STAY AWAY FROM HIM
1491 Words
Ayla's POV
I spent the rest of the day in my dorm room, trying to focus on homework but failing miserably.
Three students were attacked. Wounds that weren't from wolves and Professor Arkon's glowing eyes.
I kept replaying everything in my mind. The way he looked at me in his office, that rough edge to his voice when he said I was his to protect. The fear in his eyes when he got that phone call.
My phone buzzed. A text from my new friend.
“Campus is on lockdown after 8 PM. Some kind of security threat. You okay?”
I texted back that I was fine, then tossed my phone aside.
Through my window, I could see the sun setting, painting the sky orange. Students were hurrying back to their dorms in groups, nobody walking alone. Security guards patrolled the paths between buildings.
I should have felt safe. Should have listened to Professor Arkon's warning and stayed put.
But I couldn't stop thinking about Damien.
He was staying at the visitor's lodge. His pack members had been attacked. Was he okay? Did he even know yet?
I hated that I still cared.
At seven-thirty, I grabbed my jacket and my whiteboard, then slipped out before my roommate got back. The campus was quieter than I'd ever seen it. A few scattered groups rushed past, but most people were already inside.
The visitor's lodge sat on the east side of campus, a small building reserved for family and pack members visiting students. I had never been inside before.
The front door was unlocked. The lobby was empty except for a bored-looking security guard who barely glanced at me.
Room twelve was on the second floor.
I stood outside the door for a full minute, my hand raised to knock, wondering what I was doing. Damien had broken my heart. Humiliated me. Why was I here?
Before I could decide, the door opened.
Damien stood there in sweatpants and a t-shirt, his hair damp like he had just showered. His eyes widened when he saw me.
"Ayla.” He said my name like a prayer. “You came.”
I held up my whiteboard. “Your pack members. Are they okay?”
His expression darkened. “You heard about that?”
I nodded.
He stepped aside, gesturing for me to come in. I hesitated, then walked past him into the small room. It was basic, just a bed, desk, and bathroom. His clothes were scattered everywhere.
“They're in the medical wing,” he said, closing the door. “Critical condition. The healers aren't sure if they'll make it.”
I wrote quickly. “What happened?”
“Nobody knows. They went for a run last night and never came back. The search party found them this morning near the old ruins.” He ran a hand through his hair. “The wounds… Ayla, they looked like they had been torn apart by something massive.”
My hands trembled as I wrote. “I'm sorry.”
“Yeah. Me too.” He moved closer. “But I'm glad you're here. I wasn't sure you'd come.”
I should have left then. Should have offered my condolences and walked away.
But then Damien reached out and touched my cheek, so gentle it made my chest ache.
“I've missed you,” he whispered. “Every single day.”
The mate bond flared between us, warm and familiar. Part of me wanted to lean into his touch, to believe him.
The other part remembered his words at the rejection ceremony. Remembered the shame, the pain.
I stepped back, breaking the contact.
“Don't,” I wrote. “You don't get to do this.”
“I know. I know I don't deserve another chance.” His silver eyes were pleading. “But I'm asking anyway. Let me prove that I've changed. That I was wrong about everything.”
Before I could respond, there was a sharp knock on the door.
We both froze.
“Open up, Damien. Now.”
Professor Arkon's voice.
My stomach dropped. How did he know I was here?
Damien's expression hardened. “What's he doing here?”
Another knock, harder this time. “I can smell her in there. Open the door or I'll break it down.”
Damien crossed to the door and yanked it open. “What do you want?”
Professor Arkon stood in the hallway, still in the same dark shirt from earlier, but now there was something dangerous in his eyes. They swept past Damien and landed on me.
“Out. Now.”
I grabbed my whiteboard, but Damien blocked my path.
“She's here because she wants to be,” he said. “You have no right to…”
“I have every right.” Professor Arkon's voice was deadly calm. “She's my student. And I told her to stay in her dorm."
“Last I checked, you're not her keeper.”
“And you're not her mate anymore.” The words hung in the air like a threat. “So get out of her way.”
The two of them stared at each other, and I could feel the tension crackling between them. Two alphas, neither willing to back down.
I pushed between them before things could escalate, writing quickly. “I'm leaving.”
“Ayla, wait… “ Damien reached for me.
But Professor Arkon caught his wrist, his grip tight enough to make Damien wince. “Touch her again and we'll have a problem.”
“We already have a problem,” Damien shot back.
I didn't wait to hear more. I slipped past them into the hallway and started walking fast toward the stairs.
Behind me, I heard Professor Arkon's footsteps following.
“Ayla. Stop.”
I kept walking.
“I said stop.”
I made it to the stairs before his hand closed around my arm, not rough but firm enough to make me turn around.
His amber eyes were blazing. “What were you thinking? I told you to stay away from him.”
I yanked my arm free and wrote angrily. “You're not my father.”
“No. I'm trying to keep you alive.” He stepped closer, his voice dropping. “Those students who were attacked? They were his friends. Don't you think it's suspicious that he shows up the same day they're found half-dead?”
I blinked. I hadn't thought about that.
“Stay away from him,” Professor Arkon said again, softer this time. “Please.”
There was something in his voice that made me pause. Something almost… vulnerable.
I wrote slowly. “Why do you care so much?”
He stared at me for a long moment. Then he did something I didn't expect.
He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering against my skin. The touch sent shivers down my spine.
“Because I think I don’t have a choice.”
My breath caught. “What does that mean?”
But before he could answer, both our phones buzzed at the same time.
Campus alert: All students remain in dorms immediately. Additional security measures are in effect.
Professor Arkon pulled back, his expression hardening again. “Come on. I'm walking you back.”
We didn't speak as we crossed campus. The paths were empty now, streetlights casting long shadows. Every sound made me jump.
When we reached my building, he stopped at the entrance.
“Lock your door,” he said. “And Ayla?” He waited until I looked at him. “If you need anything tonight, call me. I don't care what time it is.”
He handed me a slip of paper with his number on it.
I nodded, clutching the paper.
He started to walk away, then paused and looked back. “One more thing.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“That bond you feel with Damien? It's going to get stronger now that he's near you again. But don't trust it.” His eyes glowed faintly in the darkness. “Some bonds are meant to be broken.”
Before I could ask what he meant, he disappeared into the shadows.
I stood there for a moment, then went inside and locked the door like he'd told me to.
It was only later, lying in bed with my roommate already asleep across the room, that I realized something.
Professor Arkon had known exactly where to find me. Down to the specific room number.
How?
My phone lit up with a text from an unknown number.
“Sleep well, little wolf. And stay inside.”
Professor Arkon.
I stared at the message for a long time before typing back.
How did you know where I was?
Three dots appeared, then disappeared. Then appeared again.
Finally, a response.
“I'll always know where you are and that's the problem.”
- Writer
