Rebecca walked around and said to me, “Seraphina, I’m sorry if this comes off as intrusive, but are you really okay?”
I walked over to the area where the specimens were displayed and pointed. “It’s impossible! I saw a massive wolf right here earlier!”
My eyes were fixed on that spot, but the monster was nowhere to be seen. The entire exhibition room showed no signs of anything unusual. Everything was calm, as if what had just happened was nothing more than a dream. Yet, the chilling sensation I had felt was undeniably real. Now, however, I had calmed down and sensed no further abnormalities. I was certain-it wasn’t here anymore.
“I saw a monster here just now! It even lunged at me,” I explained to Rebecca. “These wolves might be its disguise.”
“Seraphina,” Rebecca said seriously, “maybe you should take a couple of days off to rest. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“No, no, no! That’s not it at all!” I nearly shouted, feeling as though I was on the verge of a breakdown. My outburst startled Rebecca.
“Maybe you should take a break?” she suggested cautiously, trying to soothe me.
“No, I’m fine,” I replied, taking a deep breath to steady myself. I could feel Rebecca looking at me as if I were a mental patient. But the truth was, I wasn’t sick.
“I think you should go see Magnus. He might have a way to help you,” Rebecca advised.
Go see Magnus? Could he really help me? Rebecca seemed convinced that my stress was causing these hallucinations. But I had truly seen it! How could I explain that? No one else had seen the monster-only me. No one would believe me. Why was I the only one seeing this thing?
Last night, I had seen the monster too, but it disappeared after Evelyn showed up. Today, I had seen it again and called Rebecca to witness it, but it was gone once more. Was I the only one being targeted by this creature? I clutched my head in frustration.
But I didn’t want Rebecca to think I was unwell, nor did I want to risk losing my job. I was still in my probationary period, and these next few days were crucial. I was terrified of failing the evaluation.
So, I forced myself to appear composed and said to Rebecca, “I’m fine, really. I’m sorry. I think I’m just tired. You know, these specimens are so lifelike.”
“Yes, they scared me too when I first started working here,” Rebecca said.
“Sorry for worrying you. I’ll go clean the locker room now,” I said, trying to sound normal.
Rebecca’s eyes were filled with concern. “Are you sure you’re okay, Seraphina? Don’t push yourself.”
“I’m fine,” I replied, forcing a smile and stretching my lips as wide as I could to make it seem convincing.
“Alright, I’ll wait here until you’re done.”
“Thank you.”
After saying goodbye to Rebecca, I headed to the locker room. Despite my lingering fear, I kept reassuring myself that everything would be fine. The monster must have fled. Or maybe it really was just my imagination. I needed to talk to Evelyn and ask her about the werewolf rumors in this town.
When I entered the locker room, the boys had already left. I glanced around, confirming that the monster wasn’t there, and finally relaxed. The locker room was near the training field, and I could hear people moving around outside. If the monster appeared again, I could call for help. To be safe, I even closed the windows. Last night, the monster couldn’t enter our apartment because of the glass. It should be the same here.
I pushed my fears aside and focused on cleaning the locker room. My main task was to wipe down the outside of the lockers. The open lockers needed cleaning too, along with the floors, walls, and windows. Finally, I would clean the bathroom.
As I wiped the lockers, I thought about how the earlier incident might have ruined Rebecca’s impression of me. I could only try to make up for it by working harder. It wasn’t my fault-who could have predicted a monster would suddenly appear?
While I was lost in these thoughts, I heard a click. It sounded like the door being locked. Who had come in? My heart began to race. What was wrong with me? I couldn’t understand why my body was reacting so intensely.
Then, a loud bang startled me, and I turned around quickly. There was nothing there. The noise seemed to have come from an unlatched locker door. Had the monster returned? Before I could react, I was suddenly pinned against the wall.
My back was pressed against the creature as I struggled, but its strength was overwhelming. Its body was scorching hot, burning against my back and making me tremble uncontrollably. Was it going to kill me? I thought of its fangs-so massive that it could easily crush my skull. I didn’t want to die, not like this, not so senselessly…
Fear threatened to drown me until the creature spoke.
“Seraphina, I’ve caught you,” Kael said in a hoarse voice, a hint of amusement in his tone. He gripped my shoulders and turned me around to face him.
I saw his bare chest, his muscular frame pressing against me. He cupped my chin and leaned in close, his deep brown eyes reflecting my terrified expression. In that moment, my panic subsided.
Damn it, he had nearly scared me to death! I had thought he was the monster! How could he appear so silently? Wait-could he actually be the monster? Or had he sent it to frighten me? Was this some kind of cruel joke?
“Let me go!” I shouted.
Today had been awful-first the monster, and now Kael pinning me down. He was so tall and strong, leaving me no room to move. I could feel the hard lines of his muscles against my body, his heat radiating onto me. Our bodies were so different-his firm and unyielding, mine soft and pliant. He pressed against me, forcing me to feel every contour of his body, every rise and fall of his muscles.