All Chapters of Welcome to Aetherborn: Crushes, Curses & Creatures: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The doors slammed behind her as Seraphine stumbled out, tears already slipping hot and fast down her cheeks. She didn’t care who saw, her chest hurt too much, and the knot in her throat was too tight to swallow back. “Sera!” Maren gasped, rushing to her. Elira was right behind, eyes wide with worry. “What happened in there?” Seraphine shook her head, wiping at her eyes, but the tears only kept coming. “I… I’m such a failure,” she choked. “I tried using my powers, I really did. In class, in training, I keep trying, but nothing ever happens. Nothing works when I want it to.” Maren placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. “Hey, no, don’t say that…” But Seraphine’s words tumbled out in a broken rush. “And now? Of all places… there? In that office, with her staring me down like I was dirt? That’s when my power decides to explode? Not when I need it, not when I’m desperate for it, but inside some stupid registration office where I didn’t even want it to come out!” She swiped angrily

“Alaric!” The shout split the courtyard as his body lunged forward, predator-fast. Before Seraphine could even scream, shadows twisted. Damien was there in a flash, wings flaring out, slamming against Alaric’s chest with enough force to rattle the stones. The vampire snarled, fangs glistening, straining against him like a starving beast. Kade was next, his claws lengthening as he gripped Alaric’s shoulders, muscles locking down to pin him. “Hold it together!” he growled through his teeth, every vein in his arms straining. Lucien flicked a hand, and shimmering threads of violet energy snapped into the air, wrapping like chains around Alaric’s torso. The glamour pulsed with every heartbeat, trying to bind his hunger in place. But none of it seemed enough. Alaric’s eyes blazed crimson, his voice a guttural rasp as he fought them. “Her blood… don’t you smell it? Don’t you hear it calling…” Seraphine stumbled back, clutching her hand, tears of fear and guilt burning in her eyes

The dining hall was alive with chatter, clinking cups, and the smell of roasted fruitbread and spiced tea. Long tables stretched beneath stained-glass skylights that cast rainbow hues across the students’ robes. Seraphine sat near the end of one table, poking at her porridge more than eating it, still lost in thoughts of yesterday. She hadn’t expected to have much appetite but at least here, in the noisy crowd, she could hide in plain sight. “Seraphine!” She looked up just as Maren and Elira slipped onto the bench across from her, trays in hand. Both of them leaned in, their eyes full of sympathy. “We just wanted to check on you,” Maren said gently, resting her chin on her palm. “About… you know. Yesterday. The registration stuff. You must feel so awful not being able to finish it.” Elira huffed, stabbing a slice of fruit with her fork. “Honestly, the Overseer is cruel. Don’t listen to her. If I were you, I’d just skip the whole registration nonsense. Who needs it anyway?” Serap

The shrill wail of a siren tore through the Academy halls, so loud it made Seraphine wince and drop the book she was holding. The sound was unlike anything she’d ever heard before, haunting, metallic, like a hundred voices screaming in unison. Students immediately froze, then began rushing for the doors, chatter breaking into anxious whispers. Seraphine turned to Elira, panic flashing across her face. “What… what is happening? Is the school under attack?” Elira’s eyes widened, her hand shooting to grab Maren’s sleeve. “Oh my God… It’s today.” “Today?” Seraphine echoed, confusion mounting. “What’s today?” Elira swallowed hard, lowering her voice as if saying the words too loudly might summon something. “Wolf Night.” Maren’s expression darkened. “Of course it had to be now.” Seraphine blinked, utterly lost. “Wolf Night? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Elira glanced at her, tone deadly serious. “It means every werewolf in this academy is about to transform. When

The chamber reeked of blood, smoke, and wet fur. Silence pressed down, broken only by the drip of crimson pooling beneath Alaric’s body. Lucien stood frozen, blades slack in his hands. His eyes darted between the mangled corpses on the floor, wolves, but not strangers. Students. Their uniforms still clung in torn scraps to their furred forms. Boys they had sparred with in training halls, laughed with at meals, passed in corridors. “gods…” Damien’s voice was raw, disbelieving. His flames guttered out, leaving only smoke rising from his fists. “They were… they were one of us.” Kade’s chest heaved, his massive wolf frame pacing in the wreckage, snarling. His golden eyes were wild, burning with confusion and rage. Why? The look said. Why would they come for us? But the question died before it could be spoken. Because all of their gazes dropped to Alaric. The vampire lay crumpled, his chest heaving shallowly, skin already paling to a deathly gray. The bite mark across his back