Chapter 3

Sarah

A week later, I finally gathered the courage to call my previous teacher.

"Marcus, I need your help." I held my phone while watching Adrian reading advanced mathematics textbooks in the monitoring room.

Dr. Marcus Rivera was my teacher at Stanford and now the leading authority in cognitive psychology. If anyone could measure Adrian's true IQ level, it would be him.

"Sarah? You sound tense." Marcus's concerned voice came through the speaker.

I took a deep breath. "I have a special research subject whose learning ability is... abnormally exceptional. To the point where I'm questioning everything."

"How?"

"He's mastered three languages in a week, calculus, and has even started teaching himself quantum physics." My voice trembled slightly. "Marcus, I need to know his actual IQ level."

The other end went silent for a few seconds. "Sarah, if what you're saying is true... this learning speed exceeds human limitations."

"He's not an ordinary human," I said directly. "He's part of Project A-001, with special genetic markers. But Marcus, if his IQ really is that high, and he's been concealing it... that means he's been acting."

I didn't mention his werewolf identity—that was classified. But Marcus understood my concerns.

"Are you suggesting he might be manipulating your research?" Marcus's tone grew serious. "Sarah, if he's truly pretending... you might be dealing with an extremely dangerous genius."

After hanging up, my hands were still shaking slightly. For the past week, I'd believed Adrian was an innocent young werewolf, but if he'd been deceiving me all along...

The next morning, Marcus arrived at the institute right on schedule.

"That's him?" Marcus observed Adrian through the one-way glass as he organized his notes.

"Yes." I nodded. "What's your impression?"

Marcus frowned. "His eyes... they're too calm."

My heart raced. Even Marcus had noticed something unusual.

"Let's begin."

When I opened the testing room door, Adrian immediately looked up. Those amber eyes instantly became alert, like a wild animal sensing danger.

"Sasa?" He stood up, his gaze fixed intently on Marcus behind me. "Who is he?"

"This is my friend, Dr. Rivera," I said, trying to keep my tone casual. "He'd like to do a simple intelligence test with you."

Adrian's expression instantly cooled. He walked past me, directly approaching Marcus until they were less than three feet apart. The primal hostility made the air feel heavy.

"I don't like you," Adrian stared directly into Marcus's eyes, his voice chillingly low. "I don't like you being near Sasa."

I watched in shock. This possessiveness and hostility was definitely not characteristic of an innocent youth. This was the territorial awareness of an adult male.

Marcus remained calm. "This is just a routine test. It won't cause any harm."

"I said, I don't like you." Adrian's voice grew colder, the intimidating presence from his werewolf lineage making the room temperature seem to drop several degrees.

"Adrian!" I quickly stepped forward. "Please cooperate, okay? This is important for our research."

Hearing my voice, Adrian's expression instantly softened. He turned to me, the coldness in his eyes vanishing, replaced by innocent dependence.

"Okay, Sasa. As long as you stay here with me."

The speed of this transformation made me shudder. Too perfect, too much like a performance.

The test began.

I sat in the corner observing as Marcus conducted the standard procedures. Adrian's performance seemed normal—concentrating thoughtfully, occasionally furrowing his brow, sometimes looking to me for encouragement.

But I noticed the details.

When Marcus presented high-difficulty logic problems, Adrian's pupils would contract momentarily, then he would deliberately pause for several seconds before answering. While writing answers, he would intentionally slow his writing speed, even hesitating on simple questions.

Most chilling was how, whenever Marcus focused on taking notes, Adrian would glance at me secretly, with something in his eyes that looked like... calculation?

Two hours later, the test concluded.

"What are the results?" I anxiously asked Marcus.

"His IQ is around 120," Marcus closed his folder. "Above average, but not genius level. Considering his special status, this result seems reasonable."

I should have felt relieved, but Marcus's next words made my heart skip a beat.

"But Sarah," Marcus lowered his voice, "I've been in this field for twenty years and have never seen a subject like this."

"What do you mean?"

"His gaze is too sharp, completely inconsistent with a 120 IQ level. And..." Marcus glanced at Adrian, who was gathering his things, "he was controlling his micro-expressions during the test. This behavior typically only appears in..."

"Appears in what?" My voice was already shaking.

"In high-intelligence manipulators who deliberately underperform on tests." Marcus looked at me gravely. "Sarah, I suspect he's far more intelligent than we imagine. And he's deliberately hiding it."

I felt my blood run cold.

"You're saying he's been acting this whole time?"

"Not just acting." Marcus's voice dropped even lower. "Sarah, a being who can perfectly control micro-expressions, precisely calculate answer timing, and even manipulate his emotional displays... his true intelligence might far exceed our comprehension."

I turned to look at Adrian. He was sitting there docilely, giving me that dependent smile. But now, that smile seemed terrifying to my eyes.

"Sasa?" Adrian noticed my change in expression and approached with concern. "You look pale. Are you feeling unwell?"

Looking at his concerned expression, I struggled to control my fear.

"I'm fine, just a little tired," I managed a smile.

"Then let me keep you company while you rest." Adrian naturally reached out to support me. "Sasa, you've done so much for me. Now it's my turn to take care of you."

The moment his hand touched me, I trembled.

This touch—was it still the same warmth that made my heart race before, or was it the perfect performance of a calculating werewolf genius?

I suddenly realized that for the past week, I might never have seen the real Adrian.