The Lunar Crest Academy: Marked by The Lycans-Chapter 228: Breaking Apart

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Adrian stood among the wreckage of his army in Liandrin's crocked house and felt nothing but contempt.

The Crimson Hunt soldiers were stirring slowly, groaning as they dragged themselves upright, clutching wounds, blinking in confusion. Some tried to stand. Others struggled just to breathe. To Adrian, they were all the same.

Useless.

He paced through them like a god among insects. His jaw was clenched so tightly it ached, fury coiled hot and vicious in his chest.

They had escaped.

Lorraine had slipped from his grasp.

His gaze snapped to the ground a few paces away.

Liandrin lay there, sprawled in a widening pool of her own blood. Her chest rising and falling shallowly, each breath a labor. Blood bubbled at the corner of her mouth.

Stupid.

Wretched.

Stubborn old woman.

She had done this. Held him down with the last scraps of her strength, burned through her own life just to buy them seconds. Seconds that had been enough.

Enough for Lorraine to get away.

Adrian stalked toward her, his shadow swallowing her frail form.

"I'm going to make you regret what you just did, you old freak," he said coldly.

Liandrin's lips twitched. She tried to laugh, but it came out wet and broken, ending in a violent cough as blood spilled down her chin.

"Conan…" she rasped. "Conan will come for you… for trying to take his very cherished position…"

Adrian's expression darkened into something sharp and dangerous.

"You know nothing," he snapped. "Conan has been imprisoned by me. He cannot move a single step, no matter how much he struggles. There is no one coming for me, you pathetic old wretch."

Liandrin's eyes flickered, but there was something there. Not fear.

Amusement.

"You are the clueless one, Adrian," she stuttered, choking on blood as she spoke. "I… I had a map. One that tracks Conan's movement." Her breath hitched. "And just before I gave it to Kieran tonight… he... he was moving."

For the first time, Adrian froze.

The world seemed to tilt, just slightly.

"No," he said sharply. "That's not possible."

His mind raced. Mia's withholding spell was absolute. Unbreakable. Conan could not have moved. Could not have escaped.

She was bluffing.

She had to be lying.

Rage surged, swift and violent, drowning out any logic he had left. Adrian spun toward one of the soldiers who was just pushing himself upright and ripped a sword from his grasp.

"Die, you lying witch!" Adrian roared.

The blade came down at Liandrin's neck

Once.

Twice.

Again.

Blood sprayed hot and thick, splattering across Adrian's face, his cloth, the ground beneath them. Liandrin didn't even have time to scream. He hacked at her neck with merciless fury, each strike driven by a terror he refused to acknowledge.

When he finally stopped, her head lay several feet away, eyes glassy and unseeing.

Silence fell.

Adrian stood there, chest heaving, blood dripping down his arms and torso. Slowly, his fingers loosened.

The sword fell from his hand with a metallic clang.

"There's no way," he muttered to himself, staring at nothing. "No way Conan escaped Mia's spell. No way."

Lorraine's POV

Darkness was the first thing I felt.

Then pain.

A dull, persistent throbbing pulsed through my skull as I stirred, my body heavy and uncooperative. I groaned softly and opened my eyes.

Night had fallen.

I was lying on the forest floor beneath a tree, its thick branches blocking out the stars. For a moment, I didn't know where I was, or who I was.

Then I saw Astrid Voss.

She was sitting cross legged in front of me, her expression unreadable, eyes fixed on my face as if she'd been waiting for me to wake.

My head throbbed harder.

Then memory came crashing down like a blade to the chest.

Felix.

I bolted upright with a sharp gasp.

"Felix, where is he?" I demanded, panic ripping through my voice.

Astrid rose smoothly to her feet. "Come with me."

Something in her tone, too calm, too final, made my stomach drop.

I pushed myself up despite the dizziness and followed her through the trees. The forest opened into a small clearing bathed in moonlight.

And then I saw it.

A mound of freshly turned earth.

Alistair stood to one side, his hands still dirty. Kaelani and Varya were there too, their postures stiff, solemn.

My breath left my lungs.

"Alistair helped dig the ground," Astrid said quietly. "We had to bury him while you were unconscious."

The words didn't make sense.

"You… buried him," I repeated faintly. "Without me?"

"Lorraine, you..." Astrid began.

"You had no right!" I screamed.

Tears poured down my face as rage exploded through me, hot and uncontrollable. "You had absolutely no right!"

I stormed toward the grave, shoving past them, pushing Varya and Kaelani away violently.

"Get away from him!" I yelled. "You have no right to stand here acting like you actually care when you don't!"

"Lorraine" Varya whispered.

I ignored her.

"You are all hypocrites!" I shouted, my voice breaking. "When we arrived at Lunar Crest, you bullied us ferals. You bullied Felix. You wanted us dead!"

I rounded on Astrid.

"And you, you were the Director! You always turned a blind eye because we were mere ferals, like our lives didn't matter!"

My chest heaved as I turned back to Alistair and Varya.

"You always said ferals were worth less than the dirt beneath your shoes. So what changed now? Why are you all pretending to care about Felix?!"

"Lorraine, please calm down," Alistair said softly.

I whipped around on him.

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down!" I screamed. "You did this to him! You killed him! He was my best friend, the only feral I had left!"

My voice shattered.

"You always hated us, so I hope you're happy now!"

Alistair looked devastated, his mouth opening, but Astrid raised a hand, stopping him.

She turned to me. "I'm going to excuse this behavior because you are grieving."

I stood there shaking, fists clenched, tears unstoppable.

"We'll give you the rest of the night to be alone," Astrid continued. "So say your goodbyes to him"

She turned to the others. "Let's give her space."

They began to walk away.

Then Astrid paused and looked back at me.

"In case you're curious," she said evenly, "Kieran left. It seems he took everything that happened hard and decided to handle things on his own."

My heart clenched painfully.

"I understand you're hurt," Astrid went on, "but you'd better find a way to pull yourself together. We need to find Kieran before it is too late, cause I am not losing another student, and especially not the next Alpha King"

Then she turned and disappeared into the trees with the others.

The clearing fell silent.

I collapsed onto Felix's grave, sobbing so hard my chest hurt, my hands clawing uselessly at the dirt.

"I'm sorry Felix" I whispered brokenly. "I'm so sorry."