CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

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• Mated In Disguise   CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  A breath. Then another. Every inhale burned against her ribs, already sore from the earlier sparring match with Kael. But Rian didn’t back down. She couldn't. Not in front of them.The tallest boy stepped forward first—Cassian, if she remembered right. Broad-shouldered and built like a battering ram, his canines glinted as he smirked, eyes cold. "You're quiet, Ghost Boy," he murmured, voice low and mocking. "Too quiet for someone who thinks he belongs here."Behind him, the others fanned out—two more boys flanking her left and right. Blocking every escape route. She tried not to let her panic show, though her wolf stirred uneasily under her skin, thrashing against the unnatural stillness she was being forced to maintain."I don’t want trouble," she said, keeping her voice steady, masculine. “Let me pass.”Cassian chuckled. "You already brought trouble, runt. First day, and you're dragging our rank average down with your pathetic performance." He reached out, tapping her chest with two

• Mated In Disguise   CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  The quiet of the dorm room was broken only by the soft creak of the door opening. Rian looked up from where she sat cross-legged on her bed, her fingers idly tracing the frayed edge of her training shirt.Kael stood in the doorway, a faint shadow in the dim light filtering through the curtains. His expression was unreadable, but there was a flicker of something softer than usual in his eyes.“I want to spar,” he said bluntly.Rian blinked, caught off guard. “You... want to spar? Here?”Kael stepped inside, closing the door behind him with a deliberate click. “Not here. Out on the training grounds. Thought it might help. You need practice. And I want to see how much you’ve really got.”Rian rose, tension tightening her shoulders. She nodded, knowing she couldn’t refuse. An elite heir like Kael didn’t ask for a sparring match out of casual interest. This was a test, a challenge—and maybe even a rare gesture of... guidance.They stepped out into the hallway, footsteps echoing softly. Kae

• Mated In Disguise   CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  The sky had begun to darken by the time Rian finally returned to the dormitory tower. Shadows stretched long across the stone floor, soft and cool in contrast to the burn in her legs. Her steps were quiet, precise. She kept her head down, her breathing measured—trying not to let the buzz of humiliation or the memory of mocking laughter follow her up the stairs.The moment she opened the door to the dorm suite, the familiar sense of anxiety crawled up her spine.Kael was already there.He sat on the edge of the shared couch, elbows resting on his knees, a towel around his neck and a bottle of water in one hand. His dark shirt clung to him with sweat, his jaw sharp and his expression unreadable. For a heartbeat, Rian froze in the doorway.Kael looked up.Their eyes met—just for a second—and Rian’s first instinct was to retreat.She stepped inside, closing the door softly behind her, already angling toward her bedroom. If she moved fast enough, maybe she could avoid any sort of exchange.

• Mated In Disguise   CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  The cold stone wall pressed against Rian’s back as she ducked into one of the less traveled corridors flanking the courtyard. Her breath still caught in her throat, shallow and uneven, even as the distant voices of her taunters faded into nothing. The ranking board, the bruises, the sneers—they still clung to her like a second skin. She needed distance. Silence.This part of the Academy felt older, the stone walls darker, the light dimmer. Ivy curled around the high windows, and the scent of aged parchment and dust hung in the air. It was the kind of place others ignored—a tucked-away wing once used for auxiliary classes, maybe. Forgotten, quiet.Rian let herself exhale fully for the first time since the confrontation. Her shoulders sagged slightly, the ache from combat class making itself known again in pulses. She moved down the corridor, steps echoing slightly on the polished flagstone. Her mind spun, trying to claw back composure, trying to stop the words of the others from echoin

• Mated In Disguise   CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  The board loomed ahead, crowded by the crush of boys jostling to read their fate. Laughter echoed—sharp and smug in some corners, groans and muttered curses in others. The official rankings were printed in bold, inked letters on thick parchment and nailed to the wrought iron display like a list of war heroes—or executions.Kael walked straight up to the board, his tall frame parting the crowd without effort. He didn’t even seem to scan the list. His gaze zeroed in on the very top—where his name had already drawn stares and murmured approval from others.#1 — Kael StormvaleNo surprise. No contest.He stood there a moment, unreadable. Then stepped back without a word and turned away, vanishing into the murmuring crowd like smoke fading into the wind.Rian hesitated on the edge of it all, her limbs locked in place. Her boots rooted to the stone walkway as others swept past her. Her hands curled into fists at her sides, cold air rushing against her cheek. For a moment, she couldn’t move.

• Mated In Disguise   CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  By the time Rian made it back to the dormitory tower, her muscles were screaming, and her head throbbed with the aftermath of restraint. Every step across the courtyard had felt like dragging iron weights behind her. But when she reached the door of the shared dorm room and stepped inside, relief washed over her in a cool wave.Kael wasn’t there.Rian let the door close softly behind her, allowing her shoulders to sag for the first time all day. The quiet hum of the room’s enchantments—the faint pulsing of magic in the walls, the rustle of curtains swaying in the window’s breeze—was the only sound that greeted her.No footsteps. No questions. No golden eyes watching her too closely.She dropped her backpack by the couch and sank into the farthest cushion, bracing her elbows on her knees and burying her face in her hands. Just a minute. Just one damn minute to breathe.Combat had pushed her body. Shifting had nearly shattered her secret.She couldn’t keep dodging forever.You’re walkin