Lyra didn't expect anyone to find her.
She'd fled the alley near the science building,adrenaline still burning through her veins, but she hadn't thought of Kael. Not yet. Not until the cool air shifted behind her, soft footsteps echoing in the courtyard.
"Lyra."
The voice made her freeze. Calm, controlled, dangerous—but familiar.
Kael.
She spun around. He was there, dark eyes sharp, every muscle coiled like a spring. He didn't rush her. He never did. But the tension in the air screamed, he knows something is wrong.
"Kael…" she started, hesitant. She wanted to explain, but words faltered.
"Start talking," he said, voice low, smooth, and terrifying in its precision.
She swallowed. Her chest heaving. "I… I saw him."
Kael's eyes narrowed. One word: Elias.
"What did you see?" His calmness trembled under a barely contained edge.
"I… I caught him feeding on someone. A human. He—he wasn't hiding it. I almost…" Her voice cracked. "…I almost didn't run."
Kael's jaw tightened. His pulse accelerated—but not like a human's. The heat beneath his skin flared dangerously.
"You ran," he said quietly, and she nodded.
"Of course I did. I'm human, Kael! I'm not—" She stopped herself, the weight of his gaze pressing down.
"You're alive," he said simply. "That's what matters."
Kael moved closer, each step measured, deliberate. Lyra's heart hammered—not just fear, but the familiar tension she felt whenever he was near.
"I will not let him touch you," Kael said, voice low and unwavering.
Lyra crossed her arms, grounding herself. "I can handle myself. I told you—letters or words don't cover this."
Kael's eyes darkened. "You can't handle him the way I can."
"And you're going to do what?" she asked, eyes blazing. "Attack him?"
"Control him… or destroy him." Kael's words were sharp, dangerous, dripping with intent. "I will not let him use you as leverage, Lyra. Not you. Not like this."
The air seemed to constrict between them. Every shadow stretched unnaturally. Every sound from the courtyard beyond faded.
Lyra stepped closer, surprising him. "Then let me decide what's worth fighting for."
Kael froze, and in that moment, the predator inside him wrestled with the protector, restraint teetering on the edge.
"You're reckless," he murmured.
"And you're… terrifying," she whispered.
Kael's senses flared, subtle, instinctual. The faintest trace of Elias's energy lingered nearby—watching. Calculating. Smirking somewhere in the distance.
Kael's teeth clenched. "He knows you've seen him," he said. "He's going to push—harder than I expected."
Lyra swallowed. "Then we need a plan."
Kael's gaze softened for the briefest instant. "No plan matters if you're in danger."
She caught his hand lightly, a spark of boldness she hadn't realized she possessed. "Then let me be part of it."
For a heartbeat, Kael didn't resist. Not completely. Not yet. But the tension was palpable—restraint against instinct, centuries of control threatening to break.
And then they heard it—a faint, deliberate laugh, low and mocking.
Alessia.
Kael's head snapped toward the sound. "She's here," he growled.
Lyra tensed. "And Elias?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he drew her back into the shadowed corner of the courtyard, his body close enough that she could feel his warmth, his heartbeat, his control.
"Stay close," he whispered. "Because once she's involved… nothing is simple anymore."
And Lyra understood.
This was no longer just about letters, or avoidance, or whispers in the dorm.
This was about survival.
And Kael Draven—dangerous, controlled, and unrelenting—was now entwined with her life in a way that neither of them could undo.