Chapter 62: Echoes Of The Past [II]

"What’s going on, Otto?" Starlight asked, her voice trembling, her eyes wide with shock.

"Nothing much," Otto said with a casual shrug. "We all just want to have a taste of you, and if you cooperate like a good girl and don’t make a scene, we promise to be really gentle with you."

They all want to have a taste of me? As in all three of them... together? Not just Otto?

Her eyes darted frantically from Otto to the two boys now standing by the edge of the bed, watching her with cruel, predatory smiles.

Ambrose even rubbed his palms together as he licked his lips. "I don’t understand, Otto," Starlight muttered in growing dread, her legs trembling as she tried to back away toward the locked door. "I don’t understand what you mean."

Otto, who was still standing by the door, grabbed her shoulder to keep her from moving any further. "All you do is whine and whine. What’s there not to understand—are you a baby or what?"

Starlight stared at him, mouth half-open, eyes wide and glassy. The words she was hearing refused to settle, scattering before she could process them. Nothing made sense anymore. The air felt heavier, the room shrinking around her. She could not reconcile the cruel figure standing by the door with the gentle boy who had spoken to her so softly and promised to protect her from everything.

"We have been waiting for this moment for a long, long time, my daring red devil," Otto said. His voice remained calm, almost bored. "It was the three of us from the start. Ambrose and Prescott were supposed to torment you while I stepped in and played the hero. You fell for it because humans always do. You worship the ground we walk on. Once you let your guard down, we’d bring you here and do with you as we pleased. Since the law protects humans, we didn’t want to risk it, so we came up with a better way, one that would leave no one suspecting a thing after we devoured you."He lifted both hands, his fingers curling into loose claws, and gave a low, mocking growl that rolled into a theatrical roar. Ambrose and Prescott burst out laughing, the sound sharp and ugly.

Starlight’s knees weakened beneath her. Her breath came in short, shallow pulls. She couldn’t stop shaking her head, as if the motion alone might undo what she had just heard.

Otto’s mouth curved into a thin, mocking smile. "If I’d known a bit of a sob story would get you this pliant, we could have skipped the whole performance," he added, the corner of his mouth twitching. "All that forced caring act and waiting really stressed me out for nothing."

Starlight’s lips parted, but no sound came out. Her hands trembled at her sides. She took one shaky step backward, then another, until her shoulder blades hit the cold wall. Her eyes darted between Otto and the two figures standing near the bed. Every memory of Otto’s gentle voice, his protective arm around her shoulders, his soft reassurances, all of it twisted into something ugly and deliberate. So all his care and saving me was all an act to get me to trust him and make everyone believe that we’re in a relationship?

"Even if you later accused us of rape, we’d deny it. Nobody would believe you anyway." Otto continued, his tone almost bored. "You walked into this room on your own and everybody knows we’re dating. Nobody will ever believe a werewolf would hurt his human lover. If I said it was consensual and deny that Ambrose and Prescott were involved, everybody will believe me. You’ll be the bad one for accusing your boyfriend wrongly. Even if you want to still fight it, you’re not powerful enough to. You’re nothing but the daughter of poor human parents, while I’m from the prestigious werewolf bloodline. Everybody will say you’re just making it up since you stupid humans will never believe werewolves could ever do wrong in your eyes."

Starlight’s breathing came in short, ragged gasps. Tears blurred her vision, but she couldn’t look away from Otto’s face—the same face that had smiled at her so kindly only a few minutes ago. Her stomach churned.

Somewhere in the distance, she thought she heard someone calling her name.

"Starlight—"

The voice sounded faint, muffled, as though it were coming from the other side of a thick wall.

Otto kept talking, his lips moving, his cruel smile never wavering.

"Starlight!"

The voice came again, louder this time.

The room flickered.

For a split second, Otto’s bedroom blurred around the edges before snapping back into focus. Starlight blinked rapidly, but the panic had already sunk its claws deep into her chest. Her lungs suddenly felt too small. No matter how hard she tried to breathe, it wasn’t enough.

"Starlight! Please snap out of it!"

The bedroom shattered and the walls vanished.

A violent gasp tore from her throat as air finally rushed into her lungs. Her entire body was trembling, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs in a frantic, trapped rhythm that made her vision swim with dark spots. Her skin felt hot and cold all at once, cold sweat slicking her palms as her fingers clawed uselessly at the ground.

She was suffocating.

"Starlight! Hey, stay with me! Breathe!"

A pair of hands shook her lightly. The motion pulled her back from the abyss of her own mind as the world slowly came back into focus, bringing her back to the bright, harsh lighting of the training hall. "That’s it. Breathe, Star. Just breathe. You’re alright. You’re safe. I’ve got you."

A calm, soothing voice spoke near her ear, arms holding her tightly.

Starlight sucked in a deep, shaky breath that rattled through her chest, followed by another and then another as her vision finally cleared.

Dozens of students from the Combat Class had gathered in a tight circle, whispering among themselves. Their eyes, wide with curiosity and concern, were locked onto her collapsed form. The weight of their collective stares pressed down on her, almost as heavily as the panic she was still struggling to shake off. She couldn’t believe she had let herself fall apart like that.

What the hell had even been that?

She had relived the memory before countless times, but never like this. Never to the point where her body had completely shut down.

Her roommates were kneeling in front of her, their faces pale with raw fear and genuine worry.

Elle was beside her, one hand firmly gripping her shoulder. Chloe’s usually calm face had gone noticeably pale, while Ariel looked moments away from bursting into tears.

Gentle circles were being rubbed against her back, making Starlight frown.

Wait.

If Chloe and Ariel were in front of her, and Ellie was beside her, still holding onto her shoulder...

Then who exactly was holding her in their arms and rubbing her back?

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Who do you think is holding Starlight right now?