CRESCENT BOUND

A Tough Start

"You're my seat, and you are in my school. Move now, or I will make you."

Elara Vance did not look scared. She dropped her bag on the wooden desk and touched the silver locket around her neck—the one her mother told her never to take off. "Then stop breathing. Or better yet, go away."

The whole classroom went totally quiet. Forty students looked at her with wide eyes, like she had just done something very dangerous. The boy sitting next to her leaned forward. His dark hair fell over his brown eyes, and he looked very angry. His jaw was tight.

"Funny," he said in a low, rough voice. "I don't remember asking what you think."

"And I don't remember asking for your permission to sit down," Elara said, looking right back at him with her chin up. "Kaelen Blackwood, right?"

He looked surprised for a second, but then his face went cold again. "Say my name one more time, and you will get into big trouble."

"Kaelen," she said slowly. "You sound like a boy who has never been told no."

He stood up so fast his chair made a loud scraping sound against the floor. No one else moved. The teacher looked scared and kept his eyes on his book, acting like nothing was happening. Everyone treated Kaelen like he was the boss of the school.

"Get up," Kaelen said, standing right over her. He was tall and looked very angry. "Now."

"Or what?" Elara stayed in her seat. "Will you get me kicked out of school before the bell rings?"

"Before the bell rings," he whispered so only she could hear, "you will be on the floor saying sorry. And I won't even have to touch you to make it happen."

He snapped his fingers.

Right away, three students at the front stood up—a boy and two girls with mean looks on their faces. They walked over and stood around her desk.

"New girl," the tall boy said with a smirk. "You heard him. Move."

"Him?" Elara frowned. "This is just a high school, not a wolf pack."

People laughed, but Kaelen didn't. He just stood there with his arms crossed, watching like it was a show.

"Be careful, Elara," a girl with red nail polish said, tapping her desk hard. "Around here, we don't talk back to him. And we don't sit where we shouldn't."

"Then tell me where I belong," Elara said, standing up slowly with her bag. "Because I don't see his name written on this desk."

Kaelen stepped closer. He smelled like pine trees and rain. "This isn't about a desk," he said, looking around the room at all the students watching them. "This is about the rules. And you? You are a big mistake."

"Then show me the way out," she said, grabbing her bag. "I will leave. You can go back to pretending you own the school."

She tried to walk past him, but he blocked her way without even touching her.

"Nobody leaves until I say so."

"Watch me."

She tried to walk around him again, but one of the girls pushed her shoulder hard. Elara almost fell and grabbed the desk to steady herself. As she did, her silver locket swung forward into the light. Kaelen looked right at it. His eyes got narrow, but he didn't say anything.

"Nice necklace," the girl with red nails said, reaching out fast to grab it. Elara slapped her hand away.

"Don't touch me."

The room felt colder. Kaelen looked mad. "You just hit Lila."

Lila smiled a mean smile. "Oh, she has a bad temper. I like it. Too bad it's going to get her into trouble."

"Say sorry," Kaelen said in a flat voice. "Right now."

"For what? She tried to take my things."

"Say sorry, or I will make this whole year very hard for you," Kaelen said, getting close to her space. "I run things here. I say who sits where and who passes their classes. You don't want to make an enemy of me."

"I don't want friends," Elara said, lifting her chin. "And I definitely don't want a bully telling me what to do."

The room was completely quiet. Then Lila laughed out loud. "Oh, she is in so much trouble."

Kaelen didn't laugh. His face went totally blank. He leaned down close to her ear and whispered:

"You have three seconds to bow down. Or I will make you regret it. Piece by piece."

The threat was clear. Nobody tried to help her. The teacher kept reading his book. The other students watched with fear and excitement because this happened all the time.

Elara held on tightly to her locket. It was the only thing she had to keep her safe. Stay hidden, she told herself. Don't let them know anything. Just survive.

She took a slow breath. "I am not saying sorry."

Kaelen's eyes flashed with a bright, strange color for just a second. He closed his hand into a tight fist. "Fine."

He stepped back, nodded to Lila, and turned away like Elara didn't matter anymore. "Go ahead. The first period isn't over yet."

Lila smiled a happy, mean smile. "Gladly."

The bell rang. No one moved. Lila and the other two students stepped closer, blocking the door and trapping Elara. Kaelen sat down at the front of the room and opened his book like everything was normal.

Elara backed up until her back hit the wall. Her heart beat fast. She was new, she was alone, and she didn't know how powerful these people were. But she knew one thing for sure—she would not bow down to him.

Lila stepped forward and pulled a pair of small silver scissors out of her bag. "You know," she said softly, "Kaelen usually doesn't care about new kids. But you? You made him mad. And when you make him mad, you make all of us mad."

Elara held onto her locket. "Stay away from me."

"Or what?" Lila laughed and held up the scissors. "Will you cry? There is nowhere to run, Elara."

She lunged forward—not at Elara's face, but straight at her neck.

At the locket.

Elara tried to move, but she was too slow. The sharp blade caught the thin silver chain. It pulled hard, and with a sharp snap, the clasp broke.

The locket fell.

Elara reached for it, but it was already dropping through the air. Kaelen's head shot up. His eyes went wide with shock.

The locket hit the floor.

And it popped open.

Everything stopped.

Lila froze with the scissors still in her hand. Kaelen stood up so fast his desk shook. The room became so quiet that Elara could hear her own heartbeat, and something else—a low, deep growl from somewhere far away that didn't sound human at all.

She looked down at the floor.

Inside the open locket, sitting behind the glass, was a small carved black stone with a silver crescent moon shape on it.

It was the exact same symbol carved into the wooden sign above the classroom door.

It was the exact same symbol Kaelen wore on a ring around his finger.

He stared at it, looking pale and scared, like he was seeing a ghost.

"You..." His voice shook. "That's impossible."

Elara dropped to her knees, grabbed the locket, and held it tight to her chest. But it was too late. He had seen it. Lila had seen it. Everyone saw it.

Kaelen looked at her eyes, and all his anger was gone. He looked terrified.

"Who are you?" he whispered, like he was afraid of the answer. "What are you?"

Before she could answer, before she could lie or run away, the classroom door slammed open so hard the walls shook.

A tall, broad man stood in the doorway. He had gray eyes and a sharp face and wore a heavy chain around his neck with the same silver moon symbol on it. He looked right at Elara, saw the locket in her hands, and his face turned to stone.

"Kaelen Blackwood," the man said in a loud voice that shook the shelves. "My office. Now. And bring the girl."