Chapter Five: Heat in the Silence
Auriella
Sitting next to him was like sharing a desk with a shadow.
He didn't speak.
Didn't breathe too loud.
Didn't even look at me.
It was like I was a ghost he had no intention of acknowledging.
Which, of course, pissed me off even more.
I shifted in my seat for the fifth time in five minutes, glaring at him out of the corner of my eye.
He was still. Freakishly still. His fingers moved across the edge of his notebook, long and inked, like they belonged to a killer who wrote poetry when he got bored of murder.
He hadn't taken a single note.
His hoodie was rolled halfway up his arms now, exposing more of those tattoos—runes, I realized. Old. Ancient.
Probably the kind that made things bleed.
I clenched my jaw. The silence between us wasn't peaceful. It was personal.
Every second that passed was a deliberate reminder that he didn't give a shit about me.
That he meant what he said in that alley.
Decorated. Not dangerous.
"You think you're strong because they worship you," his voice echoed from memory. "But I've seen stronger girls break. You're all glitter and tantrums."
God.
I hated him.
But my body, it had a mind of its own.
And that pissed me off more.
"Alright class," Miss Thorn clapped, snapping me out of my silent breakdown. "We're forming groups of four for the mid-term project. Same topic, different perspectives. Choose wisely. You'll be stuck together for the rest of the semester."
Before I could even process what that meant, Luna practically teleported to my side, sliding into the empty desk next to Alervon with all the grace of a predator spotting prey.
"Oh hi," she said, voice dipped in sugar and sin. "You must be Alervon. Cool name. Very... mysterious serial killer chic."
He didn't answer.
Not even a flick of his gaze.
Luna, of course, found that hot.
She nudged me with her elbow. "He's so broody. I wanna climb him like a tree and find out if those tattoos are real."
My eye twitched. "Luna."
"What?"
"You're drooling."
"I am not—"
"You're basically in heat."
Before she could reply, Luca showed up, flopping into the desk beside mine. His arm snaked around my waist like a territorial dog marking his bone.
"Hey, babe," he said, loud enough for the room to hear. His tone was light, but his eyes weren't. They were on Alervon.
And I knew that look.
He'd seen me looking.
He'd heard me whispering with Luna.
And now he was pissed.
Fantastic.
"Looks like we've got our four," Luna said, flashing her perfect grin at Miss Thorn.
The teacher nodded and moved on to the next group.
I was trapped.
In a corner desk.
With the boy I hated beside me.
My boyfriend behind me.
And my best friend thirsting all over both.
Kill me.
Ten minutes passed.
Luna tried asking Alervon about his tattoos.
He ignored her.
Luca kept squeezing my waist every time I shifted toward Alervon's side of the desk.
I elbowed him.
Alervon?
He just stared straight ahead like he was made of stone and indifference.
I couldn't take it.
I slammed my notebook shut, hard enough to make the desk jump.
"Do you ever speak," I snapped under my breath. "Or is silence your entire personality?"
He didn't look at me. "Would you prefer I lie to your face?"
I blinked.
"What?"
"That's what most people around you do, right?" he said, still staring at the front. "They praise your power, pretend you matter, smile when they hate you."
My mouth opened"Must be exhausting. Living in a palace built on shallow worship."
The heat in my face burned up to my ears.
"You don't know me," He growled.
"I don't have to."
I leaned closer, venom in my tone. "You think you're better than everyone just because you're mysterious and covered in edgy ink? Let me guess—you're the tortured loner with a sad little secret and a death wish?"
Finally—finally—he looked at me.
And it wasn't desire.
It was disgust.
"No," he said. "I just don't have time for people who mistake attention for love."
It hit.
Low and deep.
I hated him.
I hated him so much I wanted to rip his stupid hoodie off and set it on fire.
Luna leaned in again, grinning. "So, is it just me or is this the hottest tension I've ever seen between two people who allegedly hate each other?"
Luca cleared his throat behind me, louder than necessary. His grip tightened around my waist again.
Alervon turned his eyes away.
Just like that.
Dismissed me.
Again.
And for the first time all day, I wanted to cry.
Not because he hurt me.
But because he saw me.
And I didn't know what the hell that meant.
"""
Immediately the bell rang and class was over.
He left the classroom like he'd never been in it.
No backward glance.
No parting words.
Just his shadow, trailing behind him like it couldn't wait to leave me too.
The second the door shut behind him, the tension in the room eased—like his silence had been holding everyone hostage.
People started moving, grabbing their bags, laughing, chattering. Just another day. Just another class.
But I was still frozen in my seat.
Trying not to look like my thoughts were screaming.
"Aurielle," a familiar voice said.
I looked up to see Luca, brows drawn together, that usual smug confidence of his edged with concern.
"You good?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said too quickly.
He glanced toward the door Riven had disappeared through. "Do you know him?"
"No."
"Did he say something to you?"
"No."
His frown deepened. "You sure?"
I smiled. "You don't need to worry. He's just some stuck-up new kid with a death wish. I can handle myself."
He didn't buy it.
Not for a second.
But he leaned down anyway, brushed a kiss to my cheek, and said, "Alright. I'll see you at lunch."
I nodded, watching him go.
Luca was many things—reckless, controlling, kind of full of himself—but he wasn't dumb.
He knew something was off.
I just couldn't figure out what the hell it was yet.
"Okay."
"Okay. Okay. Okay."
"WHO THE FUCK IS THAT GOD?"
Luna popped up beside me like a demon summoned by thirst.
"You mean Alervon?" I said flatly.
"Alervon? or you mean the prince of Sexiness" She shivered. "I bet it tastes like blood and moonlight."
I stared at her.
She didn't care.
She kept going. "Auri, I'm not kidding. I had six, and I mean like six mental fantasies during that class. Two of them involved the library, one involved a teacher's desk, one definitely involved a council member's office—don't judge me—and in all of them, he was rude while doing it."
I blinked. "A council member?"
She grinned. "Yeah, you didn't see? Councilman Voss walked into the main building earlier. I bet it's about Alervon. You don't just walk around looking like a sexy apocalypse and not raise some red flags."
"Maybe he's just an asshole with an edge," I muttered, gathering my books.
"Edge?" she scoffed. "Girl, he's a weapon. And I want him to use me like a training dummy."
I gagged. "Gross."
"What? You're telling me you didn't imagine those hands around your throat at least once?"
"I don't see anything special about him," I snapped.
Luna blinked. "Excuse me?"
"He's just a cold, stuck-up glacier in a hoodie. Nothing impressive. Emotionally constipated. Thinks silence is sexy."
Luna raised a brow. "Sooo… why do you hate him exactly? I mean I know you, you don't just hate that type of guy out of the blue what's up girl?"
I looked at her.
And for some reason… I told her.
I told her everything.
The party.
The alley.
The words he'd said.
The way he looked at me like I was a paper crown in a rainstorm.
I expected Luna to gasp. To call him an asshole. To maybe offer to key his motorcycle if he had one.
Instead, she put her hand over her chest and whispered, "That is so fucking hot."
I blinked. "WHAT?"
"I mean, he insulted your soul. That's real chemistry."
"You're unwell."
"You're in denial."
I glared. "He could be a creep. A threat. We don't even know what he is. Werewolf? Vampire? Demon?"
Luna tilted her head. "He looks like a werewolf. You saw the way he moved. That quiet strength, the stillness... it screams wolf."
"I don't know," I admitted, softer this time. "There's something about him that doesn't sit right."
Luna shrugged, brushing imaginary dust off her jacket. "Well, he can sit on me."
"I'm reporting you."
"Not if I report myself first."
I rolled my eyes, smirking despite myself.
The bell rang again. She groaned. "Ugh. Trig. I hate numbers. They don't even flirt back."
"See you at lunch."
"Only if Alervon isn't busy rearranging my guts in a storage closet—"
"Luna,"
"Okay-okay! I'm going!"
She disappeared down the hall, her laughter trailing after her like glittery chaos.
I turned the other way, toward my next class, when I caught something.
Voices.
Near the back hallway. Behind the teacher's lounge.
I didn't mean to eavesdrop.
Not really.
But when you hear his name…
You stop walking.
"…Alervon isn't stable," one voice said. Low. Male. Raspy. "He was never meant to be among students."
"Do you want the mission to fail?" a second voice snapped. Female. Cold. "We don't have time. The prophecy is already in motion."
I stepped closer. Silent.
"You think she'll survive long enough to change? She's spoiled. Soft. She's not ready to bear it."
"She doesn't have a choice. Neither does he."
The first voice hissed. "He's still bonded to the priest. If that link breaks—"
I dropped my book.
The voices stopped.
Silence.
My heart thundered.
Alervon… isn't stable…
She's not ready to bear it…
Bonded to the priest…
What. The. Fuck.
[TO BE CONTINUED...]