WILLA
I couldn't resist the urge.
Despite being at a disadvantage, I tilted my head back and burst into laughter, my shoulders shaking as it spilled out of me.
Eric was caught off guard. He paused, a frown forming on his face as he narrowed his eyes at me.
"What's funny?" he grunted.
Then he let go of me and stepped back, though his gaze never left mine.
I pressed one hand to my side and the other over my lips, trying to suppress the laughter, but it only made more escape.
"Maddox!" Eric hissed through his teeth, his voice rising above the blaring alarm.
Yes, we were still here.
A stupid thing to do, considering the emergency, but with Eric blocking my every move, I doubted I would be able to leave without giving him the answer he wanted.
"What's funny is…" I managed, exhaling before locking eyes with him. "You actually think I would agree to whatever nonsense you're saying."
"Nonsense," Eric repeated, disbelief threading through his voice.
I nodded eagerly, choosing my next words with care. "If you're looking for someone to sleep with, I'm sure there are plenty of girls who would let you stick your penis into their vagina, but I'm not one of them." I pointed to myself.
Eric blinked, his brows lifting slightly.
I stepped closer and smacked his chest lightly. "You might be Alpha material, second in the entire school, everyone's favorite," I paused, letting the silence settle between us.
Eric shook his head in disapproval. "I agree with everything you said, except the part about me being number two in the academy, because I'm number one," he boasted, going on to list his achievements.
I sighed, rolling my eyes inwardly. I wondered if the rest of the Apex Seven were like him. He and Lance could share a single brain cell with how alike they acted.
Only Kol seemed different.
"You should know I led the academy to victory in the interhouse competition the last time—"
"I don't care," I cut him off.
"You… you don't?" he stuttered, genuinely surprised.
"I don't," I repeated, my tone lighter now as I turned away from him and started walking. "And you're not my type, Eric Callahan."
"Wait… what?!" Eric exclaimed.
I didn't turn to see his reaction. I didn't care.
"Maddox!" he shouted after me. "Come back here this instant and say that to my face!"
I guessed he wasn't used to rejection.
As I rounded the corner, the voices of the students grew louder, rising above the alarm. A sharp crackle echoed through the hallway, cutting through the noise.
"Attention. All students are to return to their dormitories immediately. Do not remain in open areas."
There was a brief pause, followed by a loud bang and the sound of heavy breathing, as though the announcer was struggling.
"Faculty response teams are active. Stay inside. Do not engage."
The moment the announcement ended, voices erupted around me, loud and uneven.
"Oh my God, what the hell is that?!" a student shouted.
"It shouldn't be here!" another cried, panic clear in their voice. "I want to go home."
"What is going on, and is the barrier around the school already breached for such a creature to be in here?"
Creature?
My steps faltered.
The hair at the back of my neck stood on end. I spun around, my eyes darting through the narrow hallway as the sensation intensified, but I saw nothing.
And yet… I sensed it.
That familiar feeling of being watched. The same one I had felt ever since that voice started speaking in my head.
It was back.
I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. Goosebumps prickled my skin.
The feelings should have ended. I wasn't even in my world anymore, so why on earth was I still feeling this way?
Maybe… because of the monster talk?
I swallowed hard, clutching my pendant as fear tightened around my chest. I scanned the hallway again, my legs trembling beneath me.
Did it follow me here? Was it here to finish what it started?
A flood of unwanted thoughts rushed through my mind, but none came with answers.
"Take a deep breath, Willa," I whispered to myself, gripping my pendant tighter.
Of course, no monster would come all the way here just to attack you in a school filled with people like them.
I tried to convince myself, but my thoughts kept circling back to it… to the monster… to the words it had whispered in my head.
"All first and second year students, return to your dorms at once!" the announcement rang out again, snapping me back to reality.
Without thinking, I rushed down the hallway toward the exit.
The moment I burst out of the building, I slammed straight into an invisible wall.
The impact sent me stumbling backward until I landed flat on my butt with a loud thud. I groaned, clutching the sore spot. "What the fuck?"
I glared at the entrance before pushing myself back to my feet.
Slowly, I moved toward the doorway again, stopping at the threshold. I nudged one leg outside, then leaned my head forward—
And slammed into the barrier again.
"What is happening?" I muttered, stretching out my hand to test the air.
I couldn't see anything. Outside looked completely normal, and if there really was a wall in front of me, I should have seen it.
But I felt it.
Letting out a frustrated breath, I reached out again, but this time my fingers barely brushed the air before something yanked me backward.
My head slammed hard into the wall behind me, knocking the breath out of my lungs.
I wheezed, arching my back as something seemed to snap inside my head.
My skull? Maybe.
My vision blurred. My knees gave out, and I began to slide down the wall.
A creature is roaming the school!
Return to your dorms, everyone!
The voices of the students and the announcement crashed into my thoughts all at once.
I tried to blink away the haze, but it didn't help. I stayed pressed against the wall, my back barely holding me upright.
"Eric?" I whispered, straining to make out the blurred figure approaching me.
"Is that your boyfriend's name?"
A chill ran down my spine at the sound of that voice. Creepy. Odd. Unlike anything I had ever heard before.
Was it the monster?
God…please no.
"Who are you?" I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady.
"I am…" the figure replied, the same eerie tone sending another shiver down my spine.
Before I could react, a hand clamped around my throat, lifting me off the ground.
I choked, my breath cutting off as their grip tightened. My fingers clawed at their hands while I struggled for air.
Eric would never do this to Elyse.
His ego might have been bruised by rejection, but he wouldn't try to kill her.
"Let… me… go!" I forced out through clenched teeth.
"I am the one who is going to kill you, halved soul," the voice continued, ignoring me completely. "You escaped last time. This time, you won't."