Chapter 9: Black Cat
1077 Words
Over the weekend, after finishing my chores, I went straight to the study room of the mansion. The old computer was still there, covered in a fine layer of dust. I pressed the power button, half-expecting it to fail, but the screen flickered to life with a low hum. Relief washed over me.
I typed the word that had been haunting me for days.
Alpha.
Pages of results appeared. Most of them were about something called "alpha males." I clicked the first link and landed on a site about animals.
I frowned, ready to close it, until a paragraph caught my attention.
Most animals live in packs. Within each pack, a hierarchy exists. The pack leader is called the alpha male. The alpha male occupies the dominant rank in their hierarchy.
Animals? I blinked. That couldn't be right. Still, curiosity pushed me further.
I searched another word.
Beta.
The second in command in a pack. A beta supports the alpha, helps protect the territory from outsiders, and ensures stability within the group.
I stared at the screen, the words sinking in. Then I shut the computer off, pressing my palms against the desk as if bracing myself.
"What am I even doing?" I whispered. "This is insane."
It couldn't be connected to the people I saw every day. Impossible. And yet… my mind betrayed me with an image: their sharp eyes, their strange control, the way the entire town moved in unison.
Animals. Humans.
"No," I muttered. "It doesn't make sense. There has to be another explanation. A logical one."
By Monday morning, I could no longer hold back my questions. After class, I spotted Kieran walking toward the woods behind campus.
He wasn't supposed to go there. None of us were. That alone made me follow.
He reached the edge of the trees, but stopped as if he had known I was behind him all along. Slowly, he turned. His hands were in his pockets, his head tilted, his dark eyes unreadable.
"Do you need something?" His voice was calm, flat, like he already knew what I was going to say.
"I just… have a question."
He frowned. "We shared a room earlier. You could have asked then."
"I couldn't. Not where people could hear."
A spark of amusement flickered in his eyes. "And now? You've followed me all this way, just for a question?"
"Yes." My throat tightened. I swallowed, but the words still felt heavy. "I heard them call you Beta. And the mansion I live in… it's called the Alpha's mansion. Is that… the hierarchy here?"
For a moment, his expression slipped. His eyes sharpened, watching me too closely, too carefully.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
I froze. I knew a lie when I heard one. He was hiding something, and I wasn't sure if it was to protect himself or to protect me.
"Then who is Aslan Crimson?" I asked softly.
He didn't move. His eyes locked on mine, unwavering.
"Is he… the Alpha of this town?"
His silence was louder than any answer. I caught unease flickering in his gaze, like he was calculating something. Then he exhaled, shrugged, and forced indifference back onto his face.
"Sorry. Don't know him. I told you already, I only saw his name once."
Frustration burned in me. You're lying, Kieran. I know you are. But instead of pressing, I forced my voice to cool.
"Fine. Sorry for bothering you. Forget I asked."
I turned and started back toward the campus. My chest was tight, my face hot, but I refused to let him see. I don't get it, sometimes he's really friendly, but then all of a sudden he became cold and secretive.
"Cosette."
I stopped. His voice was low, weighted.
When I turned, I caught it, a flash. His eyes, shifting, golden-yellow for a heartbeat before drowning back to black.
"You don't want to be involved with us," he said. His tone was steady, but something raw lingered beneath it. "Trust me."
I couldn't speak. Couldn't move. And then he turned away, disappearing into the woods.
That night, his words circled my thoughts. You don't want to be involved with us.
But I was already involved.
I avoided Kieran for days after that. It was easier, or at least safer, to keep my distance. But it didn't erase what I had seen, the shift in his eyes, the growl I thought I heard under his breath. The people here were not normal. I couldn't ignore it anymore.
Wednesday afternoon, it rained. On my way back to the mansion, I slowed when something caught my eye. Near the garbage bins by the road sat a small box. Inside was a black cat, soaked and trembling, too weak to stand.
I pulled over and approached. The poor thing whimpered, its left paw bloodied with a cut.
My chest tightened. Someone had abandoned it.
I scooped the cat into my arms. Its tiny body shivered against me, but I felt its faint heartbeat. Alive.
"I can't leave you here," I whispered.
I wasn't sure if Aunt Neela would allow me to bring the cat home, but I couldn't just walk away. I tucked the box into my car and drove back to the mansion.
As expected, Aunt Neela's face hardened the moment she saw what I carried.
"You brought a stray into this house?"
"Aunt, it was injured. I just—"
"Nothing but trouble will come of it."
"It's only a cat," I said, hugging the box tighter. "He's harmless."
"Nothing in this town is harmless," she snapped.
Her words stung more than they should have. For a moment, I wasn't in the mansion anymore. I was a child again, overhearing voices I wasn't supposed to.
"Lethia, you took the girl in?"
"But she's our niece."
"Trouble is all she'll bring."
I blinked the memory away, throat burning. Slowly, I nodded.
"Yes, Aunt."
I turned, box in my hands, and walked back toward the door.
On the balcony, hidden from her view, I cleaned the cat's wound myself. It mewed softly, leaning into my touch.
That was when I felt it, the sensation of being watched.
I froze.
The rain had eased into a drizzle. Across the garden, my gaze caught movement on the attic terrace.
A silhouette. Leaner, taller than my aunt. Standing just beyond the doorway before slipping back inside.
The hairs on my arms rose.
Someone was on the attic.
- Writer
