"Naya Janvi!! Can you come to the principal's office?" I look up and see the principal himself come to call me I sigh and hear mummuring from behind, I turn and see my ex mate, kissing his girlfriend in class but the principal turns a blind eye to it as he is the beta's son, I feel a slight pain as they make out cause I didn't accept his rejection,
but it's nothing, as I walk to the principal's office I turn to see the principal shivering as we were walking, I want to ask what is going on ,but a strong small of lavender and cinnamon hit me in front of the office door , could I have another mate? ,Did fate decide to play games of second chances with me? ,I enter the office and stare at the most gorgeous man I have ever seen, how can anyone be that handsome I try to hide my shock as I look up to see him smiling at me"Hello " I say" Hello little mate" he said"This has to be a mistake "I say out loud Damnit his voice is Soo sexy , why didn't I feel that way with Dylan when he moves closer that only out skin touches and he says " does this feel like a mistake princess"? It feels like electricity jolts , but in a calming way I try to put on a brave front and tell him how he has to prove himself .I watch as he chuckles and say he was nothing to prove and takes my number and said " I will be back princess" I feel a little empty as he says he is leaving.I shake my head and get myself together I can't allow myself to make the same mistake twice , I think as I walk back to class"What did the principal want Naya?" Mia asks while clinging unto my arm"I met my mate" nothing serious I replied"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh", she shrieked and I sight Dylan looking at me with worry, seriously? You rejected me now you are worried about me? Jezzz .I walk with mia home and stop by the cafe near my home to work a little"Good evening Amelia!!!" I yell as I found a spot to work." Hey Naya " Amelia says and gives me coffee, "it's on the house "she winks Amelia Earhart she has been like a second mother to me ever since mum became sick, she Is a warewolf but lost her wolf when her mate died, I always use the private section of her cafe to work and she always makes sure I am okay, her husband died when she was pregnant with their first child and months later due to greif she lost the baby too , since then she aged rapidly she is 40 but looks 50She says I am like a child she never had, and if her pup was still alive she will be probably the same age as me .I come to the cafe most times to help her work and clear my head with everything going on. I on my laptop as I try to get a hold of my biological parents and who there are but everytime I seem to be hitting a wall"Uggggh" I groan it's like they don't existMaybe they are dead? .No warewolves don't die that easily we are faster, stronger than humans and not like there has been any war since the last decade I get a call from dad and rush back home"It's all your fault she's like this you bitch!!""You did this to my family" "You are cursed ""She shouldn't have let you in"He cursed loudly I turn around to hear Snickers of other wolves around me as they distance themselves from me Well looks I have runied here too"Please,can I see her one last time?" I begged"After everything you have done?" No !! He screamed "I can't believe she still alive", "she should kill herself already",such a nusiance " the pack members all mummured I turned to see my ex mate looking down , what did I even expect , that he would stand up for me? . tell them I didn't do anything ?I shake my head as I laugh and turn around walk to the museum and head towards the back,it has always been my favorite place maybe because I always want to know what I am? Or who I am or just because it's quiet I am not really sure. I sit down by the pillar and look up to the skyDo gods just really watch what goes on and do nothing"Hahaha" I laugh loudly crazily I sigh and start to recall all that has happened since I was born .I never knew my parents,tho I am still trying to find them but I know they are out there,any family I am adopted into there is always death and misfortune , even tho I try my best to just be invisible and breath it always happens once I arrive, my mate has rejected me for no valid reason , apparently I have a second mate that who knows if he won't reject me . And now I am homeless oh well... I wipe my tear drop and get up , Amelia said it's okay to cry as long as you get back up,As I try to get up I feel a cracking sound on my legWhat the actual fuck!!! , A bone crushing pain takes over my entire body it feels like I am going to die, I scream and I hear a voice saying "calm down Naya , relax let it happen naturally ' I try to calm downWhen I open my eyes I look at my hands and there are paws , woah looks like I got my wolf I close my eyes and try to picture her according to the stories I have heard."Hey Naya I am your wolf, you can name me whatever you like "Carla"I will call you Carla " I look at the mirror Infront of me and see a huge large white wolfWhy am I this large?My wolf is bigger than the alpha of my pack , as I try to organize my thoughts I hear a loud voice"Ahhhhh , there's a wild animal in here" Shit, I turn and run into a corner and change back as I head out I hit a wallDamnit, as I try to walk away I look up and see a man with white hair and green eyes"I am so sorry," I Said"It's okay , mate, I have been waiting a long time for you "What what?? .Moments after the call with Axel…She stared at me, eyes wide, skin pale, the words caught in her throat.“What did he mean?” she asked again, softer this time.I didn’t lie.Didn’t pretend.I just looked at her looked—and saw the cracks in her armor.I’d known something was wrong. Felt it under her skin. Heard it in the silence between her breaths. But hearing it confirmed, knowing what she’d survived…My hands gripped the wheel hard enough to creak.She turned away like she couldn’t bear the weight in my eyes. Like my knowing made her small again.But I didn’t see something fragile.“Look at me,” I said quietly.She did.And whatever I was holding back shattered.I reached for her, and dragged her gently but firmly into my lap, her legs straddling mine before she could say a word. Her hands came to my chest, hesitating then curling into my shirt.“I should be giving you space,” I muttered, voice low and rough, my forehead pressed to hers. “But I can’t pretend I’m calm. I can’t sit h
I was still trying to breathe.Still trying to remember where I was.Present. Safe. Out.The wind moved through the trees again, brushing my skin like it was trying to ground me. Asher stood close, his body tense like he’d sensed the shift, even if I hadn’t said a word.But thenI felt him.Before I saw him.The air shifted, pulled tight as string stretched too far. A familiar buzz tingled in my spine, not entirely unpleasant, but sharp. Fae magic.I turned my head just slightly.Arlo.He stood several paces away, half in shadow, half out, eyes fixed on me like he’d been called here by something deeper than sound.His brows were furrowed.And then—His eyes widened.Just barely.But I saw it.That snap of recognition.He had seen something.A piece of it.The tail end of the memory is still fresh in my veins the collar, the chains, the cold smirk on Victor’s face. Arlo had brushed against my mind. Not on purpose, maybe. But he saw.He stepped back.Not like he was afraid of me—but of
He was still staring at me.Like I’d break if he blinked.Like if he looked away, I might vanish again.I hated it.That look.Like I was glass.PityHe opened his mouth once, then shut it. Jaw tight. Their lips pressed together like he was holding back something sharp.“Asher,” I said, voice low. “What?”He didn’t answer.Just looked at me again with that expression.The one that said he knew.The one that made my lungs feel too small for my chest.“What?” I snapped. “Just say it. Stop looking at me like I need protection!”His nostrils flared, but he didn’t rise to it. His voice, when he spoke, was careful. Too careful.“They found where you were,” he said. “The scent trail. Broken bindings. Silver.”I froze.The word hit harder than I expected.He went on, slower now. “There were… signs. The kind no one could fake. The kind you don’t just walk away from. Naya…”He didn’t finish.Didn’t need to.My stomach dropped. My throat burned.He knew.My heart thudded once, hard.Then I said
They were circling each other like wolves.It was no worse. Wolves had rules and restraint. This? This was something else entirely. Well, Asher was a wolf, but for Christ's sake, he is half-human, and what’s with all the talk about me looking half-dead?I know I haven’t had the time for proper care or to look at the mirror but it couldn’t be that bad, right?“Asher, she’s in Fae territory,” Arlo said tightly. “She should remain here where she’s already under protection”“Protection?” Asher’s laugh was low and full of teeth. “You mean letting her wander around like a ghost? Letting her starve herself in a dark corner while you stood back and watched?”“I didn’t watch..”“You didn’t do anything.”“Enough!” the king barked, his voice cold and commanding. This is not the place for childish pissing contests. The girl is exhausted. Decisions can wait.”“I’m standing right here,” I muttered, voice cracking under the weight of everything. No one heard me.Asher stepped forward, gaze locked on
The door creaked open. I turned , breath caught halfway in my chest like it forgot how to work. And then she was there. Naya. Pale. Wrapped in a thin cloak that didn’t belong to her. Hair a little tangled, lips dry, eyes darker than I remembered, too dark. But it was her. Alive. Standing. Barely. She froze in the doorway when she saw me, like her body registered my presence before her mind did. Her eyes widened, just slightly. Not with fear but with something that twisted in my gut. Surprise. Worry. And behind all of it… relief. “Hi,” I said, my voice a little rougher than I meant. She didn’t speak at first. Just blinked, like she wasn’t sure I was real. Then she stepped inside, slowly. That was when she turned barely, almost like a reflex, and looked toward the far corner of the room. The light there was dim, but it didn’t matter. I saw him the second she did. Arlo. Lurking in shadows like the snake he was, hands behind his back, jaw clenched tight. I followed her gaze
The air changed the second I crossed the border.It wasn’t just colder. It was cleaner, sharper, like walking into a place too ancient to belong to the rest of the world. The sky overhead was silver instead of blue, and the trees hummed with power I didn’t trust and didn't like eitherI didn’t care.Let the magic bristle around me. Let the guards follow me with wide eyes and tense hands. They knew who I was. The name alone bought me silence.Asher Sanchez.There was weight in it. Power. History. The kind that made even the Fae step back.But names didn’t matter right now. Not really. Not when she was still gone. Not when I could still feel that bond like a thread wrapped tight around my chest, pulling, always pulling toward her. Ever since the day I met herAnd she was here. I knew it in my bones.The palace rose in the distance like it had grown out of the cliffs themselves, beautiful in a way that didn’t comfort, only warned.Two guards approached, pale armor gleaming.“I need an au