With Wolves

When she appeared

They hadn't made it halfway up the walkway before people started approaching, most of them gravitated toward Kiran first—apparently, he was more socially connected than Nero had realized. Guys clasped his hand in complicated handshakes, girls hugged him and complimented his outfit, and Kiran moved through it all like he'd been born for exactly this kind of scene but Nero noticed something else happening, people were greeting him too, not just the casual "hey, what's up" nods you give to someone's friend, but genuine interest as girls smiled at him with curiosity in their eyes. Guys sized him up with that particular look that said they were trying to figure out if he was competition or potential ally "Nero, right?" A tall guy in an expensive-looking button-down appeared at his elbow. "I'm Marcus" He laughed "Everyone's been wondering who you are, man. Roxy doesn't usually invite guys personally" "It's not that big a deal," Nero said, but the guy was already being pulled away by someone else "Dude, you're like a celebrity," Kiran said, grinning as they continued toward the entrance "everyone wants to know what it is about you that got Roxy Ravensong's attention" "That's ridiculous" "that's social hierarchy" Kiran gestured broadly at the scene around them "welcome to how the other half operates" the atmosphere was genuinely welcoming despite the obvious curiosity, people weren't hostile or standoffish—they seemed excited to have new blood at what was clearly an exclusive event. The music was good, the energy was high, and everywhere Nero looked, people were having the kind of effortless fun that only came when nobody was worried about money, consequences, or what came next. They climbed the wide stone steps that led to the mansion's entrance, passing under an archway that looked like it belonged in a European palace rather than a college student's home, the massive double doors stood open, revealing a foyer that made Nero stop in his tracks "yeah," Kiran breathed beside him "I know" the interior was somehow even more impressive than the exterior, marble floors stretched in every direction, reflecting the light from a chandelier that had to be worth more than Nero's entire education, a grand staircase curved up to the second floor, its bannister gleaming dark wood that looked hand-carved. Artwork that belonged in museums hung on walls painted in rich, elegant colors, and everywhere, students moved through the space like they belonged there, like this level of luxury was just another Saturday night but Nero barely registered any of it. The moment he stepped across the threshold into the building proper, something hit him, a pulse of energy—not painful, but impossible to ignore—washed over him like a wave. It started at his feet and traveled up through his entire body, making every one of his senses sharpen instantly, his enhanced vision suddenly picked up details he hadn't been looking for—the individual threads in the tapestry on the far wall, the slight variations in the marble's veining, the way certain guests moved with a fluidity that seemed just slightly off. He stopped walking, trying to process what he was feeling, the sensation wasn't gone—it was constant now, thrumming just beneath his awareness like a current running through the building itself "You good?" Kiran asked, not seeming to notice anything unusual, his friend was already scanning the crowd, waving at people he recognized, completely at ease "yeah," Nero said slowly "just... taking it all in" Kiran grinned and was about to say something when a voice cut through the music and conversation "Nero!" The effect was immediate and startling, people stopped mid-sentence, conversations died, heads turned, the entire flow of the party seemed to pause as everyone looked toward the source of that single word. Roxy stood at the top of the grand staircase, and Nero's brain temporarily forgot how to function. She was wearing a silver dress that caught the light from the chandelier and threw it back in a thousand sparkling points, the fabric seemed to flow like liquid mercury, hugging her figure before falling in an elegant cascade that managed to be both sophisticated and dangerously sexy, her black hair fell in perfect waves over her shoulders, and her amber eyes were locked directly on him with an intensity that made his heart skip. The crowd parted without anyone saying a word, students moved aside, creating a clear path from the base of the stairs to where Nero stood frozen near the entrance. It was like watching something choreographed—a bride walking down the aisle, except this bride radiated power and confidence and a kind of dangerous beauty that made the comparison both appropriate and completely inadequate. Roxy descended the stairs with measured grace, her eyes never leaving his as each step seemed deliberate, calculated to maximize the impact of her appearance and it was working. Nero was vaguely aware that his mouth might be hanging open slightly, but he couldn't seem to care enough to fix it. She reached the bottom of the stairs and crossed the remaining distance between them, and that's when Nero felt it—that strange sensation of wrongness he couldn't quite place, something about this moment, about her approach, about the way everyone was watching, felt off in a way he couldn't articulate, it wasn't bad, exactly, just... not quite right "you came," Roxy said, and her smile was genuine warmth mixed with something else, satisfaction, maybe or relief "I said I would," Nero managed, finding his voice somewhere in the vicinity of his throat "and you clean up really well" her eyes traveled over the outfit Kiran had picked out—the grey Henley, the fitted dark jeans, the black jacket—and she nodded approval "the jacket especially, good choice" "thanks, you look..." Nero gestured vaguely at her dress, at her in general, trying to find words that wouldn't sound completely inadequate "incredible" "I know" she said it without arrogance, just simple acknowledgment of fact, then she smiled, softer this time "want a tour of the house? I promise it's worth seeing beyond just this entrance hall" from somewhere to Nero's left, Kiran was making exaggerated nodding motions and mouthing "YES" over and over again. Nero shot him a look that hopefully communicated "you're embarrassing" even though part of him wanted to laugh "I'd like that," Nero said, turning back to Roxy but before they could move, someone appeared at Roxy's elbow—an older woman in elegant business attire that seemed out of place at a student party, she leaned in and whispered something that made Roxy's expression shift from pleased to annoyed in about half a second "are you serious?" Roxy said, not bothering to lower her voice "right now?" The woman nodded apologetically. Roxy closed her eyes and took a breath, clearly trying to maintain composure. When she opened them again, she looked at Nero with genuine regret "I'm so sorry. There's something I have to deal with—family business, it shouldn't take long, but I need to handle it now" "It's fine," Nero said, trying not to show his disappointment "It's your house, you've got responsibilities" "I'll find you as soon as I'm done, okay? Make yourself comfortable. Drink, dance, whatever you want" She reached out and touched his arm briefly, and even through the jacket he felt the warmth of her hand "don't let anyone monopolize you before I get back" then she was gone, following the woman toward a hallway that led deeper into the mansion, leaving Nero standing in the middle of the foyer while what felt like a hundred eyes watched to see what he'd do next "well," said a familiar voice, "that was quite an entrance" Nero turned to find Mara approaching with another girl at her side, Mara looked different outside of class—her auburn hair was down instead of pulled back, and she wore a dark green dress that suited her warm brown eyes "Hey, Mara," Nero said, grateful for a familiar face "didn't expect to see you here" "my roommate knows people who know people" Mara gestured to the girl beside her "this is Sherilyn. Sherilyn, this is Nero, the guy I was telling you about from Professor Brown's class" Sherilyn was tall and striking, with sharp features and blonde hair pulled into an intricate braid, her eyes were assessing as she looked at Nero, but not unkind "the one who turned down Norman Fischer?" "News travels fast," Nero said dryly "on this campus? Always" Sherilyn smiled "that took guts, Norman's not used to hearing no" they chatted for a few minutes about classes, about the party, about the absurd level of wealth on display in every corner of the mansion. Mara was easy to talk to, her warmth making Nero feel less like he was on display and more like he was just at a party with friends. Sherilyn had a dry sense of humor that caught him off guard in the best way, making him laugh at observations about their fellow students that were just cutting enough to be funny without crossing into mean. But he noticed something as they talked, Sherilyn kept glancing at Mara with a knowing expression, and eventually she leaned in and whispered something that made Mara's cheeks flush slightly "what?" Mara said, elbowing her friend "nothing," Sherilyn said innocently "just making an observation about how someone looks at certain people" "Sherilyn—" Mara started, but she was cut off by her friend's sudden sharp intake of breath "oh my God," Sherilyn breathed, staring at something over Nero's shoulder "is that—" Nero was about to ask what they were talking about when something made him look up, it was instinctive, involuntary—like someone had called his name even though no sound had reached his ears. She was standing on the first floor landing, looking down at the party below, looking directly at him and e everything else faded. The music became distant, muffled, like someone had stuffed cotton in his ears, the voices around him turned into white noise, even Mara and Sherilyn seemed to dissolve into the background as his entire focus narrowed to the woman on the landing above. Their eyes locked, and Nero felt something in his chest pull tight, she was... there weren't adequate words, if Roxy was striking and dangerous and beautiful, this woman was all of that amplified and transformed into something that made his enhanced vision seem inadequate to fully capture what he was seeing. Dark skin that seemed to glow under the mansion's lights with features that were sharp and soft in perfect balance, creating a face that looked like it had been designed specifically to make people forget how to breathe, and her eyes—even from this distance, he could see they were extraordinary, a mixture of colors that shouldn't work together but somehow created something mesmerizing. She started moving, and so did he, Nero wasn't aware of making the decision to walk, his feet just started carrying him forward, weaving through the crowd without conscious thought. She descended the stairs with fluid grace, her gaze never leaving his, and they moved toward each other like magnets finding their poles. The only sound in Nero's ears was a heartbeat, not his own—hers, he could hear it, strong and steady, and somehow he knew it was hers even though that should have been impossible in a room full of people with music pounding through expensive speakers. They met at the base of the stairs, and for a moment they just stood there, staring at each other like they were the only two people in the world "Hi," they said simultaneously, and both smiled at the coincidence. The smile transformed her face, adding warmth to beauty, and Nero felt something in his chest loosen and tighten at the same time, it was the strangest sensation—like he'd known her forever but was also meeting her for the first time, like this moment was both completely unexpected and exactly what was supposed to happen "I'm Nero," he said, even though introducing yourself after staring at someone for a solid thirty seconds probably qualified as doing things backward "Kassandra," she replied, and her voice was exactly right—warm and confident with an undertone of something he couldn't quite identify "Kassandra Ravensong, but everyone calls me Kass" "Ravensong," Nero repeated, making the connection "you're related to Roxy?" "Cousins, we're both from the main family line" she tilted her head slightly, studying him with those incredible eyes that held mixtures of red, blue, and hints of purple that seemed to shift in the light "I've been watching you since you arrived" "I noticed," Nero said, unable to look away from those eyes as they were the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen—more captivating than everything else about her, and that was saying something "I mean before , when you walked through the door" Kass took a step closer, and Nero caught a scent of something floral and spicy that made his newly enhanced senses spark "I wanted to see what kind of person could make Roxy interested enough to issue a personal invitation" "and what's your assessment?" "Still deciding" but her smile suggested she was leaning positive "why haven't I seen you before? At school, around town, anywhere? Where have you been hiding?" Nero was about to answer when she held up a hand, stopping him "Actually, don't answer that yet" she glanced around the party, at the people dancing and laughing, at the energy filling the massive space, her expression shifted to something almost vulnerable "this is my first time at a real party, and the music is too good to waste on standing still and talking" she extended her hand toward him "dance with me first, then we'll trade life stories" Nero looked at her outstretched hand, at the challenge and invitation in her eyes, and made a decision that felt both reckless and absolutely right "okay," he said, taking her hand. The moment their skin touched, that pulse of energy he'd felt entering the building spiked through him again, stronger this time, but Kass didn't seem to notice, or if she did, she didn't show it, she just smiled and pulled him toward the center of the room where other couples were already moving to the music. Somewhere in the crowd, there was a crash of glass shattering and Nero's enhanced hearing picked it up clearly even over the music. He glanced over to see Kiran standing frozen, a drink that had clearly just slipped from his hand now in pieces on the marble floor, his friend's mouth was literally hanging open, staring at Nero and Kass like he'd just witnessed something impossible. Kiran was looking at the second mysterious Ravensong—the one people hardly ever saw, the most beautiful girl on campus according to every whispered conversation Nero had overheard—and she was holding Nero's hand, leading him to the dance floor, at that moment Kiran's expression transformed into pure, unfiltered pride as he started making wild hand gestures—thumbs up, nodding frantically, mouthing words that Nero couldn't quite make out but got the general sentiment of. Then Kiran turned to the guys standing nearby and said loud enough for Nero to hear over everything, "that's my bro! That's my boy right there!" Nero shook his head, fighting back laughter, and turned his attention back to Kass as they reached the dance floor. The music shifted to something with a slower, heavier beat—still energetic but more sensual, the kind of rhythm that made bodies move in sync. Kass moved with natural grace, unselfconscious and fluid, and Nero found himself matching her rhythm without thinking about it. They danced close enough to feel the heat between them but not quite touching, maintaining a space that felt charged with possibility, other people were dancing around them, but Nero barely registered them as his entire world had narrowed to the woman in front of him, to the way she moved, to the colors shifting in her eyes under the changing lights, to that strange rightness he felt being near her "you're a good dancer," Kass said, close enough that he could hear her clearly over the music "so are you," Nero replied "thought you said this was your first party?" "First party, not first time dancing" she spun smoothly and came back to face him, closer now "there's a difference" "fair point" the song transitioned into another, and they kept dancing, falling into a rhythm that felt effortless. Nero had never been particularly confident on a dance floor, but something about moving with Kass made it easy, natural, like they'd done this a thousand times before even though he knew they hadn't. Around them, he was vaguely aware of people watching—the same curious attention he'd felt all night amplified by the fact that he was now dancing with the mysterious second Ravensong, the one people apparently hardly ever saw. Whispers rippled through the crowd as phones came out, this was going to be all over campus by morning but for once, Nero didn't care about being watched, didn't care about the attention or the questions or what people were thinking. He was too busy being completely, utterly captivated by the dark-skinned beauty with impossible eyes who smiled at him like they shared a secret neither of them had spoken yet and somewhere in the back of his mind, beneath the music and the moment and the intoxicating feeling of rightness, that pulse of energy continued to thrum through the building, through him, like a heartbeat counting down to something he couldn't see coming.