The Lunar Crest Academy: Marked by The Lycans
Chapter 127: Spelled To Suffer

Chapter 127: Chapter 127: Spelled To Suffer

Kieran’s POV

I moved so fast the air couldn’t keep up with me. The wind screamed in my ears as I tore through the halls of Lunar Crest, the blur of stone walls and flickering lights melting into nothing but motion. My heart beat in my throat, louder than any siren.

Faster.

My wolf was clawing at me from the inside. Pacing. Snarling.

We must save Maeryn. We must save her now.

Maeryn?

The name echoed like it had weight in my bones, like it so strange yet so familiar

But I didn’t know anyone by that name.

Not really.

And yet... my chest ached every time my wolf said it.

Not Maeryn. Lorraine.

Lorraine.

I was going to save Lorraine.

And still.... my wolf howled within me

We must save Maeryn.

Damn it, focus.

I followed the only thing that could anchor me right now, her scent. Faint but distinct, like rain against iron and wild jasmine in the dark. I didn’t know where I was heading exactly, only that the scent grew stronger the deeper I went, down long-forgotten stairwells hidden behind walls, through iron doors that hadn’t been touched in years.

Until....

I saw it.

An ancient iron door at the end of a narrow stone corridor. Slightly ajar. Lorraine’s scent was strong here.

My heart dropped.

I dashed forward, shoving the door open fully....

And I stopped breathing.

There she was.

Maeryn—no, Lorraine—lying on the cold floor, her head bleeding, the blood seeping through her thick hair, trailing across the the concrete like a slow-moving river. Her body was barely twitching, her breathing shallow.

And the worst part?

The Ghosthound was gone.

She wasn’t in the room.

There was no trace of her, no sound, no scent, no energy.

It was like she was never here

I dropped to my knees beside Lorraine, hands trembling as I reached for her.

"Lorraine," I whispered, pressing my palm gently to her cheek. It was ice cold. "Hey, hey, stay with me, look at me. Please."

She didn’t move.

My hands moved to the wound on her head, trying to stop the bleeding. It wasn’t just blood. It was a lot of blood. Too much.

I clenched my jaw. My wolf was losing its mind.

Maeryn is dying.

She cannot die.

We only just found her again.

"Her name is Lorraine!" I barked out loud, to myself, to my wolf, to the universe. "She’s Lorraine Anderson!"

She’s only Lorraine.

The girl who had been through hell and kept walking. The girl with the dormant wolf who had survived things she never should have. The girl whose scent made me feel like home.

And now she was broken on the floor of a hidden room

I held her tighter.

"I’ve got you," I murmured, my voice shaking. "I’ve got you now. And I’m not letting go."

I held her tighter against my chest, feeling the steady stream of her blood soaking into my shirt. Her breath was barely there, like a flicker of wind on a dying candle.

"Hold on, Lorraine. Just, hold on."

I supersped, faster than I’d ever moved in my life. The corridors of Lunar Crest blurred into nothing but shadows and streaks of stone. My chest felt like it was going to split open, not from the speed, but from the raw terror clawing at my heart.

When I burst through the hospital doors, I didn’t wait for permission. I kicked them open so hard one flew off its hinge, making the staff scream.

"HELP!" I bellowed, voice sharp as steel and shaking the whole damn building. "Get me a doctor! Noww!"

The nurses jumped up, startled, but once they saw me, the Lycan Prince, holding Lorraine, covered in blood, all hesitation vanished.

A doctor pushed through the crowd with a gurney. "Prince Kieran, what happened?"

"Does it matter?" I roared. "She’s bleeding out. Her head is literally cracked open. She needs help, now!"

They rushed to me. I gently laid her down onto the gurney, my hands still gripping her until the last possible second. I watched her arm fall limply to the side, blood dripping from her fingertips like something final.

"She’s seizing, get her into emergency!" one of the nurses cried, already adjusting the IV line.

They were about to wheel her away when I grabbed the nearest doctor by the collar and yanked him forward, growling low in his face. My eyes were glowing red, my wolf close to the edge, barely holding back the bloodlust.

"If she dies," I said in a voice barely louder than a whisper, but a whisper filled with death "you all better start digging your own graves, because I will tear this entire hospital apart. Do you understand me?"

The doctor’s eyes widened in terror. He nodded so fast it looked like he was going to snap his own neck. "Yes, yes, Your Highness. We will try our best to save her. I swear it"

They pushed her through the swinging doors.

And then she was gone.

I stood there, fists clenched, heart pounding in my ears, my entire body trembling, not with fear... with helplessness.

Lorraine was fighting for her life.

And I had no idea if I’d get to hear her voice again.

No. No, she’ll live.

She has to.

Because this place, this academy, this game... it hasn’t broken her yet.

And it sure as hell isn’t going to end her.

Not while I’m still breathing.

Not while I’m still standing.

Not while I’m still Kieran Valerius Hunter.

I paced the length of the waiting hall like a caged beast, my fists clenched at my sides, my claws itching just beneath the surface. The scent of blood still clung to me, her blood. It felt like it had stained my soul. Every second that passed without news felt like a century carved into my chest.

Then I caught her scent.

Varya.

"I’ve been looking for you," she said, heels clicking sharply as she approached. Her voice was steady, too calm for my liking.

I didn’t stop pacing. Didn’t even look at her. I had no patience for her right now.

"Where the did you rush off to like that, my prince?" she asked again, lightly panting from trying to keep up.

I ignored the question. "What about Elise? And Felix?"

Varya huffed softly. "Elise is still in her room. Stable for now. I told the nurses to watch her closely in case she spirals again. As for Felix..." she paused, her voice gaining a sharp edge, "he’s sitting outside the door like some kicked dog. I told him not to enter. Elise is still too unstable. The girl screams like her soul was being ripped apart just from seeing his face."

I ground my jaw and gave a small nod. "Good."

Varya crossed her arms. "He looks broken, you know. Depressed. If he really did this..."

I turned sharply to her, and her voice trailed off. Her posture stiffened under my stare. "We don’t know anything yet. And until I do know, no one lays a hand on him."

She nodded quickly.

Then her expression shifted, more serious now. "I received a call from my father after you left."

My shoulders tensed.

"He said things at the Northern Border are worse than they expected. The skirmish they thought was an uprising?" She paused. "It’s the Crimson Hunt. They’ve finally come out of hiding. He said their numbers are.... terrifying."

My brows furrowed. "How bad?"

"It’s always bad when it’s the Crimson Hunt. They’re organized. Armed. Ruthless. They’ve taken three minor territories already. My father said they got the message that the Crimson Hunt might have already infiltrated the academy, he called to confirm if we are fine, and it seems oddly coincidental that the Crimson Hunt are striking again now that the Councils are somehow divided"

I exhaled slowly.

"And my father said," Varya added, stepping closer, "the Alpha King is preparing to send a unit of the royal army to Lunar Crest... as soon as they finish crushing the Crimson Hunt at the Northern Border."

My pulse quickened.

A royal army at the academy.

This wasn’t just about politics anymore. Or power.

This was war.

A loud crash suddenly echoed down the hall, thunderous, sharp, and wrong.

Varya and I froze for only a second before her voice cut through the air like a blade.

"That came from Elise’s room."

We ran.

The hallway blurred as I supersped through it, the heavy pounding of my boots echoing behind Varya. By the time we got there, Felix had already shoved the hospital room door open and was inside, panic exploding in his voice.

"Elise?!"

I stormed in behind him, and froze.

The bed was empty.

The window was wide open, curtains fluttering like they were waving goodbye. The faint scent of blood hung in the air.

Felix screamed.

"No, no, no, no!"

He darted toward the window. I lunged forward and grabbed his shirt, dragging him back before he could follow her down.

From the third floor, I looked out.

Elise’s body lay sprawled on the cold, hard concrete below. Her limbs were twisted at sickening angles. Her once-pale skin already turning greyer with each second.

Felix fell to his knees beside me, gasping, trembling, his voice cracking in anguish. "No..."

Varya entered quietly behind us, holding something in her hand.

"A note," she said softly. "She left a note."

I snatched it from her, my hands tightening around the paper. Elise’s handwriting was shaky, uneven, like every word had been carved through unbearable pain.

"I’m sorry.

I can’t hold on anymore.

It’s too much. Too painful.

It’s not Felix. He didn’t do anything to me.

The one who did this... I can’t say who it is. I’ve been spelled. Forced to think it was Felix. Forced to lie.

The person behind this is powerful. Terrifying.

They can bend minds. They made me see things. Feel things. Obey.

They are part of the Crimson Hunt.

They are the Crimson Hunt.

They are a monster.

They are mad and sadistic.

They are after not just the Academy but the Kingdom itself.

And they want Lorraine.

Please... protect her.

I’m sorry. I just... I can’t endure this anymore.

To Felix and Lorraine, I love you. Thank you for making academy journey a very interesting one."

I couldn’t breathe for a second.

Elise had been used. Tortured. Turned into a puppet. Her last act of strength, of love, was to warn us.