Chapter 6: One Step from a Kiss

SERENA

Morning came too fast. I dragged myself out of bed with heavy eyes from the bad dreams. My roommates were already gone so I changed quickly into the uniform and tied my hair back messy. The mirror showed dark circles under my eyes. I looked exactly like what everyone called me.

CURSED

Finn waited in the common room with two mugs of hot tea. He pushed one toward me with a grin. "You look like you fought a ghost last night. Rough sleep?"

"Yeah," I said and took a sip. It burned my tongue but it felt good. " I had dreams about home mixed with stuff here. Darius. The headmistress. A lot of weird dreams."

He nodded like he understood. "The first week is always hell. Especially for new blood like you. Stick close today. We have joint combat practice with the wolves again. It should be fun."

Fun. Right. My stomach twisted at the thought of seeing Darius after last night.

The way his face looked torn. I shook it off and followed Finn to the training grounds. The sun was barely up but students were already out there stretching and talking in groups. Vanessa stood with her Shadow Veil girls shooting me dirty looks.

The instructor split us into mixed pairs for defense drills. Of course I got stuck with a wolf from Lunar Fang. Not Darius this time but one of his friends. Big guy with a mean smile. We started slow. He threw easy punches I could block. Then he sped up. I tripped over my own feet and went down hard on my knee. Pain shot up my leg.

"Get up, charity witch," he laughed. "Or are you gonna cry to Vanguard for help?"

I pushed myself up biting my lip so I would not make a sound. The warm power in my chest started bubbling. Not now. Please. Darius was across the field watching with his arms crossed. His silver eyes burned into me. I could feel them even without looking.

We kept going. The wolf guy knocked me down again. This time my hands scraped raw on the ground. Blood welled up. The pain mixed with the power and purple sparks jumped from my fingers into the dirt. Small but visible. A few students nearby gasped.

Darius moved before I could even stand. He shoved the wolf guy back hard. "Enough. Switch with me."

The guy looked surprised but backed off fast. Darius pulled me up by my elbow. His grip was firm but careful.

"Damn it," he muttered lowly. He let go but stayed close. "You are bleeding. Hold still."

He tore a strip from the bottom of his own shirt without thinking and wrapped it around my scraped hand. His fingers brushed my palm. My heart hammered so loud I was sure he could hear it.

"Why are you doing this?" I whispered. "Last night you said stay away."

He did not answer right away. His jaw was tight and his eyes stayed on my hand. "I do not know. My wolf does not like seeing you hurt. Even if my head says you are trouble." He finished the wrap and stepped back like it cost him something. "Do not read into it Blackthorn. This does not mean anything."

But it did. To me it did. The spot where he touched felt alive. The power inside me hummed with happiness for the first time. I hated how much I wanted him to stay close. He was mean. He believed the worst about me. Yet here he was wrapping my hand like it mattered.

Vanessa saw the whole thing. She stormed over after practice with fire in her eyes. "What the hell Darius? You are babying the trash now? She probably faked falling just to get your hands on her."

Darius turned on her fast. "Back off, Crowe. This is not your business."

She looked shocked then mad. "She is using dark magic on you. Everyone saw the purple crap. Blackthorns are cursed for a reason."

I stood there feeling small again. The words hit like punches from home. Finn appeared beside me and glared at her. "Leave her alone Vanessa. Go spread your poison somewhere else."

Vanessa laughed but it sounded fake. "You will see. She will bring this whole academy down." She flipped her hair and walked away but not before shooting me one last hateful look.

Finn checked my wrapped hand. "You okay? That looked intense with Darius."

"I do not know," I said honestly. My voice shook a little. "He hates me but then he does stuff like that. And the power... it only acts crazy around him. The headmistress called it eclipse blood. Like it is trying to connect us or something."

Finn's eyes got wide. "Eclipse? That is old legend stuff. Forbidden bonds between wolf and witch. Dangerous as hell. You need to be careful Serena. If the packs find out they might try to separate you two. Or worse."

We headed to lunch but my mind would not stop spinning. I sat with Finn in our usual corner. Darius was across the hall with his group. He kept looking over. Not angry stares this time. More like he was fighting with himself. When a wolf girl sat too close to him and laughed. I I felt a sharp twist in my chest. Jealousy. Stupid jealousy over a guy who called me poison yesterday.

After lunch we had history class. The teacher talked about old wars between wolves and witches. How a big betrayal started the bad blood. My family name came up. Blackthorn. The ones who supposedly cursed the first alpha line. I sank lower in my seat wishing I could disappear.

Darius sat two rows behind me. I could feel his eyes on the back of my neck the whole time. When class ended he caught up to me in the hall. Finn had run ahead to grab notes from another friend.

"Wait," Darius said. His voice was rough. He pulled me into a side hallway away from the crowd. It was dim and quiet. Just us. "That light. When I touched your hand. It felt... not bad. Tell me the truth. Are you doing something to me, witch?"

I looked up at him. He was so tall and attractive to a fault. His silver eyes searched my face like he wanted answers I did not have. "I am not. I swear. I do not even know how to use this power correctly. It just wakes up around you. Like it knows you or something."

His hand came up again. This time he didn’t stop. His rough warm fingers brushed my cheek then stayed there. He held my face gently even though his eyes looked full of storms. For a moment the hate that was always there broke apart and disappeared.

All that was left was heat, strong and real, and a confusion so deep it made my breath catch.

He leaned in slowly, like he was fighting himself the whole way. His eyes dropped to my lips. I could feel the warmth of his breath mixing with mine.

A deep ache started low in my belly and spread between my legs.

We were so close the air between us felt alive. My heart pounded hard in my chest. Just a little more and he froze.

He pulled back fast like my skin had burned him. He dropped his hand like it had done something wrong. His chest moved up and down hard. “This cannot happen,” he said in a rough voice. His eyes still showed the same wanting. “My pack would kill me. Your kind already took my mother.”

He turned and left me standing there with my cheek still tingling. My heart felt cracked open. I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to pull him back. Instead I just leaned against the wall and tried to breathe.

Finn found me a minute later. "You disappeared. What happened?"

"Darius," I said. "I think the bond thing is real."