Chapter 62: Hi Again

Aina

"Why me!!..." Aina whimpered, snatching her glasses off the stone ledge and shoving them back onto her wet face, she knew why but still she believed she did not deserve it. "Oh no, man... this is bad. This is so, so bad."

Frantic, Aina reached into her pants pocket with her left hand, pulling out her small mobile phone. Her fingers flew across the screen, swiping a frantic text message straight to Molly.

[Aina]:

Molly, what is happening right now?! I need to know what’s going on! Did your brothers do something?! Is something happening to me?! I was just splashed with a bucket of paint!

She stood by the contaminated tap, her heart hammering against her ribs like a sledgehammer as she waited for a reply. A couple of agonized minutes passed before her phone vibrated with an incoming audio file.

She pressed her thumb against the screen, playing the voice note.

"I am so, so sorry!" Molly’s voice panicked through the small speaker, trembling with genuine distress. "I did not know what my brothers were planning! It seems Theo is not a man of his word indeed! I would advise you to hide, babe! You need to hide right now! My brothers have not been let go of what you did! You need to run! You need to hide! They are actively trying to run you out of the school, Travis! dude, you need to hide! Don’t even bother going to class, it’s over for you!"

The audio cut off.

Aina’s blood ran completely ice-cold. She slowly raised her head from her phone screen. Standing right at the edge of the courtyard beneath the archway was a tall, imposing Lycan boy, his sharp claws extended, staring directly at her with a predatory sneer.

Aina gasped, stepping back.

From behind the stone pillars, a second Lycan stepped out. Then a third. Aina stared at the three full-grown, massive Lycans blocking her path, her throat seizing up in pure terror. I’m about to die. I am literally about to be murdered.

Pure survival instinct took over. Aina began slowly walking backward, keeping her eyes locked onto the three approaching beasts. "Okay... okay, let’s all just take a deep breath..." Suddenly, her back slammed hard into a broad, solid wall of pure muscle behind her.

Aina gasped, spinning around. Standing right behind her was a fourth, massive Lycan, grinning down at her like a wolf cornering a tiny rabbit.

"Can you... can you guys please just let me go?" Aina squeaked out, holding her free hand up in surrender. Without a word, the Lycan behind her lashed out. BOOM! A massive set of razor-sharp claws swiped directly at her head. Aina ducked violently, her heart dropping into her shoes as the sharp claws clipped the ends of her short blonde hair. She lost her balance, crashing hard onto the stone pavers.

Run! Aina shrieked in her own head.

She scrambled to her feet and booked it at full speed across the courtyard. But because she was trapped in her tiny human form—and burdened by a heavy plaster cast on her right arm, she wasn’t nearly fast enough. A heavy, calloused hand reached out from behind, snatching Aina violently by her hair.

"AAAGH!" Aina screamed as her head was yanked backward.

The brute flung her backward like a ragdoll. Aina hit the hard ground, rolling several feet before coming to a stop on her side, her bruised ribs screaming in agonizing pain.

She scrambled onto her knees, looking up at the towering shifters surrounding her in a tight circle.

"Hey! Hey, we don’t have to fight!" Aina yelled, waving her left hand frantically as she backed up on her rear. "You don’t have to do this! I mean... I myself am a big, bad wolf! Please! What about we talk about this over a nice cup of tea?!"

None of them listened. Not a single one of them cared.

One of the giant Lycans stepped forward, leaning down and grabbing Aina around the waist. He effortlessly hoisted her small body up, flinging her roughly over his broad shoulder like a sack of grain.

"Let me go!" Aina shrieked, violently kicking her legs and pounding her left fist against the brute’s iron back. "Put me down, you massive beast!" The Lycan paid her zero mind, turning on his heel to carry her off toward the darker alleys of the campus.

Driven by desperation, Aina leaned down, opened her mouth wide, and sunk her sharp teeth straight into the side of the Lycan’s neck.

"AGH! YOU LITTLE RAT!" the boy roared in pain. He instantly loosed his grip, shoving Aina off his shoulder.

Aina hit the stone floor with a thud, but she didn’t waste a single millisecond. Because her body was so small compared to the massive, hulking frames of the High Lycans, she took immediate advantage of the gap. She scrambled underneath the brute’s legs, darting right past him and sprinting at maximum speed back toward the main academy building.

They roared behind her, the heavy thunder of their boots echoing through the courtyard.

Aina burst through the grand double doors of the building, her lungs burning like fire as she sprinted down the main corridor. She pushed and shoved frantically through the scattered groups of students standing in the hallways, ignored their shouts of protest, and kept her eyes peeled for any possible escape route.

Ahead, near the grand central staircase, her eyes caught a tiny, shadowy crevice hidden beneath a wooden hatch door right under the stairs. Aina didn’t hesitate. She dove sideways, squeezing her small body straight through the narrow opening and slamming the hatch door shut behind her.

She collapsed against the wooden interior wall, her chest heaving violently, gasping for air as sweat and residual red paint dripped down her burning face.

"Oh... you found my hiding spot," a quiet, calm voice suddenly spoke from the dark corner. Aina jumped, her heart leaping straight into her throat as she whipped her head around in the pitch-black space.

Sitting in the corner with her knees pulled to her chest was Ally.

Aina blinked, her jaw slacking in sheer disbelief. "Ally...?"

Ally offered a tiny, unbothered wave. "Hey."