Sienna Pov

The first thing that I learnt at Eldergate is that whispers spread fast at Eldergate, faster than they should. It starts small. Just scraps of conversation caught between classes and then students lower their voices and huddle closer like they're conspiring about something.

At first, I think I’m imagining it, that I am only paranoid because of the note. Every time I walk across the quad, every time my eyes brush over a stranger’s face and find them already looking at me I fear that they're talking about me because of the note.

Until I finally hear it.

“Full moon’s tomorrow night. You think they’ll fight again?” one boy whispers to another as I pass them on the cobblestones.

“I heard the faculty shut down half the south lawn last time. There was blood everywhere. Even humans and witches were not left out.” The boy grin is too sharp eager while the other shivers in excitement. “Think they’ll let us watch?”

I grip my books tighter and keep walking.

Later, in the library, two girls at the table beside me giggle over open notebooks filled with messy doodles of cauldrons and stars.

“My roommate swears her RA is a witch,” one says, her eyes wide open and thrilled. “Like, she caught her making potions in the communal bathroom. At three a.m with actual smoke.”

“Please. That’s nothing. My cousin’s in Graves Hall. He says there are vampires holding banquets in the sub-basement. You know, like… blood buffets.” She leans in, lowering her voice, but it still carries. “He says if you’re invited, you come back… different.”

The other girl squeals and hides her face behind her hands, though I can see her peeking through her fingers.

I tell myself it’s just talk and rmors. Campuses always have them, right? Stories meant to spook freshmen the way normal kids used to tell each other about haunted bathrooms or midnight dares.

Only that this feels different, too detailed and consistent.

And worse—sometimes, when I glance up from my notes, I catch someone staring at me. Not just casual curiosity. Their eyes stick to me like glue, unblinking, until I shift uncomfortably in my seat and look away. When I dare to glance back, they’re still watching.

By day three, my skin feels too tight. My wolf paces beneath it, restless. “They see you. They know. We should run before it’s too late.”

“No,” I whisper under my breath, ducking into the cafeteria with my tray. “We’re staying. We have to stay.”

The cafeteria is full tonight and noisy. People are talking in every corner and trays are clattering. The cafeteria smells of greasy pizza and overcooked pasta. The smell is so strong that it nearly masks the faint tang of iron I sometimes think I smell—imagined, I hope.

Naomi slides into the seat across from me, her curls bouncing as she sets down a burger the size of her head. “You look like someone stole your puppy.”

I force a laugh. “Just tired.”

“Again?” She eyes me knowingly, biting into her burger. “You’ve been tired since the day we met. What’s the deal? You sneaking out to party with the seniors or something?”

“Yeah,” I say dryly, poking at my pasta. “That’s definitely it.”

She smirks, but her eyes soften as she studies me. “You really are kind of… jumpy, though. Are people staring at you?”

My head snaps up. “Why would you say that?”

She shrugs casually, licking ketchup off her thumb. “Because I noticed it too. Some of the older kids keep looking over at you like they’re trying to size you up for something.”

My stomach twists. “Maybe I just… look too new.”

“You are new.” Naomi leans forward and lowers her voice. “But that’s not it. Trust me, I’ve got a good radar for when people are being weird. And those stares? That’s weird.”

I swallow hard, forcing myself to keep my voice even. “Maybe they’re just… making fun of me.”

Naomi studies me for a moment longer before shrugging. “Maybe. But either way—don’t wander around after dark, okay? Campus is… different at night.”

Her warning makes something cold creep up my spine. “Different how?”

She fidgets, picking at her fries. “I don’t know. People talk. Rumors. Some say the professors patrol the grounds because of fights that break out. Some say students disappear sometimes. Most of it’s probably bull, but…” Her gaze flicks toward the cafeteria’s wide windows, my eyes follows her. It's very dark outside. “Just don’t test it, okay? Always stick to lit paths and walk in groups. And if you hear howling, don’t go looking.”

Her words rests in my chest making me uneasy. I force myself to nod. “Got it. No wandering at night.”

When I return to my dorm room much later, Naomi has gone off with a new friend from her art history class and her words keep circling in my head. Don’t wander. Don’t look. Don’t listen.

I sit at my desk, trying to focus on reading my work for the next day. My laptop screen is on but I can't focus. My eyes drift to the trees just outside Hawthorne Hall. It's dark and still, too still.

I shake my head and mutter to myself, “Get a grip, Sienna.”

But then I see it.

Two circle of light.

At first, I think it’s a reflection. A streetlamp or a car passing by. But no. The light shines from farther down the path, and there are no roads this close. The light is steady, pointing from a higher ground.

They are eyes.

I catch my breath.

A pair of glowing eyes are staring at me from between the trees. I stumble back from my desk so fast that my chair topples. My wolf surges forward, snarling. “Predator!”

The eyes keep watching. They don’t blink, don’t move. I stair back, scared. I try to scream but I can't. I hold my breath so tight till the eyes vanish.

They leave slowly, as if whoever or whatever it is wants me to know. The light vanish swallowed by the darkness of the woods.

I stand there frozen, my chest heaving, until Naomi’s cheerful humming floats through the hall and the door swings open.

“Hey! You would not believe the mural in the art building—” She stops mid-sentence, and frowns as she sees me standing pressed against the wall, looking pale and shaking. “Sienna? What happened?”

I open my mouth, but no sound comes out because if I tell her the truth, she’ll think I’m crazy and if I don’t… then I’m alone. Again..