Not human

Aria’s POV:

I’ve never belonged anywhere. Not in the dramatic, tragic way people write about in books. No secret destiny. No obvious reason. Just a quiet, constant feeling that I was… off. Like I’d been placed into the wrong life and no one noticed but me.

I learned early not to talk about it. My adoptive parents they are good people, human in every way that mattered. They did their best to make me feel normal. Safe. Loved. And I was. But love doesn’t erase the way people look at you when something about you doesn’t quite fit.

The way conversations stall when you walk up. The way friendships never quite stick. The way you always feel like you’re standing just outside of something everyone else understands. I stopped trying after a while.

It was easier that way.

“Aria! Stop hiding in here. It’s your party!”

I glance up as Lizzy bursts into my room without knocking, like she always does. She’s already dressed in a tight black dress, curls bouncing, eyes bright with excitement. The complete opposite of me.

“I’m not hiding,” I say, even though I definitely am.

She narrows her eyes at me. “You’re sitting alone in your room while there are people downstairs. That is literally the definition of hiding.” I sigh, glancing down at my hands.

“I don’t even know half of them.”

“You don’t have to,” she says, waving it off as she crosses the room. “It’s your eighteenth birthday. That’s kind of a big deal.”

Eighteen. The word settles heavier than it should. Like it means something more than just another year. I push the feeling away.

“It’s just a number.”

Lizzy snorts. “Yeah, okay. Tell that to literally every supernatural species that exists.”

I give her a look.

She grins.

“Relax, I’m kidding. Mostly.”

That’s the thing about this world. Everyone knows. Vampires. Fae. Werewolves. Shifters. Things that go bump in the night. They exist.

They just don’t exist for people like me. Humans stay in their lane. Supernaturals stay in theirs. It makes things more simple, more safe. At least… it’s supposed to be.

“You look amazing, by the way,” Lizzy says, softer now, tugging me up from the bed.

I glance at myself in the mirror. I’m wearing a simple back dress, that hugs my body more than I would like. My hair falls over one shoulder, the silver streak at the front catching the light like it always does. The one thing about me I’ve never been able to explain.

“Thanks,” I murmur. She studies me for a second longer than usual.

“You’re going to be fine,” she says.

I nod, even though I’m not sure what she’s talking about. The party is already loud when we get downstairs. Music. Laughter. Too many people packed into one space. I feel it immediately, that familiar disconnect. Like I’m there, but not really part of it. People smile. Someone hands me a drink. Someone else says happy birthday. I go through the motions. Smile. Nod. Thank you.

I don’t notice him at first. He’s just another face in the crowd. Until he’s not. I feel it before I see him. That same wrongness I’ve felt my entire life sharp, sudden, and impossible to ignore. My eyes find him across the room. He’s already looking at me, like I’m the only person in the room. He’s way too focused, too intent. Something in my chest tightens and I look away.

“Drink,” Lizzy says, pressing a cup into my hand.

I take it automatically.

“Relax a little,” she adds with a grin before disappearing back into the crowd.

I exhale slowly, staring down at the liquid for a second before taking a sip. It tastes… normal. Everything feels normal. Until it doesn’t.

It starts subtly. A strange warmth curling through my veins. My head feels light. My thoughts slow, like they’re wading through something thick. I frown. That’s not right. I haven’t had enough to feel like this. My grip tightens around the cup. The room tilts slightly.

“Hey,” a voice says.

I look up from my drink and it’s him. He’s closer now…too close.

“You okay?” he asks.

His tone is casual, but there’s something underneath it. Something that makes my stomach twist.

“I’m fine,” I say quickly.

I’m not.

Something is wrong.

“You don’t look fine,” he says, reaching out. It’s too familiar, too comfortable, as his hand brushes my arm. My skin burns where he touches me. Not in a good way. I pull back.

“I said I’m fine.”

His smile tightens.

“Maybe you just need some air.”

“I…”

The room starts to spin. My knees weaken.

His grip tightens instantly, steadying me.

“I’ve got you,” he says.

I don’t want him to. But my body isn’t listening. The night air hits my skin like a shock, cold and sharp. Still not enough to clear my head. Something is very, very wrong. My heart pounds unevenly in my chest as I try to focus.

“What did you….” My voice comes out weaker than I expect. “What did you do?”

He doesn’t answer right away. That’s answer enough. Panic flares in my chest.

I try to pull away, but his hand tightens around my arm.

“Relax,” he says quietly. “You’ll feel better in a second.”

My vision blurs. My body feels… strange.

Not weak. Not exactly. Just… wrong. Like something inside me is reacting. Fighting.

“I said let go,” I manage.

He doesn’t. Instead, he steps closer. My back hits the side of the house. There is nowhere to go. I’m out of options and trapped.

“You’ve been hard to get alone,” he says.

My stomach drops.

“No,” I breathe.

Something inside me shifts. It isn’t fear though. It is something much darker. The warmth in my veins turns into fire. My breath catches as the feeling intensifies spreading, building, twisting into something I can’t control.

“What..”

My voice breaks. The world around me seems to flicker. The shadows stretch. The air thickens. His expression changes.

“What the…”

I don’t hear the rest. Because something inside me finally snaps. It doesn’t feel like losing control. It feels like something else taking it. Power surges through me violent, overwhelming, impossible to contain.

The air cracks, like literally crackles. Like glass shattering in a place it shouldn’t. He’s thrown back before I even realize what’s happening. His body slamming into the ground with a force that makes the earth tremble. I gasp, stumbling forward.

“I didn’t..”

The shadows move, not like shadows should. They twist toward him, coiling, tightening until he screams. The sound cuts through me.

“I…stop..”

I don’t know how. I don’t know what I’m doing. The power keeps building, spilling out of me in waves. The ground fractures beneath my feet. The wind howls out of nowhere. Something flashes above, lightning where there shouldn’t be any storm. I drop to my knees, clutching my head.

“Make it stop,” I whisper.

It doesn’t, but just as suddenly as it started, everything goes still. The wind dies. The shadows vanish. The pressure disappears.

Like it was never there. My chest heaves as I look up. He’s lying a few feet away and he isn’t moving, not even a twitch. My hands shake.

“I didn’t mean to…”

The words barely make it out.

Far away…Something shifts.

Deep. Ancient. Unseen.

Power recognizes power.

In three different places, Three heirs go still.

Lucien Blackwell feels it first, like a ripple through something old in his blood. His head tilts slightly, eyes narrowing.

“…interesting.”

Jasper Ashwyck pauses mid-conversation, a slow smile forming as something unfamiliar curls through him.

“Well now… what was that?”

Archer Nightblade goes rigid, his jaw tightening as something sharp and instinctive claws at his control.

His wolf stirs. Not in warning. In recognition.

“Something just changed,” he mutters.

Back outside I’m still on the ground. My body is still shaking, my eyes still on the scene I’ve caused. And for the first time in my life, I know one thing for certain.

I’m not human.

And whatever I am…

Something out there just noticed me.