Chapter 70 Let it be just us II

Chapter 70: Chapter 70 Let it be just us II

Killian ran through the dark road while searching desperately for Noah’s shadow.

"Please stop! You’ll get hurt!"

His voice echoed through the darkness as he continued looking around. Eugene’s words still rang painfully in his ears, and he couldn’t begin to imagine how Noah must have felt, believing he wasn’t wanted when that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

The faint sound of someone crying drifted through the night.

"There!"

Killian immediately picked up his pace, Damian running closely behind him as the two searched together.

"Where did he go?" Damian breathed, his silver hair plastered against his forehead from running. "It’s already lights out. We aren’t even supposed to be outside anymore. We have to find him before something happens."

A few moments later, they reached the academy’s fountain, the one connected to the great lake surrounding the school.

At the edge of the stone fountain sat Noah.

His head rested against his folded arms while he stared blankly into the rippling water, so lost in thought that he didn’t even react when Killian and Damian approached.

"I want to be alone."

His sharp voice broke the silence of the night.

Damian exchanged a glance with Killian before speaking softly.

"I understand... but if you want to talk, we’re here."

Killian nodded in agreement before stepping forward.

"This place isn’t safe, Ash. You’re angry, and your feelings are completely valid. I’ll never tell you not to be angry... but is it worth getting yourself hurt because of it?"

His brutally honest words finally made Noah lift his head to look at both of them.

"You’re better than this, Ashton. Don’t do this to yourself." Killian’s voice remained gentle as he slowly drew closer. "Come away from the fountain. It’s cold, and you should already be in bed."

Noah’s hands clenched tightly.

The gentle breeze brushed through his purple hair, making him look almost unreal beneath the silver moonlight.

"Who do you think made me like this?"

His voice trembled.

"If I go back now... all I’ll do is think about every single one of you. About everything that’s happening in this crazy school. I can’t even catch a break anymore."

A shaky breath escaped him.

Damian stepped forward.

"Take a deep breath, Ash."

His calm voice carried through the night.

"Like Killian said, your feelings are valid. But right now, think about yourself. Imagine what would happen if someone found you here... or if something dragged you away before we did."

Noah stared back at him.

"This isn’t me."

He muttered the words more to himself than to anyone else.

He began pacing in small circles, his thoughts refusing to settle.

"I was never like this."

His voice cracked.

"I can’t believe you guys are turning me into someone I don’t even recognize. Every time I look into my own mind... it feels like something inside me is breaking."

He pressed a hand against his chest.

"My thoughts are like shattered glass. I... I just can’t."

He never imagined that a day like this would come.

Somehow...

His heart had already been stolen.

Now he was the one trapped inside the cage it created.

Killian slowly closed the remaining distance.

"It’s okay to love."

His smile was small but sincere.

"We all do. In our different ways."

He laughed quietly.

"Marcus’ parents loved each other too, even when the world was against them. Their lives were dangerous, but they still made it through together. Why can’t we?"

He looked directly into Noah’s eyes.

"I love you."

His confession came without hesitation.

"Marcus loves you."

He pointed toward Damian.

"And Damian does too."

He shrugged.

"So forget the rest of the universe. As long as you’re beside me... why would I need anyone else?"

Damian smiled before speaking.

"The academy is dangerous."

He didn’t deny it.

"The students are suspicious."

That was also true.

"And everything happening around us is terrifying."

His expression softened.

"But none of that is your fault."

He gently rested a reassuring hand on Noah’s shoulder.

"Life simply decided to make our teenage years miserable."

A quiet chuckle escaped him.

"But somewhere along the way... I realized my feelings for you became real."

His golden eyes never left Noah.

"I’m falling harder every single day."

He smiled.

"You’re my peace, Ash."

"My happiness."

Killian nodded.

"You’ve changed this place."

He gestured toward the academy behind them.

"We’ve never smiled this much before."

"Never laughed."

"Never looked forward to tomorrow."

He looked at Noah with nothing but warmth.

"You’re special."

"One of a kind."

"And whatever connection brought us together... that’s what matters."

Every word they spoke slowly chipped away at the walls Noah had built around himself.

His heartbeat refused to calm down.

These were the people he used to judge as nothing more than characters while reading.

The people he disliked.

The people he believed were beyond saving.

Yet now...

He had been dragged into their dangerous world.

A world that refused to let him leave.

Damian stepped closer.

"Welcome to our darkness."

A bittersweet smile crossed his lips.

"Unfortunately..."

"You can’t escape it anymore."

"But let us carry part of that burden."

He looked directly into Noah’s eyes.

"Because you’re worth protecting."

Those final words finally broke whatever resistance Noah still had.

He stepped forward.

The three of them embraced beneath the moonlight, holding each other as though the rest of the world no longer existed.

"I don’t know what I’d do without you two."

His voice was barely above a whisper.

"You’re the best."

The irony wasn’t lost on him.

Back when he was only a reader, Damian had been one of his least favorite alphas.

Killian had always ranked first.

Marcus had been second.

After everything that happened, Marcus slowly drifted away.

Then Eugene took his place.

Now...

Only Killian remained firmly at the top, with Damian steadily earning a place beside him.

Killian smiled.

"You’re exhausted."

He brushed Noah’s messy hair away from his face.

"Your eyes can barely stay open."

"Come on."

"Let’s get you back."

Killian reached out to carry him, but Damian was already a step ahead.

Without saying anything, Noah allowed himself to be guided back toward the academy.

The cool night air surrounded them as Killian walked ahead, carefully watching for any danger while Damian supported Noah beside him.

Not long afterward, they arrived outside Killian’s dormitory.

"I’m sorry."

Killian scratched the back of his neck.

"But I can’t leave you alone tonight."

His expression became serious.

"Your roommate disappeared."

"Even if the report says he’s gone, we can’t be certain he won’t return."

He opened the door.

"So..."

"You’re sleeping in my room tonight."

For some reason, those words made Noah’s heart skip a beat.

The thought of staying in Killian’s room left him strangely flustered, though he couldn’t fully understand why.

Damian helped him sit on the edge of the bed while Killian quietly closed the door behind them.

Suddenly...

A gentle glow spread across the hands of all three of them.

The strange light circled through the room before gathering silently between them.

Killian blinked.

"So that’s how it is."

He smiled to himself.

"When the day finally comes that you return our feelings..."

He laughed softly.

"I’ll probably be the happiest idiot alive."

Noah immediately looked away, his ears burning red.

Damian simply chuckled.

They had waited this long.

They could wait a little longer.

For now...

Seeing Noah slowly open his heart was already enough.

Noah looked between them before speaking quietly.

"Don’t leave."

His voice was barely a whisper.

"Stay close."

Neither of them needed to be told twice.

They remained beside him until the tension in his shoulders slowly disappeared.

Surrounded by people who genuinely cared for him, Noah finally allowed his heavy eyelids to close.

Sleep claimed him almost instantly.

---

A violent surge of power exploded around him.

Noah’s eyes snapped open.

The warmth of the room had vanished.

Instead...

He found himself standing once again inside the abandoned cemetery.

The broken graves stretched endlessly before him.

Every coffin they had uncovered earlier still lay open, filling the cold night with an eerie silence.

He slowly turned in confusion.

"Where... am I?"

Wasn’t he just inside Killian’s room?

He tried taking another step.

His feet refused to move.

It was as though something beneath the earth had rooted him in place.

Looking down the endless rows of coffins, he suddenly noticed something different.

Names.

Every coffin now bore a name carved neatly into its stone.

They belonged to the academy’s elites.

Students.

Teachers.

Famous families.

One after another.

Then...

At the very center of the cemetery stood four coffins.

His breathing stopped.

Each one carried the name of an Alpha.

Before he could process what he was seeing, the familiar figure dressed in crimson appeared once again.

The hooded woman stared at him with visible disbelief.

"You again?"

She frowned deeply.

"Why are you here?"

"You were never supposed to return."

"I erased those memories."

She spread her arms toward the countless graves surrounding them.

"Look carefully."

"These..."

"...are the graves waiting for the Alphas."

Her voice trembled with hatred.

"The same fate forced upon countless Omegas will be returned to them."

"Blood..."

"...for blood."

"They’re all monsters."

"Every single one of them."

Her scream echoed throughout the cemetery.

Before Noah could ask another question, she thrust out her hand.

An invisible force slammed into his body.

The cemetery shattered around him.

As everything dissolved into darkness, Noah caught one final glimpse beneath the woman’s hood.

His eyes widened.

That face...

He knew it.

Maria Gonzalez.

The academy’s infamous bullied Omega...

and Sylvia’s newest friend.