Greymoor Academy: I Accidentally Bonded With Four Lycan Royals! novel Chapter 175

Chapter 175: 175. The Stranger In The Woods

Maisie

I couldn’t sleep.

At some point in the last two hours of trying to get some sleep in spite of my body acting like my enemy, I couldn’t help but listen for the sound of Soren’s returning footsteps.

The others had retired to their bedrooms but he hadn’t returned.

I casted a brief glance at Regina, Juliette and Jenny who were snuggled up against each other, snoring softly, and I grabbed the first coat I could find and slipped out quietly, stepping into the night.

The cold air kissed my overheated skin. I didn’t have a destination in mind, but my feet carried me toward the familiar trail anyway, following the faint trace of Soren’s scent on the wind. I told myself I just needed to clear my head. That I wasn’t looking for him.

I had only walked halfway down the trail when I heard a rustle behind me. I turned, brows furrowed, but found nothing.

Wondering if I had imagined it, I started back down again, when another sound reached me. A low, pained exhale, followed by the faint drag of something across dirt and leaves.

My heart kicked hard against my ribs.

I turned fully this time, every sense high on alert as I scanned the trees. The wind shifted, carrying a faint scent on it.

It smelled like wolf. And something else. Something that made my Lycan stir uncomfortably in my chest.

Another scent caught my attention, and when I took three cautious steps forward until I stood just below the crack in the canopy where moonlight spilled through, I saw a dark smear across the grey rocks lining the path.

Blood.

I should have turned back. I should have run straight to the mansion and woken the others. But something pulled me forward instead.

I followed the trail of blood into the trees, moving slowly, silently. The deeper I went, the stronger the scent became. Wilder. And I wondered how it—whatever it was—got past the doubled security around the estate.

And then, I saw it.

It... was a man.

He was crouched low behind a fallen log, half-hidden in shadow. Naked. His skin was streaked with dirt, dried blood, and fresh wounds. Long, matted brown hair hung past his shoulders in tangled ropes. Or maybe that was all the dirt on him making him appear that way. And his nails were curled and overgrown and caked with filth.

He looked half-starved and half-feral, ribs visible beneath his bruised skin, yet there was still something dangerous in the way his muscles coiled.

He must have heard me.

His head snapped up.

For one frozen second, our eyes met, and my frightened yelp came a little too late.

He flinched at the sound of it, cringing back against the log like a cornered animal. A small sound escaped him. Half-growl, half-whimper, and his eyes were wide and wild, reflecting the moon with an unnatural, black shine.

Everything in me knew there was something off about this man. Maybe in more ways than I realized, but when I moved back and he looked at me again, he looked... like a child who was lost, even if I was pretty sure he was older than I was. Possibly a lot older.

"A-are you lost?" I asked.

He blinked at me. I’d never seen anyone with pupils as black as his.

"You smell like a female in heat," he said to me, but he wasn’t looking in my direction at all. His neck was craned like he was hearing things I couldn’t, and he kept flinching at the crickets like they were too loud.

I fought the flush that came over my cheeks, staring at him warily. "Do you know where you are? How did you get here?"

He didn’t respond. He seemed far away, out of touch, really, and when he twitched again, I caught sight of his wrists and bit back a gasp. There were manacle shaped scars on them.

And then I recalled Regina’s words from earlier today. About the red alert.

His head lifted and his eyes bore into mine. Hard.

If I ran, would he chase me?

Call the authorities. Don’t call the authorities. Tell my mates. Don’t tell them.

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