Chapter 64: Heartbreak in Lykaon Royal
KOL
"Missing?!" Eric and I shouted at the same time.
I shot up from the bed and headed straight for the door without a second thought.
"What do you mean she’s missing?" Eric grunted. I could hear rustling on his end — he was clearly doing the same thing I was.
Leaving the damn building.
"Isn’t she supposed to be in the dormitory with you?!" I snapped.
Verah broke into sobs again.
Damn it.
Her crying was starting to grate on my nerves. I understood Elyse was her best friend and she was scared, but Elyse was our mate. The pain we felt through the bond had to be far worse than anything Verah was experiencing.
"She’s... I..." Verah stammered.
"Stop fucking crying!" Eric growled. "Just tell us how she is and where the hell she went!"
"School," Verah whimpered. "She left for school this morning."
I let out a relieved breath, still walking toward the entrance. But I paused when I saw Roman and Reese standing guard at the door. Aside from me, they were two of the strongest warriors in the house.
They had told me earlier to leave the monster to them — they would handle it.
Both turned to look at me with bored expressions.
"Nothing," Roman said. He was the taller one, with a buzz cut and a fading scar running from his right cheek to his ear.
"Absolutely nothing," Reese added, running a hand through his dark curls. "Why did I even think manning the door would be exciting?"
It was never going to be exciting. I understood they hadn’t seen much action yet. After all, they had only been at the academy for two years, unlike me — I had been here the longest.
"Wait," I said.
I moved closer to the door, the sound of the relentless rain hammering against the roof like war drums in the background.
"Are you going somewhere?" Roman asked, raising an eyebrow.
I gripped the cold metal doorknob tightly and shook my head. "No. Just... I need some fresh air."
The lie tasted bitter on my tongue. I couldn’t tell them the truth. That every instinct was screaming at me to run out into the storm and find Elyse.
As her mate, it was my duty. As House Alpha, it was my duty to stay and protect everyone here. The two responsibilities tore at me.
I pushed the door open slightly, cool, rain-soaked wind rushing in and whipping across my face. I was one step away from slipping out when her voice stopped me cold.
I paused.
Turning slowly, my gaze locked on Iris. She stood in the middle of the common room in pink spandex shorts and a white crop top that showed off her pierced belly button. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest, head tilted in that knowing way of hers.
"Going somewhere?" she asked, a smirk playing on her lips.
"No," I said flatly, turning back toward the door.
"I heard Elliott and Lance were poisoned after fighting a monster in Valerius House."
I froze mid-step, swallowing thickly.
Monster in house Valerius? Did the hollow hound reach there?
I spun around sharply, narrowing my eyes. "How do you know that?"
The mindlink had been restricted. Only the House Alphas and Verah should have heard it. Headmaster Alaric had been careful not to cause panic.
Iris scoffed, rolling her eyes dramatically before glancing down at her nails. "And you’re going to search for Elyse because, apparently," she looked up at me with mock innocence, "she’s missing."
"She’s missing?!" Roman exclaimed behind me.
"And a monster is already inside Valerius House?!" Reese added.
"Oh boy," they muttered in unison. Reese grumbled. "They get to have all the fun."
I stepped away from the door, letting it slam shut behind me as I closed the distance to Iris in three quick strides. I gripped her arm firmly and shot a hard glare at Roman and Reese.
"There is nothing fun about monsters running wild in the academy," I snapped, voice low and dangerous. "Both of you — keep watch and stop fucking playing around!"
They both stared at me with wide eyes and raised hands, like I had just wrongly accused them of treason.
I dragged Iris away from the common room, stopping just outside my door before releasing her arm.
Iris sighed softly. She splayed a hand on my chest, playing with the top button of my shirt.
"I miss your aggressiveness."
"Who told you about the attack on Valerius House?" I demanded. "And how do you know Elyse is missing?" Even I hadn’t known the full details until Verah spoke.
"What?" Iris giggled, tilting her head. "Why are you acting like it’s some top-secret information?"
"Iris!" I snarled, slamming my fist against the wall near her head. She flinched hard, eyes widening in fear.
I stepped closer, looming over her. She stumbled back until her spine pressed against the wall, her eyes growing even larger.
"I have friends there," she stammered quickly. "We all have friends across the houses who tell us things."
Of course we did.
I grimaced and stepped back, releasing the pressure. I should have guessed. There was no way she would have known on her own — the dormitories were at least ten minutes apart.
"Still," I said, my gaze hardening on her face, "that doesn’t mean you should go around inciting fear in everyone. We’re trying to keep things under control and you just—"
She had to open her big mouth. I wondered how many more people had already heard.
Iris’s fear vanished as quickly as it appeared. She glared at me. "And you think they wouldn’t be even more afraid if they learned their Alpha abandoned them just to chase after some girl?"
"Well, they wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t said anything!" I growled.
"No one heard me except for those two idiots at the door!" she shouted back.
Iris stepped closer, her voice rising with emotion. "I should be the one mad at you right now, not the other way around. But whatever. My feelings don’t matter, right? Iris never matters when Elyse is involved. She’s always the one. Every single time!"
Tears welled up in her eyes. She sniffed hard, trying to push them back. "I’m your betrothed, and yet you always pick up that trash over me and make me look like the bad guy!"
Betro...what? I stared at her in genuine confusion. "What the fuck are you on about?"
A single tear slid down her cheek. She wiped it away angrily. "Keep pretending you don’t know what I’m talking about. Yeah, go on."
"Iris..."
"Stay the hell away from me!" she shouted.
I watched as she stalked off, my confusion only deepening.
"Okay... that was weird," I muttered under my breath.
Really weird.
I pushed the strange encounter out of my head and returned to the entrance. Roman and Reese were now seated near the window, casually playing chess. They barely glanced up when I opened the door, immediately looking back down at the board as I stepped out.
I shut the door behind me and inhaled the crisp, rain-soaked air. Standing on the porch, I stared at the darkened sky. The rain was still pouring down relentlessly. I wondered if Elyse was somewhere safe inside the school building.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and waited another minute, hoping the downpour would ease so I could run to my car. Instead, it only grew angrier.
I sighed and leaned against the wall, my thoughts scattered in every direction.
A loud honk snapped me out of my thoughts. I glanced up at the sleek black car idling in front of the entrance, its tinted windows hiding the driver. Before the window even rolled down, I already knew who it was.
The stupid red sticker on the side with the bold initials E.C. was more than enough.
"Are you coming?" Eric asked, leaning across the seat. "Or should I just go alone and take all the glory of rescuing her?"
"As if," I muttered under my breath.
I raced from the porch toward the car, rain slapping hard against my face and soaking through my clothes in seconds. The passenger door swung open. I slid into the shotgun seat and slammed the door shut behind me.
Before the window rolled back up, I caught sight of her. Iris.
She was standing by the entrance, tears streaming down her cheeks, watching us.
"Heartbreak in Lykaon Royal?" Eric said, a mocking smirk in his voice.
"Just drive," I grunted.
Eric sniggered but didn’t say anything more. He backed out of the driveway and sped toward the school.
We got there faster than I expected because Eric was the worst driver I knew. I didn’t even wait for him to park properly before I jumped out of the car.
"Hey!" Eric yelled after me. "I brought you here, remember?! Stop acting like the damned hero!"
I ignored him, racing toward the building. The only thing in my mind right now was Elyse and her safety.
