The Lunar Crest Academy: Marked by The Lycans
Chapter 50: Poison and Medicine

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Poison and Medicine

Kieran’s POV

What the bloody hell is wrong with me?

I stumbled back a step, breath sharp, hands curling into fists at my sides. My entire body felt too hot, like my skin didn’t fit right anymore. Like I was seconds away from either kissing her or ripping the whole damn room apart.

Her scent still clung to my skin, sweet and maddening. The lingering heat of her body beneath mine made my wolf restless, snarling in my chest, begging to reclaim what I’d just given up. I was losing control.

Lorraine Anderson.

A feral.

A girl who should’ve broken weeks ago, yet still stood upright with eyes that didn’t know how to yield. She wasn’t just surviving, she was fighting, thriving, and for some twisted reason, that lit a fire in me I couldn’t put out.

She looked at me now, brows drawn together, concern flickering across her features. "Are you alright?"

No. I wasn’t. I was anything but alright.

My wolf was going through a kind of heat I cannot fathom.

One I cannot understand.

I forced myself to meet her eyes. "You," I said, voice low and uneven, "are poison and medicine all wrapped in one."

She blinked. "What?"

"And that’s what makes you so bloody addictive."

I didn’t know if I meant to say it out loud. It just slipped out, like everything around her did. The walls I’d spent years building meant nothing when she was near. My composure? Shattered. My instincts? Unpredictable. My wolf? Obsessively tethered to hers like she was some magnetic pull he couldn’t fight.

And yet.... she didn’t even realize what she was doing to me. She didn’t try to seduce me, didn’t bat her lashes or press against me with calculated flirtation. She wasn’t like the others.... no strategy, no manipulation. Just her. Raw and unfiltered. Vulnerable and strong. My undoing.

I couldn’t stay in thst room a second longer.

"Stay here," I said, harsher than I meant. The words clipped from my mouth like a command. I turned my back on her before I could change my mind and go back, before I did something I couldn’t take back.

I stepped out of the room and slammed the door behind me, leaning hard against the wall. My head fell back, eyes shut as I tried to breathe. The walls of the Lycan suite felt too small, too close. My chest tightened with every second that passed.

She’s just a feral, I reminded myself. Just a girl from the weakest bloodline in werewolf kingdom. Just someone I claimed as a servant because I wanted to kept myself amused. That’s it.

Then why does every inch of me scream when she’s not near?

Why do I want to protect her so fiercely, touch her, mark her, claim her?

I punched the wall beside me, the stone cracking beneath my knuckles.

I never cared about scars before, but hers....

Gods, her body. So fragile and strong. I could still see her in my mind, those pale scars cutting across her back like silent testaments of pain. I had seen dozens of war-torn bodies, but hers stayed with me.

Because I wanted to be the last one who ever left a mark.

My wolf growled, pacing, salivating at the memory of her skin beneath mine, of the way her breath hitched when I got too close. He didn’t understand why I walked away. He thought I was weak for leaving.

But I had to.

If I’d stayed, I might have taken her. Not by force, no. Never that

But taken her with words and hands and need. And if I ever crossed that line with her, I needed her to be ready. Awake. Aware. I needed her to want it.

************

The afternoon sun filtered softly through the swaying branches of the tall tree at the center of the east courtyard, its golden light casting dappled shadows on the worn stone benches. Elise sat curled on one of them, her arms wrapped around her knees, eyes scanning the cobblestone path ahead like she expected someone, anyone, to come walking down it.

Felix sat beside her, silent but restless, his knee bouncing with unease.

"I’m worried about her," Elise finally said, her voice quiet but strained. "The rumors have spread like wildfire. They say the Lycan Prince stormed into the punishment building. Into the White Room." She paused. "And everyone knows only one feral was in there."

"Lorraine," Felix muttered.

Elise nodded. "But no one’s seen her since. Not once. What if...." Her voice faltered. "What if he didn’t save her? What if he just took her to finish the job himself? He’s a Lycan, Felix. He’s powerful, unpredictable.... it’s not like he’s exactly known for mercy."

Felix’s jaw clenched. He stood up abruptly, fists tightening at his sides. "We can’t sit here and do nothing, Elise. We already lost Callum. I’m not losing Lorraine too."

Just then, footsteps approached. Both turned as Adrian Vale strolled into the courtyard, a neutral expression on his face, though his eyes immediately lit with concern the moment he spotted them.

"You two," he said, slowing his pace. "You’re Lorraine’s friends, right?" He glanced around. "Where is she? Haven’t seen her in a while."

Elise opened her mouth to answer, but Felix stepped in front of her, his stance protective and firm.

"What’s your business with Lorraine?" he asked sharply.

Adrian raised a brow but didn’t look offended. If anything, a trace of something softer flickered in his gaze. "Let’s just say she’s.... my cleaning duty partner. I heard rumors. About the Lycan Prince. That he...." he hesitated, "....took her. Is it true?"

Elise bit her lip before nodding slowly.

Adrian’s expression shifted in an instant, calm melting into horror, his pupils dilating. His breath hitched as if someone had struck him. Without a word, he turned on his heel and began running, fast, almost desperate.

Felix and Elise exchanged shocked looks.

As Adrian disappeared into the halls, his voice echoed faintly in the wind.

"Not again. I already lost Aveline to him.... I’m not going to lose Lorraine too."