Moonveil Academy

Elias's POV

I slammed the door so hard it cracked the paneling.

The echo rattled through the suite, bouncing off the stone walls like a threat I couldn't contain. My chest heaved. My fists burned. The blood in my veins pulsed with heat that had nothing to do with the bonfire.

I kissed her.

I kissed a mere human. 

An Alpha heir.

"Damn it!" I hissed, dragging my fingers through my hair so roughly it hurt. I needed pain. I needed anything to distract from the electric ghost of her lips on mine.

I could still taste her, a ridiculous mix of honey and rebellion, laced with that spiked drink Lucian gave her earlier. Something sharp and sweet and completely unwelcome.

But it wasn't just the taste. It was the feel of her, soft, defiant, stubborn even when she was surrendering. My jaw tightened. My Lycan stirred beneath the surface, angry and confused.

"Are you done brooding?" Lucian drawled from the couch, a tumbler of something dark in his hand, legs propped up like this wasn't a crisis.

Rowan paced the far end of the room, his footsteps silent despite the tension rolling off him in waves. "You kissed her."

I growled. "Don't push me. It was a dare."

"It was a mate bond trigger," Rowan snapped, his green eyes flaring. "I felt it from across the damn courtyard."

Lucian sat forward, his eyes sharp now, the teasing gone. "So did I."

There was silence.

A thick, choking silence that settled in my lungs like smoke.

I stalked toward the nearest wall and slammed my fist into it. The stone cracked under my knuckles.

Rex, my Lycan, snarled.

Weak. You let instinct win. You let her in.

"Shut up," I muttered under my breath, not sure if I meant Rex or Rowan or Lucian or my own guilt.

Lucian stood and stretched lazily. "So, are we going to talk about the fact that we all feel drawn to her or just pretend it's not happening?"

"She's just a human. She doesn't even know what we are," I spat.

Rowan looked at me then, sharp and cold. "So was the Luna of the White Fang Pack. Doesn't mean she didn't carry the mark."

I turned away from them, gripping the window ledge like it could anchor me. Outside, the moon was high. Full. Of course it was. No wonder Rex was clawing at my ribs like he wanted out.

"I felt it," Lucian said again, quieter this time. "When she touched me earlier. Just for a second. My Lycan... it didn't growl."

Mine had purred. The memory sent a fresh wave of rage through me.

"Maybe she's not just human," Rowan offered, his voice low and speculative.

"Doesn't matter," I snapped. "We're not discussing this like it's real. It was a dare. A stupid, reckless dare, and now half the school thinks I've gone soft."

A knock sounded, hard and fast, and before any of us could answer, the door swung open.

Ronan entered first, his dark eyes sweeping the room, the jagged scar across his cheek catching the firelight. Always quiet. Always watching. My Beta and my most dangerous friend.

Behind him came Dante, his orange hair a chaotic mess, mischief practically written into the corners of his smirk.

"You kissed a human?" Dante said before the door even shut behind him. "A whole-ass Lycan heir reduced to hormonal mess over some soft little mortal?"

Ronan's eyes narrowed on me. "Your father can't know."

"No one's father can," Rowan muttered. "He'd disown me."

"Mine would kill me," Lucian said cheerfully, dropping back into the couch with a smirk. "Probably mount her head on the wall. I'd have to avenge her, obviously."

"Shut up," I growled, running a hand down my face. "This is serious."

"Exactly," Dante said. "Which is why we need a solution."

I narrowed my eyes. "A solution?"

Ronan crossed his arms. "She's awakened something in all of you. That bond pull? It's not normal. Three heirs. One girl. The council would riot if they knew."

Lucian raised a brow. "So what are you suggesting?"

Ronan exchanged a look with Dante, then shrugged. "May the best Lycan win."

I stared at him. "You're not serious."

Rowan stopped pacing.

Lucian blinked, then started laughing. "You want us to compete for her?"

"She's not a prize," I snapped.

"No," Ronan agreed, "but she's a trigger. A catalyst. Something's changing. And it's better we settle this quietly before it gets political."

Lucian looked at me, all amusement gone now. "You scared, Elias?"

"I'm not scared," I hissed. "I'm pissed. She's stubborn. Infuriating. Arrogant. She walks around like she owns the place even though she barely got in. And now she's in my head."

"I think she's in all our heads. Not so many people openly push and defy us the way she has." Rowan said quietly.

Rex pushed at my chest again. Claim her. Tear them all apart.

I pushed back. Hard.

"She doesn't even know," I muttered. "She's clueless. She thinks it was a joke."

Lucian stood, walked over, and clapped me on the back with a wicked grin. "Then this'll be fun."

"She's going to burn us all," Rowan said. "And none of us will stop her."

For a moment, no one spoke.

I stood still, the firelight flickering against the stone, casting shadows that looked like claws on the walls. My thoughts were a storm. My chest burned with the need to reject the pull, to deny what my blood already knew.

I didn't want a mate.

Especially not her.

But as I turned away from the others, I caught a glimpse of her face in my mind, those wide eyes, that stunned look after I kissed her, the way she hadn't pulled away.

And worse, the way part of me wanted to do it again.

Damn it.

"Fine," I muttered. "If we're doing this... we're doing it right."

Lucian grinned like a wolf. "Then may the best Lycan win."

And somewhere deep inside me, Rex laughed.

Because he already knew how this would end.