Chapter 4

Writer's POV

Kael stopped a few feet from Diana, his towering frame casting a long shadow across her untouched lunch.

His eyes locked with hers and, to his surprise, she didn’t look away.

Everyone feared him. Everyone. So why didn’t this weak human girl flinch?

His blood boiled.

At that moment, he didn’t care if she was his mate. May the Moon Goddess help her.

Without warning, he lunged, his hand clamping around her throat, lifting her to her feet.

“Are you stalking me now?” he growled, his voice like thunder.

The courtyard trembled as students scattered in panic, ducking behind corners.

“Let… me… go,” Diana gasped, eyes wide with fear.

His mouth curled into a cruel smirk. That was what he wanted, for her to beg, and cry at his mercy.

He loosened his grip, letting her fall back into her seat. She coughed violently, clutching her throat.

“You are obsessed with my pretty face, huh?” he sneered, mockingly flirtatious.

“What?” Diana blinked, stunned.

“Don’t play dumb. I saw you watching me earlier. First the hallway stunt, now here, sitting under this arch like you’re spying.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Diana asked, pushing herself to her feet, red-faced. “You’re the one who dumped water on me, remember?”

Kael laughed. Cold. Sharp. Like it was all some twisted joke. It only made Diana angrier.

“I don’t know who you think you are, but you don’t get to just show up, insult me, and walk off like you’re the main character of some edgy fantasy. You humiliated me. And now you are fighting me again?”

He turned slowly, the edges of his mouth twitching upward, but it wasn’t a smile.

It was something sharp and dangerous.

“Main character,” he repeated, voice low. “That’s funny. You think this is a story.”

Then his eyes narrowed. “You’re not just human. You’re empty.”

Diana frowned, wondering, “Why did he say I was ‘empty’? What does that even mean?”

But her puzzled face only made Kael smile wickedly. 

“And what if I am the main character?” he asked sarcastically. “You transferred here for revenge? Is that your excuse?”

Around them, more students had stopped to watch. Whispers passed like sparks; 

“She’s pathetic.”

“She is no match for our great crowned alpha.”

“Why’s she talking to Kael?”

“Poor little human.”

“I didn’t follow you,” Diana muttered, loud enough for him to hear but not the crowd. “I didn’t even know you came here.”

He leaned closer, voice smooth like venom. “Then let me make this clear, freak, stay away from me.”

She clenched her fists, swallowing the lump in her throat. She wouldn’t cry. Not now. Not again. But his words echoed in her ears.

He turned theatrically toward the watching students. “Careful, everyone. She might sniff you next. I hear humans are into that.”

Laughter exploded around Diana. She wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

She grabbed her bag and bolted back toward the main courtyard, her heart pounding like a war drum.

No one stopped her. No one said a word in her defense.

She found a bench near the east fountain, wrapped around carved stone and the water no longer ran.

She sat down, trying to breathe. To be invisible.

Then came the click of heels.

She looked up.

It was the girl who first called her human.

Abigail.

She is a vampire. She has blade-sharp cheekbones and colder eyes than Kael's. Her red hair glinted like fire in the dying sunlight, and she moved like she was born to be worshiped and feared.

She has had a crush on Kael for years now and seeing Diana close to him only made her hate Diana more.

Behind her trailed a trio of girls with identical smirks, but she was clearly the queen.

“Hey,” Diana said before she could stop herself. Dumb, but she was still clinging to some thread of civility. “I’m Diana.”

Abigail looked at Diana like she’d spit on her shoes.

“No one cares,” she replied simply. The girls behind her giggled.

“You’re human, right?” one asked, already knowing the answer.

“I mean…” she gave a weak laugh. “Aren’t we all?”

Abigail rolled her eyes, then stepped closer. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

“What is it I’m not getting?” Diana asked, more exhausted than angry now.

“The crowned Alpha. That’s what.” Her lip curled into something that might’ve been a smile if it weren’t so poisonous.

“You’re not just embarrassing yourself, you’re making it obvious.”

Diana blinked. “What are you talking about?”

Abigail leaned in, her voice dropping into a mocking whisper.

“You think you’ll get his attention? That he’ll like you? He humiliated you, and you still looked at him like you wanted more.”

“I didn’t…”

“You’re not like us. You don’t belong here. And if I see you near him again…” She tilted her head, almost playfully. “Let’s just say blood isn’t the only thing vampires enjoy tasting.”

The threat hung in the air like fog.

Diana was dumbfounded. What do blood and vampires have to do with… her?

Abigail turned, motioned to her entourage, and started walking away, but then, she stopped.

“Oh, and Diana?” she called out, not turning around. “Ask Eva what happened to the last human girl who had a crush on him.”

Then she walked away.

And Diana sat frozen.

The fountain behind suddenly felt cold, the wind swept through the courtyard.

“The last human girl?” Diana repeats now, afraid than ever.

Something inside her turned to ice.

Then, a voice behind her. Low, velvet. But familiar.

“You handled that better than I expected.”

Diana spun.

It was Eva.

“Why do you always sneak up like that?” Diana asked, clutching her chest. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“Are you okay?” Eva asked.

Diana ignored the question. “How long were you standing there?”

Eva didn’t answer.

“You really don’t know what you’ve stepped into, do you?”

“I…” Diana was short of words.

“Good,” Eva said, expression unreadable. “Ignorance might keep you alive… for a little while.”

Diana stepped back. “What are you talking about?”

Eva observed Diana for a while,“He’s not what he seems.”

Diana stepped back. “Who is he?”

But Eva just smiled. Sadly.

“Why didn't you run when I asked you to? Stay away from him. He kills quickly.”

Diana froze.

“What does that mean?” she whispered.

But Eva was already walking away, her voice drifting like smoke behind her.

“Next time you see him… check his eyes. Really check, a

nd hurry, we're late for class,” Then she was gone, moving faster than should be possible. Almost a blur.

Diana was left alone.

Wind swept through the courtyard, stirring dead leaves.

Diana's instincts screamed at her that something wasn't quite right about Ashmoor Academy. 

And her nightmare wasn’t over.

It was just the beginning.