Chapter 4 Halloween Party

Linda POV

"You don't have any more classes after this right? Come with me."

What Jude said a week ago is still lodged in my memory. But somehow I still have doubts.

I... I still want to find out again if it was really Drake who killed my parents who were trying to protect me that time.

I want to prove Drake's connection in this matter and make a decision with a cool head. In addition, I also need to confirm if Drake is the only one left or if there are others.

But if that was proven, I would not hesitate to take action.

"I'm busy."

I held on to the desk as Hazel pulled me along.

Today I have another agenda, I want to start my investigation on Drake. I have to meet him again. I need to approach him as long as I can get information that can give me a clear path to the matter.

"I saw you daydreaming, so you're not busy. Come on Linda, you should mingle too, make friends. I know you're an introvert but you can't miss this opportunity. Our college is giving away free food in the cafeteria because of Halloween."

I furrowed my eyebrows. I had only heard of that term because there was no such tradition at my old college.

"Willow Moonbite, that's the name of the event. Only tonight all students from all classes will be in the same room, in the main hall. All the residents of the library are even coming. So you should come!"

Hazel pulled me hard and I had to let go of my grip on the table to avoid breaking it. I couldn't help but follow her even though I don't like mingling in crowds.

And the atmosphere of the main hall was crowded, packed. There was only one table left with three seats and luckily Hazel was able to claim it before anyone else.

"You get the food first, I'll look after the table."

I just nodded briefly and joined the line. Since I wasn't hungry, I didn't take much food, just a light snack and water and returned to our table.

But it wasn't just Hazel who was there now, but Drake as well.

Argh I forgot to tell Hazel who is an extreme extrovert not to let others join. Now how should I deal with Drake after hearing Jude's confession? I am not preparing yet.

I can't lie about my feelings. It feels different now when I see Drake. If there was fear before, now I was holding back my anger because the information Jude had told me made me emotional. This short search made my heart feel squeezed when I finally found out the bright spot of the incident that traumatized me.

Hazel waved her hand, prompting me to head over there since Drake had also noticed my presence.

I sat next to Hazel, across from Drake. Apparently he had brought food.

"I'll go now. You two please take care of the table together. Okay?"

"Yeah, go," Drake said.

I sighed and glanced at my food. I honestly didn't want to talk to Drake so I shoved the food into my mouth without waiting for Hazel to return. I'm sorry Hazel, I can't stay here for too long because it feels like oxygen is running out.

The dish on my plate was gone in less than two minutes. Then I stood up, ready to leave.

"Where are you going? Are you leaving your best friend alone?"

"There you are," I replied simply.

"Are you avoiding me?"

"No, I just hate being in crowds."

"Hey Linda, where are you going?"

Ah shit, my chance to escape was gone because Hazel was back. She didn't know anything, it would be weird if I suddenly left after Drake arrived. So I sat back down.

"Hurry up and finish your food and then we'll leave."

"We can't leave." She hid my bag. "The three of us are going to the Halloween party together. All of us, no exceptions."

*****

The location of the Halloween party was in an unused building at the back of college. In this secret place, all guests were required to wear the masks provided. And since we were late, there were only three types of masks left: wolf, rabbit, and cat.

Hazel took the cat mask, put the rabbit mask on me, and gave the wolf mask to Drake. Then she pulled us both into the building.

This party was more like a party in nightclub, not much different. Maybe it's just different in terms of the audience, which only contains students of this college and its strange rules.

I thought it was just the three of us from our year, but there was Jude too. He was wearing the same type of mask as Drake.

As a result, the four of us gathered even though Jude and Drake didn't greet each other. Things got even more awkward when the host started broadcasting the game that would be played by all the visitors.

"The name of the game is Chase the Prey, Feed the Wolves. Everyone who gets a wolf mask will chase animals that wolves usually prey on, like rabbits, cats, squirrels, and so on. The number of wolves and prey animals has been calculated so all wolves will get one prey animal. Is that understood?"

"Yes! Let's do it!"

"This will be very exciting!"

"Can I catch anyone?"

"You are free to catch anyone as long as you follow the rules. There will be a prize for the fastest. How about it?"

I wasn't interested. What kind of game is that? They would be more surprised if they knew that there were real wolves here!

But between these two, Drake and Jude, it seems like they're interested because they both saw me.

Oh that's bad, they must be thinking the same thing! What should I do? Who should I avoid? Should I give myself to Jude so Drake won't come after me? I'm really confused.

"Get ready, we'll start the game on the count of ten. One... two... ten!"

Hey, that's sneaky! He should have counted completely so I could get ready.

I didn't have much time to run from Drake and Jude who were both chasing me. They even cut through the crowd to find me. And I kept dodging as best I could.

I hid behind someone big but it didn't help. Drake, he found me first with a sharp gaze that was hard to interpret because he was wearing a mask so his facial expressions couldn't be read clearly. But I didn't give up, I tried to sneak again.

This time I ran into Jude instead. He was just a few steps ahead of me. His hand was about to reach my body when suddenly someone grabbed me from behind.

My body was pulled back and hit something hard. It wasn't a wall but Drake's chest. He was the one who caught me.

And I can say that he was the fastest!

Followed by Jude who caught Hazel. And then the other couples.

My body was still frozen because Drake didn't let go of my hand, he held it tightly as if I would run away if he let go.

"Wow! Unexpectedly, the fastest one is our ice hockey captain, Drake! He caught... eum-"

"New cheer member, flyer, Linda Lindsay Lidster!" Hazel suddenly shouted, interrupting.

"Our captain caught a cheer member, the rabbit!"

I was dead, now everyone knew my name.

"Alright, you and the other two winning pairs will get a prize. The prize is that you get to kiss the prey you caught! Just like the title of the game, feed the wolves."

This is such a bad idea! They knew my name enough, not my face since I was undercover. What if the assassins, Drake's friend or whoever was here too? They would definitely be able to recognize me and my plan would be ruined!

I pushed Drake because I knew he wouldn't kiss me. Like he said, he never makes a move first. So he wouldn't kiss me unless it was the other way around. So instead of wasting time, I'd better leave, right?

As I turned around, suddenly my hands were pulled so that my body turned 90 degrees and I fell in his arms. He took off my mask, wrapped his arms around my waist, and landed his lips on mine. It was all done very quickly.

My world seemed to stop suddenly. My body froze, it was difficult to move and my eyes were only focused on his face.

The sounds around me suddenly disappeared and only the sound of our breathing could be heard. Only his scent filled my sense of smell. And his hands around my waist tightened even more.

"Hey, you guys! Enough, it's over! Continue somewhere else!"

My body was pulled back and it turned out to be Hazel.

Oh man, that's a good thing. Because I wasn't sure I could pull myself up.

"Your lipstick's all messed up," she commented. She gave Drake a quick glance. "You know, this is the first time he's kissed someone first. And you're that someone."

No wonder after Hazel pulled me earlier, I heard a very loud cheer. Apparently that was the reason.

But this kiss, however, I haven't given him permission for. He can't just kiss me in public!

So I gave him a slap. I didn't care if other people recorded this incident or talked about it later on. Drake had blown my cover, he was going to let all the werewolves here know that I was Linda from the Lidster family who had been eliminated.

"You're a real baddie flyer, Linda." Someone suddenly spoke up. She was the cheer captain. "First you slap Jude and now you slap Drake. Unbelievable."

I slapped them not for no reason. They had been insolent and deserved it.

I should have said that, but instead I ran away following my heart.

I leaned my body against a wall on the side of this building. I frustrated.

My chance to investigate, was it gone now?

I scooped up my face and bent my knees. I looked down deeply.

"Linda."

I heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Without looking up, I already knew who was approaching me. Yes, it was Drake.

"I hope you didn't misunderstand. I absolutely have no interest in cheer members as I've explained. And that kiss earlier, it didn't mean anything because it was just a game. Also my help yesterday when you were injured, I did it out of pity and because you needed it. So there's no need to take it too far. I won't scold you for slapping me either. I guess we're even now. You kissed me once without my consent and I did the same."

He was right, he had said he would pay me back someday because I stole his first kiss and he proved it.

"I won't steal you from Jude."

Before he could say more and hurt my feelings even more, I stood up.

I knew what I was about to do might be rude but it seemed like he was also speaking without thinking.

"You're so confident. You think everyone likes you and you do whatever you want, however you want. Remember this, I will never like a man like you, Drake. NEVER! Mark my words!"