CHAPTER 41
1263 Words
ADINNA’S POV
My heels click against the polished floor, the sound echoing down the hall like a warning I can’t escape. My heart races, but the world around me is back to normal.
The music starts up again, quiet at first, then loud and overwhelming. The beat thumps behind me, laughter ripples through the crowd, glasses clink, and someone calls out for a refill. Those are the sounds you only hear when the universe isn’t falling apart.
Except mine just did.
I turn, expecting chaos, people frozen or running, anything that proves I’m not losing my mind, but no. They’re just fine. Dancing, smiling, swaying under golden lights as if nothing happened just two minutes ago.
I grip the edge of a marble pillar to steady myself, my chest rising and falling too quickly. My palms are sweaty, my breath short. I can still feel the pull. That impossible, magnetic hum that vibrates between me and them. I try to shake it off, but it clings to me, like static electricity under my skin.
The room behind me feels far away. I can still sense them without looking back. Hunter’s anger is sharp and harsh. Dean’s sadness is heavy enough to drown in. Jace’s confusion, Salem’s unsettling calm. They all resonate in my chest like invisible strings pulling tighter.
I want to scream.
I want to claw at my own skin until I stop feeling them.
Mate. The thought slips into my mind again, softer this time, my wolf’s voice filled with hunger.
“Shut up,” I whisper, pressing a hand to my chest.
But she doesn’t stop. She purrs the word like it’s sacred, like she’s waited her whole life for this moment. My pulse pounds louder, keeping time with the bass of the music.
The air suddenly feels thick, heavy with heat. I push through a pair of giggling students blocking the doorway, muttering an apology I don’t mean. My vision blurs for a moment, my body buzzing with too many emotions at once.
My wolf keeps pacing. My human side keeps panicking. It’s chaos in my head, a storm I can’t escape.
When I finally reach the far side of the ballroom, I stop, staring at the glittering crowd. None of them give me a second glance. No one sees the girl falling apart right in front of them.
My hands tremble. I clench them into fists.
I have to get out of here.
The music swells again, some upbeat song that makes my ears ring. I weave through the dancers, my heart thumping against my ribs as if it’s trying to break free. I bump into someone and mumble an apology, but my voice barely registers. Everything feels distant, like I’m moving through fog.
I just need air. Space. Something real.
My feet hit the marble floor of the hallway, and the ballroom doors swing shut behind me. The noise dulls, fading to a muffled background. I exhale, shaky and uneven.
The corridor stretches out ahead—gold chandeliers, white walls, the faint scent of roses and perfume. But it all feels wrong. Too bright. Too clean.
I lean against the wall, closing my eyes for a moment.
“What the hell was that?” I whisper to myself.
The frozen room. Their glowing eyes. The pull in my chest that felt like it was tearing me apart. None of it makes sense. None of it should exist.
Mate.
The word flashes again, sharper this time, and I almost choke on it. My wolf whines deep inside me, desperate and restless.
“Stop,” I say out loud, but it only makes her louder.
She doesn’t understand why I’m fighting it. She doesn’t want to understand.
I slam my hand against the wall, breathing hard. The chandelier lights flicker slightly, as if the world itself is reacting to me. “No,” I whisper. “I don’t want this. I don’t—”
The rest catches in my throat.
Because I can still feel them. All four of them.
It’s like a heartbeat outside my own, distant but steady, pulsing in sync with mine. And no matter how much I move, it doesn’t fade. It clings to me. It follows.
My nails dig into my palms, sharp enough to hurt.
This isn’t real. It can’t be real.
The echo of Hunter’s voice comes back, low and rough. Mate.
I squeeze my eyes shut. His tone wasn’t gentle. It was furious and broken like he hated saying it as much as I hated hearing it.
I laugh weakly, a dry, bitter sound. “Great. Perfect. The universe thinks it’s funny now.”
I start walking fast. My heels click, echoing down the corridor. My breathing steadies a little, but my thoughts keep spiraling.
I think of Hunter’s snarl, Jace’s shock, Dean’s eyes softening just a bit, like he knew.
How long had he known?
The thought twists my stomach.
What does this even mean? Four of them? How? Why me?
My wolf purrs again, proud and smug. She likes the idea. Of course she does. She doesn’t care about logic or pain, she only cares about instinct.
But I? I’m human enough to be terrified.
My feet pick up speed as I head for the exit. The air feels too hot, my skin too tight. The golden lights lining the corridor blur, streaks of brightness bleeding into my vision.
I pass students laughing, chatting, taking pictures. They look normal. Like everything’s fine.
I envy them.
They don’t know what it feels like to have your body betray you—to feel your heart reach for someone you’re trying so hard to hate.
“Keep it together,” I whisper to myself. “Just keep it together until—”
My breath catches as my vision narrows. The floor seems to tilt beneath me, my steps becoming unsteady. Dizziness creeps in, like fog rolling from the edges of my mind.
I blink hard, trying to focus. My heart races too quickly, and my hands shake. I press a hand against the wall, dragging myself forward.
The last thing I need is for someone to see me like this.
A couple walks by, laughing, and I step aside quickly, hiding my face. My reflection catches in a nearby window—eyes wide, wild, glowing faintly gold for a moment before fading.
My chest tightens.
No. No, no, no. That didn’t just happen.
I force myself to breathe, deep and slow, but it doesn’t help. My wolf hums louder, demanding control. She wants to go back—to them.
“I’m not doing this,” I whisper fiercely. “You don’t get to choose for me.”
But she growls softly, low and patient, as if she knows something I don’t.
The corridor twists again as I turn another corner, my pulse still racing. My thoughts blur into fragments. Hunter’s face, Jace’s shock, Dean’s quiet eyes, the heat that crawled up my spine when their scents mixed.
I shake my head hard, but it only makes the world tilt more.
Everything feels too loud, too bright, too wrong.
And then, suddenly, it doesn’t matter because I collide with something solid.
No. Someone.
I stumble back, blinking hard, and when my vision clears, I see Riley.
Her eyes widen the moment she sees me, her lips parting as if she’s about to say my name. But she doesn’t.
She just stares.
And the expression on her face makes me wonder if my inner battle is reflected on my face.
Because she looks terrified.
- Writer
