Chapter 59: ⁵⁹: Regret

"No wonder you screamed so loudly when I kicked you there earlier," Maria said, far too amused by the fact.

Before I could react, she kicked the same spot again with full force.

A strangled cry escaped my lips.

I felt feral. The curse was becoming more intense as it fed on the blood from my other wounds, but now that the cursed wound itself had started bleeding, the sensation became almost unbearable.

Something seemed to constrict around my heart. It felt as though invisible hands had wrapped themselves around it, squeezing tighter and tighter, as if they wanted to tear it apart.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.

"This is what you get when you mess with me, bitch!" Maria spat before kicking me again.

My body went limp. I felt like everything was over. I was done. My vision began fading until I could barely see anything at all, my eyes threatened to close... My eyes... My eyes...

My eyes turned feral.

All of a sudden, something changed. A strange energy surged through me, powerful enough that my body seemed to move on its own.

The weakness. The unbearable pain. The humiliation of being unable to defend myself. Even the crushing sensation around my heart - Everything vanished in an instant.

It was as though someone had switched it all off. A strange warmth and energy flooded through me, filling every empty part of my body.

And then I felt something familiar. Something I missed more than I could ever explain. It was so close. So incredibly close to me.

It was almost as if I could reach out and touch her.

Anna. Yes! This was Anna. I could feel my wolf. She was there.

She was fighting against the curse that had been trying to overwhelm me. I could feel her strength pushing back against it, refusing to let it consume me.

I could feel her. Her pain, her endurance, her sacrifice, her love for me. I felt all of it rushing through the bond between us. It was as though she was reassuring me without words that she’s still here.

I wasn’t alone. She was still with me.

"See, everyone?" Maria started, her voice filled with pride. " This is what happens when you try to mess with me! This is what will happen to you too if you go anywhere near my Lou—"

Maria’s voice abruptly turned into a startled cry.

My body moved before I even realized what I was doing. A powerful kick sent her stumbling across the room until she collided with the wall.

I slowly raised my head. "Who told you we fucking care about that Louis of yours, who treats you like a fucking tissue paper?" I spat at Maria.

Before she could recover, I lunged forward and struck her in the abdomen. A deafening sound escaped her as she staggered backward.

I was happy. No - I was elated. This wasn’t me. This was Anna. She was back. My Anna was back!

For the first time in what felt like forever, I could feel her presence completely. Her anger, her strength, her determination.

"Do you think we give a flying fuck about you or your Louis?!" Anna spat through me.

She grabbed Maria by the hair and pulled her head upward before slamming it against the wall, the same wall Maria had crashed into moments earlier.

Maria went still for a moment.

A small smear of blood appeared near her forehead, mirroring the injury she had caused me only moments ago.

I stared at her. For the first time since she had entered the classroom, Maria wasn’t looking down at me. She was looking at me with shock.

Anna pulled Maria away from the wall by her collar and shoved her head onto one of the desks, ready to beat the living hell out of her.

"Miss Athena Moonvel!" Our teacher’s voice roared through the classroom, making Anna freeze midway. "Leave Miss Maria Vale right now."

Anna’s grip on Maria’s collar loosened the very next second.

"If you both have forgotten, then let me remind you. Violence on Academy premises is strictly prohibited. You will both report to the principal’s office immediately!"

Mr Hale’s voice was sharp with anger as he glared between us before stomping his way out of the classroom.

"Now let us see who saves you from me, Athena!" Maria sneered, shooting me a hateful glance as she straightened herself. "I thought I would simply teach you a lesson in front of everyone, but you dared to hit me. Now, I’m going to make your life a living hell here."

I barely heard her. Right now, I didn’t care about what Maria was saying. I didn’t care about the principal or what any of the teachers thought of me.

All I cared about was Anna. She was slipping away from me again. The moment she had stepped away from Maria, she had gone silent. The connection between us vanished so suddenly that panic immediately gripped my chest. I could no longer feel her.

What was happening? First, there was the strange way my cursed wounds had reacted to my blood. Then Anna had suddenly appeared, taking control of my body and defending me.

For one selfish, wonderful moment, I had thought that perhaps Anna had finally returned to me for good.

But that wasn’t the case. Something strange had happened. And I needed to understand what. It had already been more than six months now.

I had only six months left. The way my body had reacted today could only mean one thing: just as Master Mayeel had warned me, the dark magic within my wounds was becoming stronger with every passing day.

And if it was already powerful enough to suppress Anna completely, only to suddenly allow her to break through when my blood was involved... Then what would happen when the curse became even stronger?

I needed to speak to Mother Elena immediately. I had to ask her what today’s events meant. How had Anna managed to appear if she was still trapped beneath the curse? And if she had somehow broken through it, why had she disappeared again moments later?

My thoughts raced as I looked around the classroom. Maria had already left the moment she finished throwing her threats at me.

The students who had gathered around us were slowly returning to their seats. Some had even hurried out of the classroom, probably heading to their own classes.

Yet something felt different. No one was looking at me. Not properly, anyway. Whenever I glanced toward someone, they immediately looked away. I frowned. Why? What had happened?

Just then, I spotted Rose sprinting across the classroom toward me. She had been standing beind Mr Hale earlier when he entered. Had she been the one who called him?

"Rose?" I called as she stopped infront of me.

"Athena, are you okay?" she asked, worry flashing across her face. Then she seemed to realize how pointless the question was. "What am I even asking? Of course you’re hurt. You’re bleeding so much!"

"I’m fine. I’m not feeling any pain, so don’t worry," I reassured her.

And strangely enough, I wasn’t lying. I truly couldn’t feel any pain right now. The moment Anna had appeared, all the pain I had been experiencing had vanished as though it had never existed in the first place. My wounds were still there, and I could feel the blood on my skin, but the unbearable agony that had consumed me only moments ago was completely gone.

"Come on. I’ll take you to the nurse’s office so you can get some first aid," Rose said and gently guided me out of the classroom.

Neither of us said much as we made our way down the corridor. My mind was still stuck on everything that had happened.

I desperately wanted to understand what had happened, but I couldn’t exactly discuss it with Rose.

Once we reached the nurse’s office, I sat down on one of the chairs while Rose retrieved the first-aid kit from the nurse.

She placed it on the table beside me and began taking out the supplies she needed to clean my wounds.

"I can’t believe Maria," Rose muttered as she carefully arranged the supplies. "She behaves like a complete crazy person whenever it comes to Louis!"

"This is all Louis Dreven’s fault," I replied, anger immediately surging through me at the mention of his name. "If he had never uploaded that video, none of this would have happened."

I clenched my fists. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. First, the rumors. Then Maria attacking me. And now, whatever had happened with Anna.

Everything was getting out of control, opposite to what I wanted, I had just wanted to remain unnoticed here but trouble seemed to find me regardless.

I clenched my hand thinking about Louis Dreven. "The moment I see him, I’m going to make him regret ever uploading that video."