EVERYONE WAS STARING
1358 Words
People were staring.
Avery walked through the academy corridor with hundreds of eyes pinned onto her skin like needles.
Whispers followed behind her footsteps.
Some carried curiosity.
Others carried jealousy.
Most carried fear.
The hallway that usually ignored her existence now parted open the moment she appeared beside Caelan Blackridge.
Students moved away instinctively.
Some lowered their heads.
Others stared openly at the side of her neck as if searching for something invisible.
A mark.
A sign.
Proof.
Avery instinctively raised her hand and covered the exposed part of her throat.
Her chest tightened.
For the first time since entering Blackridge Academy…
No one looked at her with pity.
And somehow that frightened her even more.
Caelan still held her wrist firmly as they walked.
His grip was calm.
Possessive.
Like letting her go was not an option.
Murmurs spread through the corridor in waves.
“Caelan Blackridge held a girl’s hand…”
“The monk finally lost his mind.”
“Who even is she?”
“She is just that scholarship student.”
“No…something happened.”
Several girls glared at Avery openly.
Others looked at her like they wanted to skin her alive.
Avery lifted her gaze and immediately saw Alice standing near the lockers surrounded by her usual circle.
The smile on her sister’s face looked sweet.
Too sweet.
But her eyes were filled with poison.
And strangely…
Avery found herself moving a little closer to Caelan unconsciously.
As if he alone could block the hatred aimed at her.
Alice’s expression stiffened for a second when she noticed it.
Good.
Before Avery could process anything further, someone suddenly called her name from the crowd.
“Avery! The bell is about to ring, let’s go!”
One of the girls from her class waved excitedly.
The girl hurried forward but froze midway after meeting Caelan’s gaze.
The atmosphere instantly became suffocating.
“P-President…” the girl stammered before immediately lowering her head. “I’m so sorry.”
She retreated so fast she almost fell.
Avery blinked.
The reaction looked absurd.
“President, you can let me go now,” Avery whispered awkwardly, finally trying to pull her wrist away.
Instead of releasing her, Caelan pulled her slightly closer.
His head lowered near her ear.
“I thought we passed the formal stage already,” he murmured softly. “I’m Caelan to you.”
His deep baritone voice brushed against her skin.
Avery immediately covered her ears.
Her weakest point.
Too late.
Caelan noticed the faint pink color spreading across the tips of her ears and the corner of his lips curved slightly.
A real smile.
Small.
Dangerous.
Beautiful.
Avery quickly looked away before her heartbeat betrayed her.
“Okay…Caelan,” she said slowly. “But I still have questions.”
“You will have many.”
“What is happening to me?” she asked quietly. “And why is everyone acting strange? Your friends looked like they were bowing to me.”
At that question, Caelan’s expression darkened slightly.
For a brief second something ancient moved behind his eyes.
“You do not need to worry about that right now,” he answered calmly.
“That is not an answer.”
“It is the only one you are getting for now.”
Avery frowned immediately.
There it was once again.
Secrets.
Everyone around her always knew something she didn’t.
“But trust me,” Caelan added in a lower voice. “All I am trying to is keep you safe.”
The sincerity in his voice caught her off guard.
Before she could answer him, they had reached her classroom.
The moment Caelan stopped outside the door the whole class fell silent.
Every single head turned to look toward them.
Avery suddenly became painfully aware that Caelan Blackridge was still standing beside her like it was the most natural thing in the world.
One student nearly dropped his phone.
Another girl looked seconds away from fainting.
“Avery…”
“How do you know President Blackridge?”
“Wait…are the rumors true?”
“Did he really choose you?”
Questions exploded instantly.
Caelan finally released her wrist slowly.
But before stepping away his fingers brushed lightly against her palm.
A warning.
A promise.
Or maybe both.
His gaze coldly swept across the classroom.
“Be careful with your words,” he said calmly.
The entire room froze.
Then he turned and left.
Only after his figure disappeared in the hallway did people begin breathing again.
The classroom suddenly erupted into chaos.
“Avery what did you even do?”
“How did someone like you land Caelan Blackridge?”
“Did he confess?”
“Did you two secretly date?”
“Wait…you said you only met him recently right?”
Avery sat down quietly and placed her bag beside her desk.
“We only met twice,” she answered truthfully.
Technically.
The alley.
And today.
But even as she said it…
Her skin still carried the warmth of where he had touched her.
Her body was responding in a strange way.
Her senses felt too sharp.
Too awake.
She could hear whispers from outside the classroom.
Could smell someone opening a soda three rows behind her.
Even the perfume scents mixing together suddenly became overwhelming.
Avery gripped her desk tightly.
The academy forum continued exploding throughout the entire morning.
Phones buzzed nonstop during lectures.
Notifications flooded every student’s screen.
One title remained at the top of the trending page.
“Blackridge Academy President Publicly Claims A Girl.”
The comments multiplied every second.
“She is definitely his mate.”
“No way. Caelan hates women.”
“She must have seduced him.”
“I heard he punched Brandon Reed publicly.”
“Who exactly is Avery Laine?”
The technology department nearly crashed trying to stabilize the school servers.
Meanwhile Alice stared at the forum with an ugly expression.
Her engagement announcement had completely disappeared beneath the chaos surrounding Avery.
No one cared.
Not anymore.
Her fingers tightened around her phone.
She had imagined herself becoming the center of attention today.
Instead…
Avery stole everything again.
Even Caelan Blackridge.
Hatred flashed through Alice’s eyes.
Back inside the hidden council chamber beneath the academy, the atmosphere was equally tense.
The underground room remained silent.
No one dared speak first.
Caelan sat at the head of the long black table.
Cold.
Unreadable.
Dangerous.
“Heir…the Lycan Lord has already been informed,” the Beta finally reported carefully.
The room temperature dropped instantly.
“Who leaked the information?” Caelan asked quietly.
No one answered.
His pheromones spread through the chamber slowly.
Heavy.
Violent.
Oppressive.
Several council members immediately lowered their heads.
One student’s breathing became uneven from the pressure alone.
Caelan’s gaze swept across the room.
Sharp enough to tear skin.
“Our priority is not the leak,” he said finally. “Our priority is her.”
The council members exchanged glances.
“She released an ancient scent publicly,” one of them muttered nervously. “If the Hunters sensed it—”
“They did,” Caelan interrupted coldly.
Silence crashed heavily across the chamber.
“So listen carefully.”
His voice lowered.
“From this moment onward Avery Laine is under my protection.”
Several eyes widened.
“No one approaches her without permission.”
“No one speaks to her about wolves.”
“And if any hostile faction moves first…”
His eyes turned frighteningly dark.
“I will personally kill them.”
No one questioned him after that.
Hours later the final bell rang.
Students flooded out of their classrooms excitedly while Avery packed her books quietly.
Her mind still replayed everything that had happened since morning.
The proposal.
The humiliation.
Caelan.
That strange burning connection between them.
Nothing made sense anymore.
Just as she stepped outside the classroom—
Someone suddenly blocked her path.
A young man dressed in the academy’s elite council uniform stood there stiffly.
The moment he saw her properly…
He lowered his head respectfully.
“Good afternoon…” he greeted carefully.
Then his voice became even quieter.
“Luna.”
- Writer
