Chapter one: "INVISIBLE UNTIL HIS EYES FOUND ME

INVISIBLE UNTIL HIS EYES FOUND ME 

Elara’s POV

The first rule of being invisible?

Keep your head down… Do not make any noise. Do not dare make eye contact.

And I’ve had years to perfect it. Even now, while crossing the courtyard of Moonridge Academy, I calmly kept my eyes fixed on the cracks in the stone beneath my boots. 

Everyone else here looked like they stepped off a movie screen.. either they were laughing too loudly, or they were happily glowing like they owned the sunlight.

As for me?..

I don’t glow. No, I endure.

“Elara!”

The sound of my name shouted through the hall like it isn’t one of the most fragile things I own made me flinch. I darted my gaze up at the direction my name was being called just in time to see a blur of pink hair and bubbly cheeks barreling toward me.

“Oh, thank goddess, you’re real and not…!” the strange pink haired girl bursted out, while practically bouncing and smiling. “I thought I got assigned a ghost as a roommate.”

She grinned like this was some sort of reunion instead of our actual first meeting, before I could decide if it was safe to say something to her she smiled again.

“Hi…I’m Lila,” she spoke, as she grabbed my arm like we had been friends forever, like I’d known her my whole life. “Lila Hart…Human, theater geek, future scandal queen. And you’re Elara Quinn.”

“Uh. Yeah. That’s me.”

She squinted at me, still beaming. “Don't be scared or puzzled… I stalked the roommate list and I like your vibe. It’s giving.. Haunted librarian meets undercover witch.”

I blinked hard and confused. “Uhm… is that a compliment?”

“Totally.”

The moment we stepped into our dorm room, I couldn’t help but stare in awe. The room looked like a fairy detonation on one side with posters, donut-shaped pillows, strings of lights everywhere. While my half had a duffel bag and a box of books.

Typical.

She continued talking while unpacking.. about rapid-fire facts about professors, traditions, even which bathrooms had the best mirrors.

 I let her voice fill the silence. She sounded warm, distracting and loud, but not in a bad way.

“Have you heard of Kael Draven?” she suddenly asked.

 I just stared at her without reacting, and her jaw dropped in the cutest kind of disappointed way.

“Seriously? Tall, dark, terrifying? Alpha of the Bloodfang line? He shifted at thirteen and no joke… he literally bench-pressed a car in front of the gym.”

“I don’t really keep up with local legends or boys who destroyed people's cars,” I muttered.

She gasped, then threw a pillow at me. “He’s not a local legend and he is not just a boy… he’s a walking power surge. Girls literally and I mean literally combust when he walks by. Half the pack says he’s cursed. The other half wants to marry him of course.”

“What do you think?” she teased.

I shrugged and offered her a warm smile. “Oh then I think if he ever smiled, the world might end.”

She gave me a warm smile then continued talking about stuff I felt were not of importance but had no choice but to listen to so I wouldn’t hurt her feelings.

Ironic.

The next morning, I woke up before my alarm buzzed. It was too early for class.. too early for literally anything but the silence was just so tempting.

I slipped on a hoodie, laced up my boots, and stepped outside. The mist glowed faintly and beautifully, and I kind of felt undecided whether to walk or keep admiring the view. 

But I came here for the scenery so I had to walk around and enjoy the scenery.

I giggled to myself as I walked around but then…

From the corner of my eyes I saw something.. a silhouette and when I turned towards the person…

It was him…

He was there, standing under the willow like he grew from its roots. Still. Sharp-edged. Black clothes blending with the fog.

Kael Draven.

I immediately knew before my brain could argue. The air shifted around him, heavier, pressing against my ribs like an invisible hand.

The moment he lifted his head his storm-gray eyes locked on mine. It was just for a second…

Just for a tiny second and it felt like he had been staring at me for ages… then something hit me.

Fear?… Desire?… No!

It wasn’t fear that hit me. it wasn’t desire either. It was.. Something stranger. Familiarity. 

It felt like my soul already knew his name even before I knew it was him.

He didn’t smile, he didn’t speak either, instead he just held my gaze for one beat too long. Then he turned and walked away.

That should have been the end. But I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe. Because for one stupid heartbeat, it felt like the world had narrowed to just the two of us

.

“What was that”

I whispered into the mist, my pulse tripping over itself as I forced my feet back towards the dorm.

As soon as I stepped into the room, Lila looked up from her laptop and stared at me.

 “You good?” she asked, squinting. “You look like you ran into a prophecy or a big bad wolf.”

“Oh no… I just… needed some air,” I spoke, kicking off my boots.

Her eyes narrow. “Air or brooding-alpha-wolf vibes?”

I froze... Too long…. Too obvious.

She snapped her laptop shut. “No freaking way. Don’t tell me…. No way!… Did you see him?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to,” she shot back, grinning at me. “It was Kael, wasn’t it? you… saw him? you actually saw Kael”

“Maybe,” I admitted.

Lila squealed and threw another pillow at me. “Girl! You can’t casually bump into Mr. Handsome-Hot-Death-Stare and not spill every single detail.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” I muttered, digging for a snack. “He just… looked at me. That’s it.”

Her grin faltered for a bit. “You know he doesn’t usually do that. Look at people, I mean.”

I forced a little laugh. “Well, he did.. maybe he was bored.”

“No.” Her voice sharpened. “If Kael Draven notices you long enough for you to catch his stare, it means something oohhhhh.”

I wanted to argue I really wanted to tell her it’s not what she was thinking , but I didn't. Because some reckless part of me knew she might actually be right. And another part of me hoped she wasn't 

He may have actually noticed me

But being noticed had never been safe…. Especially for someone like me.

Because the last time someone noticed me, everything fell apart.