CHAPTER 139: THE LOOMING SHADOW

Andria’s POV

I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I wasn’t flirting; he walked in on me, and things got heated."

"Oh, it was definitely flirting, what a good excuse to go on the defensive. The way he was looking at you, like he would eat you up if given the chance."

"Macy..." I warned

"And the way you were looking at him, like you were deciding whether to stab him or kiss him. I won’t lie to you, you two are a match, except for the fact that you are already mated to the Alpha successors. They wouldn’t take it lightly, seeing you with another male wolf."

I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh. "You’re being dramatic."

"I’m just being observant, " she said, leaning closer. "Do you even realize who that is?"

I raised a brow. "Sir Kaelric, the current head of the school council?" I asked sarcastically, feigning ignorance.

"Sir Kaelric," she repeated, lowering her voice as though the walls might hear. "The prince. Nephew to the Alpha King. Some even say he’s the Shadow King!"

I arched an eyebrow. "Shadow King?"

She nodded vigorously. "Yes! He practically runs the kingdom from behind the scenes. Ever since his father died, he’s been taking up most of the Alpha King’s responsibilities. Some packs even whisper he is being groomed to take the throne if anything ever happens to the King."

"I’m aware," I said simply, stacking my papers.

Macy froze. "You knew?"

"Yes," I answered bluntly. A look of shock crossed her face. If only she knew how much information I had on Sir Kaelric. I think I knew Sir Kaelric better than every student except Liara, his cousin.

"And you didn’t think that was something worth mentioning?" she said, her face contorting into a frown.

"I didn’t want to spoil your excited moment," I said with a faint smile.

Macy sighed dramatically. "You’re impossible."

"Thank you." I grabbed my bag. "Now, can we go to the market before the vendors close?"

She groaned and picked up her bag, and followed me. And as she followed, she kept talking beside me. "You still have a lot to tell me concerning you and Sir Kaelric; you two look weirdly close."

"Drop it, Macy?" I replied, and she became calm, knowing best not to bring up the topic anymore.

By the time we reached the supermarket, the sun was already bright in the sky. I had my hoodie on because recently I had been noticing burn scalds on my skin.

The heavier my vampire craving, the more the vampire signs reflect.

Macy’s energy instantly returned as she darted from stall to stall, chattering at every vendor.

"This will look perfect on the booth," she said, holding up a string of crimson ribbons.

"Too flashy," I said, scanning the price tags.

She gasped. "Aria, we are running a kissing booth. The point is flashy, and red is the best color for that."

"I thought the point was fundraising."

"Semantics, is that hard for you to understand?" she asked dismissively, adding two more ribbons to the pile.

We continued through the rows, gathering supplies, paint for banners, fabric for the tents, and little glass jars for collecting donations. For a while, everything felt normal and simple. I was enjoying the atmosphere.

Suddenly, a weird feeling crawled up my spine, a subtle awareness like we were being followed or watched.

I froze mid-step, scanning the crowd instantly. My eyes swept past vendors, shoppers and a group of little children standing close to the ice cream stand.

And then my eye caught a figure, a weird looming figure, I could only see their shadow reflection on the ground close to the ice cream stand where the children were standing.

"Macy," I said softly.

She looked up from her pile of decorations. "Yeah?"

"Don’t turn around too fast," I warned, my tone calm but firm. "I think we are being followed."

Her eyes widened. "What? Are you serious?"

"Keep your voice down." I smiled faintly, pretending to browse the table of bracelets. "I sense a shadow about twenty yards behind us, by the ice cream stand. Don’t look."

Macy’s stiffened, hand twitched toward her hair, a nervous habit. "Are you sure? Or you are just being paranoid"

"Well, if you think so, I don’t need to convince you. " I said, slipping a coin to the vendor and taking a bracelet I didn’t even want. "He’s been shadowing us since we left the flower shop."

"Shoot," she whispered. "What do we do?"

I met her gaze. "We walk. Slowly and naturally toward the exit, so that he wouldn’t notice we realized."

Macy nodded, though her breathing quickened. "This is like something out of the horror movies."

"Except this time," I murmured, "we are the ones being hunted."

We walked out of the major supermarket, and the figure followed; he was definitely a hooded man. We walked as fast as our legs could carry us.

My wolf stirred restlessly. "Athena," I whispered internally." I need your help."

"I can take over if you wish," she replied, a low growl curling in her tone.

"No, I just want you to stay sharp," I replied, speeding up my movement. Macy matched my movements nervously.

Soon, we walked into the market, and I made a split-second decision. I grabbed Macy’s hand.

"Run," I whispered.

Macy didn’t hesitate.

We bolted down the side street, our footsteps echoing off the cobblestones. The crowd’s noise faded behind us as adrenaline kicked in, sharp and cold.

I was shifting, my bones cracking; it was time to let Athena out.

Macy gasped beside me, equally shifting. "You are big, she said, referring to Athena. "What’s your name?"

"Athena," my wolf replied. "And yours?"

"Malvis," Macy’s wolf replied.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful wolf," Athena responded, speeding faster.

We turned the corner sharply, and I shoved her against the tree, pulling her into the shadow of a tree in the forest surrounding Ashwood. Our heartbeat thundered simultaneously. We were already close.

Footsteps approached, then stopped. Macy squeezed my arm; her hands were trembling.

There was a long silence, and then the footsteps started to retreat. I came out to check the atmosphere, and suddenly an arrow came flying my way.