Morning sunlight streamed through the tall windows of Aurelian Academy, gilding the marble floors with gold. Students filled the hallways with chatter, perfectly pressed uniforms and expensive shoes clattering on the polished tiles.
Aiden walked among them, his bag slung over one shoulder, feeling… different. His body was the same, but not. He felt sharper, as if every sound, every smell, every heartbeat around him was clearer than it should be.
And beneath it all was the memory of last night. The taste of her blood. The way she had leaned into him. The way his own fangs — fangs he shouldn't even have — had sunk into her.
He shook his head, trying to shove the thought away.
"Yo, Aiden!" Noah jogged up beside him, grinning. "You look alive today. Did you actually sleep? Or…" His grin faltered as he studied his friend. "…Whoa. Did you hit the gym overnight or something? You look… different."
"Just tired," Aiden muttered.
But then the hallway hushed. Aiden glanced up — and froze.
Selene Veyran was walking toward him. Perfect, untouchable, her long dark hair catching the light. She never looked at anyone. Never spoke unless she had to. Yet her crimson gaze flicked to him. For the briefest moment, their eyes locked — and something stirred in his chest again.
Then she looked away, as if nothing had happened, and walked past.
But the damage was done.
Whispers started immediately. Heads turned. Normal students gawked, whispering:
"Did she just look at him?"
"No way… Selene? The Countess's daughter?"
"Why him?"
And among the elite heirs hidden in plain sight, the reaction was sharper. A tall werewolf boy's nostrils flared as he caught a trace of her scent on Aiden. His eyes narrowed, a low growl escaping before he masked it with a smirk.
Two vampire cousins exchanged glances, lips curling with disdain. "She smells like him," one muttered. "Impossible."
By lunchtime, the rumors had spread like wildfire. Aiden could feel the stares burning into his back as he sat at his table with Noah and Claire.
And then it began.
A chair scraped. The tall werewolf boy dropped his tray onto Aiden's table, leaning down with a grin full of challenge. "You smell funny, scholarship." His voice was mocking, but his eyes gleamed with something far sharper. "Been playing with things you shouldn't touch?"
Noah bristled. "Back off, man."
But Aiden just stared at the boy, something cold flickering behind his calm eyes. He didn't answer.
The werewolf's grin widened, as if he wanted a fight. But Selene's shadow fell over the table before anything could happen. She didn't look at the wolf. Didn't look at anyone else. She just set her tray down… right next to Aiden's.
The cafeteria went dead silent.
Every student — human and otherwise — stared in disbelief as the untouchable Selene Veyran sat down beside the scholarship orphan.
Aiden froze, his chest tight, heart pounding too fast. She hadn't said a word. She didn't have to. Her presence was enough.
The whispers turned into a storm.
And in that moment, Aiden realized something chilling.
Last night hadn't been a secret.
Not anymore.