A THRONE OF SHADOW AND SOULMATES

The lecture hall for Advanced Mythology was the noisiest in the whole school I sat near the back, my bandaged palm throbbing under a flimsy strip of gauze. The sting wasn't just from the scrape, it carried the weight of yesterday's crash, the car, and that electric jolt from Derek's touch. I tried to focus on my new notes, scribbled in a rush that morning, but the words swam. The Mega Alpha: a mythic wolf with the strength of all packs, rising in times of chaos, born from spilled blood. The myth felt too close today, like a shadow creeping into my reality. A hush rolled through the room, starting at the door and spreading like wildfire. I didn't need to look up.I felt him. The air shifted, heavy and charged, making the hairs on my arms stand on end. Derek Clawson had entered. He stood at the entrance, scanning the rows. His black t-shirt and jeans were simple, but he carried himself like he owned the place. His crimson eyes, sharp and unnatural, cut through the crowd's stares and whispers. He moved down the steps, fluid and sure, ignoring empty seats until he reached my row. Without a word, he slid into the chair beside me, shrinking the space around them. His scent hit, sandalwood, and something wild, like a forest after a storm. "Skye," he said,my name a low, deliberate note. I kept my eyes on my notebook, my heart pounding. Trying to keep my cool and show how uninterested I am I responded "What, looking for another target to mow down?" A soft chuckle rumbled from him, warm and disarming. "Brought you something." He set a sleek leather bound notebook on my desk, its quality screaming money. Next to it, a steaming coffee from the campus's fanciest café, its rich aroma a far cry from my usual cheap brew. "I don't want your stuff," I said, voice tight. I risked a glance at him and regretted it. Up close, he was overwhelming-sharp jaw, a faint scar slicing his eyebrow, and those red eyes that seemed to peel back my defenses. Now I get why all those girls can't get over him "Not a bribe. An apology." His gaze flicked to my bandaged hand. "A real one. How's the hand?" "Fine." My cheeks warmed as I looked away. The professor stepped in and started droning about Greek Titans, but the words were noise. Derek's presence drowned out everything. "Just so you know," he murmured, voice low and private, "most people say 'thanks' when someone checks on them." "Just so you know," I fired back, matching his tone, "most people don't check on you after slamming you with their car." His lips twitched into a real smile, small but electric, turning his brutal good looks into something magnetic. "You're not most people, are you?" He didn't speak again during the lecture, but his presence was a pulse beside me. He didn't take notes, just watched the professor, though his eyes flicked to me now and then. Each glance felt like a touch, sending my nerves into overdrive. The fifty minutes dragged, every shift of his arm, every breath, making me hyper aware of his size, his heat. When class ended, I grabbed my things, desperate to bolt. "I'll walk you to your next class," Derek said, standing to his full height, towering and unshakable. "Not necessary." "I insist." They stepped into the hall together, and the stares hit like a wave. Not just for him-for them. Skye, the quiet scholarship girl, beside Derek Clawson, campus royalty. Whispers followed, hungry for gossip. He matched my pace, his long strides easing to fit mine. "So, Skye. What's your deal?" "No deal. I go to class, study, go home." "Home's where?" "None of your business." He laughed, a real, startled sound that turned heads. "You're not scared of me, are you?" "Should I be?" His smile faded, replaced by a look that was halfcurious, halfdark. "Yeah," he said, voice low and serious. "Most people should." Before I could unpack that, a syrupy voice cut in. "Derek! There you are. I've been searching everywhere." Joanna appeared, arm looping through his like she owned him. Flanked by her friends Chloe and Isabelle, she was a vision of polished beauty, her eyes glinting with malice as they fixed on me. "Oh, it's you," Joanna said, her smile sharp as glass. "Still hobbling? Or is that just how you walk? Heard you took a nasty spill yesterday. " Her friends giggled, sharp and mean. My face burned, but she stood tall. "I'm fine, thanks." Derek's body tensed. He pulled his arm free, slow and deliberate. "What do you want, Joanna?" "Just reminding you about the Sigma party tonight." She leaned closer, voice syrupy. "You're my date, remember?" "Not going," Derek said, eyes still on me, Now that's the attention I don't need. Joanna blinked, her perfect mask cracking. "What? You promised. We always go together." "Changed my mind." His tone was steel, final. He turned to her, and I saw raw power in his gaze-commanding, untouchable. Joanna's face paled, her social throne crumbling in public. Her eyes darted from Derek to me, blazing with fury. "I hope she has nothing to do with this? She spat the word "she" like poison. "This plain, nobody human? What, you slumming it now?" The word "human" hit me like a slap, too sharp, too knowing. It wasn't just an insult-it felt like a blade aimed at my core. Derek stepped forward, his presence swelling, the air turning cold. "Watch your words, Joanna," he said, voice a deadly whisper. "Apologize. Now." Joanna froze, tears of rage in her eyes. She looked at me, lips trembling, but no apology came. With a choked sob, she spun and fled, her friends scrambling after her. The hall went quiet, students pretending they hadn't seen the drama unfold. I stared at Derek, mind spinning. He'd just torched his relationship with Northridge queen for her-a girl he barely knew. It was reckless, terrifying. "Why'd you do that?" I whispered. "She disrespected you," he said, like it was obvious. "I don't let that slide." His phone buzzed, sharp and insistent. He pulled it out, and his face shifted-tensed, jaw tight. The text was short, from a blocked number: The forest is hungry. Come now. Don't be late. "I gotta go," he said, all warmth gone. "Something's up." He looked at me, and for a moment, I saw something raw in his eyes-not the confident campus king, but a boy carrying a weight too heavy to name. The boy who'd warned her to be afraid. "You here tomorrow?" he asked. I nodded, words stuck in my throat. "Good." He reached out, his fingers brushing a damp strand of hair from my cheek. The touch was brief, but that electric spark flared again, softer but real. A promise. Then he was gone, striding through the crowd, students parting like water. I stood alone, the hallway buzzing around me. My skin tingled where he'd touched me, his scent-forest and storm-lingering. In five minutes, he'd defended me, claimed my attention, and vanished. The coffee he'd left sat warm in my hand, a small anchor in the chaos. I was in deep, uncharted waters. But as I headed to my next class, my phone vibrated. My roommate messaged but i hadn't recovered from Derek's touch yet My dorm was a small, cluttered sanctuary, books and notes spilling across my desk. I dropped my bag and sank onto my bed, the coffee from Derek still in my hand. Too rattled to decide if it was a peace offering or something more. Her bandaged palm ached, a reminder of yesterday's crash and that impossible spark. I closed her eyes, trying to shake the image of Derek's crimson eyes, but they followed me into the dark. My parents' world had always been a mystery, half told in bedtime stories and coded phone calls. Werewolves, pack laws, ancient feuds-things my mom shared with a smile, but never the full truth. I was human, an outsider, loved but separate. I opened my laptop, pulling up my Mythology notes. The Mega Alpha stared back at me, its lore woven with blood and chaos. I always thought it was just a story, a myth to study. But Derek's eyes, that jolt A knock at the door jolted me. "Skye? You in there?" It was Mia, my clumsy roommate, a bubbly art major who always seemed to know the campus gossip. "Yeah, come in," Skye called. Mia burst in, eyes wide. "Girl, spill. I heard you were walking with Derek Clawson today. Like, the Derek Clawson. And he embarrassed Joanna? For you?" I groaned, setting the coffee down. "It's not like that. He just... sat next to me in class." "Sat next to you, bought you coffee, and publicly torched Joanna's ego," Mia said, flopping onto the bed. "That's not nothing. The whole campus is buzzing. You're, like, famous now." "I don't want to be famous,". "I just want to get through my classes." Mia raised an eyebrow. "Good luck with that. Derek doesn't just notice people. He's... intense. And those eyes? Freaky, but hot. You're in trouble, Skye." I didn't answer. I didn't need Mia to tell me I was in trouble. I felt it, like a storm brewing just out of sight.