CHAPTER 43
1166 Words
ADINNA’S POV
The silence after Riley’s words is deafening.
Four hearts, one soul. Ruin or salvation.
It loops in my head like a broken record, each repeat heavier than the last.
I don’t move for a long time. The old classroom all of a sudden feels smaller than before, the dust-filled air thicker, and harder to breathe.
Riley sits across from me, watching, and waiting. She doesn’t say anything, and I’m grateful for that. My mind’s too loud already. Every thought feels like it’s echoing against my skull.
Finally, I mutter, “You think this prophecy thing is real, don’t you?”
Riley doesn’t hesitate. “I don’t think anything’s coincidence anymore.”
Her calm tone is meant to soothe me, but it just makes my heart race faster. I let out a shaky breath and drag my hands down my face. “You said that seer has predicted things before, right?”
She nods slowly. “Every one of them came true.”
“So she wasn’t some delusional old wolf?”
“No,” Riley says softly. “She was terrifyingly accurate.”
Great. Wonderful. Exactly what I needed to hear..
“I just…” My voice breaks. “I just wanted to get through the night, you know? Maybe dance a little, survive without drama.”
Riley gives a sad little smile. “You don’t do ‘without drama’ very well.”
I huff out a breath, half a laugh, half a sob. “Apparently not.”
The smile fades from her face as she studies me. “You felt it, didn’t you?”
I glance up. “What?”
“That… pull. The connection. You’ve been shaking ever since the ballroom.”
I look away, ashamed. “I don’t know what I felt.”
But that’s a lie. I do know. It’s still there humming faintly beneath my skin like a distant vibration. Like something waiting for me to acknowledge it.
My pulse skips. The air feels heavier now, pressing down on me like invisible hands.
“Riley…” I whisper. “Something’s wrong.”
She straightens immediately. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know.” I grip the edge of the desk. “I feel warm.”
“Warm?”
“Not fever-warm,” I say quickly. “It’s deeper. Like something’s spreading inside me. I don’t…” I pause, trying to catch my breath. “I don’t know how to explain it.”
Riley frowns, moving closer. She reaches out to touch my arm, but the moment her skin brushes mine, she flinches.
“My goddess, Adinna, you’re burning up.”
“It doesn’t hurt,” I say quickly. “It’s just really intense.”
Her eyes dart over my face. “How long has it been like this?”
“Just now.” I say.
Riley takes a slow step back, uncertain. “You think this is connected to them?”
The word ‘them’ hits me like a spark. My wolf stirs.
I shake my head, denying it even as I feel it deep in my bones. “No. It can’t be.”
Riley folds her arms, pacing. “You said you felt something, right? That everything froze?”
“Yes, but—”
“And now your body’s reacting to something we can’t see. You’re overheating, your wolf’s restless, and the air feels weird. Adinna, I think your bond’s reacting to theirs.”
“Riley, stop.”
But she doesn’t. “No, listen. If that prophecy is real, maybe the bond doesn’t care if you’re ready. Maybe it’s happening now. Maybe it has already happened.”
I press my hands to my chest. “You’re saying my body’s just syncing with them on its own?”
Riley opens her mouth to answer but suddenly stiffens. “Wait. Do you hear that?”
The room falls quiet.
At first, there’s nothing — just the faint hum of electricity in the light above us. Then it hits me: a low vibration, like footsteps echoing through the building.
The warmth inside me flares in response.
My breath catches. “Riley…”
She tilts her head, eyes narrowing. “Someone’s coming.”
“No,” I whisper. “They’re coming.”
Her head snaps toward me. “What?”
I clutch the desk tighter. My palms are slick with sweat, but the heat isn’t from fear anymore — it’s recognition. My wolf feels it before I do: four distinct presences closing in.
Riley moves toward the door, cautious. “Stay here.”
“Riley, wait—”
She ignores me, pressing an ear to the door.
The warmth inside me surges again, stronger than before, crawling up my neck and down my spine. It’s alive and responding to them, calling to them.
I stumble back a step, breathing hard. “I can’t breathe.”
“Hey.” Riley rushes to me, catching my arm. “Look at me. Just try to breathe, okay?”
“I’m trying,” I whisper. “It’s too much.”
“Focus on my voice.”
I nod, but my wolf doesn’t care about focusing. She’s pacing inside me now, tail flicking, waiting. The energy feels like a tether tightening. The air around us hums in rhythm with my heartbeat.
And then all at once it shifts.
A pressure rolls through the room, thick and invisible. The dust floating in the air freezes. Even the faint flicker of the overhead light pauses for a second.
“Did you feel that?”
“I felt it,” I breathe.
Riley’s gaze snaps toward the door again. “Adinna…”
My pulse matches the sound outside. Four steady beats. Closer. Louder.
My wolf lets out a low rumble of awareness that vibrates through me. The warmth in my veins doesn’t feel random anymore. It feels like recognition.
Riley looks terrified. “This can’t be happening.”
But I already know it is.
I lift my head, trembling. “They’re here.”
She glances toward the door just as the sound of footsteps stops right outside.
Neither of us moves.
The entire room feels alive now, buzzing with a silent current. My wolf goes still, quiet as if holding her breath.
Riley stands slowly, instinctively positioning herself between me and the door.
“Don’t move,” she whispers.
Like I could even if I wanted to.
The warmth in me spikes one last time, flooding every sense with awareness. My pulse syncs with the rhythm outside — four steady beats, perfectly timed.
The door handle turns.
I forget how to breathe.
The hinges creak softly, and light spills through the crack in the doorway, slicing through the dim classroom air.
Four shadows stretch across the floor.
My heart stumbles in my chest.
Riley stiffens beside me, her eyes darting from me to the door, realization dawning in them.
The door opens wider.
And there they are standing at the door, with their faces mirroring my look of frustration.
- Writer
