Chapter 27 I am not your toy!!

Chapter 27: Chapter 27 I am not your toy!!

Students filed into the hall, but the usual confidence had completely vanished. One thing was painfully evident: everyone wanted to disappear from the place entirely. The atmosphere felt heavy with fear as they took their seats in the rows of chairs prepared for the assembly and waited for the teachers to arrive.

"I want to drop out of this school. I can’t do this anymore—I don’t want to die."

Two students were whispering nearby. One of the girls had shaky hands, and for a moment it looked like she might start convulsing. Her friend leaned in closer.

"We should report this to the dean. I heard she’s addressing us soon."

Rose and Lamia, seated at the other end of the row, caught only parts of the conversation. They were half-listening while scanning the growing crowd.

"Maybe it’s worse than we thought," Rose said quietly. "Almost everyone we know is planning to leave. No one wants to stay—they’re all completely spooked." She sounded worried about the direction things were heading. In her mind, the school would likely take drastic actions that wouldn’t benefit the students at all.

"You don’t need to worry so much, Rose. Everything will be fine, I believe it," Lamia added. But his words were meant more to convince himself than her. He felt too agitated to truly relax. None of them had properly talked about what happened that night, and Ashton had been avoiding their group, which only made him more anxious than before.

"That’s a lie. After that night, nothing will ever be the same again. I’ve said it before, and I’m sticking to my words." Lamia fell quiet, watching more students stream in. He kept wondering why Ashton still hadn’t shown up. The session was about to start, and he wasn’t supposed to miss it.

"Rose, Ashton isn’t here yet. Damn, don’t tell me he’s missing it or showing up late." Rose looked equally concerned. Being late was one thing, but missing the assembly completely could be dangerous. If the teachers noticed that one of the core students present at the scene was absent, they might label him as a suspect. The way things were going, it was obvious the school was searching for a scapegoat—someone to blame for the new horrors unfolding.

"Let’s just wait for the Moonlight Alphas. He might be with them," Rose suggested. The idea didn’t make much sense to Lamia. Why would Ashton suddenly stick with that group?

Speaking of the devil, Killian arrived at that moment. He scanned the hall, clearly searching for someone—most likely Noah—but when he didn’t spot him, his gaze landed on Rose and Lamia instead. He decided to approach them anyway. Eyes from across the room followed him. He looked as stylish as ever, moving like he had already moved on from the nightmare, as if nothing horrifying had happened at the school. If anyone was scared, it didn’t show on him or the other Moonlight Alphas.

Stopping in front of the duo, Killian offered a small smile. Rose and Lamia weren’t used to it. They had been sure that without Ashton, he wouldn’t have acknowledged them at all. Surprise, surprise.

"Don’t bother. I know what you’re going to say—he isn’t here," Killian said, cutting them off. That made him raise his brows.

"Isn’t where?" he asked. Rose answered while Lamia stayed silent, instead glancing around the hall. His eyes eventually locked onto Sylvia and her crew. There was clearly trouble in paradise.

Because of her betrayal the previous night, none of them wanted to be close to her anymore. It was shocking how she could act so selfish, abandoning them when the monsters appeared, only to try sliding back in now that they had survived—as if she hadn’t been betting on their deaths.

"You almost killed us," their voices rang out sharply.

"Correction—I didn’t. I just prioritized myself." One bizarre thing Lamia noticed was how she refused to accept any fault. Instead, she sounded commanding, as if it had been her right all along and she was the real victim.

"Well, Sylvia, that’s good. Because that made us realize we’re better off without you. We’re prioritizing ourselves too." Emily’s reply was strict and harsh, not caring how it landed.

Sylvia stood on the sidelines, looking almost like a rejected outsider. No one allowed her into their row of seats, proving just how serious the rift had become.

"Are you two fucking with me? Just because I didn’t save your lazy asses? Like I’m entitled to protect every one of you? Well, I’m the only one here whose parents matter. We aren’t even siblings anyway." Shock rippled through the nearby students as all eyes turned toward the confrontation. Abigail finally stood up, positioning herself firmly in front of Sylvia.

"Fuck you, Sylvia. Fuck your interests and the goddamn relationship we supposedly shared. You’re a bitch and you’ll forever remain one. We don’t want to see you again, so get the fuck out of here. Get lost." She yelled the words without holding back.

Sylvia eyed her maliciously, her expression twisting with anger.

"Whatever you say. You both aren’t useful to me anyway. And don’t you dare raise your voice at me. You should be grateful that someone as powerful as me even bothered associating with lowlifes like you two disgusting—"

As she prepared to make her dramatic exit, a voice cut through the tension.

"Says the one who was shivering while others were battling."

The voice drew every eye to the hall entrance. There stood Ashton Lane—also known as Noah Evernight. Rose groaned for what felt like the tenth time.

"Why does he do this? Pulling attention to himself once again."

Killian’s arms remained crossed over his chest as he watched the scene unfold, looking like a proud mentor seeing his protégé succeed.

"I don’t know what you say, girl, but that right there is sexy to watch," Killian murmured.

After his comment, Noah began walking closer to the rows of seats, stopping directly in front of Sylvia.

"You’re all that, yes. But why did you disappear when the monsters appeared? Aren’t you supposed to rule the empire like some powerful figure? How would the emperor take the news that his ward is a cowardly bitch who ran away from a fight like a pussy?"

Sylvia went mad, on the verge of losing control completely. Eugene stepped in right away and pulled Noah aside.

"Hey, right there. Let’s not take this any further." His hands found their way to Noah’s waist, as if the gesture was natural. Noah’s body shivered slightly at the touch. For some unknown reason, he could sense the look of lust in Eugene’s eyes.

"Even you too, Eugene?" Sylvia’s voice cracked with rage. Seeing the last person she could rely on now focusing on Noah made her nearly grind her teeth to dust.

Noah was shocked that her two former friends were still alive and standing against her. It seemed the terrifying event had made them realize far too quickly that Sylvia was a nightmare.

"Ashton, I promise—" Sylvia started, but Noah held up his hands, stopping her.

"That’s enough. Fight your own battles and stop involving me in your shit." He turned slightly toward Eugene. "And you, Eugene." He let out a soft giggle, almost seductive, as if he knew some hidden charm or spell within him could cut through the tension despite the chaos.

"I’m not a toy you can use as a public display to show off your power. I don’t understand your purpose with all this, but please—you’re confusing me greatly."

As if he hadn’t just disrupted the entire group’s peace, Noah walked away with his head held high. He took a seat close to his friends, carrying himself like royalty among the tense crowd.