Chapter 2 Nothing But A Random Stranger.

Lucien's Pov.

I've lived my best life in solitude.

Silence has always been easier than conversation, control easier than chaos.

My brothers never understood that.

Riven spends his nights boxing his punching bag just to prove he still can. Cassian spends his pretending he's never been broken at all.

And me?

I study the pieces.

The candle beside me flickers, painting shadows across the open book on my lap. I'm supposed to be reading some forgotten historian's thoughts on wolf lineage, but my eyes keep tracing the same paragraph over and over again.

I can still hear the music from last night.

The laughter. The whispers. The sound of Cassian's pulse, faint but real, after years of nothing.

It shouldn't have been possible.

We don't have heartbeats. Not since the curse. Not since the moon turned her face away from us.

I glance toward the balcony, where Riven is pacing again. His jaw tightens every time the memory crosses his mind.

Cassian lies sprawled on the couch, throwing grapes into his mouth like a man who's never cared about anything in his life.

"Thinking about her again?" Cassian teases, voice smooth and amused.

Riven's silence is answer enough.

Cassian grins wider. "Don't worry, brother. We'll find her. Or she'll find us. They always do."

I close my book and stand. "She's not like the others."

Both of them turn toward me. It's rare for me to speak, rarer still for me to disagree.

Riven frowns. "You felt it too?"

I hesitate. I've never liked speaking about what I feel. Feelings complicate things. But the truth is, I did.

A pulse.

A faint echo inside my chest when our eyes met, hers behind that silver mask.

Cassian raises an eyebrow. "Oh, fascinating. The great Lucien Veyron admits to feeling something. Mark the date, brother."

"Mock all you want," Riven mutters. "But she woke something in us."

"In you," Cassian corrects lightly. "I felt nothing but boredom."

Liar.

He always lies when he's afraid.

I move to the window, staring out at the academy below, students wandering through the courtyards, sunlight glinting over their hair. The normal ones. The blessed ones.

Sometimes I envy them.

Not for their freedom, but for the simplicity of it.

Our curse is a shadow that breathes with us. The night we were born, the moon dimmed. No heartbeat. No wolf scents. No destiny. Just silence.

Every healer failed. Every ritual ended the same. Until we stopped trying.

Until last night.

Something in that girl's quiet presence, shattered the stillness inside me. Like the first raindrop after years of drought.

I run a hand through my hair and shut the window.

Cassian yawns. "I don't think some random girl is responsible for whatever transpired last night. Fate's got a sick sense of humor."

Riven's grumble is low. "You think this is about fate?"

I don't know what he means.

All I know is that my heart, my cursed, dead heart, won't stop echoing her face.

Who is she?

************************

The room falls quiet again. Only the candle burns a slow, steady flame, the way our lives used to be before the curse taught us the fear of been still.

Cassian breaks the silence first, scrolling aimlessly through his phone. "If you're going to brood, Lucien, at least brood with a drink in hand. You look like the ghost of your own funeral."

I shoot him a dry glance. "And you look like the jester at it."

He gasps in mock offense. "Rude. I bring joy to this miserable household."

"You bring noise," Riven mutters.

Cassian tosses a grape at him. "You're welcome."

Riven catches it midair without even looking, crushing it between his fingers. "Try that again and it'll be your skull."

"Violence before breakfast. Charming," Cassian says, stretching lazily. "Tell me, does it ever get tiring being so angry all the time?"

"Does it ever get tiring pretending not to care?" Riven fires back.

Cassian laughs, low and teasing. "Not yet."

I watch them, two halves of a storm I've spent my life trying to contain.

"Enough," I say quietly.

They both stop. They always do when I use that tone.

"The more we talk about her," I continue, "the stronger the pull becomes. You can feel it. I can feel it. It's not natural."

Cassian chuckles under his breath. "Neither are we. Stop the illusion, brother."

He's not wrong.

I sink back into the armchair, rubbing my temples. "I'm not very sure this connection is from the girl, but I can't pin it to anything else."

Cassian yawns, like he's tired of the day before it even begins.

Riven stops pacing. "You think someone noticed?"

"Three sons of the Alpha line, suddenly showing life after years of nothing?" I glance up at him. "Someone always notices."

Cassian leans forward, elbows on his knees, his grin gone. "So what do you suggest, brother? Pretend it never happened?"

"Yes."

He laughs softly. "You've spent so long pretending to feel nothing, maybe you've forgotten how."

"Maybe."

Riven looks between us, his eyes hard. "And what if pretending isn't enough this time?"

I don't answer. Because deep down, I know he's right.

The curse has always been predictable, pain without life, power without direction. But last night, something inside us stirred. That's never happened before.

Cassian stands, stretching his arms above his head. "Well, I, for one, plan to enjoy this little mystery. It's been centuries since I've been intrigued."

Riven growls. "You'll stay away from her."

Cassian's smile sharpens. "Why? Afraid she'll like me better?"

"You don't know what she is," Riven snaps.

"She's nothing but a random stranger!" Cassian shouts back, his smile fading for only a second before widening again.

I look between both of them. Cassian only snaps when he's scared.

I rise again before the air shifts into something darker. When the three of us lose control, the curse burns.

"Enough," I repeat, firmer.

Cassian's grin fades completely now. He turns away, sliding his hands into his pockets. "Whatever you say, brother. But you can't cage curiosity forever."

He strides to the door. "I'll be in the courtyard if anyone needs me. Or doesn't."

The door slams softly behind him.

Riven stands motionless for a long time before muttering, "He'll get us all killed one day."

I sigh. "Probably."

He moves toward the window again, staring out at the sprawling academy grounds. "You really think she's ordinary?"

I hesitate. The image of her flashes behind my eyes, those sharp grey eyes beneath the silver mask.

"No," I admit quietly.

Riven nods once, like he expected that answer, and leaves the room without another word.

Now I'm alone again.

I close my eyes, replaying the moment at the ball.

The silver-masked girl's presence.

Cassian's hand touching hers.

The beat.

His heartbeat.

But then, beneath all that, another sound drifts back to me. Something I'd dismissed as part of the crowd.

A rumble.

A shift in the air.

A presence I didn't recognize.

My eyes snap open.

"There was someone else there," I whisper into the quiet. "Someone... watching."

A chill crawls down my spine.

Maybe the girl caused nothing.

Maybe she was just standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And the worst part?

if she really is just a stranger, then what in the hell made our hearts beat?"