Page 21

NEITHER OF THEM MOVED.

The only sound was the eerie rustling of the leaves, the soft whistle of the wind, and the deep, guttural growl vibrating from the shadows.

The wolf's glowing yellow eyes flickered between Y/N and Julia, its massive frame barely concealed by the underbrush.

"Y/N—that's not a squirrel..!" Julia whispered.

Y/N swallowed hard. "Yeah, no kidding—!"

Julia's grip tightened on her arm. "Okay. So. Uh. What's the plan—?!"

"The plan.." Y/N whispered back, "is uhm to not make any sudden—"

SNAP

The wolf's ears flicked forward at the sound of the branch under her foot.

Julia inhaled sharply. "That was the opposite of not making sudden movements babes."

"Oh, sorry, let me just casually hover over the ground next time."

The wolf let out another low, warning growl. GRR..

The growling grew louder as the beast shifted, its weight pressing against the earth with an unsettling quietness. It was watching them, calculating, waiting.

Y/N wasn't sure if it was preparing to pounce or simply enjoying the fear radiating off them in waves.

She wanted to move, wanted to run, but her limbs felt rooted to the spot, as if one wrong movement would shatter the thin thread of stillness keeping them alive.

And then—almost as if on cue—three figures emerged from the darkness.

Calixto, Silas, and Azul.

The second they stepped into view, the wolf's ears twitched, its sharp gaze flickering toward them with a new kind of recognition.

Y/N barely had time to process the way all three of them froze, their usual air of arrogance momentarily replaced with something more unreadable.

Julia, still clutching Y/N like a lifeline, didn't hesitate. "Okay, I hate to say this, and it physically pains me to admit it, but I think we need their help..!" she whispered harshly. "They're vampires, they're physically stronger right?"

"Right.." Y/N grimaced but didn't argue. Survival took precedence over pride. "Fuck.."

Calixto was the first to move, before she could even open her mouth to plea. His head tilted slightly, dark eyes locked onto the wolf with something unsettlingly calm.

Silas and Azul remained still, but there was a tension in their posture, a quiet readiness as if they were waiting for something unspoken.

Y/N almost didn't catch it—as Azul inclined his head ever so slightly. A silent command which glinted behind his blue eyes.

The wolf blinked, licking its teeth once before letting out the slightest grunt. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, it turned and melted back into the shadows, vanishing without a sound as it sprinted off into the distance.

Y/N's breath stilled in her throat. Julia's nails dug in harder.

Calixto exhaled sharply and muttered, turning back to the other two.

"Go back without me."

Silas and Azul exchanged a look—one of those silent, loaded glances that Y/N was beginning to hate—but neither of them questioned him.

With the same eerily graceful ease they always carried, they turned and disappeared into the night, leaving only Calixto standing there, his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat, watching them with mild amusement.

"I'll walk you back." he said simply.

★

Julia, for once in her life, was completely silent. She still had a death grip on Y/N's arm but was now also half-distracted, tapping furiously at her phone screen.

Her arm was still looped around Y/N's, but instead of making a snarky comment or complaining, she remained tense and alert, her other hand now busy tapping away at her phone as if distracting herself with a mobile game would make what just happened any less terrifying.

"Are you seriously playing a game right now?" Y/N muttered.

"I need to distract myself before I start spiralling," Julia whispered back. "I just saw my life flash before my eyes. I need emotional support."

She held up her screen, showing Y/N a pixelated cat bouncing between platforms. "This is my emotional support."

Y/N sighed, turning her attention back to the path ahead.

Calixto walked slightly ahead of them, his hands tucked into the pockets of his uniform jacket, his usual smugness replaced by something quieter.

Y/N watched the way the moonlight reflected off his sharp features—the sculpted cheekbones, the confident yet effortless way he carried himself.

He looked like he belonged in some kind of ancient painting, a portrait of a young aristocrat with too many secrets.

"I never said thanks."

Calixto hummed, not bothering to look at her. "For what?"

"For walking us back," she said, though they both knew she wasn't just talking about that.Calixto didn't glance at her, but she knew he was listening.

He smirked slightly, his gaze fixed ahead. "Don't flatter yourself, human. I just didn't feel like dealing with the aftermath of you two getting eaten."

Y/N rolled her eyes. "Right. Because that definitely wasn't weird. Totally normal for a creature that big to just listen to a guy standing ten feet away from it."

Calixto's smirk deepened, but he didn't comment.

She hesitated for a beat before deciding to press further. "That night. During the evacuation. The forest." She swallowed. "The thing that was out there.. Was it—?"

Calixto didn't answer right away, but she caught the way his fingers flexed slightly in his pockets; but in response he just let out a low whistle.

Y/N bit her lip, glancing sideways at him. "Your dad." she said, voice quieter now. "That night, you mentioned him?"

That got a reaction.

His gaze flickered to her, something sharp and guarded flashing across his expression before it smoothed out just as quickly. "You really do have a habit of asking too many questions."

Y/N crossed her arms. "And you have a habit of dodging them."

Calixto let out a low chuckle, the sound amused but lacking any real warmth. He tilted his head slightly, watching her with an unreadable expression. "Maybe. But you don't need to know everything, human."

She wasn't going to let it go that easily. "You said something about him—about his wolf." She studied his reaction carefully. "Was that—"

"You really want to know?" he interrupted, his tone laced with a mocking edge. "You think knowing makes a difference?"

Y/N didn't back down. "It does to me."

She hesitated before pushing further. "What was he like?"

Calixto let out a breath, glancing up at the sky as if searching for the right words. "He was.. stubborn. A little reckless. Too brave for his own good." He paused. "I used to think he was invincible."

Y/N stayed quiet, sensing this was one of those rare moments where he wasn't hiding behind his usual smugness. She smiled softly looking up at him, or the back of his head. "So you take after him?"

"Pfft. I guess so.. He had this way of making you believe everything would be fine," Calixto continued, his voice distant, like he was lost in the memory. "Even when it wasn't. Even when we all knew it wasn't."

Y/N studied his profile, the sharp angles of his face softened by the dim glow of the pathway lights. There was something different about him in that moment—like the weight of whatever he was carrying had settled just a little heavier on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry." she said, and she meant it.

Calixto didn't reply immediately, but after a beat, he glanced at her with a small, almost imperceptible smile. "I didn't tell you so you'd feel sorry for me."

"I know."

He didn't say anything else, but the silence between them didn't feel as heavy anymore.

★

Calixto exhaled sharply, his smirk faltering for just a fraction of a second. His gaze flickered over her, searching, before he finally turned his attention back to the path ahead.

"My father was powerful," he said after a long pause, his voice void of its usual smugness. "Respected. Feared." His jaw tensed slightly, as if the words left a bitter taste in his mouth. "But power like his doesn't come without consequences."

Y/N waited, hoping he'd elaborate.

He didn't.

Instead, he glanced at her, that usual lazy amusement creeping back into his expression. "Satisfied?"

Not even close.

But before she could push further, her mind clicked back to something else, something Silas had brushed off in a way that only made her more suspicious.

She shifted gears. "That book" she said slowly. "The one from the library. Werewolves.I know you know about it, the five of your don't look very secretive amongst each other."

Calixto's expression didn't change, but she caught the almost imperceptible flicker of irritation in his eyes.

"Silas acted weird when I asked him about it" she continued, watching him carefully. "Like he was trying too hard to pretend it didn't mean anything."

Calixto let out a low laugh, shaking his head. "And now you think I'll give you answers instead?"

Y/N shrugged. "Worth a shot."

His smirk returned, full of condescension. "That's adorable."

She huffed in frustration. "Why won't you just say it?"

Calixto stopped walking as they reached the door.

Julia, who had been uncharacteristically quiet through the latter half of the conversation, immediately made a beeline for the door.

"Welp," she muttered, pulling it open. "That's enough life-threatening experiences for one night. I'm going to pretend I didn't see anything, and if anyone asks, we spent the evening discussing philosophy."

Y/N rolled her eyes as Julia slipped inside without another word, leaving her alone with Calixto.

Y/N barely had time to register the shift before he was stepping closer, closing the space between them with an ease that sent her pulse skittering.

★

He tilted his head down slightly, just enough for her to notice the way the dim lighting sharpened the angles of his face, the faint glint in his pale yet darkened eyes.

"You're awfully persistent, human" he murmured, his voice lower now, quieter. "I'd almost think you wanted to get yourself in trouble."

Y/N refused to shrink away. "I just want the truth."

Calixto regarded her for a moment, then—abruptly—reached out.

Y/N felt her breath catch.

For the first time, standing this close, she really took in his features—the faint scar cutting through his left eyebrow, the sharp curve of his jaw, the way the moonlight luminated over his pale blonde hair.

Y/N barely had time to react before his fingers caught the strings of her hoodie, pulling them tight until the fabric cinched snugly around her face.

She let out a startled noise. "Hey—"

His smirk deepened as he expertly tied the strings into a neat little bow, the amusement in his expression making it impossible to tell whether he was being playful or just trying to annoy her.

Under the dim glow of the dormitory windows, with the soft hum of the night surrounding them, she could almost believe there was something less antagonistic in the way he lingered—something different in the way his fingers brushed against the fabric of her hoodie, the way his gaze flickered over her face, taking in her wide-eyed frustration with barely hidden amusement.

And maybe—just maybe—for a second, she wasn't entirely sure whether she hated it.

"You ask too many questions," he murmured, his tone almost teasing, but there was something else there—something quiet, something knowing.

"I get that a lot?"

His fingers brushed against the fabric one last time before he stepped back, his expression unreadable once more; his hands sliding effortlessly into his pockets once more.

Then, with a faint, almost mocking tilt of his head, he simply said, "Goodnight, Y/N."

And just like that, he turned and walked away, leaving her standing there with her hoodie cinched tight, her heart beating just a little too fast, and far too many unanswered questions swirling in her head.

She exhaled sharply.

What. The. Hell.