Chapter 3

At eight o’clock on a Tuesday morning, the tiered lecture hall was thick with resentment. There were fifty students in the class. Forty-nine of them had dark circles under their eyes. Those were the marks left by pulling an all-nighter to finish an essay titled ‘The Consequences of Betraying a Werewolf.’

Everyone except me. I had planned to lie down for just a moment before starting. Unfortunately, that “moment” lasted until sunrise. Forget five thousand words, I hadn’t even written five lines.

I slumped over my desk, trying to curl into the smallest shape possible. I was done for. There was no way to make it up now. My only option was to distract him and make him happy.

With that thought, I pulled out my phone and unblocked him. My fingers flew across the screen as I typed my personal get-out-of-death-free card. My thumb hovered over the send button, and my heart pounded like crazy, ready to strike at any second.

Just then, the tapping sound of leather shoes approached. Sarek entered the lecture hall, consumed in fury—one that screamed with severe dissatisfaction. His shirt collar was loose, muscles taut beneath the fabric. After being blocked all night, that werewolf looked like he could kill someone.

“Hand in your assignments.”

He casually tossed his laptop onto the lectern and turned on the projector. However, instead of displaying the lecture slides, the big screen showed Sarek’s private chat.

The entire class froze, and so did I. The contact name at the top read “Luna (Draft),” and worst of all, the chat background was the only image I had ever sent him. It was the photo of my expense receipt from that night.

In the dead silence, everyone stared at the screen filled with red exclamation marks.

[Yesterday 11:30 p.m.: Baby, I was wrong. I won’t be so aggressive anymore. Please talk to me… You like sausage, right? If I buy a sausage shop, will you talk to me again?]

[Today 2:15 a.m.: Baby, I cried all night. My pillow is soaked. If you’re afraid of me, I can wear a bite guard. I’ll be very good… Now, I’m jealous of the me from that night. At least he could hear your voice as he got off. Now I have nothing…]

My mind went blank. Was this the same werewolf king who threatened to tear us apart on the battlefield? No, this was a drenched stray werewolf begging for shelter in the rain.

And about him getting off… Was this even allowed to be projected on the big screen?

However, none of the students laughed. Instead, despair spread through the room, because knowing too much usually meant one thing: death.

A vampire in the front row crossed himself. A witch in the back hurriedly deleted her browser history. Everyone silently drafted their last wills, seriously considering where they’d like to be buried and whether the feng shui would be decent.

Meanwhile, Sarek was completely unaware. With his back to the screen, his sharp gaze locked onto me like a blade.

“Mila. Where’s your assignment?”

My legs went weak as I stood up. “P-Professor…”

“You didn’t do it?” His eyes narrowed. “It seems you’re quite attached to getting F’s.”

He stepped closer, one pace at a time, continuing, “Would you like me to draft your withdrawal application for you?”

The oppressive presence of a top predator crashed down on me.

His shadow swallowed me whole as he looked down. “What? Cat got your tongue?”

At that moment, I secretly hit the send button.

“Ding!”

The notification sound exploded through the silence. Sarek froze and then lowered his head to check his phone. At the same time, everyone’s eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets.

On the big screen, the little bunny avatar lit up with a new message.

[I’m sorry, my love. I didn’t mean to block you that night. I miss you too. I’ve been thinking of you so much that my legs are weak.”

The coldness around Sarek vanished instantly. The corners of his mouth shot upward before he forcibly suppressed the smile. His Adam’s apple bobbed.

He replied immediately, the eagerness impossible to hide. His reply popped up on the screen.

[Be good. I will call and comfort you after class. Please don’t be mad anymore, baby. I was too aggressive. From now on, I’m yours.]

A dead silence filled the class. No one dared to laugh. It felt like they were witnessing a bloodthirsty Tyrannosaurus suddenly putting on a pink bow and dancing ballet. It was deeply unsettling. After seeing something so private, the lecture hall might very well become our mass grave.

Sarek put away his phone and walked away with noticeably lighter steps.

“Since this is Mila’s first offense, her assignment can be postponed. Sit down.”

I collapsed into my chair, having narrowly escaped death. However, before I could even breathe a sigh of relief, the atmosphere turned unbearably heavy again.

In his good mood, Sarek finally noticed something was wrong. Why did every student look like they were ready to die, and why were they all staring past him?

With that, he turned around sharply.