During the rap up section, she looked around the campus was a flurry of decorations, rehearsals, and whispered excitement. Shyla moved through it all like a shadow herself, the locket pressing warm against her chest. Leo's voice pulsed constantly, insistent and unyielding:
"Nickolas Alaric is coming. He's here for you. Do not falter. Do not… get lost in him."
She groaned silently. "Leo! I know! I get it!"
Her phone buzzed — a message from Nora, teasing as usual.
"So… Ash isn't showing up tonight? You are sure you're not sneaking glances at the doorway? "
Shyla rolled her eyes, pressing her thumb over the locket. "Nora, seriously!"
And at home, the air was itself teasing...
Her mother and stepdad had also gotten wind of the ball. And in evening, they cornered her in the kitchen, excitement bubbling.
"Shy, you must introduce yourself properly to this Nickolas Alaric," her mother said, clasping her hands. "He sounds… very important!"
"And don't make me have to drag you into formalities," her stepdad added with a grin.
Shyla's stomach twisted. Between family pressure, Nora's teasing, Leo's warnings, and the pulse of the locket, she didn't know which way to turn.
Night fell, and she finally had a quiet moment alone. But the locket pulsed violently, and something stirred at the edge of her awareness — a faint, elusive presence.
The shadow.
It lingered, unseen, unfelt by Leo, brushing her senses lightly. Protective? Curious? Watching? She wasn't sure, but it made her pulse quicken.
"Not now," she whispered, trying to focus on the upcoming night. But the shadow didn't retreat. It hovered near the balcony, silent and patient.
Leo's voice cut through her thoughts again: "Remember. Nickolas is coming. Stay alert. He is your mate."
Shyla clenched the locket, her fingers tightening around the metal. "I won't… I'll be careful."
Outside, the shadow thickened, silent and watching. Leo's light flared, sensing something wrong — but too late.
He clenched his fist inside the locket, fighting the surge of jealousy.And within a heartbeat — he was there.
Right in front of her.
"Who are you…?" Shyla whispered, half scared, half mesmerized. "Nickolas?"
The figure stepped from the darkness — eyes fierce, jaw set. The storm behind him seemed to answer for him.
He pinned her gently but firmly against the wall, anguish burning in his gaze. "How many times," he whispered, voice breaking, "do I have to repeat myself? I'm not Nickolas."
Her breath caught.
His words came ragged, desperate. "Please… wait for me. I can't see you ending up with someone else."
A single tear fell between them — cold against her cheek, warm where it trailed over her lips.
And then, like the shadow itself, he was gone.
Leaving only the echo of his voice — and the faint, rhythmic pulse of the locket — as thunder rolled once more beyond the city.
Shyla sank to the edge of her bed, fingers still clutching the locket. Her pulse thudded against her ribs, erratic, impossible to calm.
"Leo… are you there?" she whispered, voice shaky. "You saw him, didn't you?"
"Master, there is no one," Leo replied, calm but with a subtle edge — almost teasing. "Are you too excited for tomorrow?"
Shyla blinked, incredulous. "Too excited? Leo… that was… that was him! How could you not see him?"
"I see all, but not all sees me," Leo murmured, as if the words were half for her, half for himself. "Your pulse stirred, but no danger came near. nothing can escape my eyes, unless it's someone using shadow, that is unbound"
Her stomach twisted. "Unbound? You mean… Ash?"
"I cannot call him by name," Leo said, the warmth of his voice pulsing like a heartbeat through her chest. "Your mate is Nickolas. Nothing changes that."
"Are you sure?" Shyla asked, her voice dropping, almost pleading. "Are you really sure my mate is Nickolas? Is there… is there something I don't know?"
"I am certain," Leo answered, firm. "Nothing — no shadow, no longing glance, no fire in the night — can alter the bond that waits. Nickolas is coming. You must be ready. For him… and for the choice you will have to make."
Shyla's chest tightened, the room feeling impossibly small, the echoes of the night clinging to her skin. She pressed the locket to her lips, heart aching with a mixture of fear, confusion, and… something else. Something she wasn't ready to name.
Outside, the storm quieted into a restless drizzle. Somewhere, unseen, the shadow lingered still — patient, waiting, watching.
And in the silence that followed, Shyla realized with a jolt that tomorrow, nothing would be ordinary — not the ball, not Nickolas, not even Ash.