Marked by Midnight

Chapter 3

The Feeling I Couldn't Explain.

By the time classes ended, I was already tired of hearing about the Mate Ceremony. Everywhere I went, that was all anyone talked about. Even during lunch, people were making guesses about who would find their mate first.

Seraphine was no different.

She sat opposite me with her food untouched because she was too busy talking.

“I heard the Moon Goddess is going to appear herself tonight.”

“You told me that this morning.”

“And I'm telling you again because it's important.”

I smiled. “You really want to find your mate.”

“Of course I do.”

She finally picked up her fork. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Don't pretend you don't know what I'm asking.”

I looked down at my food. “I don't know.”

Seraphine sighed. “You always say that.”

“Because I don't know.”

“You don't want a mate?”

I shrugged. “I never said that.”

“Then what are you saying?”

I thought about it.

The truth was, I had never really thought much about having a mate before coming to Moonridge.

In the human world, I had grown up believing that love was something people chose. You met someone, got to know them and decided whether you wanted to be with them. Here, it was different.

A mate was supposed to be someone chosen by the Moon Goddess. A person who was connected to you in a way that was supposed to be stronger than ordinary love.

That idea still confused me.

“What if you don't like the person you're matched with?” I asked.

Seraphine frowned. “Why wouldn't you like him?”

“I don't know. Maybe because I don't know him.”

“But once you meet your mate, you'll feel the bond.”

I looked at her. “You sound very sure.”

“I am.”

I laughed quietly.

“Fine. Let's see what happens tonight.”

She smiled. “That's more like it.”

After lunch, we headed back to class. I tried to concentrate on the lesson, but my mind kept wandering.

That strange feeling from earlier had returned.

It wasn't painful. It was just... uncomfortable.

Like I was waiting for something. I looked around the classroom. Nothing seemed unusual.

The teacher was writing on the board while everyone copied the notes.

I tried to focus again, then someone walked past the classroom door.

I looked up.

A familiar feeling went through me, the same feeling I had experienced that morning.

I couldn't see the person's face because they had already passed. I frowned.

Why did that keep happening?

“Elena.” I looked at Seraphine.

She was staring at me.

“What?”

“You've been staring at the door for almost a minute.”

“I have?”

“Yes.”

I shook my head. “It's nothing.”

She didn't look convinced, but she turned back to her notes. I tried to do the same. It didn't work.

My mind went back to two years ago. The night I met Alaric.

I still remembered how strange it had felt when he said my name. Elena Morgan. No one in the human world called me that. Olivia had always called me Elena Daniels.

At least, that was the name I had grown up with. But Alaric knew my real surname. Morgan.

I had asked him where he got it.

He told me it belonged to my father. That was the first time I realised just how much Olivia had kept from me.

I was angry with her at first, then I understood why she had done it. Or at least, I thought I did.

My parents had been part of a dangerous world.

They had enemies. And somehow, I had been hidden from all of it. The problem was that I still didn't know why.

The bell rang. Everyone started packing their things.

Seraphine grabbed my arm. “Come on.”

“Where?”

“To get ready.”

“For what?”

She stared at me. “The ceremony!”

“Oh.”

She shook her head. “I swear, you're the only person in this academy who doesn't seem excited.”

We walked back to the dormitory.

On the way, I noticed that several students were already dressed for the evening. Some were carrying flowers. Others were talking about their families.

I wondered what my parents would have thought about a night like this. I barely remembered them.

That was something I didn't like admitting.

I had spent years wanting to know who they were, but I couldn't remember their faces clearly anymore. Sometimes I wondered if that made me a bad daughter.

Seraphine opened the door to our room.

“Stop thinking.”

I looked at her. “What?”

“You have that look again.”

“What look?”

“The one where you're somewhere else.”

I smiled slightly. “Maybe I am.”

She sighed. “Not tonight.”

She walked towards my wardrobe.

“Tonight, you're going to enjoy yourself.”

I let her choose my clothes this time. There was no point arguing.

While she was getting ready, I sat near the window.

The sun was beginning to set.

The sky had turned a soft orange, and the academy looked different in the evening. For a moment, I felt calm.

Then I heard a voice.

“Elena.”

I turned around. Seraphine was standing behind me.

“Did you call me?”

She shook her head. “No.”

I looked towards the window. The courtyard was empty.

My heart began beating faster.

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“My name.”

She frowned. “No.”

I stood up. Maybe I was imagining things. That was probably it. I had been thinking too much about the ceremony.

“You're probably just nervous,” Seraphine said.

“Maybe.”

She smiled. “Come on. We're going.”

We left the room together.

The ceremony was being held in the academy's largest hall. By the time we arrived, it was already packed.

Students stood everywhere, dressed in formal clothes and talking excitedly.

At the front of the hall was a large silver platform surrounded by candles. Behind it stood a huge symbol of the Moon Goddess. I had seen the symbol before, but tonight it looked different. Almost brighter.

Seraphine grabbed my hand. “Look.”

I followed her gaze. Three young men had just entered the hall. The crowd became noticeably quieter.

I didn't know who they were. But everyone else seemed to.

One walked with an expression that made it obvious he didn't care what anyone thought.

Another looked calm, almost bored.

The third stayed slightly behind them, watching the room instead of the people around him.

“Who are they?” I whispered.

Seraphine looked at me. “You don't know?”

I shook my head.

She leaned closer.

“Kyle Draven. Damon Ravencroft. And Lucian Vayna.”

The names meant nothing to me.

But when I looked at them again, something strange happened. My chest tightened.

The feeling I had experienced all day became stronger.

Much stronger. I couldn't explain it. I didn't know these men. I had never spoken to them.

So why did standing in the same room with them suddenly feel so wrong?

Or maybe...

Not wrong.

Familiar.

I looked away quickly.

“Are you okay?” Seraphine asked.

“Yeah.”

“You don't look okay.”

“I said I'm fine.”

Before she could answer, the entire hall suddenly went silent. The candles around the platform flickered at the same time. Then the lights dimmed.

A soft silver glow appeared above the platform.

Everyone bowed their heads.

I didn't. I couldn't. I was staring at the light.

Something inside me had started pulling towards it.

My breathing became uneven.

And then I heard a voice. Not from behind me. Not from beside me.

It sounded like it was coming from somewhere inside my own head.

“Elena.”

My eyes widened. I looked around the hall.

No one seemed to notice. Then the voice came again.

Come closer.

I took one step forward without thinking.

Seraphine grabbed my hand. “Elena, what are you doing?”

I stopped. I didn't know.

I honestly didn't know.

The silver light above the platform grew brighter.

And for the first time since I arrived at Moonridge Academy, I felt something inside me wake up.

Something I didn't know was there. Something that seemed to recognise the Moon Goddess.

And judging by the way Kyle, Damon and Lucian had suddenly turned towards me...

They had felt it too.