Chapter 1 The New Girl

The crisp autumn air carried a scent of pine and something... darker. Ravenwood Academy loomed ahead, its gothic towers casting long shadows against the twilight sky.

Aria Sinclair tightened her grip on her backpack, her pulse quickening as she stepped through the wrought-iron gates. The school felt different-alivein a way that made her skin prickle. She wasn't supposed to be here.

She didn't want to be here.

But fate had other plans.

A few students turned as she walked through the stone-paved courtyard, their gazes lingering longer than necessary. Some whispered, some smirked, and others... just stared.

She ignored them. Blend in. Stay quiet. That was the plan.

Aria found her locker in the west wing, fingers fumbling with the combination lock. Then-

"You don't belong here."

The voice was low, commanding.

Aria turned, her breath hitching.

A boy leaned lazily against the lockers, arms crossed over a broad chest. Dark hair. Golden eyes. A presence so intense it was almost suffocating.

"And you are?" she asked, keeping her voice steady.

"Kael," he said, voice edged with a growl. "And I'm telling you-leave while you still can."

A presence stirred behind him.

Lucian.

The opposite of Kael in every way. Where Kael was all raw power, Lucian was grace. His long, dark hair framed a face too beautiful to be human. Pale skin. Silver eyes. A smirk that sent chills down her spine.

"Come now, Kael," Lucian drawled. "Don't scare the poor girl away. She just got here."

Kael didn't move, his golden eyes locked onto Aria like he was trying to solve a puzzle.

Lucian's smirk deepened. "Ravenwood isn't what it seems, sweetheart. Careful where you step."

And then-just like that-he was gone.

Aria exhaled sharply. What the hell was that?

The Warning

The day passed in a blur of whispered conversations and lingering stares.

By nightfall, Aria stood on the academy rooftop, needing air. The view was breathtaking-the forest beyond the school stretching endlessly, bathed in silver moonlight

A rustling sound from below. Then-a howl.

Not a normal one.

This was deep. Guttural. Predatory.

Her blood turned to ice.

She turned to leave-only to collide with something solid.

A strong hand gripped her wrist.

"Didn't I tell you to leave?"

Kael.

His voice was sharper this time, golden eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.

Aria wrenched her arm free. "What is your problem?"

Kael's jaw clenched. His nostrils flared slightly, as if he was-scenting the air.

Then, his expression darkened.

"You don't know what you are, do you?"

Her heart pounded. "What?"

Kael exhaled, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"You're not supposed to exist."

A gust of wind howled through the night.

And from the darkness of the trees-

A pair of red eyes blinked open. Watching. Waiting.

Aria's breath hitched.

The glowing red eyes in the distance locked onto her, unblinking. Cold. Hungry. Unmistakably inhuman.

Something primal inside her screamed: Run.

But she couldn't move.

Kael, however, did.

He stepped in front of her, his entire body tense, muscles coiled like a predator ready to strike. His golden eyes darkened, something shifting beneath his skin-something dangerous.

The air between them thickened, charged with an invisible force.

"Stay behind me," Kael ordered, his voice laced with something raw.

Aria swallowed hard. "What is that?"

Kael didn't answer. He growled.

Not just any growl. It was deep, guttural, not human.

The red eyes in the darkness moved. Fast. Too fast. One second they were distant-then suddenly, they were right there.

A figure emerged from the trees.

Tall. Cloaked in shadows. Its skin pale as death. A vampire.

Lucian.

But this wasn't the playful, smirking boy from earlier.

This was something ancient.

"Kael," Lucian's voice was a smooth purr, but his silver eyes gleamed with something predatory. "You're being rude. You didn't introduce me properly."

Kael didn't lower his stance. "I don't need to."

Lucian tsked, stepping closer. He was fast-too fast. One blink and he was a foot away. His gaze slid to Aria, studying her like she was some kind of puzzle.

"Interesting," he murmured.

Aria shivered. There was something cold about him-something unnatural.

Lucian tilted his head. "You have no idea what's inside you, do you?"

The way he said it sent a chill down her spine.

Kael growled again, low and threatening. "Back off, Lucian."

Lucian smirked, but there was something sharp in his gaze. Something dangerous."Careful, pup," he said smoothly. "You might bite off more than you can chew."

And then, like mist dissolving in the wind, he was gone.

Just... vanished.

The air seemed lighter, but Aria's pulse was still pounding.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded, whirling on Kael.

Kael ran a hand through his dark hair, exhaling sharply. "Trouble," he muttered.

Aria's chest tightened. "What did he mean? What's inside me?"

Kael didn't answer immediately.

Then-finally-he looked at her.

Really looked at her.

"You're not just human," he said, voice low. "And if Lucian knows that-you're in more danger than you realize."

A cold dread settled in her stomach.

Because the way Kael said it-he wasn't just guessing.

He knew.

And that terrified her more than anything.

The Truth Beneath the Moon

The words hung between them like a storm cloud, thick and suffocating.

"You're not just human."

Aria's pulse thundered in her ears. She searched Kael's face for some hint that he was joking, some cruel attempt to mess with her, but his golden eyes held nothing but cold, hard truth.

She took a step back. "That's ridiculous."

Kael didn't move. "Is it?"

A gust of wind howled through the academy grounds, rattling the trees. Aria wrapped her arms around herself, her mind spinning.

No. This wasn't possible.

She had lived seventeen normal years. No fangs. No claws. No bloodlust.

Just... a girl.

But if that were true, why did Lucian look at her like she was some lost artifact? Why did Kael's voice carry a warning she didn't understand?

"Tell me what you mean," she demanded, her voice stronger than she felt.

Kael exhaled through his nose. "You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

He hesitated, jaw clenching. Then, with visible reluctance, he spoke.

"You smell different."

Aria blinked. "Excuse me?"

Kael looked almost pained as he ran a hand through his dark hair. "Werewolves have heightened senses. We know when something isn't... right. When something doesn't belong. And you-" His eyes locked onto hers. "You smell like both of us."

Her stomach dropped. "Both?"

"Vampire. And wolf."

A sharp, bitter laugh escaped her lips. "That's insane. My parents-"

She stopped short.

Her parents.

Dead.

Burned alive in a house fire when she was only five. At least, that was the story she had been told.

Kael must have seen the flicker of doubt on her face, because his expression softened-just a little.

"You've never noticed anything strange about yourself?" he pressed. "Never healed faster than you should? Never felt... an instinct you couldn't explain?"

Aria's mouth went dry.

The nightmares.

The ones where she was running through the woods at impossible speed, her vision sharper than any human's, the scent of the earth thick in her nose. And the dreams of blood-metallic and rich, calling to something inside her.

She had always written them off as nothing. Just bad dreams.

But what if-

No.

This was crazy.

"This is insane," she whispered, shaking her head. "You're insane."

Kael's eyes darkened, frustration flickering across his face. "I don't have time to convince you. If Lucian knows what you are, others will too. And trust me, not all of them will want to talk."

A chill ran through her spine.

"What does Lucian want?"

Kael's jaw tensed. "I don't know. Yet."

Aria swallowed, hugging herself tighter.

None of this made sense. A day ago, she was just a transfer student trying to survive high school drama. Now she was being told she wasn't even human? That vampires and werewolves were real-and she was somehow connected to both?

"I need air," she muttered, stepping away.

Kael didn't stop her. He simply watched as she turned and walked away, his golden eyes filled with something unreadable.

She didn't make it far.

Because the moment she stepped past the stone archway of the courtyard-

A cold hand clamped over her mouth.

She barely had time to scream before darkness swallowed her whole.