Chapter Three: New Faces, Old Wounds
Same old hallway.
Same old perfume-choked air.
Same old boys with their tongues halfway down their shirts when I walked by.
I strutted into school like royalty dragging her crown behind her. Girls smiled like I was some holy vision. Boys straightened their spines like standing tall would make their dicks grow. Spoiler: it didn't.
Luna walked beside me, chomping on a piece of gum like it owed her money.
"Same shit, different week," I muttered.
She popped a bubble. "What now?"
"I'm bored. Utterly, depressingly, violently bored. Same old pack. Same old council of crusty old geezers acting like they invented war. Same old school filled with simps and suck-ups."
Luna rolled her eyes. "Your life is a tragic Greek play, I swear."
"I need something to happen, Luna. Something… wild. Unpredictable. Earth-shattering. Maybe even illegal."
She snorted. "Well, you might get your wish. Word is, a few new families just moved into the territory. Meaning…"
She wiggled her brows. "Fresh meat."
I blinked. "New families?"
She grinned like a wolf who found the lamb buffet. "Mhm. Five new students. Four are very much worth corrupting."
"Details," I demanded.
"Oh, I got you." Luna leaned in like we were plotting treason. "First off—twins. From the Hartgrave family. The girl? Looks like she walked straight out of a fuckin' perfume ad. Perfect curls, lips like sin, and that I could end you with a stare aura. Her name's Serephina. Rumor is she was trained in the north. Super cold, super mysterious. I like her already."
I raised a brow. "And the brother?"
"Cassian. Big, brooding, eyes like betrayal and cigarettes. Apparently has anger issues and was expelled from his last school for breaking someone's nose with a locker door."
"Oh, charming," I said, deadpan. "Exactly the kind of guy you'd marry to piss off your dad."
"Don't tempt me."
I smiled despite myself. "Alright, next?"
"Okay, second boy. Leon Sterling. From the Nightveil pack. Rich, cocky, built like a fantasy, and allegedly has a tongue piercing and a list of exes long enough to strangle someone with."
"Please tell me he's dumb," I said.
"Unfortunately, he's not. Top grades. Good fighter. Annoyingly self-aware. Basically, a fuckboy philosopher."
I groaned.
"Third guy," she continued. "Malakai from the Ashenridge bloodline. Their family's obsessed with ancient rites and tradition. Super uptight. Wears all black, speaks in riddles, broods like he's paid to do it."
"So a haunted poetry book come to life."
"Exactly."
I sighed dramatically. "You said four boys."
Luna smirked. "Yeah. The last one… he's different. Came into town alone. No known family. Doesn't live in any pack-owned property. No one knows where he stays."
"Wait—what?"
"I saw him this morning." She leaned in. "Broad daylight. And girl… he's not a boy. That is a sex deity wrapped in black. Hair dark as sin, skin like smoke, eyes that could eat you whole. The kind of guy who doesn't ask to ruin your life—he warns you."
My heart skipped.
My fingers curled slightly.
"Did he have… tattoos?" I asked.
Luna blinked. "Yup. Down his arms. Looked like runes or spells or something. I swear, he looked familiar somehow, but I couldn't place it. You?"
I licked my lips, suddenly dry. My stomach tightened.
"…Maybe."
"Where'd you hear all this from?" I asked, trying to sound bored.
She grinned. "You forget who my mother is? Principal Valen keeps all her files in her office cabinet, and she really should lock that thing, plus there's the net"
I shook my head. "You're gonna get us arrested."
"Worth it."
She looked at me again, head tilted.
"Okay, no joke—are you okay? You've been quiet. Weird quiet."
I paused.
Then said it. "I saw my father this morning."
Her smile faded. "Oh."
Her voice was softer now. Like she'd stepped around a body.
"How are you… handling it?"
I lied without blinking. "I'm fine."
She gave me a look. I kept going.
"It's easier this way. Pretending. If I let it hurt, it'll never stop."
She nodded slowly. Bought it. Thank the moon.
"Yeah. Same," she muttered. "My dad lectured me about being 'a better example' this morning. Said I should be more like my brother."
She gagged. "Like being that responsible wouldn't kill me in 48 hours."
"Speak of the devil," I muttered.
Because just then, he appeared.
Luca Valen. Luna's twin brother. Beta's son. Star of the combat team. Pack favorite.
And unfortunately… my boyfriend.
He strolled over, smirking like sin, and kissed me on the cheek. "Morning, princess."
I smirked. "You're late."
He shrugged. "Fashionably."
He was always saying stupid shit like that. But he was hot, good with his hands, and didn't ask too many questions.
It worked.
For now.
The school bell rang. Luna groaned. "Time to pretend we care about algebra again."
As the courtyard started to empty, I caught movement in the distance.
Near the field.
Someone walking.
Black hoodie.
Hands in pockets.
Head down.
Tattooed arms.
The sun caught his face for just a second—
And my heart stopped.
Those eyes.
That face.
It was him.
But this time…
He looked straight at me.
Like he knew.
Like he'd been waiting.
He looked at me.
Right at me.
And for one stretched second, the world slowed down.
The chatter. The hallway noise. Even the sunlight dimmed like it was holding its breath.
His hoodie clung to him like shadows made fabric. Tattoos peeked out under the sleeves, curling like secrets along sun-kissed skin. His hair was dark, slightly messy, and his eyes—
Unforgiving. Unbothered.
Then, like I was dust in his peripheral, he looked away.
Like I was nothing.
Again.
"Oh fuck me sideways with a cursed dagger," Luna muttered.
I blinked, still stunned.
"What?"
She was still staring after him, slack-jawed. "Why the hell does it look like he's walking in slow motion? Like he's in some sexy, tragic music video?"
I didn't respond. Couldn't. I was still trying to unglue my organs from where they had scattered across the floor.
Luna kept going. "I swear if he so much as breathes near me, I'm getting pregnant—"
"Close your mouth before something flies in, Luna."
I froze, knowing that familiar voice.
Shit.
Standing behind us, arms crossed and eyebrows sharpened to kill, was Principal Valen.
Luna didn't even turn around, still dazed. "Sorry, ma'am, I'm physically incapable of closing it when God's finest creation just strutted down the hall like that."
"Luna," I hissed under my breath, elbowing her.
She spun around casually—then paled. "Oh. Hi… Mom."
Principal Valen didn't flinch. "You're late to class. Again."
"We were just—"
"And your shirt is unbuttoned halfway down your chest like you're leading a strip cult."
"Mom—"
"Detention. After school. No cheer practice. No excuses. You'll be helping scrub the training mats. And the bathrooms."
Luna groaned, her face crumpling. "You're sending me to prison—"
"I'm sending you to responsibility," Principal Valen snapped. "Prison is next."
Then her icy gaze shifted to me.
"Aurielle."
I snapped to attention. "Yes, ma'am."
"Walk with me."
I nodded, casting one last glance toward the hallway where he had disappeared, my stomach still a mess of heat and confusion.
As I followed the principal down the corridor toward her office, heels clicking against the floor, I tried to shake the memory of his eyes.
Cold.
Empty.
Familiar.
Why did I feel like I'd seen him long before last night?
And why did it feel like he'd already decided exactly who I was—and found me lacking?
[TO BE CONTINUED...]