Freya
~
I looked at him again, this time more closely. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with dark curly hair and grey eyes that looked like they were about to unleash a storm. His eyes had been golden earlier, but now they had returned to their normal color. Why were they golden? I wondered. He wore a dark academy coat, unbuttoned to reveal a white long-sleeved shirt underneath.
He held himself like royalty.
“Freya,” Dean Eva said, “Kristen is the best fit for you right now. He was a top student at his university back in his pack before he transferred here.”
But Kristen’s mouth twisted in disdain. “Really, Dean? This is the one I was transferred to this school for?”
“Yes. You’ve known this all your life, so why complain now?”
“Why complain now?” he scoffed. “Miss Eva, look at her. She looks like she’s been hit by a bus.”
They were discussing me like I wasn’t even in the room. If this was how it was going to be, maybe I really should go back to my world.
“She’s not just any human,” Dean Eva said calmly. “She’s a human hybrid. A rare one—from your clan.”
Kristen frowned. “I refuse to believe this is Ryker’s daughter.”
“You know my father?My real father?” I asked.
Kristen scoffed. “You’re barely what he is. Human,” he said to me. “And I don’t need anyone leeching on me right now.”
My eyes narrowed. “You don’t have to be rude, you know.”
Kristen rolled his eyes but stepped closer, a slow smirk forming on his face.“If not for my father’s final verdict, I wouldn’t have considered mentoring you at all.”
“Then don’t,” I snapped. “I don’t need you anyway.”
He exhaled heavily, clearly annoyed. “If my father hadn’t made it his dying wish, I wouldn’t waste my time. I have better things to do than babysit someone who hasn’t even unlocked her powers.”
I felt heat rise to my face. The audacity of this guy.“You’ll be nothing but a distraction,” he added coldly.
“Excuse me?” My voice was aligned and sharp. “Let me make something clear. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t beg for this. And I most certainly didn’t beg for some spoiled prince to be assigned to me like I’m some lost child. If this is how mentorship works here, then no thank you. Dean Eva, maybe this isn’t going to work.”
Kristen’s jaw tightened.
The Dean, however, simply smiled. “Freya, sit. Kristen, that attitude won’t get you anywhere. Your father chose you for a reason, so don’t fail him.”
Kristen gritted his teeth. “Not like I have a choice now,” he murmured.
I looked between them and scoffed before sitting down and crossing my arms.
“You’re dismissed,” Eva said.
As Kristen stormed out, he threw me a final look—one that promised war. I shivered, realizing I’d just made my first enemy in this strange new world.
***
Kristen
~
I stormed through the corridors of Moon claw, ignoring the nods and bows of lower-ranked students.
I reached my room and slammed the door, throwing myself into the dark leather armchair by the window.
My head was filled with a storm of confusion.
Freya.
That name shouldn’t mean anything to me. She was half-blood. A hybrid with dormant powers. Raised as a human. Weak, Inexperience and mortal.
And yet…when she looked at me, I felt something twist deep inside. Was it lust? My wolf had growled the moment she stood up to me. But it didn’t make sense.
The mate bond!
I had already felt it years ago with Chloe. Or so I thought. My mother had arranged the marriage. Chloe was strong, beautiful, and capable. We matched in lineage, power, and pack politics.
But I never really felt the bond.
Not until now.
That girl,Freya. Something about her scent, the way she challenged me… it woke something inside me that had been sleeping for years. But why didn’t she feel it too? I rubbed my temples.
Unless… unless she can’t feel it.
Not yet.
Not until her powers awaken. Her hybrid blood might still be dormant and sealed.That would explain it.
But what would happen when she unlocked them? Should I just reject her and get all this over with? Would she come running into my arms? Would she accept the truth or reject me?
God, I was so confused. I gritted my teeth. I didn’t love Chloe. I respected her. Liked her, maybe. But love? It was far from it. There was never any spark between us. We were allies, meant to be partners in a carefully curated future. But no matter how I tried, I couldn’t seem to be attracted to Chloe.
Not sexually, not with lust, not even as friends.
Freya… She was a burning match in a dark room.
And I hated her for making me feel like this. Still, I couldn’t shake her voice from my mind.
“Maybe this isn’t going to work out.”
That look in her eyes, brave and broken all at once, it undid me. I stood up, pacing. I needed to know. Needed to see if the bond was real.
Because if it was… everything was about to change. Chloe and her pack wouldn’t take betrayal lightly.
I crossed to the window, staring out at the towers of moonclaw.
Beyond the courtyard, I could see the training grounds where the elites mastered their powers.That was where she would be soon enough… if she survived the awakening process.
My fingers tightened against the window frame. What do I do?
