Chapter 2

Kael’s POV

The windows of my estate glinted gold under the morning sun, but I wasn’t feeling the warmth.

“I shouldn’t have gone on that trip, Kelvin,” I told my twin, the only one who didn’t flinch under my Alpha aura.

“But you were excited about it. Why the sudden regret?”

His deep blue eyes pierced into mine. He was my carbon copy, identical in every way, except he was cooler, friendlier.

He didn’t inherit grandfather’s power. The devil’s blood runs in me, not him. Kelvin’s just a normal lycan. I’m a hybrid.

“She ruined my first meeting with the International Council. I couldn’t concentrate at the briefing.”

“Who is she, Kael?”

I saw his eyes, steady and unflinching.

“She's human,” I said, my voice flat. “And she looks exactly like your dead mate.”

His breath caught. “Human? Looks like my Diana?” He shook his head, disbelief flashing in his eyes. “What are you saying, Kael? You’re not making sense.”

“My mate is a damn weak human.” I forced the words through clenched teeth.

“Your mate is human?”

I gave a single nod. 

“She’s fragile. No scent of power, no aura. Just… ordinary.” I looked away, jaw tight. “But the bond…gods, it hit me like a blade to the chest.”

The wine glass in my hand shattered as I squeezed it, shards cutting deep into my palm. Blood gushed onto the floor, but within seconds, my skin healed.

Kelvin leaned forward, his voice low. “You sure it’s the bond? Not lust?”

“She looked at me,” I whispered, haunted. "And for a second, I saw the stars move. My wolf kept calling her mate.”

He exhaled sharply and set down his mug. “And then?”

“I poured water on her. Called her a freak.”

“You what?” he barked.

“I panicked,” I snapped. “She got too close.”

“If Father finds out…if the Council finds out…” He paused, tension rising. “You’re the Crowned Alpha, Kael. The next in line. You can’t have a human mate.”

“Exactly why I’ll never see her again.” I stood abruptly, ignoring the sharp pain in my chest. “Humans don’t survive in our world. Father and the Council trusted me to lead the purge of humanity. I can’t screw that up.”

Kelvin leaned against the wall, arms folded. “So that’s it? You’ll just ignore her?”

A numbness crept through me. My palms turned sweaty. Regret stabbed through me, sharp and sudden, but I buried it.

I’m the devil's grandson. I don’t bend for a human.

“She’s just a glitch. A trick of fate,” I said coldly, staring out the glass window.

But even as the words left my mouth, the lie tasted like blood.

★ ★ ★

Diana’s POV

Two days later, we arrived in San Francisco.

The wind bit at my cheeks as our car wound up the hill to our new home.

It was bigger than our last, a two-story apartment nestled between rows of cherry-blossom trees. It felt… unreal.

For a military family always moving, space felt like luxury.

I touched the banister gently. “This place has stairs that don’t creak. Mom, is this real life?”

She laughed, but her eyes looked tired.

“What about school?” I asked, turning to my dad. I was a nerd in my final semester of senior year. I didn’t want to fall behind.

“You start tomorrow,” he said. “My boss pulled some strings. You’ve been admitted mid-semester to Ashmoor Academy. It’s… prestigious.”

“Already?” I blinked.

The name alone sounded like a school for spoiled rich kids. My stomach twisted. I wanted to be positive, but sleep didn’t come easily that night.

The next morning, my mom drove me to Ashmoor Academy. Hoodie up, books stacked tight in my arms, I stepped out of our old, dragging car.

Ashmoor looked like a gothic castle; towering spires, arched windows, ivy curling around ancient stone.

I didn’t care. All I saw was a chance to start over.

Mum beamed. “Can you believe this place?”

“I thought we’d have to deal with waiting lists again.” I said happily.

“Nope. You’re in. Uniforms are in the closet, and the school bus stops just down the street.”

She waved me off, proud as ever.

Inside, the school smelled very nice. I followed the signs to the front office and handed over my documents.

Two teachers were whispering near the back wall. One, a tall, pale woman with trembling hands, glanced my way and froze.

The receptionist’s smile faltered.

“Diana Johnson?”

“Yeah,” I said slowly. “Transferred from Lincoln High.”

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.

“That’s… impossible.”

“What?” The question tumbled out as my green eyes widened in fear.

The teachers looked up. One stepped closer, brows furrowed.

“I… I’m sorry,” the receptionist stammered. “What’s your name again?”

“Diana Johnson,” I repeated, now uneasy.

Her face was drained of color.

“We buried her last year,” she whispered. “She was our student”

The room fell silent.

“Excuse me?” My voice came out barely audible.

She searched the database again. She took one last look at me and dropped her papers, relaxing slightly. Muttering: “It wasn’t Johnson. It was Jones. Diana Jones. Same age, Same face.”

I forced a nervous laugh. “Weird coincidence, huh?”

The teachers exchanged uneasy glances.

The receptionist called the principal, then the tech department. She tried to stay polite, but I saw her fingers trembling.

Something wasn’t right.

I followed a woman from IT down the hall to get my ID photo taken. Then came the next red flag.

“We’ve checked the enrollment database,” she said. “Your documents are real. But…”

“But what?”

“You’re not visible in our surveillance system.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Where’s the camera feed?” another IT guy muttered.

The IT guy pulled up the camera feed from minutes earlier.

I wasn’t in it.

“No trace. No heat signature. No image. Nothing,” he muttered.

“That’s not possible,” said the principal. “Every student leaves a digital footprint in Ashmoor.”

I stood there, frozen. Maybe my mom had driven to the wrong school. Maybe this was some messed-up dream.

“It’s probably just a glitch,” the IT guy mumbled, but his voice betrayed him. “We’ll... keep an eye on it.”

I nodded stiffly and followed the teacher toward my first class, clutching the book I brought with me, The Moonborn

Prophecy.

As we passed the hallway window, my vision blurred for a moment. I stopped.

Someone was watching me.

Familiar. Unmi

stakable.

Before I could process it, he vanished…faster than anything human.

My heart thundered. My fingers trembled. 

My heart knew before I did.

He remembered me.