She ran, fleeing from the Shadow chasing after her. Heavy footsteps echoed off the cold walls, mingling with the relentless pounding of her heart. The girl sprinted down the dimly lit corridor, drawing in ragged breaths, struggling to continue. She turned and saw the Shadow still following, muffling a scream as she ran. She found a closed door and yanked at it, but it didn't budge. Door after door, but none opened. Panic clawed at her mind as her eyes darted frantically around the deserted corridor, seeking escape.
She knew she wouldn't survive the night if they found her. She found more doors, but they only led to more locked doors, dead ends, and despair. Then she heard the heavy footsteps behind her, loud and gaining ground with each passing second.
''This is the end!'' Her wolf Liza cried out.
There was no escape because she knew she was going to die. He would come for her. She pressed her back against the cold wall, reminiscing about her life. She could have avoided meeting him, but she couldn't because he was her mate, and now, her life was about to end.
Just like the others, her death would be staged as a Suicide.
Her phone suddenly vibrated in her trembling hand, jolting her from her thoughts. She hesitated for a moment before answering the call. "A-Astoria," she muttered.
"Delavine, what is going on? You sent me a weird message! What is that about?"
"I will tell you everything when we meet, Astoria. If I survive the night, then I shall tell you what..." Her voice shook terribly as tears streamed down her face.
"You are not making sense! What is happening?" Astoria shouted back. "How are you pregnant? You are the star of your class and..."
Delavine's eyes darted to the darkness beyond the flickering lights, searching for any sign of the Shadow that might suddenly appear and kill her. "I...I'm in trouble, Astoria. I need your help."
Suddenly, a faint silhouette emerged from the shadows, and Delavine knew he had come for her. She let out a blood-curdling scream, her eyes fixed on the approaching figure.
"Delavine, what is wrong?! Where are you?!" Her sister's voice was shrill with panic. "If anything has happened, then I deserve to know!"
Delavine didn't answer. She had to escape somewhere safe and tell her sister everything. Even if she was going to die that night, her sister needed to know about the dark secrets she had kept while struggling to survive. She found a staircase close to her and ran towards it. She clutched her phone tightly, her fingers trembling as she sprinted up the stairs, her voice barely audible, mixed with her ragged breathing.
"Astoria, my life is far from perfect..." She turned to see if the Shadow was still chasing her. "They lied to me," she continued running. "None of them like me... The scholarship was all a lie... They have a ranking system, and I'm a part of it..." Delavine burst into tears. "Prince Lyriq, he is..." Her words were cut short as a hand grasped her hair, yanking her to the ground.
The phone slipped from her hand, Astoria's terrified screams echoing through it as it dropped to the ground. "Delavine! Answer me! What is happening?" Her sister's voice resounded down the stairs.
Delavine struggled to respond, but the only sound was her terrified sobs, muffled by the hand covering her mouth. She was dragged up to the rooftop, struggling against the strong arms of the Shadow. A slap across her face stung as the Shadow pushed her against the roof's edge. "It's your fault you are dying," the Shadow sneered, rubbing his masked face with one of his hands. "If you had pretended not to exist like the rest, you might still be alive."He shoved a drink down her mouth.
Delavine's throat felt like it was on fire, the sensation of the molten silver coursing through her veins. Every swallow was like Razor blades scraping through her esophagus, leaving her gasping for air.
"Please!" Delavine begged, desperate to live, but the Shadow didn't respond. Instead, she was pushed closer to the edge of the roof. "I beg of you! Because of the baby, please don't kill me!" Blood pooled out of her mouth as the silver began to take effect on her body. Seeing that the masked Shadow would not spare her, Delavine pointed a finger at him. ''I feel sorry for you,''
The masked Shadow burst into laughter and let go of her, pushing her off the roof.
Delavine's scream echoed through the rooftop as she slowly fell. Time slowed, her life flashing before her eyes—the first meeting, the sweet lies, the betrayal, the cruel treatment of the students, the pregnancy, and the ultimate rejection in front of the school.
She wished she had lived her life in silence.
''I am sorry, Lisa, that we ended this way.''Those were her last words to her wolf as she plummeted toward the ground, her arms flailing wildly, a desperate attempt to grasp something, anything, to stop her fall, but it was too late.
She hit the pavement with a sickening thud, her body crumpling in a twisted heap. The Shadow's mask came off through her hazy vision, revealing a wicked grin from the man she had thought she loved. Blood pooled from her head, surrounding her like a puddle, her legs bent at an unnatural angle, her eyes frozen in a permanent stare at the Shadow on the roof. As her vision faded to black, she realized that her life had ended in a cruel, brutal snap. She wished she had lived differently, trusted differently, never set foot in Luminaria Academy, never met him, never believed his lies.
But it was too late. Her life had ended, and just like those who had died before her, she would be in the papers and news as the girl who had committed suicide. Yet another girl whose story ended because she trusted and fell in love with the wrong person.
As her consciousness slipped away, a lone tear streamed down her face as the darkness closed in, and then, she was no more.
Gone like those before her.