I hid in the exhibition room and began wiping the trophies again. Even though Rebecca had said the room only needed cleaning every three days since hardly anyone came here, and it had just been cleaned the day before I arrived, I decided to clean it early anyway. Slowly, I polished each trophy, one by one. I noticed that Kael was truly remarkable-most of the gold medals, championship belts, and trophies were his. They were displayed in the center of the hall, illuminated by the overhead lights, each piece gleaming with a golden brilliance.
In addition to the trophies, there were countless photos of Kael during his matches. He was shirtless, his body glistening with sweat, every muscle sharply defined and radiating strength.
In some of the photos, Vivienne also appeared. Though she was the school’s cheer captain, her team often collaborated with the club, and she frequently led her squad to cheer at events. She wore a fiery, sexy outfit-a red crop top and a white miniskirt, her golden hair tied into two ponytails that seemed to glow. There were also photos of her standing in the middle of the boxing club, posing with others. She looked like she belonged to the Falcon Club. And, of course, in the group photos, she appeared closest to Kael.
Seeing all this made my eyes sting and my heart ache. I had to look away and return to polishing the medals and trophies. After finishing a round, I realized just how terrifyingly strong Kael was. Was he truly unbeatable in the boxing world? An entire wall of the exhibition room was dedicated to him. No wonder everyone in the club respected him so much. I remembered the professor mentioning the alpha wolf in a pack. If Kael were a werewolf, would he be the alpha?
Just then, I saw a dark shadow reflected in one of the medals. I didn’t dare turn around. Every hair on my body stood on end, and my muscles tensed uncontrollably. I felt my blood freeze in my veins, slowing my movements. Damn it, had that monster from yesterday really appeared again? Why was it targeting me? Despite my fear, I stiffened my neck and subtly adjusted the angle of the medal in my hand, turning it toward the source of my terror.
In the reflection, I saw it-among the taxidermy specimens. The specimens had always seemed like lifeless sculptures, which was why I’d initially mistaken them for fake. But now, one of the wolves had glowing red eyes. Its black fur looked eerily lifelike, shifting as if alive. It was staring at me, baring its fangs. God! If it were just a real wolf, I might not have been so terrified. But this thing was enormous, far larger than the normal wolf models beside it. My mind went blank with fear.
I turned and dropped the medal, sprinting away as the wolf leaped out from the exhibit. It stalked toward me, its blood-red eyes growing more terrifying the closer it got. Survival instinct kicked in, and I bolted in the opposite direction. I hurled a bucket of water at it, hearing its low growl as I screamed and ran. I crashed into someone-it was Rebecca!
She steadied me. “Oh, dear, what’s wrong?”
I grabbed her arm, frantic. “It’s a wolf! A monster! Run!”
“Calm down, Seraphina, calm down, okay?” Rebecca quickly pulled me into her office. “Lock the door!”
She did as I asked. Trembling, I peered through the blinds. The hallway was empty; the wolf hadn’t followed. Rebecca handed me a glass of water, her eyes scanning me, assessing my state. “I think you might need some candy or chocolate,” she said, her voice filled with concern, likely noticing how pale I was. She opened a drawer, took out a piece of chocolate, carefully unwrapped it, and handed it to me.
“Thank you,” I said, taking the chocolate and letting its sweetness melt in my mouth, soothing my nerves slightly. “Thank you, Rebecca. I just saw a monster in the exhibition room. It looked like a wolf with red eyes.”
“You must be exhausted. The wolves in the exhibition room are very lifelike,” Rebecca said, frowning. She turned and headed for the door. “But trust me, they’re not real.”
Thinking I didn’t believe her, she even grabbed a baseball bat. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
“No!”
She opened the door. I tried to pull her back, afraid the monster might be lurking in the shadows. But the hallway was empty, and the exhibition room door looked calm and undisturbed.
“Rebecca…” I started to say, but she was already walking briskly toward the room.
I couldn’t let her get hurt! But she reached the exhibition room quickly. “Seraphina, come here. There’s no monster,” she said, turning to me with a tone of exasperation.
I stepped forward. The room was just as I’d left it-a bucket on the floor and water spilled everywhere.