How Crazy Could I Be?

The silence in my room was too loud.

I stared at the ceiling, hugging my pillow like it would answer the million questions racing through my head. Dominic. His eyes. His voice. That annoying smirk like he knew everything and still wouldn’t say it. I couldn’t get it out of my head.

He wasn’t just a transfer student. No way. I knew it. I felt it in my bones. In my skin. In my stupid heart that kept skipping a beat every time I remembered the way he tucked my hair behind my ear like he had a right to do that.

What if he was the one from my dreams?

What if I wasn’t crazy?

What if the reason my dreams always ended in death was because it already happened. Once. A long time ago.

I rolled over in bed and stared at the bracelet on my wrist. The same one from my dream. The one I was clutching when he stabbed me. It was just a coincidence, right? Maybe I made it up. Maybe the dream twisted things and now I was seeing signs that didn’t exist.

God.

I sat up and pressed my hands to my face.

I needed answers. I needed to talk to him again. But what was I even supposed to say? Hey, you killed me in my dreams and now you’re haunting me in real life?

He’d laugh. Or worse. Think I was crazy. Maybe I was.

The next morning, I didn’t feel like dressing up. I wore a hoodie and old jeans, tied my hair into a ponytail and left the house before Glendale could stop me. I didn’t want her worried. She was already dealing with enough.

I had just stepped into campus when Sarah came running up to me like a storm.

“Guess what,” she said, eyes wide like a child on Christmas. “We have a hockey match today. A real one. With actual college scouts and everything. And guess who’s the starting player?”

I didn’t answer. I already knew.

“Dominic Lakes,” she said with a dramatic sigh. “God, he’s so hot. You think he’s single?”

I rolled my eyes. “Why would I care?”

“Because you literally bumped into him and stared at him like he held the secrets to the universe.”

“I did not,” I snapped and started walking faster.

“You did,” she grinned, keeping up with me. “And I saw the way he looked at you. Like he was reading your soul or something.”

I stopped walking.

That was exactly what it felt like.

She looked confused. “Lena?”

“Nothing,” I said quickly, shaking it off. “Are you going to the match?”

“Duh. I already got us front row seats.”

Of course she did.

The arena was packed, louder than I thought it’d be. The students were going wild, chanting his name like he was some kind of god. And when he finally skated onto the ice, even I felt my breath hitch.

He moved like he owned the ice. Fast, strong, sharp. Like a predator.

He didn’t even glance at the crowd, like we didn’t exist. But his presence pulled everyone in anyway.

Including me.

Sarah kept squealing next to me but I couldn’t focus. My eyes followed him like they were glued. I didn’t even understand hockey that well, but every time Dominic got the puck, it was like time slowed down. He scored twice in the first ten minutes.

Then it happened.

He got tackled.

Hard.

He hit the ground with a loud crack that made the entire arena gasp.

And I don’t know what happened to me.

I was running before I even realized it. Jumping over the railing. Sprinting across the ice like a lunatic while people screamed behind me. I didn’t care.

I dropped beside him, touching his shoulder. “Dominic?”

He didn’t answer.

I grabbed his hand.

And the second I touched him, my head exploded.

Flashes. Searing light. A memory not mine but mine. The same forest. The same blood. The same silver sword. But this time, I wasn’t alone.

I saw Dominic. A different Dominic. Same eyes. Same voice.

And I saw me. Dressed in white. Screaming his name. Crying as he held the sword to my chest.

“I’m sorry,” he had whispered. “I can’t let them take you. This is the only way.”

And then darkness.

I yanked my hand back like I’d been electrocuted.

“Selena?” his voice dragged me out of the vision. He was awake. Sitting up like nothing happened. Like he hadn’t just knocked the air out of my lungs. “What’re you doing here?”

“I…I don’t know.” My voice shook. My hands trembled. “I thought you were hurt.”

“I don’t get hurt.”

I stared at him.

“What?”

He looked away. “Nothing.”

The coach and some teammates ran over and shoved me out of the way. I stumbled backwards, heart pounding. The crowd was going wild again like nothing happened. But something did. Something real. Something terrifying.

I left the arena and ran.

All the way home.

I didn’t stop till I slammed my door shut and locked it behind me.

I couldn’t breathe.

The flash, the vision, it was too real. It wasn’t just a dream. I had seen his past. Our past.

I curled up on the floor and hugged my knees.

What the hell was happening to me?

Later that night, Glendale wasn’t home. She’d left a note saying she picked up a shift. I sat at the kitchen table, my fingers trembling as I scrolled through my phone.

I found his name. Dominic Lakes.

Nothing came up. No I*******m, no F******k, not even a school page.

It was like he didn’t exist.

I sighed and threw my phone aside.

A knock sounded on the door.

I jumped.

Cautiously, I walked over and peered through the peephole.

My heart stopped.

Dominic.

I opened the door slowly. “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t answer. He looked… rough. His hoodie was soaked, his hair messy like he’d been running. His eyes looked right into mine.

“We need to talk.”

I opened the door wider and let him in.

He stood in the middle of our living room, arms crossed, jaw tight.

“You saw something, didn’t you?”

I nodded.

He exhaled, rubbing a hand over his face. “Damn it.”

“Why?” I whispered. “Why me?”

He looked at me. Really looked at me.

“Because this isn’t the first time we’ve met.”

My breath hitched.

“I don’t remember everything,” he continued, “but when you touched me today, something woke up. I saw flashes. You. In a white dress. Blood. And...me. Holding a sword.”

“You killed me,” I said, voice barely audible.

His eyes burned. “I think I did.”

Silence.

“I don’t know why. I don’t know what happened. But ever since I met you, something inside me won’t stay quiet. Like I’ve been waiting to find you again. Like...my soul’s been looking for you.”

His words hit me like a punch to the gut.

“This doesn’t make sense,” I choked out. “This isn’t real. It can’t be.”

“It is.” He took a step closer. “You feel it too, don’t you?”

I stared at him. My mind said run but my heart stayed still.

“Then why don’t I remember everything?”

He shook his head. “Maybe you’re not supposed to. Not yet.”

I backed away. “You said you don’t get hurt. Why?”

He hesitated. Then, “Because I’m not exactly human.”

Silence again. Thicker this time.

“What are you?”

“I don’t know the right word for it,” he said softly, “but...wolf. That’s the closest.”

My knees nearly gave out.

“You’re...a werewolf?”

He nodded.

I sat down. Or collapsed, I didn’t know.

“You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was.”

I wanted to laugh, scream, cry, all at once. I stared at him like I didn’t know him at all. Maybe I didn’t.

“I shouldn’t have come,” he muttered, turning for the door.

But I stood up. “Wait.”

He stopped.

“What happens now?”

He looked back at me.

“I don’t know. But whatever’s coming... we’ll face it. Together.”

And I hated how much I wanted to believe him.