The first week of college had passed like a haze for Isabella. She had kept her head low, her books pressed to her chest, her reddish hair falling like a curtain that shielded her from curious stares. She wasn't used to the noise, the groups, the laughter spilling through the wide corridors of the ancient college, built like a cathedral from another century. What she didn't know was that she had already caught eyes she could not afford to.
Theodore.
He had seen her the moment she entered the lecture hall. Her scent had hit him like wildfire—soft, sweet, yet with something that stirred the beast within him. His wolf had howled mate instantly, but Theodore's jaw tightened. He walked past her, ignoring the tug in his chest, ignoring the storm inside him, and sat at the table next to hers.
Isabella had felt it too, though she couldn't name it. The moment their shoulders brushed as he walked by, her pulse stuttered. She lifted her gaze for a second, but he had already looked away, his golden eyes as cold as steel.
"Bro, you alright?" Oliver leaned closer to Theodore, smirking. Leo and Louis, seated on either side, were already snickering.
"Looks like someone found his pretty little distraction."
Theodore's lips curled into a faint smirk. "She's no one," he said, his tone flat, but his wolf roared within him—Liar.
Across the hall, Amelia and Nina had noticed too. They leaned closer, whispering as their curious eyes flickered toward Isabella. The new girl. A human. Harmless. Or so they thought.
Isabella lowered her eyes, opening her notebook, pretending not to notice the whispers, though her cheeks burned. That's when a sudden flicker passed her vision—her reflection in the polished window beside her desk. For the briefest second, her black eyes shimmered violet.
"Wait…" a soft voice came from beside her. A girl with midnight hair and eyes as bright as emeralds leaned forward from the back seat. Her name was Seraphina, a quiet figure Isabella hadn't noticed before. "Your eyes…" she whispered, curiosity laced with something more.
Isabella blinked, her eyes returning to black, and gave a nervous laugh. "Must be the light."
But Seraphina didn't believe that. She knew the truth, because she herself was no ordinary creature. A hybrid—part vampire, part dragon—she could sense the energy Isabella carried. This girl wasn't fully human.
Meanwhile, Theodore's friends wouldn't let him breathe.
"Looks like your wolf is wagging his tail, Alpha," Louis teased.
"Careful, Theo," Oliver smirked. "She's not like the others. You don't look at humans twice."
Theodore clenched his jaw, leaning back in his chair, pretending to be unbothered. But his wolf's voice echoed relentlessly—
She's ours. Ours.
He cast another glance at Isabella, just for a second. She was biting her lip, scribbling in her notebook, her reddish hair catching the sunlight like fire. And for the first time in his life, the Alpha felt weak.
He would never admit it, not to his friends, not to anyone.
So when Oliver called across the hall loudly enough for everyone to hear—
"Hey nerd, don't trip on your way out!"
Isabella froze, her pen slipping from her hand. Theodore's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he didn't move. Not yet. Not when his entire world had shifted in one heartbeat.
Because even if he pretended, even if he rejected her in front of the world—
The truth was undeniable.
She was his mate.