The crowd murmurs in confusion and reluctantly spreads out, no longer connected by the wild frolicking they'd just witnessed. I could not care less for it, nor do I frantically search for my friends. Instead, I sprint out the doors of the school hall after Sandev.

The midday sun glares at me, using all of its might to attempt and melt me as my head swivels this way and that, trying to find genderbent Cinderella with no shoe. It does not help that my sight is overwhelmed by the sudden light.

Well, I'm no wax princess.

I stuff a coconut candy into my mouth, one I suspect a she-devil slipped into my pocket before the masquerade.
I turn into the corridors on the left side of the hall as my mind begins its relentless pelting of questions that I have no answers to.

Why would he run away?

Is he upset because I danced with Pawan first?

Did he decide that I was too heavy for him?

The corridor is empty, but I am not giving up. I enter the corridors on the right side, spotting him almost immediately. His red-and-black attire serves as camouflage, but there is no mistaking it.

His favourite poem is 'What is Red?' after all.

As I close the distance between us, I realize that I can hear a strange sound coming from Sandev. Curious, I increase my pace.

Is he vomitting? Oh holy coconuts am I that disgusting to him?

I place my hand on his shoulder. Sandev's reflexes sends his head jerking towards me, teeth snapping animalistically. His eyes widen in reproach as he notices that it is me.

"Alyce?" His voice takes on a transparently surprised tone. "I..."

My face is firm and unyielding. "What happened back there?" I demand cordially, inclining my head towards the hall. Sandev opens his mouth to speak again, but I immediately pinpoint something unnatural right away.

I stifle a gasp with my hand, a mix of fear and shock pouring onto my face. "You... you have fangs."

Sandev breaks eye contact, staring at the ground instead. He remains silent.

My hand drops, and so does my jaw. "You're a vampire."

Sandev turns to face me, frowning in amusement. He snorts, stepping away from the corridor and into the light.

Vampires crumble to ash in sunlight.

I let out a horrified cry and scramble to stop him, but Sandev just grins peacefully as the Sun's rays bathe his form. I stand there, frozen in disbelief as I wait for him to dry up and disintegrate.

Nothing happens.

My jaw drops again. "You're... you're immune to sunlight." A thought enters my mind. "What sunblock do you use? SPF 5000+?"

Sandev shakes his head, grinning. His fangs have retracted, leaving normal, human-looking teeth. "I'm not a vampyr, Alyce."

I frown. "Then what?"

Sandev shrugs and stalks towards me.

The way he bared his teeth at Pawan.

The way he lifted me effortlessly.

The way he snapped at me earlier.

It hits me. "A lycanthrope. You're a werewolf."

He smirks, sighing in mock exasperation. "Finally she gets it right."

So I was right about Alpha Sandev.

I blush at the thought, but another question bursts into my head. "Why were you about to shift in broad daylight? I thought werewolves transformed during the full moon."

Sandev nods. "Tonight is the full moon, but that's not the only thing that triggers the transformation. The bloody chiming of that clock inside and the darkness made my brain believe it was night, and time to shift."

It makes sense now.

"That's why you ran. The sunlight would reverse the trick of the mind and stop your shift," I said. Then I cross my arms. "Leaving your partner in the middle of the dance floor isn't the most chivalrous thing one can do, even for a werewolf."

Sandev merely smiles, reaching behind me to pull my hood up over my head. "There's only one way to fix that."

I let out a barely-suppressed yelp as Sandev sweeps me into his arms and into the school hall once again.

We plainly choose to ignore the fact that loud feline caterwauling is coming out from one of the nearby classrooms.

♡♡♡

"Sandev Kumar."

I beam with pride from my seat on the floor as Sandev walks up the stage to claim his prefect appointment certificate from the headmistress and Mrs Zuhaira during the assembly. He strides confidently, a wolfish grin plastered on his face.

My job as a mentor is done.

"You two have been plenty of things," Crystal points out beside me.

"Mentor and mentee," says Tasya.

"Senior and junior," adds Milah.

"What will you be next?" Jory asks. I do not quite like the fact that the entire situation sounds completely rehearsed, the scheming devices of a little witch.

"Dom and sub?" Wynsa suggests, a little too loudly, bursting into laughter and high-fiving Ramiya. My face goes red, and I pop another coconut candy to cool it down.

I grab Wynsa's arm, a psychological attempt to prevent her from wriggling out of the question I am about to ask. "The masquerade," I start. "Why would you tell Pawan I'd be wearing red?"

Wynsa's features are a picture of innocence, but she answers my query anyway. "We can't have you drifting between the two Kumars now, can we? You had to pick one, obviously, but you're too fickle. Somebody had to do something." She slips out of my grasp and slides away like the angelic guardian worm she is.

When I look at the stage again, it is Hareet's turn to take his certificate. Jory cheers, although I detect a hint of shyness, like they shared a secret that we weren't likely to know.

As if I don't.

"Alyce." A very familiar voice rings out, raspy and tamped-down. "I need to have a word with you."

"Oooh." My friends murmur in unison, but I pay them no heed and stand up, following Sandev out of the hall.

He spins me into the left corridor of the very same hall we'd danced in not too long ago. I laugh, tilting my head in question.

"Alyce," he rasps, the scent of patchouli oil stronger than ever. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

I quirk an eyebrow. "But now we're both prefects. We can't date anyone."

He raises an eyebrow in response. "You think we'd be the only ones breaking the rules?"

Both of us crack grins, sharing a moment of memory.

We know what we heard.

I peer around the corner, noticing Mr Muradi approach. I shrink back into Sandev, worried again.

"But what if Mr Muradi finds out?"

Sandev smooths down my hijab. "He won't. And even if he does, let's just say that he and I have an understanding." He nods towards Mr Muradi's general direction.

I poke my head round the corner again. The first thing I see is Mr Muradi's teacher nametag.

Muradi Kumar?

Mr Muradi catches a latecomer, an unfortunate little Form One boy. He berates the student, baring his teeth when the boy unintentionally talks back. His teeth-baring and yellow eyes bring on a bout of déja vu.

I whirl to Sandev, who is grinning as he realizes what I know now.

"Alpha Muradi?"

A/N: Cue the first cool blockbuster-movie ending song you can think of.

First, a little glossary:

Caterwauling: Refers to the prolonged meowing sound that mating cats make.

That's right, shippers! #AliDev is finished on Wattpad! But don't despair, because I know another ship that everyone is equally hyped about.

Stay tuned for:

STAR PAWS: THE MEOW AWAKENS featuring #JoHari!!!

Signing out for this story,

- Scarlet