Ronan’s POV
The smell landed on me the second I stepped into the academy hall and I stopped abruptly at the door. It wasn’t just any scent. It hit me low in my throat and it twisted around my lungs, and squeezed. It was wrong and right at the same time, it smelled sweet and sharp, warm like the sun on stone but weaved with something raw and metallic underneath. It was giving two things: Mate… and Hybrid. I froze. My Beta glanced over, eyebrows raised. “You good?” I ignored him. I couldn’t speak. That scent was impossible. “A new hybrid in our academy?” The words dropped from my mouth like a bomb, it was louder than I realized. The students stopped talking and their gazes fell on me instantly. My stomach twisted, my breath shallow. Do we have a new student? Or is this scent just messing with my head? And why the hell does it smell like my mate too? “That must be a joke,” I muttered under my breath. Of all the wolves in this entire academy, the Moon Goddess couldn’t find one normal, full-blooded shifter to pair me with? She really picked a hybrid? Half-human, half-wolf with tainted blood? One of them killed my mother when a fight broke down in my father's pack. The thought alone made my temples pound. I clenched my jaw so tight I thought my teeth might snap. No. No. No. Hell no. But Kavvy, my wolf, stirred in my chest, humming with something dangerous with some touch of excitement and joy. He wanted it. He has always wanted his mate beside him. Of course he did. Wolves are selfish like that. They don’t care about bloodlines or history. They care about instinct, connection and the fucking bond. But me? I cared about pain. I cared about memories. I cared about my mother bleeding out in my arms while a hybrid’s scent lingered in the air. “Ronan, you don’t speak like that to your teacher,” Mistress Kyenna’s voice snapped me out of it which was sharp as a blade. I blinked, disoriented for a second. I’d forgotten where I was, surrounded by rows of students, council reps, and staff. The opening ceremony. I didn’t answer her. My eyes were already hunting. Trailing the source of the scent through the crowd. My head throbbed and my skin itched. The air was too thick to breathe, and that damn smell was laced through every inhale like it was wrapping itself around me on purpose. The scent made me feel two things I hated: hope… and rage..And then I saw her. A girl standing near the edge of the room. She was standing alone. Her posture was defensive, shoulders back, chin raised like she was expecting someone to strike. She wasn’t dressed like the others. Her boots were scuffed. Her uniform looked like it didn’t quite fit. Her hair was a bit of a mess. But none of that mattered. Because the second our eyes locked, everything inside me went still, which included my heart, my breath and even my wolf—Kavvy. For half a second, the bond pulled tight between us like it had always been there, waiting for each other fir a very long period. Then it snapped like a whip, and I flinched from it. She did the same also, but her expression didn't soften, it was sharpened. Which I never expected. I expected her to be confused, shocked and even fear. But I saw none of that. Instead, her eyes were clear, cold and burning with anger. “Who the hell did she think she was, looking me straight into my eyes like that?” “Ronan!” Mistress Kyenna’s voice cracked through the room. “I’m talking to you.” I didn’t look away from the girl. “Maybe I’ll listen when you stop wasting time with foolish questions,” I said. The crowd behind us murmured, their whispers filled everywhere in the hall. But no one dared challenge me. They might be doing that at my back, but not in front of me. I stepped forward without thinking. Taking each step one after the other. Each step echoed in the hall. I needed to smell her up close. I needed to understand what the hell this was. I needed to prove it wasn’t real. But she turned her back on me. She turned without flinching or trembling. She pushed through the students like she didn’t feel anything. Like the mate bond meant nothing to her. That hit harder than I thought it would. She didn’t even look back. I stood there, trying to breathe, my heart hammering against my ribs like it wanted out of my body. Kavvy growled low in my chest, frustrated and agitated, he wanted to chase after her. I wouldn’t let him. “Who the hell is she?” I asked no one in particular. My Beta stepped beside me. “New girl. Transferred in last-minute. Human Council brought her in. Rumor says she’s part wolf, part something else. Nobody knows much yet.” Human Council? I exhaled through my nose, cold and controlled. Of course. Politics. Always politics. I turned and made my way to the front row, students parting around me like shadows. My team followed without a word. I could still feel her behind me. Not physically. But in the air. In the scent that lingered like a mark on my skin. When I sat, I noticed Mistress Kyenna hadn’t taken her eyes off me. She looked… wary. Which was new. She’d known me since I was a pup. But this? This was something else. “I want her file on my desk tonight,” I said quietly. She didn’t ask who. She nodded. I looked back once. The girl had found a corner seat near the back. She was staring down at her hands like she’d rather be anywhere else. Good. Because I didn’t want her here either..And yet… I couldn’t stop thinking about how her scent made me feel two things at a time. It made me fall and fire at the same time. “The moon Goddess really did curse me,”Zara’s POV“Everyone, fall back to your hostels,” Mistress Kyenna said, her voice sounding calm. “We’ll return tonight for the Awakening Programme.”She waited a moment, watching the crowd settle, then added, “We’ll start from the beginning.”The students around me exhaled with relief. Most had failed the first round, and they were happy to get another shot. They all burst into laughter as the lines broke. People relaxed, started talking again, walking back in small groups. But I couldn’t move.My eyes had already found him. Ronan.He stood like he belonged at the center of the world. Head high, jaw tight, eyes sharp like he saw too much. Even from across the room, I could feel it.That was when it hit me again. There was a shift under my skin, which was a flicker if heat in my chest. My wolf that I never felt in my life moved. The bond formed before I could think, which revealed that both Ronan and I are mate. I felt it like a thread tugging between us, it was real and undeniable. H
Ronan’s POVThe smell landed on me the second I stepped into the academy hall and I stopped abruptly at the door. It wasn’t just any scent. It hit me low in my throat and it twisted around my lungs, and squeezed. It was wrong and right at the same time, it smelled sweet and sharp, warm like the sun on stone but weaved with something raw and metallic underneath.It was giving two things: Mate… and Hybrid.I froze.My Beta glanced over, eyebrows raised. “You good?”I ignored him. I couldn’t speak.That scent was impossible.“A new hybrid in our academy?” The words dropped from my mouth like a bomb, it was louder than I realized. The students stopped talking and their gazes fell on me instantly. My stomach twisted, my breath shallow. Do we have a new student? Or is this scent just messing with my head?And why the hell does it smell like my mate too?“That must be a joke,” I muttered under my breath.Of all the wolves in this entire academy, the Moon Goddess couldn’t find one normal, f
Zara’s POVThe temple doors slammed open, sending a gust of cold wind through the hall and everyone turned.A group of students stepped in, dressed in deep blue uniforms. Their boots matched against the stone floor as they walked in tight formation, their heads high, and their backs straight. With everything they are exuding, no doubts, they are pure humans.They didn’t carry the wild energy of werewolves or the weird grace of witches. But somehow, they felt just as powerful. Maybe even more.At the front of the group was a boy. He looked only a few years older than me, with sharp cheekbones and perfectly styled dark hair that framed a face too flawless to ignore. Calm and collected, like nothing could shake him. His presence pulled the room toward him like gravity.“Fighting is forbidden in the temple,” he said, his voice even and firm. “That rule applies to everyone.”Mark’s hand dropped from where he’d been about to swing at me again. He looked away like a guilty child caught in t
Zara’s POVThe Watch, The School, and the ScarI woke up to the softness of silk. At first, I thought I was dreaming. There was no pain in my chest, no cold wind brushing my skin, no sharp branches beneath me. Just warmth… and silence.I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against the golden glow pouring through huge, sheer curtains. I was lying on a bed the size of my entire room back in Mooncroft, tucked under clean white sheets. The ceiling was tall, carved with symbols I couldn’t recognize. Everything smelled like lavender and something sweet like honey and light.I sat up quickly. What the hell?My hands flew to my chest. there were no wounds, no bruises. My body felt like it had never been touched.I jumped off the bed and ran to the mirror by the wall. My reflection stared back, completely healed. The only sign anything had happened was my hair, still tangled and wild from running through the woods. My heartbeat raced.How did I get here?Then I remembered the men, the blade, Lil
Zara’s POVThe forest was quiet, too quiet. I’d walked for hours, walking through tall grass, jumping over fallen logs, and letting my legs carry me as far away from Mooncroft as they could. The pain from my bruises had dulled into a deep, throbbing ache. My feet were blistered, and I hadn’t eaten since morning, but I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop.Eventually, I reached a riverbank, far beyond any place I’d ever explored. I dropped my bag and crouched near the water, letting the cold wash over my hands. The reflection staring back at me didn’t feel like me anymore. My bottom lip was still swollen from Mira’s punch. My cheekbone was a faint shade of purple. And yet, I wasn’t crying.I was free. I leaned against a tree and closed my eyes. Half of me wanted to scream into the night, to cry until my chest emptied of every heavy thing it carried. But the other half, the stubborn, broken part wanted to turn back. Not to beg. Not to crawl back to the pack. No, that part of me wanted one thing.
Zara’s POV“Broken Doesn’t Mean Defeated”“You can’t sleep at the stream.”“You have to go home,” I whispered to myself, pulling my knees closer to my chest as the wind cut through my thin dress.But where was home now?Home used to feel like Darren’s arms. His laugh, his promises. Even though we never had a house together, it still felt like I belonged somewhere, as long as he was by my side.Now he was engaged to someone else, now I was just… me. I’m alone, wolfless, no one by my side now. No one to defend me. Just me. I stood up slowly, my body aching from the cold rocks I’d sat on all day. My head spun a little from crying too much and sleeping too little. Still, I dusted off my dress and made my way back to the pack’s quarters.Maybe I should’ve stayed by the stream. As soon as I stepped into the pack, eyes landed on me. Whispering started.“There she is. The slut.”“Darren’s little toy.”“She thought he’d choose her? Please.”I kept walking, pretending their words didn’t sting