Two ancient enemies. One fated soul. Mia thought she was just a normal girl-quiet, bookish, and desperately trying to survive high school. But when a strange mark appears on her skin, her world unravels. Suddenly, she's being hunted... and claimed. By two powerful beings. Lucien, the cold, seductive vampire prince who rules the night. And Kael, the fierce, possessive alpha werewolf born to lead the pack. Bound to both by a fate older than time, Evelyn finds herself at the center of a war that has raged for centuries. But as passion ignites and loyalties are tested, one truth becomes impossible to ignore: She was never meant to belong to just one. She was born to unite them-or destroy them all. ---
The hallway buzzed with chatter and laughter as students poured into the building, but for Mia, it was just another battlefield. Her steps slowed near locker 216-the one she dreaded.
"There she is," a sneering voice rang out.
Mia stiffened.
Sasha.
Her step-sister stood with two other girls, arms folded, a smug smile playing on her glossy lips. "Late again, Mia? Or were you too busy trying to dress like you matter?"
The girls snickered. Mia clutched her books tighter, trying to move past, but Sasha stepped in her way, bumping her shoulder hard.
"Oops," she said sweetly. "Didn't see you there. You really should watch where you're going-then again, maybe you're used to being invisible."
Mia's cheeks flushed, but she stayed silent. She had learned that words only made it worse. Still, the sting never dulled.
Mia's lips trembled as she bent to gather the books Sasha had just knocked from her hands. The snickers around her pressed in like a cage. She tried to blink back the tears, but one slipped free, trailing down her cheek.
"Why?" she choked out, her voice breaking as she looked up at Sasha. "Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?"
The hallway went quiet for a beat.
Sasha tilted her head, pretending to think. "Hmm... maybe it's your face," she said with a smirk. "Or maybe it's the fact that your mom seduced my dad and birthed you?
Mia's chest tightened as laughter echoed around her. She tried to blink away the tears, but one slipped down her cheek before she could stop it.
Sasha noticed immediately. "Oh no," she said in mock sympathy, tilting her head. "Is the little crybaby going to melt right here in the hallway?"
More laughter.
Mia hugged her books against her chest like a shield, her voice trembling. "Why are you doing this? What did I ever do to you?"
Sasha's eyes narrowed slightly, then her smirk returned like armor. "You were born, that's what. Mom said I'd get a sister, not a charity case."
Her words hit like stones. The sting of them, the cruelty, it burned more than the shove or the mockery.
Then, just as Mia turned to run, Sasha leaned in close and whispered, "Go ahead and cry, Mia. It's the only thing you're good at.
Humiliated, Mia turned and bolted down the hallway, her vision blurred with tears. She didn't care where she was going-she just had to get away.
Then suddenly-thud.
She crashed straight into someone, her books tumbling to the ground.
"I-I'm sorry!" she gasped, stepping back in a panic.
The man steadied her gently. "Easy there," he said. His voice was calm but firm, laced with concern. He crouched to help gather her books.
When Mia looked up, she realized it wasn't another student. The man was young, maybe mid-twenties, in a navy-blue button-up with rolled sleeves and a teacher's ID badge clipped to his lanyard.
His gaze settled on her tear-streaked face, softening. "Mia, right?"
She nodded, embarrassed and overwhelmed.
"I'm Mr. Callahan. First year here." He paused, eyeing the direction she came from. "Want to tell me what happened?"
Mia hesitated, wiping her eyes. "It's nothing. Just... stuff."
"Does that 'stuff' happen often?" he asked gently, not pushing but clearly concerned.
She didn't answer, but her silence said enough.
Mr. Callahan stood, holding out her last book. "You don't have to deal with it alone, you know.
---
Mr. Callahan watched her retreat down the hallway, shoulders hunched like she was trying to disappear.
That wasn't just a bad morning, he thought. That was pain-and the kind no kid should carry alone.
He clenched his jaw slightly as he glanced back toward the far end of the corridor, where a group of girls still lingered, laughing. One of them-tall, polished, with a cruel glint in her eyes-met his gaze briefly and winked.
Sasha Whitmore, he remembered from the files. Popular, top graded s,stepdaughter to one of the school's major donors,are they not sisters why is she bullying her sister.
He turned back toward his classroom, but his mind was already racing-lesson plans pushed aside by a question he couldn't ignore:
How do I help a girl who's learned to suffer in silence?
–
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