CHAPTER EIGHT:His mate
676 Words
“Mate.”
The word echoed inside Liranae's mind.
She stared at Kaelan.
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
Her heart pounded so loudly that she wondered if he could hear it.
Mate?
The word shouldn't have meant anything to her.
Yet something deep inside her recognized it.
Her body recognized him.
The strange warmth she had felt whenever he touched her suddenly became stronger.
Kaelan slowly released her hand.
Liranae immediately felt the distance.
She hated that she noticed.
Kaelan turned away.
“This cannot happen.”
Liranae frowned.
She grabbed her notebook and wrote quickly.
Why?
Kaelan looked at the question.
“Because I'm your teacher.”
She stared at him.
He continued.
“And you're my student.”
Liranae wrote another question.
Does that change what we are?
Kaelan didn't answer.
That silence told her enough.
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“It doesn't.”
Liranae's chest tightened.
Kaelan looked at her again.
“I've spent my entire life believing I would never have a mate.”
He paused.
“Then you walked into my training hall.”
Liranae looked down.
She remembered the way everyone had laughed at her.
She remembered standing alone on the training mat.
And she remembered Kaelan looking at her differently.
Not with pity.
With curiosity.
“With your ability awakening, you're in danger,” he said. “Whoever attacked the academy knows what you are.”
Liranae wrote:
What am I?
Kaelan's jaw tightened.
“I don't know yet.”
She stared at him.
“You need answers,” he continued. “But if we search for them carelessly, we'll put you in greater danger.”
Liranae closed her notebook.
She was tired of being treated like someone who couldn't handle the truth.
For years, everyone had made decisions for her because she couldn't speak.
Teachers spoke over her.
Students ignored her.
People assumed her silence meant she had nothing to say.
She was done with that.
Liranae stepped closer to Kaelan.
She looked directly into his eyes.
Then she pointed at herself.
She wasn't helpless.
Kaelan understood.
“You're right.”
Liranae blinked.
He sighed.
“I keep trying to protect you without realizing that you don't want to be protected from everything.”
She nodded.
“You want to understand your power.”
She nodded again.
“And you want to choose what happens next.”
Another nod.
Kaelan studied her.
Then, for the first time, he smiled.
It was barely there.
But Liranae saw it.
“You're changing.”
Her heart skipped.
He wasn't talking about her powers.
He was talking about her.
The frightened girl who had entered his class was slowly disappearing.
In her place was someone stronger.
Someone who knew what she deserved.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the corridor.
Kaelan's expression immediately hardened.
“Someone's coming.”
Liranae's senses sharpened.
She heard several heartbeats.
Five.
No.
Six.
They were approaching quickly.
Kaelan stepped in front of her.
“Stay behind me.”
Liranae rolled her eyes.
Kaelan glanced back.
“You're going to argue?”
She crossed her arms.
Despite everything happening, a tiny smile appeared on her face.
Kaelan shook his head.
“Stubborn.”
The doors at the end of the hallway burst open.
Several armed figures entered.
Their eyes immediately locked onto Liranae.
“There she is.”
Kaelan's expression became dangerous.
He stepped forward.
“You should have stayed away from this academy.”
One of the strangers smiled.
“We didn't come for the academy.”
His eyes moved to Liranae.
“We came for the healer.”
Liranae's mark began to glow.
Kaelan's eyes darkened.
“Then you'll have to get through me first.”
The attackers charged.
Liranae raised her hands.
This time, she didn't hide behind Kaelan.
She stepped beside him.
The purple light began spreading across her fingers.
Kaelan glanced at her.
“You ready?”
Liranae nodded.
For the first time in her life, she wasn't afraid of what she was becoming.
She was ready to find out.
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