All Chapters of Shawls Academy: Claw Spirits Battle: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Chapter 21: Leslie POV"Wait, why are you so frightened of the Alpha, Leslie?"Kael's question landed like a slap. I hadn't even realized I was shaking until he said it out loud — until I felt my own hands trembling at my sides, like they belonged to someone else. Someone who still remembered exactly what her father's voice sounded like when he was disappointed, and exactly what happened to the people who disappointed him."You know what, don't worry" I forced a smile onto my face, stretching it too wide, holding it a beat too long. Draken's eyes narrowed on me immediately. He always noticed. That was the problem with him — he never let anything slide, not even the things I needed him to."Are you hiding from him?" His voice came out low, cold, dangerously intimidating — the kind of voice that made the hallway around us go quiet without him even raising it above a murmur."Noooo." The word cracked out of me an octave too high, thin and squeaky, betraying every single thing I was tryin

Kael's POV "Are you alright, Leslie? You look shaken from what happened earlier." I braced my hands over hers as she sat quietly in the detention room, her spine too straight, her fingers too still — the kind of stillness that meant she was holding herself together by sheer will, one thread away from unraveling. "No. I don't know why the Alpha hates me." Her voice cracked down the middle. "He's got the whole school thinking I'm some kind of villain, and I haven't even done anything." Tears welled along her lashes, trembling there, refusing to fall, like even her grief was afraid to be seen. Guilt hit me immediately, sharp and familiar, an old wound reopening in a place I thought had scarred over years ago. I'd carried this secret so long it had become part of the architecture of who I was — and now, watching her fall apart in front of me, I couldn't justify carrying it one more day. "Leslie, I have to tell you something." "Why? What happened?" She sniffed, swiping at a tear b

Leslie POV The candle on my nightstand had burned down to almost nothing, and I'd been staring at the clock so long the numbers had stopped making sense — checking it for what had to be the tenth time in twenty minutes, my stomach twisting a little more with every glance. I hadn't moved from the edge of my bed in over an hour. She wasn't back yet. Risel couldn't actually be serious about the whole "we're done being friends" thing. Could she? People said things like that when they were angry. People didn't mean it. That's what I kept telling myself, over and over, like repetition alone could make it true. The fury I'd been nursing all night had curdled into something worse — worry, thick and sour, sitting right behind my ribs where the anger used to live. And once worry gets its hooks into you, it doesn't let go easily. It just keeps handing over evidence, one memory at a time, whether you want it or not. She stood up for me when nobody else would. She was the first person at this

Leslie POV "How was your night, Autumn?" I asked as she finally stirred, a good three hours after I'd woken. "Whoa. Nobody warned me humans sleep this much." She laughed, stretching until her spine popped. "So — did you find Risel yesterday?" A yawn swallowed half her words. "Nope. Never found her. But you said you saw her leaving Giselle's room." "Exactly. That's what worries me." I sat up straighter, the unease from yesterday creeping back in, settling low in my stomach like a stone. "Giselle threatened to turn my entire life here into a nightmare. Why would Risel suddenly start being friendly with her, of all people? It doesn't make sense." "Relax, Leslie." Her voice was barely audible under another yawn. "You're overthinking this." "Maybe." I didn't believe it, though. Something about the way Risel had been avoiding my eyes lately felt deliberate, rehearsed, like she was hiding something she hadn't decided how to say yet. Before I could argue further, a knock rattled the do

Leslie POV The first thing I saw was Talia and Autumn's faces, hovering inches from mine, both pale with worry. "What's happening?" My voice cracked. Their expressions didn't change — if anything, they looked more frightened. "What's going on?" I asked again, and this time they exchanged a glance, the kind people give each other when they don't know how to tell you something terrible. Then it hit me. A vicious, searing pain tore across my collarbone, sharp enough to steal the air from my lungs. I gasped and clutched at it, and my fingers found something raised, something burning beneath my skin. "Don't you remember?" Autumn's voice was barely above a whisper, and I watched her throat move as she swallowed hard. The memories came crashing back before I could stop them, and with them, the truth I'd been praying was only a nightmare. I looked down. The mark was