LOGINThe next morning, Aria woke before her alarm.
For several seconds, she remained perfectly still.Then the dream came rushing back.Kaelen beneath the moon.His hand against her cheek.The sound of her own voice when she had called his name.She rolled onto her back.“It was just a dream.”But her heart refused to cooperate.She remembered how real it had felt.Too real.Aria sat up and ran bothThe next morning, Aria woke before her alarm.For several seconds, she remained perfectly still.Then the dream came rushing back.Kaelen beneath the moon.His hand against her cheek.The sound of her own voice when she had called his name.She rolled onto her back.“It was just a dream.”But her heart refused to cooperate.She remembered how real it had felt.Too real.Aria sat up and ran both hands through her hair.She had survived a missing night, discovered that her parents were gone, been taken to a strange mansion, and learned that something about her life was terribly wrong.Yet somehow, the thing occupying her mind that morning was a dream about her professor.Her chairman.The man who had been infuriatingly calm while keeping half the answers to himself.She groaned.“This is ridiculous.”She climbed out of bed.
That night, Aria couldn’t sleep.She lay beneath the covers, staring at the ceiling.Her mind kept returning to the same moment.Kaelen’s eyes.The sudden gold.The way his entire expression had changed when she mentioned the pendant.And his question.Why did he care so much about it?She turned onto her side.“Professor Nightbane…”Even saying his name made something strange flutter inside her.She frowned at herself.This was ridiculous.He was her professor.Her chairman.And, somehow, now the man she was living with.There were far more important things she should be thinking about.Her missing parents.Her lost memories.The strange pendant around her neck.Instead, she was thinking about the way Kaelen had looked at her.Aria pulled the blanket over her head.“I need sleep.”
Thornclaw Territory The doors slammed open. Draven entered the command room. Every wolf inside immediately lowered his head. No one spoke. They had heard the news. Their Alpha had sent them to retrieve the Luna of Fire. They had returned empty-handed. Draven stopped at the center of the room. His eyes moved slowly across the wolves gathered before him. “Where is she?” No one answered. His gaze settled on the scout who had delivered the report. “I asked you a question.” The scout swallowed. “We lost her.” Draven’s expression became terrifyingly calm.
The mansion had been unusually quiet that afternoon.Aria had assumed the staff had simply disappeared for their break.She hadn’t expected to be the only person wandering the corridors.She had woken from a nap hungry and, after realizing she had only one full attire and nothing to walk around in, she had reluctantly thrown on the only thing within reach.One of Kaelen’s oversized black shirts she had picked mistakenly when she insisted on doing her laundry herself. It fell over her body like a dress.Barely.Aria stopped in front of the mirror before leaving her room.She looked down.The shirt reached just below her butt. Her legs were almost completely bare.She immediately tugged at the hem.It didn’t help.“Great.”She looked around her empty room.She needed food.She could either stay hungry or make the embarrassing walk to th
(Present day)Saturday morning came quietly to Nightbane Manor.Aria had slept not quite peacefully after her discussion with KaelenThere was no university schedule waiting for her.No classes.No lectures.No reason to hurry.She woke later than usual and spent several minutes staring at the unfamiliar ceiling.The events of the past few days still felt unreal.Her parents were gone.Her memories of her birthday were incomplete.And she was living in the home of the man who was somehow both the chairman of her university and her professor.Kaelen Nightbane.Aria sat up slowly.Her fingers found the pendant beneath her nightgown.She remembered her mother’s warning.Do not remove it.She still didn’t understand why.But she had decided to obey.At least for now.After getting dressed, she left her ro
⸻ 11:42 PM. Kaelen stepped through the weakened Veil after ordering his omega to wait outside. The scent hit him immediately. His entire body went rigid. His breath caught. His wolf surged violently beneath his skin, awakened by something deeper than instinct. Mate. The word thundered through his mind. His pupils narrowed as the scent wrapped around him—warm, intoxicating, unmistakably supernatural. For one dangerous second, his control nearly shattered. His fingers curled into fists. His jaw clenched. He lowered his head slightly, forcing himself to breathe through it. His eyes scanned the compound.







