Chapter 38

Life is fair to some and unfair to some. However, at Sunford Academy, life is governed by power, and every fair and unfairness would depend on it. Your destiny will be decided by the position of that power.

And that power is decided on Night Hunt.

Everyone fell into silence, as if everything had disappeared. As if the whole of Sunford was empty, not a single breath could be heard. The tall buildings stood tall and majestic under the moon, hidden in dark clouds. They looked ethereal in a creepy way.

The students exchanged agitated glances, fear driving their nerves crazy. None of them was able to muster up the courage to leave the hall. It felt as if everyone had turned into statues, as if they were not even alive.

Alpha stood next to Eve, who seemed emotionless, yet he could feel the tension as if there was a silent hunter among them who was tracking their every breath and heartbeat.

River tightly held onto Sage, clutching him closer to his side.

"...." Suddenly, the doors of the hall slowly opened with a nasty and terrifying creaking sound.

A student walked out from the crowd, his dread filled eyes roamed around the crowded room. When no other student made a move, he slowly began to walk backwards. Quickly he turned around, and ran out of the hall. To save his life.

"RUN!!!" When everyone saw him doing so, they took it as a chance and started running out too. They bumped into each other in their rush to get out, making the place cramped.

Marco looked at Eve angrily, but before he could do anything, Alpha grabbed Eve's wrist and forcefully dragged him away, pushing everyone aside who got in their way.

Eve's heart pounded in his chest as he looked around the scene. It made him suffocate. There were every type of scream he got to hear.

"NO!"

"Let me go, bastard!!!"

"Leave me! You really think you can fight me!"

"P-Please…let me go…I-I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Jaxton! Save me!"

He watched as a student being forcefully dragged into a room by five red batch holders. And he didn't even want to think about what unpleasant things that student was going to endure. Probably worse than death.

His ears rang with desperate cries for help as he tried to keep up with Alpha's long strides. His hands were sweaty, and he could feel them trembling, yet Alpha didn't let go and kept a tight hold on them.

"Fuck! Why do you have to wear so many layers of clothes? Now it's getting in the way," the disturbing scene left him paralyzed, and Eve made the mistake of halting.

He watched as, in a distant corner, a big and buff guy tore the clothes off a smaller boy struggling beneath him. And it wasn't even the worst scene; everywhere he wandered his eyes, things were only getting more brutal and disturbing.

It was so violent that it could easily make a sane person faint from such frightening torture.

Seeing Eve had stopped walking, Alpha glanced back at him and saw the misery in his eyes. He tugged his hand aggressively. "Fat cheeks! Why the fuck did you stop? Come on, I don't have time–"

Alpha stopped when he noticed how Eve's entire body was trembling. He followed Eve's gaze. Alpha wasn't fazed in any way by the students assaulting their fellow mates, but he could see why Eve was reacting like this.

He aggressively gripped Eve's chin with his free hand and made him meet his eyes, which were colder than ice. "Don't look at them. Lower your head and just come with me. We will be in our dorm in just a few minutes, alright?" Eve didn't answer and just kept staring at him with lost eyes and face.

Alpha groaned in frustration, giving up, he began to drag Eve again before he could become a feast for those hungry animals.

Finally, they entered their dorm with their hands tightly clenched together. Alpha quickly locked the doors, momentarily shutting out the terrifying screams. He turned to Eve, who was still in shock from the horrors he witnessed outside. After looking at him for a while, Alpha's face softened slightly without himself noticing it.

"You are safe here, so relax, Fat cheeks," He drew closer to Eve and extended his hand, but not understanding what he should do with that hand, he kept it in the air for a while before awkwardly putting it on Eve's shoulder. "Keep the doors locked and don't open them for anyone, no matter how hard they bang on it. They won't come in, they will only provoke you from outside. No one has the guts to enter this room," Eve finally jolted back out of his daze but frowned at Alpha's words.

"W-What do you mean?" he asked with a trembling voice and wide, watery eyes. "You are here–"

"I'm leaving," Alpha announced, and the words alone caused Eve to flinch as his stomach churned in trepidation. Alpha's mere presence was bringing him an immense amount of comfort, making him not break down and have a panic attack. And now he's talking about leaving. Pure horror filled Eve's heart. Alpha sighed at his traumatic expression. "Fat cheeks…you are safe here. I need to take care of something."

"NO!" Eve clutched Alpha's shirt when he tried to move. Eve cried out. "P-Please…d-don't…don't go!"

Alpha watched him having an outburst of emotion in silence. But he couldn't abandon his mission, and he had helped this pathetic, cowardly creature enough, now he's on his own. Whatever happens to him has nothing to do with Alpha. It's not his fault that Eve is nothing but a weakling and a crybaby. He extended his hands to shove him away and tell him how weak he is.

BANG!"

However, before he could do so, there was a loud bang on the door that made Eve startled to the point a deafening scream escaped his lips, and he instinctively clung to the nearest thing to him, which happened to be Alpha.

And to Alpha's and the furniture present in the room's surprise, the menacing guy with a lack of empathy quickly captured Eve in his arms, any thought of shoving Eve away thrown out of the window.

"He's here to take me! Please don't let him take me! Please! It hurts so bad…E-Everywhere he touches pain…." He tried to bury his sobbing face further into Alpha's chest, hands tightly gripping his shirt.

Alpha frowned and stared down at him, by now he understood that Eve wasn't talking about those students. His reaction was the same as on the rooftop.

"Angh—!" A broken cry left his mouth when again there was a knock on the door, this time more violent. Alpha glared at the door. He knew it must be Nick. No one except him had the audacity to knock on his door. But he couldn't let him see his emotionally distraught roommate hugging him, or both Alpha and Eve would be in trouble.

So, he decided to let Nick have his fun knocking uselessly.

Hearing Eve's faint sobs and he could feel Eve trembling against him. He wondered about whom Eve was talking about, who had traumatized him so badly. He made a mental note to force him to tell everything later.

"Alright, stop staining my shirt with your tears and snot. I'm not leaving," Alpha grumbled, but much to his annoyance, Eve still didn't let him go. He groaned, as if he really wanted to push the hot body pressed against him. But to carry out his next step, he really needed Eve to let him go. Gently, he grabbed Eve's arms not to scare him and pried himself away from him. When he did, he got a better look at Eve's tear-stained face, with soggy and puffy eyes, red and wet cheeks. His heart did something at the sight while Eve kept a tight hold on him, refusing to let go.

His wet cheeks were pressing against Alpha's neck, and he could feel the warmth of his breath against his cold skin, sending a shiver down his spine.

He immediately looked up and took a deep breath, his mouth going dry. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake off that overwhelming emotion that was hard for him to understand, but somehow, he wanted to protect this pile of warmth.

He hated the feeling and wanted to stab his own heart for forcing him to feel like that. Until now, his mind had fed on the darkness of the world, yet his insatiable hunger for destruction was never fulfilled.

But the warmth he was holding seemed to enter that doomed world of his. And now, all he wanted was to trap this addictive fever together with him in that world. What was more enthralling was that Eve was himself coming to him, so who was he to reject him.

And so, with Eve still holding onto him, Alpha hugged him tightly, perfectly melding his heated form into his bitterly cold body, both shivering but for different reasons, both rationalities blurring without them noticing it.

BANG!

When another knock came, Alpha quickly turned around, facing the mirror. He grasped Eve's hair to make him look at the mirror, Eve gasped even though the grip wasn't painful. Eve's face was painted with confusion as his gaze met Alpha's reflection in the mirror. He felt a shudder that drove him crazy when he found Alpha smirking, a hint of menace in that expression.

"You wonder how I disappeared out of thin air, don't you?" He purred in Eve's ear, his voice low and sultry, Eve's eyes widened. Taking Eve's hand, he guided it to touch the mirror's surface. Slowly, he dragged their joined hands down the glass. Eve was still confused, but one thing he found true was that he wasn't just hallucinating Alpha's disappearance.

Alpha's smirk grew wider at Eve's reaction. "Want to find out, fat cheeks?" he asked, lips grazing over those chubby cheeks.

Eve couldn't make out the words, he was too focused on the madness flickering in Alpha's eyes, so he just nodded.

"Good boy," He smiled before sliding Eve's hand to the mirror's lower right corner and pressed three times.

The mirror swung open without making a sound, which is why Eve never noticed or heard any noise when Alpha effortlessly slipped through it. Eve froze in shock; he blinked profusely to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him.

Alpha opened it fully, tugging on Eve's hand to enter. Once inside, Eve cautiously took a quick look. His heart was pounding rapidly, wondering whether Alpha would kill him here. Surprisingly, the room wasn't dark or old. It looked just like any other regular room. It was just hidden. There was a bed in the middle, and a little furniture. It was spacious and not suffocating, though it was extremely silent. It seemed as if the slightest noise would echo through every corner.

However, before he could explore further, Alpha closed the door behind them. Eve flinched and quickly turned to face him.

Alpha's gaze was intense as he looked deep into his eyes. "You can stay here until the next bell rings. The room blocks out any sounds from outside." Looking through the glass, Eve realized he could see every corner of his dorm from here. Which turned him red, thinking about all those times he changed, thinking he was alone.

So, that's why I always felt like someone's watching me?

But he quickly got over it when Alpha spoke again. "Come out when you hear the bell. The sound would be strong enough for you to hear it."

His anxiety spiked again, and acting on impulse, he grabbed Alpha's hand. "Are you l-leaving me alone here?"

Alpha rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not imprisoning you here. This is the safest place in this whole goddamn school."

But Eve wasn't worried about that, hell, he wasn't even suspecting Alpha in any way. He was more worried about having an episode and being haunted by those nightmares alone. Even thinking about it gives him chills and leaves him trembling.

What would he do if he had a panic attack in this closed room where no one could even find his dead body?

"No! No…n-no, please don't leave me alone here!" He cried out.

Alpha stared at him, and anyone could tell that he was getting frustrated.

"Fat cheeks, I wanted to kill myself for helping you, and now your demands are getting bigger and bigger—!"

"P-Please—" he looked up at the devil who stood emotionless with big and hopeful eyes.

Still, no response.

"Stay here for a while, will you? It won't kill you. I need to leave," he was determined in his decision.

"Please, I will do anything!"

And that crumbled his determination.

His face relaxed, and his interest piqued. He suddenly moved closer, raising a vicious brow. His action caught Eve off guard, and he gulped.

Alpha held his gaze in a stern challenge, the closeness provoking goosebumps on Eve's skin.

"Are you really up for anything?" His every word was laced with a luscious seductiveness.