UNEXPECTED RETURN
1437 Words
Ayla’s POV
My feet wouldn't move.
Damien was walking toward me like he had every right to, like the last one month hadn't happened. Like he hadn't destroyed me in front of his entire pack with those words.
I turned sharply, heading for the nearest building, but his voice stopped me.
“Ayla, wait.”
I didn't. I pushed through the double doors into the administrative building, my hands shaking as I gripped my bag. The hallway was empty, most students already in class. My footsteps echoed too loudly on the polished floor.
Behind me, the doors opened again.
“Please. Just… just stop for a second.”
I spun around, pulling out my whiteboard with fumbling fingers. My handwriting came out messy, angry.
“Leave me alone.”
Damien stopped a few feet away, hands raised like I was some wild animal he didn't want to spook. Maybe that's exactly what I was to him. Something broken. Something he had thrown away.
“I know you don't want to see me,” he said quietly. His silver eyes looked tired. “But I need to talk to you.”
I wrote again, pressing harder. “Nothing to say.”
“There's everything to say.” He took a step closer. “I think I made a mistake, Ayla. A terrible mistake.”
My chest tightened. I shook my head and turned to leave, but he moved faster, blocking my path. Not touching me, but close enough that I could smell his scent, the usual sweet pine and rain. The mate bond I thought had died suddenly flickered to life inside me like a dying ember catching wind.
No. No, I wouldn't let it.
I shoved past him, but he caught my wrist gently.
“Please.”
The touch sent electricity through my arm. I yanked free, stumbling back against the lockers. My whiteboard clattered to the floor.
Damien bent to pick it up, and when he straightened, his expression was pained. “I acted stupid. My friends… They pressured me. Said you weren't strong enough, that a mute Luna would make the pack look weak. I listened to them because I was confused.”
I snatched the board from his hands, writing furiously. “And now?”
“Now I realize I threw away the best thing that ever happened to me.” His voice cracked. “I'm here because I want to make it right. I want…”
The classroom door beside us opened, and students began filing out. Several of them glanced our way, whispering. I recognized a few from my morning class.
Damien noticed too. He lowered his voice. “Can we talk somewhere private?”
I wrote quickly. “No.”
“Ayla, please. Just give me five minutes. That's all I'm asking.”
Before I could respond, another voice cut through the hallway.
“Is there a problem here?”
Professor Arkon.
He stood at the end of the hall, his amber eyes locked on Damien, and that made the air feel thicker. He was wearing a dark shirt today, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and his jaw was set tight.
Damien turned, and I saw his shoulders stiffen. “No problem, Professor. Just talking to an old friend.”
“Didn't look like talking.” Arkon's voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. He walked closer, his gaze shifting to me. "Are you okay?”
I nodded quickly, grateful for the interruption.
Damien's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked between us. “And you are?”
“Her professor.” Arkon stopped beside me, close enough that I could feel the warmth radiating from him. “Which means I'm responsible for her well-being while she's on campus. So I'll ask again, is there a problem?”
For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other. The tension was thick enough to cut. I could see something passing between them, like a silent challenge I didn't fully understand.
Finally, Damien looked back at me. “I'm staying at the visitor's lodge. Room twelve. If you change your mind…” He let the sentence hang.
Then he turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing down the empty hallway.
The moment he was gone, I let out a breath.
“You know him?” Professor Arkon's voice was quieter now, less sharp.
I picked up my whiteboard and wrote, “Used to.”
He studied me for a long moment, his amber eyes searching my face. “He's trouble.”
I almost laughed. Almost wrote, “So are you,” but stopped myself.
“Come on,” he said instead. “You're late for class.”
I blinked. I didn't have his class today.
“My office,” he clarified. “We need to talk about last night.”
My stomach dropped. I had been hoping he wouldn't bring it up, that maybe we could both just pretend the forest encounter never happened.
But of course, he wouldn't let it go.
I followed him silently through the building to his office, a small room lined with bookshelves and smelling faintly of coffee and old paper. He closed the door behind us and leaned against his desk, arms crossed.
“Sit.”
I sat in the chair across from him, clutching my whiteboard.
“What you saw last night…” He paused, running a hand through his dark hair. “You can't tell anyone. Do you understand?”
I wrote, “I won't.”
“I'm serious, Ayla. Not your friends, not your roommate. No one.”
“I said I won't.”
He studied me again, then nodded slowly. “Good.”
Silence settled between us. I wanted to ask him about the howls, about what he meant when he said “they found you,” but before I could write anything, he spoke again.
“That boy in the hallway. Damien. Stay away from him.”
I frowned, writing, “Why?”
“Because I'm telling you to.” His voice was firm. “He's not who you think he is.”
My frown deepened. “You don't know him.”
“I know his type.” Professor Arkon's eyes flashed with something dark. “And I know he's dangerous.”
I wanted to argue, wanted to say that Damien had never been dangerous, just cruel. But the words wouldn't come.
“Promise me,” Arkon said quietly. “Promise me you'll stay away from him.”
I stared at him for a long moment. Then I wrote, “Why do you care?”
His jaw clenched. For a second, I thought he wouldn't answer. But then he leaned forward, his amber eyes meeting mine with an intensity that made my breath catch.
“Because you're mine to protect,” he said roughly. “Whether I like it or not.”
Before I could process that, before I could even begin to understand what he meant, his phone buzzed loudly on the desk.
He grabbed it, glancing at the screen. His entire expression changed, going from protective to cold and hard in an instant.
“You need to leave,” he said abruptly. “Now.”
I stood, confused. “What…”
“Now, Ayla.” His voice left no room for argument.
I hurried to the door but paused with my hand on the handle, looking back at him.
He was already on his phone, “How many? When?” A pause. “f**k. I'm on my way.”
He hung up and met my eyes. For just a second, I saw something in them that made my blood run cold.
Fear.
“Lock your dorm room tonight,” he said quietly. “Don't go out after dark. And whatever you do, don't trust anyone who isn't from this academy.”
“Why? What's happening?”
But he was already moving toward the door, grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair.
“There's been an attack,” he said over his shoulder. “Three students from Silverstone Pack were found in the forest this morning.”
My heart stopped.
Silverstone Pack. Damien's pack.
“Are they…?”
Professor Arkon's jaw clenched. “They're alive. Barely.”
He paused at the door, his hand on the frame. When he looked back at me, his eyes were glowing faintly, that amber light creeping in again.
“They said the wounds they found on those students?” His voice dropped to barely above a whisper. “They weren't made by any wolf around here.”
- Writer
