Rejected by Four Mates: Awakening of the Silver Wolf

Chapter 57: Chapter 58: No... I’m fucking starving

Theo hit the ground so hard the sickening thud echoed across the entire academy field like a heavy sack of stones being dropped from a great height.

A brutal, final sound that made my stomach twist violently.

For one horrible, frozen second, nobody moved. It was as if the entire world needed an extra moment to process the sudden collapse. The rhythmic sound of running feet stopped abruptly. The constant background whispers from the watching crowd died away. Even the Purgers (students) observing us like entertainment seemed momentarily stunned into silence.

Then chaos erupted all at once.

"Theo!" Lyra gasped, her voice cracking with fear as she dropped to her knees beside him so quickly she nearly slipped on the damp grass.

I moved without thinking, my own exhaustion momentarily forgotten as pure panic surged through my veins like wildfire. My legs still burned from the endless nightmare of Morvalis, but adrenaline shoved every ache and weakness aside. I crouched down beside him, heart hammering against my ribs.

Theo lay completely sprawled across the grass, motionless.

His chest rose too slowly.

Too weakly.

"Oh, come on," I breathed out shakily, reaching toward him with trembling hands. "No, no, no... Please don’t die."

Not after everything.

Not after we had survived Blood Ants, monstrous creatures, suffocating hunger, soul-crushing exhaustion, and literal death itself, just to collapse on a stupid academy field because some heartless Arbiters valued punishment more than basic life decency.

Around us, the crowd exploded into noise. Some voices carried genuine shock. A few sounded truly concerned. But others, far too many, sounded annoyingly curious and entertained, like Theo’s collapse was simply the next thrilling scene in their miserable little spectator sport.

The Arbiters (Professor) finally moved with urgency now, suddenly far more interested in our condition than they had been earlier when we were apparently nothing more than "disobedient Purgers" who deserved to suffer.

"How long has he been like this?" Miss Selene asked sharply as she knelt beside Theo, her hands already moving with practiced efficiency.

I stared at her in disbelief.

"He literally just collapsed," Kaden snapped before I could find the words, still breathing heavily himself from the forced run. "Can’t you see that?"

Theo groaned faintly, a weak, barely audible sound that punched a wave of overwhelming relief straight through my chest. My knees nearly gave out beneath me.

He was alive.

Still alive.

Thank the Moon. freewebnøvel.coɱ

Miss Selene pressed two fingers lightly against Theo’s neck while Mr Mr Evander crouched beside her, carefully checking his eyes and breathing.

"He’s severely exhausted," she announced after a tense moment. "And dangerously dehydrated."

"No kidding," Elion muttered darkly from beside me. "We just survived a literal death forest."

"You still should’ve followed instructions," Irene said immediately, her voice sharp and unforgiving.

I slowly turned my head toward her, exhaustion making my patience paper-thin.

Honestly?

I genuinely couldn’t believe this woman was real.

"Do you ever stop talking?" I asked tiredly, the words slipping out before I could catch them.

A few nearby Purgers immediately looked scandalized, their eyes widening in collective horror.

I didn’t care.

Not even a little bit.

Irene’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Excuse me?"

"You’re excused," I replied automatically, too drained for filter or self-preservation. "But seriously... every single time you open your mouth, it somehow makes everything worse."

Beside me, Kaden made a choking sound, clearly trying, and failing... to hold back a laugh.

Even Lyra looked briefly impressed through her worry.

Irene straightened slowly, visibly offended. "Watch your tone, girl."

"Or what?" I shot back before my exhausted brain could intervene.

Wonderful.... Amazing of me.

Now I was openly arguing with a powerful pure werewolf Arbiter while sleep-deprived, emotionally unstable, physically drained, and very likely traumatized.

Character development, I supposed. Not necessarily a good character development.

And honestly?

I wasn’t even ready to back down.

"Enough," Mr. Asher interrupted firmly before Irene could unleash whatever venom waited on her tongue.

Thank the Moon for the semi-normal Ash brother.

At least one of them knew when to stop things before they spiraled into outright violence.

Theo was carefully lifted from the ground by two Sentinels while Lyra hovered anxiously nearby, looking like she wanted to follow him to the ends of the earth.

"He needs immediate rest and medical attention," Miss Selene said firmly.

"Well obviously," Kaden muttered under his breath.

This time, nobody scolded him.

Probably because he was right.

"You all pushed yourselves far beyond your limits," Mr. Asher continued, his gaze moving carefully across each of our battered faces. "Morvalis doesn’t only attack the body. It sinks its claws into the mind as well."

No one replied.

Because honestly? We all felt it.

The exhaustion wasn’t normal. It felt deeper. Darker. Like something had crawled into my bones and left pieces of its cruelty behind. Even simply standing upright felt like an impossible task now. My body felt strangely disconnected, every movement slightly delayed by bone-deep fatigue and lingering terror.

Ashriel remained completely silent through it all.

He stood slightly apart from the rest of us, looking utterly unaffected despite having run laps like some kind of immortal machine just minutes earlier.

I stared at him with open suspicion.

There was absolutely no way that man was normal.

Not even remotely.

Then again... he technically wasn’t fully human.

If he and Mr. Asher truly shared parents, then Ashriel being some terrifying mix of vampire and werewolf probably explained at least part of whatever monstrous thing he was.

Still horrifying, though.

"Take them back to the dormitories," Ysara finally instructed the Sentinels with a dismissive wave. "The punishment is over."

"Obviously," Elion muttered under his breath. "You don’t seriously think we’re continuing after this."

For once, nobody argued.

Not even Irene.

The crowd slowly began dispersing, though many Purgers still stared at us while whispering among themselves as we passed. I caught fragments of their conversations floating through the air.

"They actually survived... and the Arbiters told us most of them won’t come back"

"Shocked as it was only one death..."

"Wasn’t Nyx supposed to... And I bet she won’t come back"

"She looks completely normal..."

"That’s honestly very disappointing..."

Okay.

Now it was getting personal.

I stopped walking abruptly in the middle of the path.

"What exactly is everyone’s issue with me?" I asked loudly enough for several nearby Purgers to freeze in place.

Silence.

Awkward, heavy silence.

Nobody answered.

Cowards.

"Leave it," Thorne said quietly from behind me.

I turned slightly toward him.

His expression looked even colder than usual... which was saying something, considering Thorne usually looked one minor inconvenience away from violence this days.

"No," I replied tiredly. "Because I genuinely want to know."

Still, nobody spoke.

"Move," Irene snapped eventually. "You’re blocking others path."

I stared at her for a long, deliberate moment.

Then slowly smiled.... Not a nice smile.

"Oh," I said softly. "Now I definitely want to know your problem."

Her face tightened instantly.

Good, exactly the reaction I wanted.

A petty, vindictive part of me felt deeply satisfied.

Because seriously.... Why were so many people so obsessed with wishing for my death?

All because I didn’t have flashy powers or I can’t awaken a wolf?

Because I wasn’t special enough for their twisted standards?

Because I had survived when they fully expected me to fail?

The realization left something bitter and heavy sitting deep in my chest.

"Nyx," Lyra whispered weakly beside me. "Please... I’m too tired for another fight." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

I sighed dramatically. "Fine."

Then I started walking again.

Because honestly? I was exhausted too.

Emotionally.

Physically.

Mentally.

Spiritually.

Every possible version of tired.

As we made our way toward the dormitories, Theo still unconscious and being carried ahead of us in the Sentinels’ arms.

---

The moment we reached the dormitory building, the Sentinels carried Theo straight into the room and dropped him onto the single bed without much ceremony.

Honestly rude.

But at least they brought him back alive.

The second they left, the door shutting behind them with a heavy, final click, the room finally fell into blessed silence.

Just us.

No Arbiters.

No staring Purgers.

No cruel whispers.

No judgment.

Just pure, heavy exhaustion hanging thick in the air.

Then suddenly...

Theo sat upright so fast Lyra nearly screamed in shock.

"Have they left?" he asked immediately, eyes sharp and fully alert.

We all stared at him in stunned silence.

Lyra blinked rapidly. "You’re okay?"

Theo looked deeply offended. "No... I’m fucking starving."

Silence.

Complete, dumbfounded silence.

Then Kaden let out the loudest, most genuine laugh I had heard for a long time.

I just stared at Theo in utter disbelief, a tired smile tugging at my lips despite everything.

"You collapsed dramatically in front of the entire academy... because you were hungry?"

Theo pointed at me immediately. "They made us run after surviving literal death."

Fair point.

But this boy is just a glutton, I thought with a small, exhausted smile.