Chapter 5 The Dreaming Begins

The dreams had started quietly. Gentle, flickering things. The kind that slipped between her fingers the moment she opened her eyes.

But lately... they were changing.

Aurora Vale sat upright in her tiny off-campus room, drenched in sweat, chest rising and falling like she'd run a marathon. Her sheets were tangled around her legs. The night air crept in through the cracked window, but it did nothing to calm the heat burning across her skin.

Again, she thought, pressing a trembling hand to her chest. The same dream.

She'd been running. Always running - barefoot through trees so tall they swallowed the moonlight. Her heart pounded, but it wasn't fear. It was need. Her legs moved on instinct, wild and fast, and beneath her skin she felt something strange, like her bones were shifting - stretching - ready to become something else.

She always woke up right before it happened.

Before the shift.

She didn't know why the word felt familiar. She didn't know what she was shifting into.

All she knew was that every time she opened her eyes, her heart ached like something had been stolen from her.

And her nails were just a little sharper.

The next morning, Aurora pulled her hoodie over her tank top and wrapped her hair into a messy bun. She skipped breakfast - her stomach was still in knots - and walked through the busy streets of Ivory Hollow with her hands shoved deep into her pockets.

Classes were brutal today, and her focus was shot.

Especially in Professor Dusk's lecture.

Every time her eyes met his, something inside her curled tight - like a spring wound too far. He was too graceful, too calm, his eyes too knowing. It made her feel exposed. But it wasn't fear. No, fear didn't leave your skin tingling long after someone looked away.

Still... she needed to get a grip.

And more than that, she needed money.

Time wasn't going to wait for her to stop dreaming like a lunatic. She'd been living off savings and a little support from the housing bursary, but it wasn't enough. Her textbooks were secondhand and barely holding together, and she was constantly counting every cent.

After classes, Aurora took a deep breath and pulled out her phone, typing "part-time jobs near me" into the search bar. Cafés, retail stores, tutoring - nothing felt right. She needed something steady. Professional. Maybe something that looked good on her resume for after graduation.

Then she saw it.

"Intern Administrative Assistant – Kade Enterprises."

The listing was recent. It offered flexible hours for university students, plus a generous stipend. A few clicks later, she was scrolling through the company website.

It looked... expensive.

Glass towers. Black-and-gold branding. Power practically oozed from every pixel.

Kade Enterprises.

She'd heard the name before - whispered on campus, in city headlines. The CEO was rumored to be ruthless. Reclusive. Some said he owned half of Ivory Hollow. Others said he never smiled. But all of them agreed on one thing: if you landed anything with Kade Enterprises, doors opened.

Aurora chewed on her bottom lip.

It was probably a long shot. But she was good with schedules. Organized. Smart. Desperate.

She uploaded her resume, wrote a short cover letter, and hit Submit before she could talk herself out of it.

I just need a break, she thought, closing her laptop and curling back into bed. Something normal.

But in the quiet that followed, she felt it again.

A hum beneath her skin.

A strange, ancient calling in her blood - like something was waking up inside her.

And it was only a matter of time.