Cassian
It had been a week since I started at BlackMoor Academy, and so far, everything had been going well. Well… except for that one hiccup on my first day.
I had already learned so much, especially how the hierarchy worked in this place. It confirmed what I'd suspected from the start: keeping to myself was the smartest choice.
The fights here were brutal. A few had nearly spiraled out of control before the enforcers stepped in to prevent anyone from getting seriously hurt or worse—dead. This place was a hellhole, no doubt, but it was also the only shot I had at becoming the person I wanted to be. I'd take the risks if it meant reaching my goal.
Three days ago, one of my roommates had arrived. Like me, he was a scholarship student. A Delta named Peter. He was quiet and reserved and kept to himself, and I was grateful for that. I didn't need a roommate who talked too much or distracted me from my reading and plans.
My stomach twisted with tension as I approached the door for my next class. Future alphas and future adjuncts shared many courses, which meant that sooner or later, I might run into the Dravenmoor twins.
My chest tightened at the thought.
Since that first day, they hadn't attended any of my classes, and I hadn't seen them at all. But I'd overheard their names mentioned once or twice. They were notorious for their cruelty, love for violence and their hatred for omegas. That alone was reason enough to stay as far away from them as possible.
I had a list of future alphas I planned to watch carefully this year before finally deciding which one I wanted to serve as an adjunct and the Dravenmoor twins weren't anywhere on it.
I entered the classroom— that was filled with students—scanning quickly for an empty seat. Every chair was taken except for two in the middle of the room.
I hesitated. Nobody had sat there for the entire week I'd been attending classes. A few students glanced at me, their gaze prodding. I ducked my head hurried toward the seat.
Everywhere suddenly went quiet immediately I sat down and a bad feeling rose in my chest. I shut it down and opened my backpack to take out a textbook as discussion picked up again but I could feel the underlying excitement in his voice this time. I concentrated on the words in the textbook instead.
The room fell silent for the second time, so complete I could almost feel everyone holding their breath. Footsteps approached, slow and deliberate, but I kept my head bowed, pretending to read the textbook even though the words swam uselessly on the page.
Two shadows fell over me as they stopped. One on each side.
Oh, moon goddess.
I I could feel every eye in the room on me, but it was the two pairs above me that burned, digging into the back of my skull like they wanted to pierce straight through bone.
My chest seized as the same heat— the same fire in my veins I'd felt a week ago in the courtyard—came roaring back. I didn't need to look up to know who they were.
The Dravenmoor twins.
My stomach lurched. My hands trembled as I tightened my grip on my textbook, forcing myself to breathe, to pretend I wasn't terrified.
Then I looked up.
My breath locked in my throat.
They stood over me, dressed in dark shirts and slacks, their hands tucked casually into their pockets. Their dark hair was parted neatly down the middle, framing faces that were identical down to the smallest detail—full lips, sharp noses, flawless symmetry.
But it was their eyes that froze me in place.
Blank and fully locked on me.
In perfect unison, they leaned down until their faces hovered inches from mine.
"Get out."
They spoke at the same time, their voices deep and laced with venom.
Every instinct in me screamed to obey. To run. To flee before something irrevocable happened. But my body betrayed me, frozen in place, locked in fear.
"I–I can't move," I stammered, my mouth acting on its own, the words spilling out before I could stop them.
Surprise flickered across their identical faces. They exchanged a glance, and whatever passed between them twisted into something dark and predatory.
My pulse thundered in my ears. I opened my mouth to apologize, to say anything that might make this stop but no sound came out. I sat there, helpless, my lips opening and closing uselessly, like a fish dragged from water and left to suffocate in the open air.
A slow, cruel smile curved both their mouths at the same time.
"Can't move?" one of them repeated softly.
"Or won't?" the other added.
A ripple of laughter spread through the classroom, loud and taunting. My face burned. I could feel the heat crawling up my neck, settling in my ears, my cheeks.
Th twin on the left lifted his leg and casually pushed back the last empty sit beside me with it. The screech of metal against stone echoing far too loudly.
"You know," he said, voice carrying easily, "we have always wondered if anybody would be bold enough to sit on our chairs one day."
The other leaned closer to me, so close I could smell him. Dark amber, crushed spice, and wildfire heat. My stomach twisted violently.
"We never would have thought it would be a little nobody who doesn't even have the sense to smell his own place." he continued, loud enough for everyone to hear
More laughter followed. Someone whistled and others cheered.
"I think he's an omega." A loud voice called out causing me to flinch.
That was all it took.
The twin in front of me straightened abruptly. "Oh?" he said, eyes narrowing. "Did you hear that?"
The other's lips curled. "I did."
Their attention sharpened, zeroing in on me like I was prey.
"What's your rank?" one asked.
My throat closed up.
"I—" My voice cracked. I swallowed hard. "I don't have one."
That was a mistake. The room exploded with sound.
"No rank?"
"Liar."
"Late bloomer?"
"Underage."
"Or hiding?"
"He's an omega!"
The twins chuckled together, dark and amused.
"No rank," one repeated slowly, like savoring it. "In an academy like BlackMoor. Sure you're in the right school?"
The other tilted his head, studying me with unsettling focus. "Not sure he is."
My hands curled tighter around my textbook, knuckles whitening. I could feel my pulse everywhere—my wrists, my throat, behind my eyes.
"Stand up," they said together.
The words slammed into me like a command and this time, my body obeyed before my mind could catch up.
The scrape of my chair against the floor sounded painfully loud as I rose on trembling legs. I felt smaller standing than I had sitting. I was exposed and on display for anything they wanted to do to me.
The twin on my right who'd leaned so close I smelled him circled slowly, like a predator assessing weak prey.
"Look at him," he said casually. "So tiny like a bug. I could squash him with on hand."
The one on my left folded his arms cross my chest. "Pathetic."
The word hit harder than any slap I've received from my fathers. My vision blurred. I blinked rapidly, refusing to let the tears fall. I wouldn't cry. I never cry. Tears are for weak people. They would do more if let my weakness show. I needed to be the opposite of everything my fathers taught me.
"So here's what's going to happen," one of them continued, voice calm, cruelly polite. "You're going to pack your things."
"And you're never going to sit here again," the other finished.
"Actually," the first added, eyes gleaming, "you're going to make sure you never sit anywhere near us."
I nodded my head hard . "Yes," I whispered.
That seemed to please them a little because they stepped back in perfect sync, giving me space to leave.
I stood there for a heartbeat longer, legs shaking, before grabbing my bag and fleeing under dozens of staring eyes.
As I stumbled toward the back of the class, my chest burned, my vision swimming.
But beneath the humiliation, beneath the fear, something else twisted violently inside me. That same heat. That same impossible pull. And it terrified me far more than their cruelty ever could.
It was only when I got to the back of the class I remembered that there were no more empty seats.