The Lunar Crest Academy: Marked by The Lycans
Chapter 109: The Beast Wearing His Face

Chapter 109: Chapter 109: The Beast Wearing His Face

Lorraine’s POV

His hand was like iron around my throat.

I kicked. I clawed. I tried everything, but Kieran didn’t budge. He didn’t even blink.

His eyes were glowing crimson now, deeper than blood, empty of everything that once made him him.

"Kieran," I rasped, "w-what are you...."

His grip on my throat tightened as he lifted me fully off the ground with one hand like I weighed nothing. He moved me towards the wall and slammed my back against it with a crack, knocking the breath out of my lungs.

My vision blurred. My body screamed.

But nothing was louder than the panic thundering inside me.

"Kieran, stop!" I croaked, struggling. "It’s me—Lorraine...."

His body pressed close.

I felt the heat radiating off him like wildfire.

But it wasn’t warmth, it was rage. Hunger. Unchecked possession.

"You keep calling me that name," he said, voice so deep it sounded like it echoed from the depths of some ancient beast. "But I’m not him anymore."

I froze. I was Confused. Terrified.

What do you mean... not him?

He leaned closer, breath brushing my face, his nose grazing my cheek like he was savoring my fear.

"We’ve wanted you since the first day we saw you," he growled. "But he.... he was too soft. Too empathetic. Always scared he’d hurt you. Scared of what he’d become if he gave in."

I stared at him, heart pounding.

The scent was Kieran. The voice had traces of him.

But the thing holding me against the wall?

It wasn’t just him.

"He wanted to have you," the beast continued, "but only on your terms. Pathetic."

His grip tightened.

"I am not him," he said darkly. "I will take you. I will claim you, fully, completely, without hesitation."

I gasped, tears burning behind my eyes.

"Whether you want it or not," he growled, "because your wants? They mean nothing to me."

His lips brushed my cheek, and I shivered, not from desire. From dread.

No. No this wasn’t right.

This wasn’t Kieran.

This wasn’t us.

But right now, I was helpless.

And the monster wearing Kieran’s face was ready to make me his.

And I couldn’t do anything to stop it

"Kieran," I rasped, my fingers wrapping around his wrist. "It’s me. Lorraine. Fight it. Come back to me."

He didn’t blink.

Instead, he leaned closer. His touch ran down my arm, not soft, not tender. It was exploratory, aggressive, like I was a possession he had finally earned the right to examine.

"I am going to claim you Lorraine Anderson," he murmured in a voice that was both his and not his

I gasped as his claws sliced clean through the shoulder of my shirt. The fabric fell in strips, the chill of the night air biting at my skin. His laugh was cruel and delighted, like he fed off my fear. My pulse thundered in my ears.

"This?" he growled. "This is thrilling. Nothing is more fun than trying to mark a mate that doesn’t want to be marked. Its like catching a prey that doesn’t want to be caught, its makes one’s heart beat faster with excitement"

Tears stung my eyes, not from weakness, but from fury.

This wasn’t just Kieran’s wolf. This was something darker. Wilder. And if I didn’t stop him, he’d lose himself forever.

I forced my voice through the lump in my throat. "You don’t want this. This isn’t you. You told me once you don’t hurt what’s yours."

Something flickered in his eyes. A twitch. A second of hesitation. But it was gone before I could grab onto it.

Then, just like that, he let go.

I crumpled to the floor, coughing, my hands scraping against the cracked tiles. My throat burned. My heart screamed.

He stood over me, shadowed by moonlight and madness.

"Let’s make this more fun, shall we?"," he said, voice dipped in sadistic amusement. "Run, little wolf, try to not get caught by me, run for your life, let me see you try to save yourself"

I didn’t wait. I bolted, barefoot, topless, my hands wrapped around my chest protectively, adrenaline screaming through my veins.

Because no matter how much I cared for him, no matter how much of the real Kieran might still be buried inside that monstrous shell...

I wasn’t going down tonight.

And I sure as hell wasn’t going down without a fight.

So I ran.

My feet thudded up the old wooden stairs, breath tearing from my lungs like fire. Behind me, silence, followed by slow, deliberate footsteps. He wasn’t rushing. He didn’t need to.

This was a game.

To him, I was prey.

I stumbled down a hallway and threw myself into one of the many rooms. The door creaked shut behind me, and I didn’t dare lock it, that would only make noise. My eyes darted around the dark room, searching, shaking.

The bed. It was barely high enough.

I dropped to the floor and rolled underneath it, curling into myself as tight as I could. My breath caught in my throat, trembling fingers pressing against my lips to muffle the sound.

My heart thundered.

Please... please...

I reached inward, clawing for her, the one that had once spoken in my mind with so much grace and power. My wolf.

Please. I need you. I’ve trained. I’ve bled. I’ve fought. I’ve tried so hard to be strong enough for you. To be worthy of you, but I need you now, please help me, givevme strength

But there was nothing. No voice. No warmth. Only silence.

And then footsteps.

And it was getting closer now.

He was here.

"I can smell you," Kieran’s voice drawled like velvet laced with venom. "The stench of your fear is intoxicating, little wolf."

The door creaked open.

My whole body locked tight.

He moved slowly, the floorboards creaking under his boots. He wasn’t trying to sneak up on me, he wanted me to hear every step, every breath, every second of what he believed was his victory.

I clenched my jaw and squeezed my eyes shut. Please, I begged one last time. Please don’t let him mark me like this, don’t let a beast in the vessel of the man I am attracted to abuse me

But no answer came.

The bed was ripped off the ground in one clean sweep, tossed aside like it weighed nothing. It slammed into the door and broke into pieces.

And then, his hands.

Rough. Unrelenting.

He grabbed me and pulled me off the floor like I was weightless

"Game over," he whispered, eyes glowing a deep, soulless red. "I gave you your chance."

I gasped, struggling in his grip, my fists pounding against his chest. He didn’t flinch.

His hand tightened on my arm, his other curling around the back of my neck like a leash.

I could feel it, my breath wheezing out, my panic rising like a wave about to crash. This was it. I am helpless once again. This was the moment I’d always feared, the one I trained for, bled for, screamed for in Astrid’s brutal drills, just so I won’t be this helpless again

But I wasn’t ready. Especially not against him

Not against Kieran

I wasn’t....

A spark suddenly ignited deep inside me. Then another. Then an inferno.

My vision blurred, not with fear, but with rage. A white-hot, primal kind of fury that wasn’t entirely mine. It was older. Wilder. Pure.

I felt lightheaded.... no, lifted. Like something inside me was clawing its way to the surface.

And then it hit.

A rush. A storm of energy crashed into me, as if every cell in my body remembered what it was like to be a predator.

I didn’t think.

I roared.

And with a strength I didn’t even know I had, I slammed both my hands against Kieran’s chest.

He flew back, sliding across the wooden floor, boots screeching against the boards. He didn’t fall, but the shock was written clear on his face.

So was something else.

My heart thudded as I rose slowly to my feet, chest heaving. My fingers pulsed, and before my eyes, they transformed, claws, black and gleaming, slicing through the tips of my fingers like curved obsidian. My fangs dropped next, my jaw aching with their sudden presence.

My breath hitched.

My wolf.....

She was here.

She was ME.

My wolf didn’t just rise. She took over. Not completely. But enough to steady my hands. Enough to sharpen my vision, my senses, my instincts.

Kieran stared at me.

But he didn’t snarl.

He didn’t lunge.

He...... cried.

Tears gathered in his crimson eyes and slipped down his cheeks in silence.

And then, he whispered, voice hoarse, broken, and in a language I didn’t understand

"Amor meus, quomodo hîc es?...."_{free.w e bn.ov(e)l(.)com}

I blinked. My claws remained out, heart thundering in confusion.

"What....?"

But before I could move, before I could reach him, or ask him what he meant...

Kieran’s body collapsed.

Just like that.

A sudden fall, like a puppet with its strings cut. He crumpled on the floorboards, motionless

I ran to him.

"Kieran?!"

No response.

No movement.

Just the heavy sound of my own breathing and the distant echo of my own heartbeat pounding in my ears as I dropped to my knees beside him, shaking...