Touch her and burn

Prologue Aria Vale They told me college would be the best years of my life. A place to find myself. To grow. To begin again. They didn’t tell me about the monsters. They didn’t mention the shadows that live behind smiles. Or the hands that linger a second too long. They never warned me that the most beautiful people hide the deadliest secrets… or that love could taste like blood. I thought I was escaping the past when I stepped onto the grounds of Blackstone University. I thought I’d buried the girl who grew up in fear. The girl with shaking hands and bruised memories. I wanted to be someone new. Someone untouchable. But I was wrong. Because I caught his eye. And now I can’t escape. Cassian Wolfe. Captain of the fencing team. Hockey star. Heir to a legacy soaked in power and violence. A name that echoes like thunder through the marble halls of Blackstone. He watches me like he’s waited years. Like I’m not a person— I’m prey. And when he touches me… It’s not soft. It’s not sweet. It’s a promise. Touch her and burn. That’s what they whisper. That no one else is allowed near me. That I’m his obsession. His revenge. I should run. I should scream. I should fight like hell. But instead— I burn too. And I don't know if I’ll survive him.