جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 160

KaelaI knew it was a bad plan, but that was how I knew it was going to work. Outside the classroom door, I stood, staring at the paper in my hand as if it might suddenly grow teeth, recalling how I got it. I had formulated the note and forced Lynch to sign it, convincing him that it was a school project. He didn’t ask too many questions, and that was why I loved him.“This had better work,” I muttered to myself and moved a step, then walked through the classroom door. Mr. Rick looked up as soon as I walked in. I plastered a natural smile, hoping I didn’t look odd.“Kaela, you’re early,” he muttered.“Yeah, I know,” I took a glance at the empty class. “I needed to talk to you.”“That serious, hmm?” He raised a brow.“I don’t know,” I shrugged as I approached. “Depends on how much you like field trips.”She leaned back in her chair.I placed the paper on her desk and slid it across to her as if I was presenting a certificate, holding his gaze. “My father wanted me to give you this.”

Teresa With Kaela gone for her school trip, the house was too quiet. Keller was already gone on a quick trip with Bennett, with a promise to return the next day, and Lynch? The last time I saw him, he said he was visiting the mall and would be back shortly. Right now, it was just me. I stood in the kitchen, holding a mug of coffee I hadn’t touched in a while, when I noticed movement at the kitchen’s entrance. I turned to see Clara walking in, eyes narrowed at me. “Penny for your thoughts?” She asked. “I’m just… thinking. Nothing serious to bother yourself about,” I dismissed her. “I don’t believe you.” “Why?” I blinked. “Your face says otherwise,” Clara answered. I sighed. “Is it that obvious?” “You’ve opened that fridge four times,” she said. “And stared into it like it holds all of your answers. That’s difficult to miss.” “How long have you been standing there?” “Long enough to know you’re spiralling,” she replied and walked further into the kitchen. I leaned against t

Teresa It was dusk at the camp now, but that didn’t make it silent. In fact, it was the exact opposite. It was loud. Even after the marshmallows, the ghost stories, and Mr. Rick’s threat to send everyone hiking back to school if they didn’t shut up, they never did. When the fire died down, the teachers started sending everyone to their tents. “Alright, everyone,” I heard Mr. Rick shouting at some students at the edge of the woods. “To your tents, oh children of Israel.” Groans and complaints filled the air. “We’re not tired yet.” “Oh no! We were just getting started.” “Five more minutes, please?” I grabbed my bag, ignoring the chaos around me, and headed towards my assigned tent. When I walked in, I met two girls inside. As soon as they saw me, they shifted, moving awkwardly towards the far end and creating a huge gap between us. I didn’t care. For the first time, I felt happy in the space. With a smile, I threw my bag across the space and stretched out comfortably. Fr

Kaela I hated this place. I hated it because I couldn’t imagine how people were surviving here while the rest of us lived comfortably back in our pack, pretending that everything and everyone was fine, even while it wasn’t true. Was it that no one knew? Very unlikely. Maybe they didn’t look hard enough. Or maybe they knew and just decided to leave things that way. Maybe they thought it was best for things to remain that way. Shawn continued the tour, leading us a few steps forward, while Flynn walked beside me. The deeper we walked into town, the more painful the experience was. My chest tightened at what I was seeing, yet Shawn led us as if this was perfectly normal. No children playing anywhere, no music, and no crowd. It was complete silence. The terrible kind that made your hair stand even when there was no reason to fear. “This place feels haunted,” Flynn shoved his hand into his pockets as we walked. “It kind of is,” Shawn glanced back. “What does that even mean?” I

Teresa When Clara dove us back to the Alpha house, every inch of my body ached emotionally from all I’d seen and heard. I struggled to get the image of the isolated town out of my head and failed. The broken roads, the bitterness in Hera’s eyes, the frustration on Alora’s face, and the silence of the town all came back. As I walked into the house, I stopped fighting it and handed my bag to Jorren. The butler took one look at my face and frowned. “Harsh day, Luna?” He asked. “Please, don’t call me that right now,” I breezed past him. He followed. “Understood.” “Where’s everyone?” I asked as we started on the stairs. “Alpha Keller is in his office,” he stated. “Beta Lynch is overseeing training.” “And Bennett?” I was a little surprised he didn’t mention Bennett. His face crumpled slightly. “I don’t know where he is.” We got to my room’s door, and I took my bag from Jorren. “Don’t worry, Jorren, I’d like to be on my own tonight.” He nodded and bowed, then walked back. I g