8: The Run of Shame
1320 Words
Elara’s POV
I ran as fast as my two legs could carry me, and hot tears gathered in my eyes. The knowledge that such a monster was following me was life-threatening.
"Stay and fight him, you useless girl!" Myra snapped in my head.
Fight him? Was she mad?
“I’m not fighting that!” I screamed back internally. “Do you want to die?! Because I don’t!”
But even if I wanted to stop, I couldn’t. The way he looked at me, it wasn’t just a challenge.
It was a hunt.
And I was the prey.
I tore through the training grounds like a maniac, students turning to stare, whispering. Some laughed. Some looked stunned. But I didn’t care.
I needed distance. I needed to hide. I needed...
“ELI!” a voice thundered behind me.
My stomach flipped.
He was calling me.
By name.
Goddess.
I didn’t dare look back, but I could feel him gaining. The earth trembled slightly beneath his steps, a rhythm too smooth, too calm for someone chasing.
He was enjoying this.
I turned a sharp corner and nearly crashed into a wall.
I kept going.
Faster.
A sharp sting spread across my foot as I scraped it against the gravel, but I didn’t stop.
“You’re embarrassing us,” Myra muttered.
“You should’ve thought about that before bonding me to Satan’s cousin!” I snapped.
My heart thundered against my ribs like it was trying to punch its way out. My chest burned from exertion. My vision blurred from the tears and fear.
Then I felt it—his aura. Heavy. Drowning.
It wrapped around me, dragging me back into the darkness I just escaped.
I skidded to a stop near a stone courtyard, spinning around in panic.
But he wasn’t there.
The path behind me was empty.
No Kian.
No sound.
Nothing.
Just silence.
Dead, dangerous silence.
And then...
A whisper of breath behind me.
I spun around.
Too late.
He was already there.
Staring.
Smirking.
Like the devil catching his runaway bride.
“You run like a girl, you pathetic weakling,” he said darkly.
My throat tightened.
Because I was a girl.
And he didn’t know.
Yet.
But that wasn’t even the worst part.
He took a step forward, and the temperature around us dropped but before I could even think of running again, he grabbed me by the throat and slammed me so hard against the wall it knocked the air off my lungs.
This is where I die!
I gasped as my back slammed into the cold stone, pain ricocheting through my spine. My legs kicked uselessly as Kian’s hand tightened around my throat, lifting me an inch off the ground like I weighed nothing.
“You broke the combat rules,” he growled, his voice as cold as death. “Cowards don’t run from a challenge.”
My vision blurred at the edges.
I clawed at his wrist. “Let... go...”
His eyes glowed faintly red. “You don’t get to disobey. Not here. Not in my class.”
My class?
What the hell did he mean by that?
He wasn’t a f*****g teacher.
Then suddenly, he dropped me.
I crumpled to the ground, gasping, coughing, my palms scraping against the stone as I tried to push myself up.
Without a word, he grabbed the back of my collar and yanked me upright like I was nothing but a sack of trash.
“You want to humiliate yourself, fine. But you don’t get to humiliate me with you.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” I choked out, stumbling as he dragged me through the hall.
Kian didn’t answer.
His grip on me was tight.
Each step he took was merciless.
Students watched as we passed.
Some stared. Some snickered. A few looked sympathetic, but none dared interfere.
“Kian! Stop!” I yelled, trying to pry his fingers off me.
He stopped walking and turned his head slightly.
“What?” he said, coldly.
“You almost killed me back there!” I shouted. “Why would I stay and fight you? You think I want to die?! You’re insane!”
He was quiet for a beat.
Then he knocked me on the head. Not hard. Not soft either.
“Ow!” I grabbed my scalp, stunned.
“You don’t run from a fight in Silver Moon,” he said. “Even if you lose. You stand your ground. That’s the rule.”
“That’s a dumbass rule!” I snapped, still breathless. “Why should I die foolishly when there are better options?”
His eyes narrowed. “Because this place doesn’t give stars for cowards.”
Then before I could respond, he yanked open the door to the combat hall and flung me forward like I was garbage.
I tumbled into the room and landed hard on my knees.
The entire class turned.
Laughter erupted.
“Rookie got dragged back like a baby.”
“Coward.”
“Bet he pissed himself, such a mommy's boy.”
“Someone check if he’s breathing!”
I clenched my fists, humiliated. Heat rushed to my face.
Myra growled in my head. “Breathe, Elara. Breathe. Don’t shift and don't let their words get to you.”
But it was hard.
The humiliation was thick.
Then a heavy voice boomed from the front.
“Mr. Lunaridge,” the instructor said, stone-faced, “do you know what your actions just cost you?”
I stood slowly, biting the inside of my cheek.
“You abandoned a live challenge. That’s rule six violation. You do not run from combat. You face it. You fall with pride.”
The man marched up to me, standing inches from my face. “Do it again... and I’ll personally expel you from the academy. And maybe I’ll hand you over to the enforcer council for cowardice.”
I swallowed.
“I didn’t ask for this fight...” I muttered.
“What did you say?” the instructor snapped.
“Nothing, sir,” I said quickly.
“You want to prove yourself?” he barked. “Fine. You’ll earn it.”
He turned to the board and scribbled something quickly.
“You’re now assigned to Special Combat Section D. Effective immediately.”
My brows furrowed.
The room went silent.
Snickers started and insults followed.
I turned to the only werewolf I knew in the class, desperate for an explanation. “What’s Section D, Ian?” I whispered.
He didn’t answer right away.
Just stared at me, wide-eyed, pale, like he’d seen a ghost crawl out of the underworld and wrap its fingers around my throat.
“You... you don’t know?” His voice cracked.
I shook my head slowly.
He leaned closer, lowering his voice like he was about to tell me how I died.
“Section D isn’t just a combat class. It’s the graveyard for students with too much pride or not enough fear.”
A chill gripped my spine.
“It’s run by the elite seniors,” he continued, eyes darting around like someone might hear. “Alpha heirs. The brutal ones. The kind who break bones and smile while doing it.”
My lips parted, but no sound came.
“And...?” I managed, barely above a breath.
Ian’s lips trembled. “And you just got assigned to Kian Blackthorne’s unit. He's the captain.”
The floor vanished beneath me.
My stomach dropped like it was plummeting through the earth.
I turned slowly, dread dragging down every bone in my body.
Kian stood at the far end of the room, arms crossed over his chest.
Watching me.
His head tilted slightly.
His lips curled into the cruelest smirk I’d ever seen.
That wasn’t a boy.
That wasn’t even a wolf.
That was a monster... and I was the new toy he couldn’t wait to break.
- Writer
