Elara leaned against one of the outer pillars of the courtyard, letting the sun kiss the tips of her curls as Wren and Theo circled her in full dramatic flare.
Wren was halfway into her third tangent about what she'd wear for the Prom of the Eclipse. "Okay, but hear me out," she said, spinning on the heel of her boot, "what if I enchant my dress to shimmer exactly like moonlight when the ceremony starts? Boom—mate magnet."
Elara laughed, her first real one all morning. "You'd blind the poor guy before he could even sniff you."
"That's the plan," Wren said with a wink. "If he can't handle a little glamour, he's not my mate."
"Little?" Theo snorted. He sipped from his thermos, raised an eyebrow. "Wren, last year you nearly lit the dance floor on fire with your 'stardust aura cloak.'"
"It was controlled chaos," Wren said proudly. "And besides, it got me six love letters, two prank proposals, and one very emotional sonnet."
Theo rolled his eyes but smiled softly. "You're a menace."
"You love it," she said, looping her arm through Elara's and pulling her close. "She loves it."
Elara did.
Wren's chaos was comfort. Her energy lit up every dark corner in Elara's life like starlight over the Hollow Pines. Being around her was like breathing air that had never been touched by sorrow. Wren made her feel like maybe she wasn't broken. Just… waiting.
Theo was the opposite — grounded, quiet, steady. He never asked more of her than she could give. He always knew when to joke, when to push, when to just be.
Together, they were her safe place.
They were also the only ones who didn't treat her like she didn't belong.
She watched them both, heart swelling.
"I don't know if I'm ready for this year," she admitted.
Wren blinked. "What do you mean? You're gonna crush it."
Elara hesitated, eyes lowering. "I haven't heard from my wolf. Not since sixteen. What if... what if the ceremony happens and I don't feel anything? What if there's no mate for me?"
Theo set his drink down and stepped in front of her. "El, you're not missing anything. Your wolf is in there. So is your mate. And if they're not? Then fate's clearly got bigger plans. The world doesn't get to tell you what complete looks like."
Wren nodded fiercely. "Exactly. We're not here to follow some pre-written moon fairytale. If the stars don't send you a mate, we'll just hex the moon until it listens."
Elara smiled, warm and real. "You two are ridiculous."
"Yeah," Wren said. "But we're your ridiculous."
The first bell chimed — a soft echo through the open-air arches of Aetherbourne's upper halls.
They moved toward the central wing, merging into the stream of students when suddenly — the flow parted.
Like wolves sensing a predator. Or royalty.
Vanya Thorneveil's heels clicked against the enchanted marble, long platinum braid swaying behind her. Her uniform was custom-cut to perfection — a dark emerald blazer, gold pin at her collar, thigh-high boots like she was headed to battle. Her eyes, glacial and cruel, locked instantly on Elara.
"Oh. You're here," she said, loud enough to turn heads. "I was worried you'd scrubbed yourself into a ditch."
Elara stiffened. "I got here on time, Miss Vanya."
"How professional of you," Vanya sneered. "Still smells like the servant wing, though. You should get that checked."
Wren opened her mouth — probably to say something devastating — but then he appeared.
Kalen.
Flanked by two of his jackass friends, he stood tall behind Vanya, expression unreadable. His eyes — molten amber ringed with cool steel — flicked briefly toward Elara.
Her breath caught for a fraction of a second. She hated how her body noticed him before her brain remembered not to care.
He looked perfect, as usual. Uniform crisp, rings on his fingers catching light. His scent — cedar, rain, smoke — caught on the breeze and Elara cursed how her wolf still didn't stir.
But hers wasn't the only heart thudding.
Vanya turned toward Kalen, instantly softer. "Kalen," she purred. "I was just telling Elara how excited I am for the mate ceremony."
Kalen's eyes narrowed — not at Elara. At Vanya.
"You were harassing her," he said flatly.
Vanya blinked. "I was—what? No, I was just—"
"I heard it," he interrupted, voice sharp. "You should focus on class."
His words weren't warm — they were dismissive. Sharp. Distant.
But Elara didn't miss the way his jaw tightened as he turned and walked past, brushing by her without a word.
Vanya's smile curdled.
"You wish he looked at you," she hissed low enough for only Elara to hear.
Elara didn't reply. Because she didn't have to.
Whatever that moment had been — she didn't understand it. But something shifted.
Not between her and Kalen.
Between the air and the silence.
And she knew.
The day wasn't over yet.
And fate?
Fate was just getting started.