THE SHADOWED MATE

The final bell had rung nearly twenty minutes ago. The hallways of Elysian Elite Academy were almost empty. Most students had already left for practice, club meetings, or headed home. Aurora stood quietly in her locker, placing the last of her books into her backpack. The metallic slam of another locker echoed behind her. “What in the …??? " Slowly, she turned around. Selene Drake stood right in front of her, ready to rage-bait her old or now broken friend. On either side of her were Ivy and Mia, “ WHY THE LONG FACES?” Aurora sighed softly. "What now?" Selene didn't answer. Instead, she nodded toward the other two girls. "Hold her." Before Aurora could react, Ivy grabbed one arm while Mia seized the other. " What are you doing?" Aurora struggled, but the girls tightened their grip. "Let go of me!" "No," Selene replied calmly as she stepped closer. "You've gotten away with enough." Aurora had enough of these spoiled brats! "I don't know what you're talking about." Selene folded her arms and laughed. "You think you're clever?" Aurora remained silent. "You think nobody knows your little secret?" Her stomach dropped. Selene smiled. "I know where you sleep, stinky b***h!" Aurora's face lost all color. "I know all about you sleeping in the van for the first time in months." Aurora couldn't find any words. Selene leaned closer until they were almost face to face. " You really thought you fooled everyone?" Aurora shook her head. "Selene..." "No." "You've been pretending to belong here." "I earned my place." "Earned?" Selene coughed as Mia and Ivy laughed at her. "You don't belong at Elysian." Aurora struggled harder. "I said, let me go!" Ivy twisted her arm behind her back. " Girl! Stop moving." Selene reached into her designer handbag and slowly pulled out a thick black permanent marker. She removed the cap with a soft click. Aurora's heartbeat quickened. "What are you doing?" Selene smiled. "I'm giving everyone a reason to stay away from you." She raised the marker. Aurora pushed her head away. "Hold her still."Mia tightened her grip. Selene pressed the marker against Aurora's forehead; she could feel the cold ink spread across her skin. Slowly... Carefully... She wrote two words, STINKY BRAT. The three girls burst into laughter. Tears burned behind Aurora's eyes because of the humiliation. Selene stepped back to admire her work. "Perfect." Aurora looked down at the floor, crying herself out. But only her fists trembled; she snapped, and with all the strength she had left, Aurora drove her elbow backward into Ivy's ribs. “OUCH! b***h WH….” Even before she finished her words, Aurora immediately twisted free from Mia's grip and shoved her aside. "Get her!" Selene screamed. Aurora didn't look back. She ran. Her breathing became uneven. She couldn’t stop because she still heard Selene shouting somewhere behind her, so she kept on. She turned another corner and slammed straight into someone. Strong hands caught her before she hit the floor. "I'm... I'm sorry..." Aurora looked up. Both men stared at her without saying a word. She had no idea who they were or where they were from; all she knew was that they were super-hot, and she knew she was not their type. The silence was taking hold, as all three locked eyes! Aurora tried to resist them, but they held her both in their hands and pulled her closer to them. “ LOOKIE HERE, WE JUST GOT OURSELVES A CUTIE, HEY BABY GIRL, AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?” Both looked past Aurora toward the corner she had just come from and saw Selene, Ivy, and Mia frozen; none of them even lifted their muscles to move. For the first time since arriving at Elysian Elite Academy... they looked afraid. Aurora slowly realized she was still holding onto their jacket, but neither of them pulled away from her; they just shielded her. Something about the environment was heavy- their wolf! It had awakened. Aurora noticed that the man on her left had eyes turned silver. "WH … What..." The man on the right suddenly grabbed the edge of the wall. He felt it too; the burning sensation spread through his veins, and his breathing became shallow. His eyes changed into a brilliant golden glow before returning to normal. His wolf, usually calm and disciplined, was quenching for more of Aurora’s touch. " No..." "This can't be."Aurora was so lost in confusion; she also felt the power from within. Strange huh? But NO!, she just didn’t know yet. "What... what's wrong with you?" Neither answered. They fixedly stared at her. “I WANT YOU,” “NO, I WANT HER,” “WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THESE IN A LONG TIME.” It was as if an invisible force kept pulling them closer. The brothers fought it but failed. For the first time in her life, she didn’t feel afraid. She felt... Safe and so alive. The bruises on her wrists no longer stung; the exhaustion she'd carried for months suddenly disappeared. She felt lighter, almost... powerful. "What is happening?" she whispered. No one answered. The man’s right fist clenched as he softly choked Aurora, almost about to kiss her. They looked at each other, trying to stop themselves, but the urge won over. This wasn't normal; his body could not understand. Nothing about it was. Behind Aurora, Selene stared with wide eyes. For the first time in her life, she was speechless as Ivy and Mia exchanged frightened looks. None of them had ever seen eyes glow, and none of them could explain why the air itself seemed to respond to Aurora. ” Gurl, you see this? Is she… are they… what?” Then the academy bell rang. Instantly, the strange feeling disappeared, and the charming men disappeared as well. It was just silent all over again. No one spoke about anything. Beep. Beep. Beep. Aurora jumped from her bed to turn off her alarm. She struggled to catch her breath. “ ALL THAT WAS JUST A LAME ASS DREAM…”As she looked at the familiar ceiling of her old van and then turned her head to the alarm. “ Holly- molly it 6.45 am, I’m dead !” She heard a loud knock at the driver’s window. Outside stood Rufus, holding two paper cups of coffee. He smiled as though nothing in the world had happened. "Morning." Aurora blinked several times. For a long moment, she simply stared at him. Everything felt strangely real: the hallway, the glowing eyes, the strange warmth inside her, the connection! She couldn't tell whether it had actually happened or whether exhaustion had finally caught up with her. Another knock pulled her back to reality. "YOU'RE PLANNING TO SLEEP IN TODAY, HUH?" Rufus shouted. Aurora let out a slow breath. "I'm coming." She climbed out of the van, still shaken; she was so tired of the squeaky noise it made. Together, they crossed the quiet campus before sunrise and slipped through the staff entrance as always. Rufus unlocked the changing rooms for her. Aurora stepped inside, turned on the shower, and let the warm water run over her face. She closed her eyes. “What kind of dream was that ?” The questions refused to leave her mind. Who were those two men? Why had they looked at her like that? Why had their eyes glowed? And why... Why did she still feel that strange warmth deep inside her heart? She had no answers. Only the certainty that something had changed. She just didn't know that this ordinary school morning would be the last normal day of her life!