SERAPHINA'S POV
My mind continues to linger on the conversation with Kamila hours after she has already gone.
I can easily list the benefits I'd gain from this truce-or dare I say, friendship-with her. Yet, my mind draws a blank when I try to figure out what I could offer her in return, something she doesn't already possess in abundance.
I'm just a humble orphan with no family history, while she's practically royalty, born with a diamond-encrusted silver spoon and a rich lineage of Alpha wolf warriors.
The best I can offer are tips for surviving in the wild.
The idea makes me laugh out loud. I mean, a human giving a werewolf tips on wilderness survival?
It's like a fish teaching a bird how to fly. But then, having seen her so-called 'survival skills,' maybe she could actually use the advice. My nights of being locked out of the orphanage by the older girls and being forced to find shelter in the forest might actually pay off.
"What do you think, Olivia?" I ask her now, resting my head by her side.
"Do you think it was stupid of me to make a deal with Kamila? I mean, I really don't think she's all bad, just misunderstood. And that's gotta be better than being Artemis' slave, right?"
Honestly, at some point, being with Artemis hasn't been all that bad. But there's still this residual resentment, you know? It feels like I'm just someone he can hang out with to kill time. Another conquest on his list.
What if all this is just a ploy to toy with my feelings and hurt me in the end? Artemis scares me, and this 'thing' with him scares me even more. It makes it worse that he's getting close to breaking down my walls-worming his way into my heart.
I don't like it one bit.
With Kamila, though, there's a different vibe.
I get this feeling of possibilities just thinking about it. Maybe it's because a part of me is trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, to see her more as human than snake.
She owns her feminine energy in a way that's hard to ignore too, and maybe she could also give me some pointers.
"I don't really buy all that talk about unleashing hell's fury; it's probably just to scare me into submission. You think she was serious?" I pose another question to my unconscious friend, not actually expecting a reply, as always.
However, the low groan that emerges from the back of her throat shocks me. I jerk away from her, eyes widening in disbelief as her face starts to contort with discomfort.
Tears well up in my eyes at the miraculous sight unfolding before me.
"Olive!"
Her eyes slowly pry open, and her irises quiver, momentarily overwhelmed by the light. A second later, they adjust, finally focusing on me.
I'm full-on crying at this point, drawing closer and clutching her hands.
"You're awake!" I exclaim.
"You're crazy, you know that," she manages to say in a hoarse voice, a small smile playing on her tired lips.
A cascade of coughs follows her few words. I sit up abruptly, grabbing a water bottle from the dispenser at her bedside. I help her take slow sips until she seems to regain her composure.
"Don't speak. I'll get the nurse." I announce to her, running through the door before she can say anything else.
I dash through the passageway, my footsteps echoing as I leave the building behind. It takes minutes before it dawns on me that in my excitement about Olivia waking up, I'd forgotten that I have no idea where the nurse is.
Lucian was right.
All I needed was faith that Olivia would come back to me on her own. She's Olivia, after all-timid and shy, maybe, but a fighter at heart.
I change course, deciding that anyone will do-Artemis, perhaps. Anyone who can help me find the nurse. With that new plan in mind, I head for the main school building.
Minutes into my walk, I hear a subtle sound behind me. I brush it off as the wind, but the noise persists.
Finally, I spin around, catching just a glimpse of a shadow darting among the trees that line the path.
I'm not alone.
I can feel it-a pair of eyes tracking my every move as I walk faster, each step confirming my suspicion. I'm being followed.
A thin layer of fear coats my racing heart, and thoughts of Morgan flood my mind. Is this how he cornered Olivia? Waited until she was isolated, where no one would hear her scream?
That's it-I can't take it anymore.
I bolt, aiming for a more populated area. But my pursuer isn't subtle now; their steps sync with mine, escalating into a predator-prey chase.
I push myself to run faster, but the distance between us narrows. The audacity I had, thinking I could outrun a wolf in a school full of them.
I sense them right behind me, almost feel the stretch of their arm, ready to grab me. Just then, I spot an opening-a turn up ahead.
I make a split-second decision to dart into it, narrowly evading their grasp.
No sooner do I make the turn, and I crash into a wall of muscle and sinew, stumbling backwards. But before I hit the ground, strong hands catch me, steadying me until I regain my balance.
The moment I look up and lock eyes with Jasper, a wave of relief washes over me, cutting through my labored breathing.
"Sera, are you okay?" he asks, his brow furrowing as he scans me from head to toe. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Morgan," I manage to say, my breaths coming in ragged gasps. My hand beats against my chest, urging it to calm down. "He was... he was after me."
As the words tumble out, my hands start to tremble. The mask I've been wearing, the façade of strength, starts to crack. The reality hits me: I'm scared.
Not just the garden-variety kind of scared, but bone-chillingly terrified.
What if I had been cornered and beaten into a coma like Olivia? Except Olivia is a wolf; she's built for survival. Me? I'm just a human in a school full of wolves that lack even a drop of civility.
Tears begin to flow, and my body starts to shake uncontrollably, a makeshift anxiety attack spurred by my too-close-for-comfort encounter.
If I had been just a fraction slower, if Jasper hadn't been there, who knows what would have become of me?
Seeing my fear, Jasper wraps me in a hug, no questions asked, no explanations needed. Just the warm, grounding embrace of someone who understands that right now, I don't need words; I just need to feel safe.
I let him hug me, not pushing him away as I usually would.
My emotions are all over the place, and I find myself crying into his arms. He waits for me to finish, then pulls back and gives me that goofy smile I know so well.
"Whoever that was, they're long gone now. Must've sniffed me out and ran before I could even see them," he tells me.
"Okay," I respond, wiping the last remnants of tears from my eyes.
"You're a tough one, Sera. Most werewolves wouldn't be able to last this long, especially given everything you've been through. You should be proud of that," he tries to uplift me, subtly referring to all the hardships I've faced.
I meet his eyes again, feeling much better. My anxiety seems to have been reeled back in, just like that.
"Thanks."
"No problem. Just telling it like it is," he says, still grinning.
"If you say so. Sorry for taking you out of your time,"
"Actually, I was coming to get you. Artemis sent me."
"Me? Why?"
His smile widens suddenly, and the light in his eyes sparkles, as if he's bursting to share some exciting news but wants me to guess first.
I give him a deadpan look. "I don't have time for games, Jasper. Olivia just woke up, and I need to get a nurse to her."
The excitement in his eyes transforms into surprise and shock, then back to that blinding grin.
"Wait, Olivia's awake? That's even better! Now we have double evidence against Morgan."
He pauses, lost in thought, then nods, leaving me more confused.
"Wait, hold on," I say, trying to catch up with his train of thought. "You guys found evidence against Morgan?"
He nods. "We found a fur sample that matches the DNA of a guy in his crew, Greg. It's not conclusive enough to nail him completely, but it's tilted the investigation in our favor and knocked him out of the election race."
My heart starts racing as the full implications of what he's saying sink in for me-and for every omega in the school.
"Which means..."
He grins from ear to ear. "Which means, Sera, you automatically win the election!"