WILLA
My skin prickled again.
Not from the music. Not from the heat of the crowded bar. Something else.
That feeling.
Like someone's eyes were burning straight through me.
I scanned the room, my pulse climbing higher and higher. But I found nothing.
Maybe I was imagining things.
"No," Nyra said sharply in my mind, excitement coursing through my veins. "He's here."
"Who?" I whispered.
"Our mate." She purred.
My breath caught.
Mate.
The word barely had time to settle before Nyra surged forward inside me.
"Find him."
My feet started moving before I even understood what I was doing.
Then—
A hand closed around my wrist. I gasped as I was pulled into a chest.
Strong arms wrapped around me, holding me still.
"It's you," a low voice breathed near my ear. Warmth rushed through me like wildfire.
"You're my mate."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
I barely had time to process the words before the moment shattered.
"What the hell are you doing with my mate?!"
The arms around me disappeared as someone yanked me backward. My back collided with another chest.
Hands locked around my waist.
"Mate?" I choked, staring up at Eric, the academy fuckboy, leader of Cassian House.
His grip tightened as he stared down at me, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
"You're my mate," he said again, slower this time, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"You have two mates!" Nyra burst out.
My head spun.
"That's impossible," someone in the crowd muttered.
Students had started gathering around us.
Watching. Whispering.
Eric leaned down, his alcohol-laced breath warm against my cheek.
"Yes, baby," he murmured. "Looks like fate has a sense of humor."
Before I could react, his lips crashed against mine. A thousand jolts shot through me.
My… first kiss.
The world stopped moving. My brain refused to function.
It only lasted for a few seconds as the air in the room shifted.
Suddenly everyone in the bar went silent. A ripple of unease passed through the crowd.
"Oh no," Nyra whispered.
I already knew who it was before I turned.
Kol Archer of house Aurelian. Alpha heir. Prince of the academy.
His burning green eyes locked onto mine first, emotionless and so beautiful my knees nearly buckled beneath the intensity.
Then they slid slowly to Eric.
His voice when he spoke was quiet. Deadly quiet.
"That," he said, each word razor sharp, "is my mate you're kissing."