All Chapters of Reckless Royals of Nocturne Prep: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

LUCAI couldn't sit still. My hands wouldn't stop shaking, and there was this crawling sensation under my skin like something was trying to claw its way out. Every breath felt wrong. Every heartbeat felt too loud.Mate.The word kept echoing in my head, bouncing around like a ping-pong ball I couldn't catch. My wolf paced back and forth, restless and agitated. It wanted to go to that infirmary. It wanted to find her again, to make sure she was safe, to claim what belonged to us.But she was an Omega.A fucking Omega.I pressed my palms against my temples and tried to think straight. This couldn't be happening. Not to me. Not now. Not with everything else falling apart.She was Saraphina’s sister too. It was fucked up. Messed up even.The other students had gone back to their seats after Cassian showed up and carried her out. They were all whispering now, stealing glances at me when they thought I wasn't looking. Word would spread fast. By lunch, everyone would know that Luca Ashborne

RAE’S POVThe nurse finished wrapping my shin and stepped back to examine her work. "That should hold for now. Let me go get your pain medication."She bustled toward the medicine cabinet, her shoes squeaking against the linoleum. I watched her go, suddenly aware of how quiet the infirmary had become with just Cassian and me.He cleared his throat. "I have to go now. I have class."I nodded, trying not to let disappointment show on my face. Of course he had to leave. He was a professor, not my personal bodyguard."But you can rest here if you think you cannot handle what's going on out there," he continued, his voice gentler than before.I looked up at him. "What do you mean?""The attention. The stares. The whispers." He shrugged. "In my opinion, their attention always goes to something else eventually. Give it a day or two."Something about the way he said it made me think he'd dealt with unwanted attention before. Maybe being an incubus at a school full of hormonal supernatural tee

CASSIANI should have gone to class. My students would be waiting, probably grateful for the reprieve when I didn't show up. Instead, I found myself walking toward the administrative wing, my footsteps echoing on the polished marble floors.The scent of pine and something floral still clung to my jacket from the infirmary. Rae's scent. It shouldn't have affected me the way it did, but here I was, abandoning my responsibilities because I couldn't shake the image of her trying to hide her tears behind defiance.The headmistress's office door was heavy oak, carved with intricate patterns. I knocked twice and waited."Come in."Miyori Fox sat behind her massive desk, her hair pulled back in a perfect chignon. She looked up from her tablet with those unsettling violet eyes that seemed to see straight through you."Professor Rhys," she said, setting the device aside. "Shouldn't you be teaching Introduction to Supernatural Literature, or is it inter-species relations right about now?""We ne

CASSIANI walked back to my classroom with Miyori's words still echoing in my head. The hallway felt longer than usual, each step weighted with the memory of Rae's frightened eyes and the headmistress's cold dismissal. Students passed me in clusters, their voices dropping to whispers when they noticed my expression.The classroom door stood open. I could hear voices inside, the usual pre-class chatter that died the moment I stepped through the threshold. Twenty-three desks arranged in neat rows, but several sat empty. I counted quickly. Conrad's seat was vacant. So was Luca's.I set my leather satchel on the desk and pulled out my notes, though I barely glanced at them. The lesson I'd planned felt hollow now, academic theory divorced from the brutal reality I'd witnessed in the infirmary."Professor Rhys?" Annalise's voice cut through my brooding. She sat in the front row, her blonde hair perfectly styled despite everything that had happened. "Conrad and Luca are in the infirmary. And

RAEI sat on my bed for ten minutes after the call ended, staring at my phone. My hands hadn't stopped shaking since the vision, and my father's cold voice kept echoing in my head. Spare kid. Make yourself small.But I couldn't make myself small. Not after what I'd seen. Saraphina had been murdered, and everyone thought it was an accident. Someone had pushed her off that balcony and watched her die, then let the whole world believe she'd killed herself with drugs.I pulled out the card Professor Cassian had given me. His handwriting was neat, precise. Just like everything else about him. I'd tucked it into my pocket after he helped me this morning, not really thinking I'd need it so soon.My fingers fumbled with the numbers as I dialed. The phone rang twice before his voice came through, warm and concerned."Professor Rhys speaking.""It's Rae," I said quickly. "Rae Vale. From this morning.""Rae." His voice softened immediately. "Are you alright? You sound upset."I pressed my free h