Layla was sure the world became a little brighter and more peaceful the moment she saw Alaric sitting at his desk. He lifted his head from the book he was reading and his gaze fell on her. Her stomach fluttered as his lips curved into a charming smile.“It’s nice to see you, Layla.” He said, standing up from his seat.“It’s nice to see you too,” she replied, trying not to seem too excited as she walked to him.“How has Nox-Luminis been treating you so far?” He asked, and her smile twitched to a small frown.‘The worse. Everybody hates me and looks like they want to kill me. I feel like I’m losing my mind.’ She wanted to rant but held back her words. She couldn’t just dump all her problems on him.“Crazy, but it’s been alright,” Layla lied, trying to sound optimistic, and his smile lowered.“Are you sure? You don’t look alright.” Alaric pointed out, stepping a little bit closer and placing his hand on her cheek. “You look quite tired. Have you been sleeping and eating well? It’s the do
Layla had been avoiding asking herself that question, but she knew she had to. What if she hurt Alaric? She didn’t want to hurt him, but what if she did?She couldn’t control her power, and they were going to be working with it. What if what happened at the orientation happened again? He was the only one in the room, so what if he couldn’t stop her before she did something she was going to regret?There was a connection, a pull, between the two of them, but was it as strong as the mate bond she had with Zayne? Would it guarantee his safety?“You won’t hurt me.” Alaric said firmly, no iota of doubt in his words.“How are you sure I won’t? Maybe this is a bad idea.” Layla sighed, shaking her head. Hurting him was the last thing she wanted to do. Her heart wouldn’t be able to bear it if she did.“Do you trust me?” He asked softly, walking towards her.“Of course I do. You’re not the problem. It’s this… power that I have.” She whispered, rubbing her arm. Alaric stopped in front of her, b
*Bang* Layla squeaked, almost jumping out of her skin as the door of the classroom swung open. Alaric’s and her gaze moved to it and saw Zayne standing at the entrance with an annoyed scowl on his lips. “Class is over. Let’s go.” He said, taking a step forward but stopping before he could enter the class. His eyes flickered around the room, finally noticing the dark wisps dancing in the air, and his eyes darkened. “So soon?” Layla mumbled, sighing aloud. She could swear that she stepped into the class a second ago. Couldn’t he have waited just a little bit longer? “Time flies when you aren’t looking, doesn’t it?” Alaric chuckled, pulling out the choker from his pocket. A small growl slipped from Zayne’s lips as he wore it on her neck. Layla gasped at the sudden weight that seemed to return to her shoulders, and the dark wisps disappeared in an instant. She clutched her skirt, trying to ward off the sudden wave of dizziness that hit her. Her stomach clenched and gnawed, yearning
“Are you all right?” Soft baby pink eyes, with tiny flower tattoos by the corners, stared back at Layla. A man, blessed with the beauty of a lady, was standing before her; his soft features were etched with worries and concern. “Yes, I am.” She replied and stood up straight. ‘Vines! Why am I not surprised?’ She sighed as the vines that had wrapped around her legs slithered off her and disappeared. Her attention moved to her waist, spotting what had stopped her from falling flat on her face—a vine also. “You saved me?” She asked, gesturing to it, and he nodded. “Yes, the joke has gone on far enough. I’m sorry about them.” He sighed, waving his hand, and the bind on her waist disappeared. His voice was girly too, which didn’t really come as a shock. It suited his entire calm aura. ‘At least it’s nice to know that not everybody in this school enjoys watching me suffer.’ Relief flooded through her, and she gave him a small, graceful smile. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome,” h
They want her to fight?! Not just anything but a beast? Was Brenton crazy? Layla couldn’t fight a dog or common human, and he wanted her to fight a beast.If Brenton wanted to kill her, he should have tried a much more direct approach instead. And she thought Professor Victor was bad for trying to kill her with exhaustion. Brenton wanted her to be mauled and ripped apart to death.“May I?” Nyssa chipped, raising her hand.‘Thank you, Nyssa.’ Layla almost ran to give her a hug. Not that Nyssa fighting would mean she wouldn’t, but at least it would give her more time to find a way out of her predicament.“Of course.” Brenton gave her a bright smile and gestured for her to come forward. She walked out from her seat to him, and he pulled out a metallic armband from his pocket.“Since you’re a werewolf, you’ll need this. It’s a ixon. It will keep your clothes intact when you transform to your wolf side.” He said, handing the device to her, and she took it.“Thank you, sir,” she replied, cl
A blue and black tiger-like creature stepped out of the portal, taller than the bear, though the latter was standing on its hind legs, and let out a bone-chilling shriek.Drools dropped from its foaming mouth and trudged forward on its three pairs of legs. Its numerous spider-like eyes, covering half of its face locked on her, and it shrieked again, flexing its bony body.Layla didn’t shake, nor did she tremble. She stared at the creature with, tears brimming in her eyes.“Who did this to you? Who put you in so much pain?” She whispered, squeezing hard on her glaive.The amount of agony, fear, and sorrow radiating off it almost made her drop on her knees and curl into a ball. She could feel all that it felt. Its pain, fear, anger—all the emotions slammed into her.It wasn’t always how it was. It wasn’t supposed to look or act like that. It looked like a tiger because it was a tiger. What happened? How did it become something so unnatural? An abomination?The creature gave a low growl
‘How bad is what she wants to tell me that she has to force herself to smile that brightly at me? Or is she just genuinely overjoyed that I’m finally going to die that she can’t hide it?’ Layla stared at Demeter, standing stiff and straight as a pillar in fear that if she didn’t, she would tremble.“Sit, both of you.” Demeter nudged her head to the sofa Alaric was on. Zayne strode over, giving her a small bow, and sat. Layla’s feet remained glued to her spot.“Sit, Ms. Dele.” Demeter said again, her smile remaining unshakeable and bright.‘I better not test her patient.’ Layla held her breath, slowly walking to the couch, and sat between Alaric and Zayne. Her back was straight and her shoulders were tensed, like she was sitting on hot coals. Not even Zayne’s and Alaric’s presence could calm the tension in her bones.“Congratulations on your progress, Ms. Dele. You beat our expectations by far. No one has been able to exterminate those creatures as easily as you did.” Demeter beamed, c
Layla slowly nodded, wincing as her skin ached and tears poured down her eyes.‘I swear, Demeter, you’ll be the first of your buddies I’ll end.’ She swore then froze. End? Where did that come from? She didn’t want to end anybody. She wanted to prove she wasn’t a monster. Yet the hunger for revenge clawed at her gut, and she winced. What was wrong with her?“You’re fine now,” Zayne whispered, cradling her closer to himself. Cradling?!Her breath hitched as she became aware of how close they were. His arm was around her, holding her close to his chest like he was trying to protect her. She was almost sitting across his laps. Her face flushed. How had she not realised that he was holding her? Why was he holding her? In front of Demeter, no less. Wouldn’t the woman be pissed that he was holding her in an intimate kind of way?She placed her hand on his chest, ready to push him away, but her muscle refused to do so. No, she didn’t want to. He was just so warm; his chestnut scent was comfor