up.
"I'm sorry," I muttered, drawing in my lower lip as I stared at the walls of the room.
My eyes landed back on Maya and she rolled hers. She sighed again and fell back on the bed.
Slowly, I moved towards the other side of the bed. I dropped my back pack on the night stand beside me, my mind drifting back to Ryker.
I pulled my phone out of my back pack. My fingers hovered over the screen as I typed.
Is it possible for human eye colour to change?
What other creatures do we have apart from humans?
I sighed and hissed at all the responses I got online. Logically, human eye colour didn't change.
Why the hell did Ryker's own change?
"Maya," her name slipped out of my lips before I could stop myself.
She turned towards me, her eyebrows raised. "What's up? Did you make a bad decision again?"
My lips almost curled into a smile. She knew I was always running to her whenever I made silly and bad decisions.
"No," I shook my head and she puffed out a breath.
"So what's it?"
It seemed like someone had a bad day.
I should stop whatever I was about to ask her. It seemed like she wasn't in a good mood, but I couldn't stop.
"huh... something happened tonight," my voice dropped low.
Maya's eyebrows twitched as she locked her eyes on me and signaled at me to continue.
"Is it possible for human eyes to change colour?" I asked her and she furrowed her brows.
"Change colour?" She shook her head. "I'm not sure that's possible. Only werewolves," she swallowed her words in an instant.
My heart skipped a beat!
Werewolves?
Did they even exist?
"You know about werewolves?" I asked her and she shook her head too fast.
Then, she forced a laugh, too sharp to be casual. "No, I don't know anything. They are just... stories. I just read them in books."
"Do they exist?" I pushed further.
I didn't even know why I was asking her. Everyone knew werewolves did not exist, we only read them in books.
"Werewolves don't exist," she said, her voice too sharp.
She reached across the room quickly, and clicked the lock on the door.
My heart slammed against my ribs and my throat went dry.
Maya looked so scared. If she said werewolves did not exist, why did she look like one was staring at us right then?
I swallowed hard, my eyes darting around the room. It felt like someone was watching me from the shadows. I sat upright, then stared outside the window.
Everywhere was dark except for a faint glow of red. A cold chill ran down my spine.
Red!
It felt like Ryker was standing outside the window, watching me with those red eyes I'd seen earlier.
"Can you see that?" I pointed out to Maya.
She bolted upright, looking through the window. "There's nothing, Harper. There's nothing... let's just sleep," she snapped, her fingers trembling as her eyes darted to the window like she knew what was out there.
"I'm sorry," I mumbled under my breath.
My fingers trembled as I closed the window in a rush. But I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong.
Why did it feel like I was seeing things now?
Was I just being paranoid?
Suddenly, I heard the echo of footsteps. My eyes narrowed as I glanced towards Maya. Her eyes were closed, like she was already asleep.
Was it just in my head?
Was I imagining things?
I snapped my eyes shut, telling myself I'd already worked too hard during the day. And I was just over stressed. But sleep didn't come.
I tossed and turned on the bed. Each time I closed my eyes, I saw him, Ryker. His light brown eyes turned red.
I got out of bed and headed towards the washroom. I splashed water on my face, my fingers gripping the sink like it could steady me.
The cold water slid down my skin, but the pounding in my chest didn't stop. When I raised my head, my reflection stared back at me in the bathroom mirror. Wide eyes, pale skin.
And for a brief second, my reflection's eyes glowed red. I stumbled back, breath caught in my throat as every part of my body shook uncontrollably.
When I looked again, it was gone. Like it was never there. It was just me and my tired face.
I let out a sigh, the sound broken.
In the morning, my eyes were already swollen. But I didn't care. I needed to get to the school library to find answers.
I needed to know if werewolves were real. If they were not, then why did I feel like one had been stalking me since last night?
"Hey, Harper," a baritone voice stopped me in my tracks.
My breath stuttered. Every part of my body froze. I didn't need to turn to know who it was. But I turned slowly and saw him.
Ryker Soren.
- Writer
