THE FRIEND WHO STAYED

The attack changed everything.

A few days had passed, yet Silverclaw Academy no longer felt like the peaceful place Maya had first arrived at.

Royal guards still patrolled everywhere except the classrooms. The silver crystal barriers glowed faintly around the academy walls every night. Students were searched before entering the training grounds and no one was allowed beyond the campus without permission.

The academy was safe but Maya did not feel safe.

She walked along the courtyard, clutching her books to her chest.

Students still whispered about her and she had heard every version of it.

None of them knew the truth. And… neither did she.

She reached the classroom and quietly slipped into a seat by the window.

Lena sat beside her and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Ignore them.”

“I’m trying,” Maya smiled weakly.

Professor Ellis entered the room and began his lecture but Maya struggled to focus.

Every few minutes, she noticed another student stealing glances at her.

It reminded her of Mooncrest.

Soon, it was lunchtime.

The cafeteria was loud with conversation but the moment Maya passed a table, the voices on that table became quieter.

She took a seat at a small table by the window and picked at her soup in silence.

Her phone suddenly buzzed with a notification, followed by another.

She frowned and unlocked the screen. Her social media feed had exploded.

Someone had made a meme from the attack.

Maya quickly locked the phone. Her appetite disappeared and she pushed the bowl away.

“You barely touched your food,” Ava said, sitting across from her.

“I’m not hungry.”

Ava glanced around the cafeteria. “I don’t know why they’re treating you like some kind of monster.”

Maya didn’t respond.

That afternoon practical combat was cancelled.

Instead, they attended safety briefings where they were reminded to report any suspicious persons.

As Maya was walking back to the girls’ hostel from the safety briefing, she saw two first-year students hastily lowering their phones.

They had been recording her. One of them looked embarrassed and the other simply ran away.

Maya lowered her head and kept walking.

****

That evening, she sat alone beneath a large pine tree overlooking the lake. The water reflected the orange sunset.

Normally, students would gather under the pine tree, laughing or studying. But they kept their distance when they saw her there.

Maya hugged her knees.

“What am I?’ the words escaped from her lips but the breeze carried no answer.

Her wolf remained strangely quiet inside her. Ever since the attack, something felt different.

She rubbed her wrist where the light had shown during the attack.

Why was Alpha King Damien shocked? Why had he refused to answer her questions?

Footsteps approached, Maya assumed it was another student coming to sit under the tree.

She expected the person would turn back when they saw her but instead, she heard her name.

“Maya?”

Her eyes widen at the recognition of the voice. She slowly turned around.

A tall young man stood several steps away, carrying two travel bags over the shoulder. His brown hair was messy from the journey and his usual grin was plastered across his face.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Maya blinked a couple times. “Ethan?”

He spreads his arms dramatically. “The one and only.”

Maya jumped to her feet. “What are you doing here?”

Ethan laughed. “I was hoping for a hug first.”

Without thinking, Maya ran toward him. she crashed into him so hard he staggered backward.

“Easy,” Ethan said laughing.

“What are you doing here?” her voice shook.

“I missed you too,” Ethan answered, hugging her tightly.

Maya laughed.

When they finally stepped apart, Ethan studied her carefully.

“You’ve lost weight.”

“I have been busy.”

“You also look terrible.”

“Thank you,” she said sarcastically with a smile.

“I’m serious.”

She rolled her eyes. “You haven’t changed at all.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

They walked slowly around the academy together. The students immediately noticed Ethan and they started whispering.

Maya sighed.

Ethan looked around. “They really are watching you.”

“I told you.”

“They’re idiots.”

They continued walking beneath rows of tall pine trees.

“So…” Maya folded her arms. “…are you going to tell me why you’re here?’

“I transferred.”

She stopped walking. “You what?”

“I transferred.”

“Why?”

Ethan shrugged casually. “Somebody had to come and make sure you didn’t get yourself killed.”

She laughed.

He looked at her with candid honesty. “You’ve always looked out for me,” he smiled gently. “I figured it was your turn.”

Something tightened inside Maya’s chest. “Thank you.”

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “Don’t make it emotional.”

“I’m trying,” she laughed again.

They found an empty bench beside the training grounds.

“So… what happened after I left?” Maya asked quietly.

Ethan’s smile faded. “You really want to know?”

She nodded.

He sighed. “Mooncrest hasn’t been the same.”

Maya stared ahead.

“People still joke about the Mate Ceremony.”

Her fingers tightened together. “And Lucas?”

Ethan hesitated. “He isn’t doing well.”

Maya looked away.

“He barely participates in activities.”

Maya remained quiet.

“He looks miserable.”

Maya swallowed. Part of her wanted not to care.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Ethan didn’t argue. Instead, he changed the subject.

“Something else happened.”

Maya looked back at him. “What?”

He lowered his voice. “A few days after you left… your dorm room was attacked.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

The entire room was turned upside down.

“They said it was robbery.”

Maya felt cold. It couldn’t be robbery.

“I don’t think so,” she slowly stood up.

She hadn’t owned anything valuable. Her books, her clothes and some old photographs, nothing else.

Unless… the same people who attacked Silverclaw had been looking for her long before she arrived.

A chill crawled down her spine.

“What if the robbery attack and the Silverclaw attack are connected?”

Ethan looked at her seriously. “I have been thinking the same thing.”

They didn’t speak for a few minutes. Somewhere outside the academy walls, a wolf howled.

Someone might actually be hunting her. And Maya still had no idea why.