"Oh, come on." She took a step closer. "You don't even like her. She's fragile. Loud. Ordinary."
"Stop talking."
"She's not one of us, Xavier. Not a real supernatural. Not powerful. Besides, you really think a monster like you could ever have a mate?"
My jaw clenched. Hard.
"She'll break," Kiara said, voice low and biting. "That pathetic little human of yours will either end up dead or screaming when she finds out what you really are. When she sees what you've done. When you finally lose control and drain her dry."
She smirked.
"She's just a toy, Xavier. One that'll shatter in your hands the moment you forget to be careful."
And that was it.
I moved before she could blink.
In a blur, I had her pinned—her back slammed against a tree trunk, the bark cracking beneath the force. One hand gripped her throat, not tight enough to crush but enough to remind her that I could. Her breath caught, finally looking afraid.
"You do not get to say her name," I growled, voice shaking with barely-contained fury. "Not like that. Not ever."
Her nails dug into my arm, more reflex than rebellion. "You think you can protect her from yourself?"
"I will burn the world before I let her suffer because of me."
Something flickered in her eyes. Not fear. Something sharper. Sadder. But I didn't care.
"Say one more word about her," I whispered, leaning in close, "and I will end the last thread of whatever history we still have."
She stared up at me, stunned into silence.
Good.
I stepped back, releasing her roughly. She stumbled but caught herself with a sneer, rubbing her throat.
"We belong together, Xavier ," she whined. "Think of all the things we could achieve, we'd be unstoppable."
I didn't answer.
I just vanished.
******
Coco's Pov.
The sunlight pierced through the slit in my curtains, warm and unwelcome. My alarm was off—which was weird, because I remembered setting it for twenty minutes. Right before…
Right before I fell asleep next to Xavier Cage.
My eyes snapped open.
The room was empty.
His jacket was gone. So was his maddening smirk and that Greek god face of his, thankfully. But my heart? Yeah, it was still throwing a tantrum against my ribs.
Everything from last night came rushing back. The motorcycle ride. The underground race. His creepy friend. The whole almost getting caught by dorm matrons and hiding against Xavier like we weren't fake dating but actually something real moment. And then…
I bit my lip.
I'd fallen asleep beside him. On the same bed. My bed.
I'd run my fingers through his hair like a total lovesick idiot.
But the moment that stuck the most—his breathing. Calm, steady. Like for one strange, quiet second, the world outside didn't matter.
I shoved the blanket off me, heart pounding. "Get a grip, Colette."
Just as I stood to stretch, the door flew open without a knock—as usual.
"Oh. My. God."
"Sid," I groaned, yanking the blanket back up over my tank top. "Personal space, woman!"
Sidney Parker stood in the doorway with her usual wide eyes behind round glasses, arms loaded with books and notebooks and a hoodie twice her size. Her bright red hair was tied up in a messy bun, several pencils stabbed into it like it was a magical quiver.
"You're still in bed?! It's literally almost second period!" she shrieked, dumping her stuff on my desk.
"I overslept. I had a late night."
Sid narrowed her eyes, squinting past her freckles. "A late night? Coco Millers, what did you do?"
I gave her a look, but she just flopped onto the edge of my bed with zero grace, legs crossed like a gremlin ready to interrogate.
I sighed. "Okay, but you can't freak out—"
"I'm already freaking out!"
"I went out with Xavier."
Her jaw dropped. "You what?"
"Shh!" I glanced at the door. "Not like that. He dragged me to some underground motorcycle race thing—don't look at me like that—it was… actually kind of amazing."
Sid squealed, clutching a pillow and kicking her feet like she'd stepped straight out of a fangirl fantasy. "You rode on his bike?! Were you holding onto his waist?! Oh my god, tell me everything. What did he smell like? Was he shirtless? Did you kiss?!"
"Stop! No! Gross. And no, he wasn't shirtless, he smelled like arrogance and danger—don't look at me like that again."
"You're glowing," she whispered dramatically. "This is it. This is your moment. The beginning of the enemies-to-lovers trope."
I groaned, flopping backward onto the bed. "There's no trope. It's fake. We're just… pretending."
Sid rolled her eyes. "Oh please. That boy looks at you like you're made of magic and forbidden chocolate."
"I don't believe in magic," I muttered.
"Well, I do. And so does the universe," she said, "And something is definitely going on here."
"Oh... you both are so cute...."
Sid was still squealing, hugging my extra pillow like it was her long-lost soulmate, when I sat up again, chewing on my lip.
"There's something else," I said slowly.
She paused mid-squeal. "Oh?"
"When we left school last night... the gates."
Sid blinked, brows pinching. "What about them?"
"They opened," I said, wrapping my arms around my knees. "No key, no code. Xavier just... looked at the guard. Said a few words, and boom, gates wide open."
Sid's eyes widened behind her glasses. "Wait, wait—hold up. Are you saying he Jedi mind-tricked the security guy?"
"I mean... I don't know what I'm saying," I muttered. "It was weird. The same thing happened when we came back. No ID check. No rules. Nothing."
Sid was quiet for a moment, which was unusual. Then she leaned closer, voice dropping to a whisper like someone might be listening. "You know what this means, right?"
"That my theory was right and the school is filled with different creatures? "
" No. Even better, " sid gasped.
"He's obviously an alien prince from a secret intergalactic monarchy who came to Earth after a coup destroyed his home planet. He has telepathic powers—hence the gate guy—and you, Coco, are his long-lost betrothed from a binding ceremony that happened before your memories were wiped."
I blinked at her. "Sidney."
"He's protecting you," she continued, eyes sparkling. "But he can't tell you the truth, because the Galactic Council would erase both your minds. That's why he brought you to that race. It was a test. To see if you were ready to reclaim your royal—"
"Sidney."
"—status, and if you passed, he'd start awakening your latent powers. Probably why you like chocolate so much—it's coded into your alien DNA. Sugar activates your mind-shielding abilities."
"Sidney," I deadpanned. "I'm not an alien princess."
She pointed at me. "That's exactly what an alien princess trying to blend in would say."
I groaned, falling back onto the bed and dragging my pillow over my face. "This is what I get for trusting you with anything."
"You love me," she sing-songed.
I pulled the pillow down just enough to glare. "I tolerate you."
She just grinned, then flopped down beside me, both of us staring at the ceiling now.
But still, in the silence that followed, my brain returned to the moment the gates had opened. The way the guard's eyes had glazed over. The absolute authority in Xavier's voice.
It didn't feel like an alien prince.
It felt like power.
Real. Dangerous. Unnatural.
And for the first time since I got here, i was sure I wasn't just imagining things.