The air at school was wrong or weird ,
Koda noticed it the moment he walked through the gate. The usual low buzz of morning groans and hallway chatter had quieted into a charged hum—like a thunderstorm was coiled just beneath the surface of the day.
Heads were turning. Whispers moved faster than feet.
Something had arrived.
Correction—someones.
He passed by the front bulletin board and froze. Seven unfamiliar faces stood near the entrance. They weren't talking, not smiling, just… watching. Like they were measuring the school brick by brick, student by student,strutbystrut. Every inch of their presence screamed dominance.
In the middle of them stood him.
Tall. Dark. Unmoving.
His hair was black, thick, and a little tousled, like it disobeyed combs on purpose. He had pale, sculpted features—strong cheekbones, a chiseled jaw, and eyes so dark they looked like velvet shadows. He wore black from head to toe, simple but powerful. Not trying to be noticed—just impossible not to.
Koda's breath hitched.
Because the moment their eyes met—even briefly—it felt like time stopped.
Just for a second.
A blink.
Then the boy looked away like it had never happened.
But Koda couldn't. Something inside him stirred. Not a flutter… more like a growl. Deep and low and ancient. He clutched his backpack tighter and looked down at the floor. His fingers were trembling.
"What the hell was that?"
By first period, the school was buzzing like a beehive poked with a stick.
"I heard they're siblings," someone whispered.
"No, they're cousins. From Romania or something. Wolves or Wiccans, depending on who you ask."
"I bet they're just rich and weird. You can smell the Gucci from here."
Koda slumped into his seat in the back of English class. He was used to people talking about others—usually about him. But this? This was different. There was no malice in the gossip. No jokes. No sneering.
Just fear. And awe.
The door creaked open.
In walked Tristian. And five others.
They moved like ghosts. Fluid. Intentional. Kairo—the one with dark brown skin and deep amber eyes—scanned the room with a look of clinical disinterest. He looked like someone who could predict your every move just by the way you breathed.
Nova strutted in next, her curls bouncing as she chewed gum with a smirk that said I dare you to test me. She slid into a desk like she owned the floor it stood on.
Orion didn't even look at anyone. He took the seat by the window, arms crossed, eyes on the sky like he could see through it.
And Jace—broad, blond, and thunder-quiet—sat directly behind Koda.
For a moment, Koda held his breath.
He could feel the heat of Jace's presence behind him. Not hostile. Not threatening.
Just… guarded.
That's when it clicked.
They were surrounding him. Like a perimeter. A formation.
Koda's chest tightened.
But none of them looked at him. None of them spoke.
At lunch, things got stranger.
Tony, Koda's favorite tormentor, made a mistake.
He saw Koda alone, walking past the lockers near the cafeteria, tray in hand. And like clockwork, he swooped in—his loyal two goons flanking him.
"Hey, rat," Tony said with a sneer. "Still breathing? Must be a miracle."
Koda didn't answer. He knew the rules: don't respond. Don't react. Just survive.
But today… something changed.
A low rumble filled the air—not loud enough to be a sound, but more like a vibration. It prickled the back of Koda's neck. He turned—and there they were.
Tristian. Kairo. Nova. Orion. Jace.
Lined up just outside the cafeteria entrance. Watching.
Tony turned, noticed the stares. He rolled his eyes.
"The goth Avengers? What, you guys gonna hex me?"
Kairo took a step forward.
Tony flinched.
Just one step. Silent. Controlled.
Then Orion stepped in, standing behind Tony's friend—who suddenly went pale.
Then Jace moved.
No words.
Just movement.
Predator-like.
Tony's friends began to back away, muttering some excuse Koda didn't catch. They left him standing there, alone, confused. Tony looked around.
"What the—?"
Nova blew a bubble with her gum, popped it, and grinned at Tony.
"You should run."
Tony looked her up and down like he might still fight.
But Tristian's eyes met his.
No threat. No anger.
Just certainty.
Tony swallowed. His bravado cracked.
He walked away.
Fast.
Koda blinked.
He was alone again.
The pack didn't say a word. They simply passed by him like smoke, like mist—there but not there.
Except Tristian.
He paused, just a second longer than the others. Not facing Koda, not touching him.
But Koda felt it.
That same growl in his chest again. Louder now. Hungrier.
When Tristian left, the air around Koda felt thinner. Like it had taken all the oxygen with him.
Later, in the boy's bathroom, Koda overheard whispers.
"Tony's not coming back tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Got jumped on the way home. Three of them. No ID. No evidence. But… he's done."
Koda stared at his own reflection in the cracked mirror.
His bruises from last week? Fading.
His fear?
Fading too.
Something was changing.
And whoever those seven were—they were part of it.
Especially him.
Tristian.
He wasn't just a boy.
He was the beginning of something.
And Koda was standing on the edge of it.
Chapter 3