Chapter 37: Absurd Nightmare

Starlight’s lungs burned. Each breath tore through her chest like broken glass, but she didn’t dare slow down. Behind her, footsteps pounded the earth in a steady, unhurried rhythm, like someone chasing prey and already certain it could not escape.

"Help!" she cried, her voice breaking as she stumbled through the dark trees. "Somebody, please, help me!"

"Running will only tire you out, my darling star." Otto’s voice drifted through the darkness, filled with disgusting affection. "You know you can’t keep running forever. Your little legs will give out eventually, and when they do, I’ll be right there waiting for you. So why don’t you save yourself the trouble and stop pretending you can escape me? You already know how this ends. You always come back to me."

Her foot caught on a root, and she went down hard, her palms scraping against dirt and stone. For a moment, she simply lay there, chest heaving and vision swimming, but the sound of Otto’s approaching footsteps snapped her back to reality. She forced herself upright, her legs trembling beneath her, and pushed herself forward again, running deeper into the darkness.

"Aw, did you fall?" Otto called, sounding almost amused. He wasn’t even breathless. "Come on now, stop running from what’s already yours. You belong to me, Starlight. You always have. "

"I don’t belong to anyone!" she shouted back, the words coming out ragged as her strength rapidly drained away. Her steps grew slower, her legs becoming heavier with every stride until she could barely lift her feet. She stumbled sideways, caught herself against a tree, then pushed away from it only to nearly collapse again. "Somebody, anybody, please help me!"

"Nobody’s coming." His voice dropped, almost gentle, which somehow made it worse. "It’s just you and me out here. It’s always been just you and me, my darling star."

She stumbled again, but before she could hit the ground, strong arms caught her and held her upright. Starlight gasped, struggling to breathe as she clutched at the stranger’s shirt. She looked up, her eyes wide with panic, and froze when she recognized Mikhail. "Help me, Alpha," she begged desperately. "Please, help me. He’s coming. Stop him. Please, help me stop him."

Mikhail looked down at her with a confused expression, his brows drawing together as he glanced over her disheveled appearance. "Help you from whom?" he asked, his voice calm despite the panic in her eyes.

Starlight twisted around to look behind her, expecting to see Otto emerging from the darkness. Instead, Nikolai was the one standing a short distance away, watching them with a puzzled expression. She blinked rapidly and looked around again, her breathing still unsteady. "Where did he go?" she whispered.

Mikhail followed her gaze before looking back down at her. "Where did who go?" he asked, his confusion deepening. "It’s just me and Nikolai here. There’s no one else here with you but us."

Starlight kept looking around in panic, her eyes darting through the darkness as she searched desperately for any sign of Otto. Her breathing remained uneven, and every rustle of leaves made her flinch. Nikolai started walking toward her, his expression calm as he approached. "It’s all right," he said gently, his voice strangely soothing against the panic raging inside her. "Everything is going to be all right. We are not going to let anybody hurt you."

She shook her head, unable to make sense of what she was seeing. "I don’t understand."

Nikolai reached for her carefully, his hands settling gently on her shoulders. "You’re going to be just fine with us, Starlight. Whatever happens, you don’t have to face it alone anymore. You don’t have to keep running or be afraid of what might happen next. You have us now."

Before she could respond, Nikolai wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, while Mikhail stepped in from the other side and drew her into his own embrace. The twins held her between them in a tight, almost suffocating hug, their bodies shielding her from the surrounding dark until the rising panic slowly began to give way to sheer confusion. Trapped in the warmth of their grip, Starlight felt entirely surrounded, protected, and strangely safe.

She shifted slightly and looked up at Mikhail.

Their faces were dangerously close, close enough for their lips to almost brush. Mikhail started lowering his head as Nikolai leaned in from the other side. Just before Mikhail’s lips could touch hers, a deafening, bone-rattling roar tore through the darkness, sending all three of them stumbling apart. The ground trembled beneath her feet. Starlight’s eyes widened as a massive red-scaled dragon emerged from the darkness of the trees, towering above them. Its enormous wings spread across the sky, blotting out everything around it as flames glowed between its jagged teeth.

"What the hell?" she breathed.

The dragon roared again as Mikhail and Nikolai immediately shoved her backward, both men suddenly transforming into warriors. They drew their swords and stepped fearlessly between Starlight and the creature.

"Stay behind us, baby," Mikhail said. "We’re going to protect you." Nikolai tightened his grip on his sword and glanced back at her with a determined smile. "Don’t worry," he said. "Nothing’s getting past us."

The dragon roared for the third time, shaking the entire forest. Without hesitation, the twins charged forward with a battle cry, their weapons gleaming as they rushed toward the enormous beast. The dragon opened its colossal maw and unleashed a torrent of bright crimson fire that engulfed both Alphas instantly. Starlight watched in horror as their screams echoed through the darkness before being swallowed by the flames, their bodies disintegrating and turning into piles of black ash in less than a second.

She gasped, her eyes flying open as she bolted upright in bed. Her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird, her throat tight and her skin clammy with cold sweat as she took in the dark dorm room. Starlight squeezed her eyes shut, pressing the heels of her palms against her temples as a dull ache throbbed behind her eyes.

What in the absolute hell was that?

She reached for her phone beside her pillow, the screen lighting up to reveal the time: 3:14 AM. Tons of notification pop-ups were still cascading down her lock screen from AsterBuzz, comments, mentions, and reposts continuously flooding in from her broadcast. She had dozed off while reading the endless stream of reactions and never bothered to put the phone away.

With a groan, she dropped her head back onto the pillow and stared at the ceiling. "What kind of absurd dream was that?" she muttered.