The dorm hallways of Ophelia Wing buzzed with life. Doors slammed, laughter carried, the scuff of shoes echoed off stone. For most students, it was noise. For Justin, it was a constant hum pressing against his mind — hundreds of half-thoughts, idle worries, petty gossip. With his telepathy unguarded, he could hear them all if he wished. But he didn't.
He adjusted his glasses, pulling his awareness inward, focusing on the steady rhythm of his own breath.
Xavier nudged him as they walked back from class. "You're doing that thing again."
Justin arched a brow. "What thing?"
"The thing where you look like you're plotting a hostile takeover." Xavier smirked. "Relax. It's just a hallway."
Justin didn't answer. But he slowed when he noticed Enid Sinclair across the corridor, standing by her dorm door with Yoko. Enid's hands moved animatedly as she chattered, her pastel nails catching the dim light. She was laughing — bright, too loud for the gloom of Nevermore. But when her eyes landed on him, the laughter died in her throat.
The Imprint pulsed.
Her heart thundered. She felt the bond tug like an invisible thread, pulling her toward him, warming her chest and curling low in her stomach.
Yoko noticed her freeze and glanced over. "Ah. Nightwalker." She smirked, sipping from her thermos. "Your new roommate has a gravitational pull. Careful, Enid. You might fall in."
Enid swatted her arm, cheeks burning. "Shut up."
Justin stopped in front of them, calm as ever, adjusting his tie so the Nevermore crest pin caught the light. "Sinclair. Yoko."
Enid swallowed hard, words fumbling. "H-hi. Um… I'm Enid. We… haven't officially… you know—"
"You have now," Justin said, voice smooth but not unkind. His abyssal gaze flickered faint fire, just enough to make her knees weak.
Yoko raised a brow, amused. "Wow. He actually talks. Careful, Enid, your Imprint's showing."
Enid's head snapped toward her. "Yoko!"
Justin tilted his head slightly, studying Enid. She was flushed, fidgeting, clearly caught in something she didn't understand yet. But he did. He felt the tether too — the wolf's instinctive bond tugging her toward him.
His lips curved faintly. "It doesn't bother me."
Enid blinked. "What doesn't?"
"That you're nervous." He adjusted his glasses. "You'll figure it out eventually."
She froze, trying to piece together what he meant, but before she could ask, Xavier grabbed Justin's shoulder. "C'mon, man. Don't just stand there making the wolf pup short-circuit."
Enid sputtered, "I'm not—!"
But Justin had already moved on, Xavier dragging him toward their dorm. Enid stood rooted to the spot, heart hammering, Yoko smirking into her thermos.
Across the hall, Ajax Petropolus had been watching. His hand tugged absently at his beanie — the one that kept his snakes hidden. He'd seen Enid laugh with him before. He'd thought, maybe, it could have been something. But the way she looked at Justin told him all he needed to know.
For a moment, his chest ached. But Ajax was Ajax. Lighthearted, caring, never one to drown in bitterness. He blew out a breath and muttered under his breath, "Guess the wolf found her mate." Then he smiled faintly, resolving not to stand in the way.
—
That night, the dorms buzzed with whispers.
Eugene stopped Xavier and Justin in the hall, his bee pin crooked on his sweater. "Hey, uh… don't take this the wrong way, but is it true? You keep golden statues of, like… your enemies?"
Xavier groaned. "Seriously? Already?"
Justin adjusted his cufflinks, voice calm. "They're not statues."
Eugene blinked. "Oh. So… rumors are wrong?"
"They're warnings." Justin brushed past him, leaving the boy pale and confused.
Behind them, whispers spread.
He has a Collection…
They say he turned a whole vampire coven to gold…
My cousin swears her pack lost someone to him…
Never touch his Collection — you'll become one of them…
The legend grew legs in the span of hours, retold and reshaped until it was less rumor and more gospel. By the time Justin returned to his dorm, he could hear it in the thoughts of half the student body. Fear. Fascination. Worship.
—
Inside their room, Xavier was sprawled on his bed, sketching. "You're not even trying, and people are losing their minds. Bianca's definitely going to come for you again. And Enid…" He grinned knowingly. "You noticed, right?"
Justin removed his glasses, setting them on his desk. His abyssal eyes glowed faintly in the lamplight. "She noticed first."
Xavier smirked. "Imprint. Lucky you."
Justin tilted his head. "Lucky?"
"Enid's a good one," Xavier said, charcoal smudging his fingers as he drew. "She's sunshine. The opposite of you. If anyone can handle your whole…" He gestured vaguely. "…demonic prince thing, it's her."
Justin leaned back against the headboard, lips curving faintly. "We'll see."
—
Across the hall, Enid sat cross-legged on her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest while Yoko filed her nails.
"I wasn't nervous," Enid muttered.
"You were drooling," Yoko said flatly.
Enid buried her face in the pillow, muffled voice groaning. "Shut up."
Yoko smirked. "Soul-bonds are messy. Don't fight it too hard. He didn't."
Enid peeked over the pillow, cheeks pink. "What do you mean, he didn't?"
Yoko only smirked wider, filing her nails in silence.
On the other side of the room, Ajax sat on his own bed, strumming at a beat-up guitar. He watched Enid quietly for a moment, saw the way she hugged that pillow like it was armor. He smiled softly and strummed louder, letting the music cover the awkward silence. He wasn't going to fight fate. But he'd be there — goofy, steady, and kind — when she needed him as a friend.
—
Down in the staff quarters, Marilyn Thornhill sat at her desk, red hair spilling forward as she scribbled lesson notes. But her hand paused, her pen hovering over the page.
She saw his face again in her mind — pale, flawless, fire-ringed eyes behind those glasses. The weight of him in the room. The way her pulse quickened when he looked at her.
Her chest rose, cardigan tugging open just slightly as she leaned back. She caught herself, slamming her notebook shut.
"No," she whispered. "Not him. Focus."
But Mammon's son haunted her thoughts, and no amount of denial could shake it.
—
Back in his dorm, Justin smirked faintly as he lay back on his bed. He could still feel Enid's gaze from earlier, warm and tethered. For once, the whispers in his head weren't Mammon's. They were hers.
And he let them linger.