SERAPHINA'S POV
The entire crowd mutters endlessly after the shocking news is dropped on every one of us.
People's attention is fixed on the surprising revelation that they are mates, yet they fail to realize the most important issue at hand - the reason behind Artemis's earlier assault on Trevor.
"What does he mean when he said that you should have confronted him head-on instead, Artemis?" I ask him now, already getting a sense as to where all of this is going - but I don't want to believe it.
He doesn't look me in the eyes though, avoiding my gaze and the question all together, but Morgan does.
He shifts his sinister gaze to me as though just noticing my presence, and a paralyzing fear grips my spine at the sheer madness in his eyes.
"Oh..." He chuckles bitterly. "You didn't tell your little pet what you did, did you?" He breaks into a manic laugh that echoes through the halls.
Artemis takes a threatening stance closer to him now, warning him with those cutting blue eyes to shut the fuck up, and by some silent command, Ace and Jasper take the step to begin clearing the hall, getting everyone else out.
But I don't leave like the rest of them, watching the two lock eyes on each other with even more confusion. The tension makes the air stiff, almost suffocating.
I know for a fact that in a fight, Artemis will mop the floor with him in an instance, which I'm sure he's probably dying to right now, but I guess the accusation of harming someone's mate, coupled with the crowd watching, has him tied.
Or for whatever reason, he does nothing.
"I'll advise you not to push me any further. For your sake and mine, I'd rather not indulge this."
"Yeah, but you didn't mind beating up Trevor because of your little rat. Let me guess, she must have fucked you real good for you wanting to impress her, right? I guess my friends would need to have a taste if she's that good."
Artemis growls now, the dangerous edge in his voice slicing through the air like a sharpened blade, his eyes darkened to blue storms. He takes another menacing step closer until his face is just inches away from Morgan, looking down.
It's evident that he's holding his temper down by a very thin thread.
"What do you want?"
Morgan does the same, taking another step without flinching. I don't know how he does it while being a wolf himself - maybe the thought of something happening to his mate must have fried his circuits.
"Not much, really. Just for you to savor as much agony as you've inflicted on my bond. I'm not stupid, I know that there's nothing I could do to you. So, I'm going to take everything from you - no one that you hold dear is safe." He threatens him, clear as day.
I still stand there, confused and trying to put this all together myself when Kamila steps forward like some diplomatic queen. All this while, she's silently sat down, watching the entire thing unfold but now, she stands, facing him with a serious glance.
"Regardless of what you think Artemis has done to your mate, you realize that you're violating school rules by threatening the head of the Black Wolf Council and your future Alpha King." She states.
He finally looks down at her like a second thought, raising an eyebrow her way but it doesn't stop her.
Being an Alpha female, she's completely immune to whatever intimidation he possibly lets out, coupled with the fact that she's mated to Artemis.
Despite the bad blood between us in this moment, I find myself envious of how confident she is to stare off a psychopath like Morgan without a shred of fear.
"I'd advise you to back the fuck down right now, Morgan Riessmoon." She warns him with steady eyes, folding her hands below her chest.
He stares at her only for a brief moment before he spits right on her black boots right in front of us, letting out the highest form of disrespect possible, and she glares with enraged eyes.
"Your little bitch is pretty fun." He says, turning back to Artemis who has an eerie calmness that's rather frightening. It spikes up my heart beat, and I feel an ominous shiver crawl up my spine.
Jasper comes up from behind me, gently tugging on my hand with a softer tone.
"You need to leave now, Sera." He says, trying to get me out like he's done to everyone else in the hall - but I refuse, brushing off his arm.
"No, I'm not going anywhere until someone explains to me what's happening here." I argue, stepping away from Jasper.
"Sera." Artemis speaks now, even though his eyes don't meet mine. "Leave."
"There's no way I'm gonna-"
"Leave now!" He commands with a thunderous voice that echoes through the now empty hall and frightens even me for a moment.
My refusal dies in my mouth instantly, and I can't stop the trembling in my fingers.
The Alpha has spoken.
Eyes now turn to me from the four of them, each of them letting me know that they don't want me here right now. Some more obvious than the others.
I stand up from the table, steeling my shaky fingers and already more pissed off than I've been all morning.
"And where do you think you're going?" Morgan scoffs bitterly, now losing his shit with bloodshot eyes directed at me the second I almost leave. "This all started because of you, so you should at least watch what happens next, you fucking human bitch."
He lunges at me with lightning speed, his vice-like grip on my hand causing a sharp, involuntary wince. In the next heart-pounding moment, he drags me back forcefully, roughly with no restraint.
I struggle to break from his tightened hold, but I don't struggle for too long because whatever thread has held Artemis sane up until this point shatters like a fragile glass.
I'm caught off guard by his lightning-fast motion, only registering it when Morgan's arm, which had held me, contorts in an excruciatingly unnatural manner, a sight that even startles him.
It takes a moment for the realization of pain to sweep over him, and his agonized scream pierces the air.
But the horror doesn't stop there.
Artemis wrenches the animal away from me, flinging him to the ground before lunging onto him. Blow after brutal blow, his fists crash against Morgan's face, creating a gruesome feast of blood and violence.
Kamila screams now, and Ace lunges to stop him from killing the guy while I remain frozen in place, horrified by the sheer amount of blood pooling all over the floor and the sound of his nose being smashed into pieces.
Jasper emerges from behind me again, pulling me away from the entire scene before it escalates further, and this time, I don't' even stop him.
***
Jasper takes me to the only place I can sit on my own and think, which is the nurse's office, and I immediately remember the countless times I'd visited this place on my first few weeks of school because of Artemis.
Because he had put some kind of mark on my head for the whole school to take out their frustrations on me.
But that's not what's important right now. Having witnessed him beat up a guy so brutally has me shaken in a way I can't explain.
Just when I think I know him to an extent, that I've figured out every possible thing about him, he shocks me. I guess it's what I get for thinking I could figure out a guy like him out.
Honestly, I don't know what to think or feel from what happened - at least I'm not so dumb not to put one or two things together to realize that this whole thing happened because of Morgan's assault on me.
And the silent looks that Jasper passes with a small smile my way confirms my suspicions.
Minutes later, I'm left alone in the infirmary, sitting on a bed right in the middle, with more than a million thoughts running through my mind. I don't even mind that I'm going to be late for history class at this point.
I'm deep in thoughts when I feel this sudden gush of wind rushing through the room and passing right through me.
It's the kind you'd feel if there was an open window in the direction of the wind, but when I look ahead of me, there's just a closed door leading to the hall way which is still indoors.
I don't think much of it, pulling my thought away, until there's an ominous whisper just in my right ear, as though an entity rests on my shoulder just before I hear my name.
'Seraphina...'
I turn over immediately, but no one's there - in fact, there's no one in this massive room besides me.
I ignore it again, thinking that maybe it's a sign to leave and probably head to class now. Maybe I was shocked to the point that I'm now hallucinating things that aren't there.
Before I make it to the door again, there it is, an ominous feeling fills me again, compelling me to turn around and I hear another whisper behind me.
'Seraphina...'
The feminine voice remains oddly similar to the ones in my dreams - only now, I'm not dreaming, or at least I don't remember falling asleep. Instead, it feels like an out of body experience.
I turn around slowly, giving into the thought and feeling, and still nothing stares back at me. I'm certain now that I've lost my shit and might be hearing things that aren't there, until I hear it again.
"Sera?"
This time, the voice is different, less mature, squeakier, and I feel a hand suddenly falling on my shoulder.
I scream like a little girl, jumping at least 3 feet backwards out of fright, and when I look again, staring back at me is Alice and Juliet; the pair of preppy girls I haven't seen them in a while. They're standing at the door with looks of confusion.
"Oh... hey." I laugh nervously, waving at them like I didn't just freak out of nowhere.