The Golden Eyes

POV: Kaelia

I remain kneeling on the freezing marble floor, looking up at Luna Vivienne in pure confusion. Her cruel remark hangs in the sterile air of the massive foyer, but the harsh physical punishment I am bracing for never comes. Instead, a sinister smirk crosses her painted lips, twisting her beautiful features into something dark and ugly.

"In exactly two days, the pack might receive some very important guests. You will ensure every inch of this packhouse is sparkling clean and that nothing is out of place. You know the consequences if you fail." She delivers the stern warning in a cold tone, taking a deliberate step forward to look down at me like I am just another smudge of dirt beneath her expensive running shoes before turning on her heel and jogging out the front doors.

An overwhelming wave of relief crashes through my chest, forcing a heavy breath from my tight lungs. She hasn't followed through on her threat to cancel my college fees. My cheap, obscure human school is safe for now. As long as I can keep my tuition and escape this place during the day, I will scrub these pristine floors until my knuckles bleed.

I scramble away from the foyer before she can finish her run and change her mind. Retreating to my cramped, dimly lit room in the servant quarters, I strip off my clothes and step into the tiny bathroom. I subject myself to a punishing shower in ice-cold water, gasping as the freezing spray hits my bruised skin. The cold water shocks my system, washing away the lingering dread from the Luna’s threats. I dry off quickly and hurriedly throw on my only worn-out, oversized hoodie, pulling the frayed sleeves down past my wrists to hide the dark marks on my arms.

Grabbing my heavy, overstuffed backpack, I leave the packhouse for school much earlier than usual. The morning air bites at my cheeks, but I walk briskly, desperate to avoid crossing paths with Trent and his vicious gang of bullies. The narrow, tree-lined dirt path separating the sprawling pack territory from the human town provides a temporary sanctuary. The rustling leaves and quiet isolation help clear my racing mind, preparing me for a normal day among oblivious humans.

As I approach the familiar, rusted wrought-iron gates of my isolated human school, a bizarre scene brings my footsteps to a dead halt.

A massive fleet of luxurious black cars is parked haphazardly across the cracked asphalt of the student lot. Towering, massively built men dressed in crisp black suits surround the gleaming vehicles, standing on high alert. Their broad shoulders and rigid postures scream danger. Our unremarkable, obscure school never attracts bigshots or wealthy individuals. The humans who attend this rundown public institute are just as poor and forgotten as I am.

A sudden, panicked clamor draws my attention toward the front courtyard. A thick crowd of students pushes and shoves against one another, their voices raised in a chaotic hum as they struggle to see the commotion.

I push my way forward, elbowing past the gawking teenagers. The sight in the center of the makeshift circle turns my blood to ice.

A hulking, stone-faced man with a terrifying aura grips my scrawny friend, Seth, tightly by the neck. The massive man hoists Seth off the ground with a single arm, leaving his worn sneakers dangling uselessly in the air. Seth thrashes his thin limbs, his face turning a dangerous, splotchy shade of red as he claws futilely at the iron-like grip cutting off his airway.

"If you dare raise your voice again in front of the king, I will kill you." The massive man issues the lethal threat with a dead, rumbling voice that sends shivers down my spine.

Unable to stand by and watch my friend die, I shove my way through the last of the terrified onlookers, breaking out into the open space.

"Leave Seth alone!" I yell at the man, my voice cracking with desperation.

Seth gasps for breath, his eyes bulging behind his taped frames as he chokes out a pathetic explanation. "I wasn't talking to the king, Beta Dan."

Dan ignores the desperate plea. His thick fingers visibly tighten, squeezing Seth's throat even harder. Seth’s eyes roll back, his kicking growing weak.

Consumed by sheer panic for my friend's life, I react on pure, reckless instinct. I grip the sturdy canvas straps of my heavy backpack, pivot on my heel, and swing the bag blindly with all my strength. The heavy textbooks inside add momentum as I smash the canvas directly into Dan's solid abdomen.

"Leave him alone!" I scream again, stepping fearlessly into the giant's personal space.

The impact is like hitting a solid brick wall. Dan doesn't even flinch from the blow, but surprise flickers across his stoic features at my audacious act of defiance. Instead of snapping my neck or retaliating against me, his dark gaze shifts away from us, looking up toward the second-floor window of the dean's office.

Following his line of sight, I look up. I freeze.

A pair of fierce, striking golden eyes stares intensely through the narrow slits of the partially drawn window blinds. The color is unnatural, glowing like a lit forge in the shadows of the room. Those eyes are not looking at Dan, and they are not looking at Seth. They are locked directly onto me with a heavy, predatory intensity. The pure weight of that golden stare feels like a physical force pushing against my chest, forcing me to involuntarily take a step backward. The morning sounds fade away, sucked into the magnetic unease radiating from that window.

A tense, silent exchange passes between the man holding Seth and the stranger hidden in the shadows of the office. I recognize the subtle shift in Dan’s posture immediately—it is a werewolf mind link.

Without warning, Dan abruptly releases his grip. Seth drops to the rough asphalt like a stone, coughing harshly and gasping for much-needed air. Dan turns his broad back to us, and the surrounding crowd hastily scatters in fear, terrified of sticking around to see what the giant men will do next.

I drop to my knees without hesitation, ignoring the sharp sting of the pavement against my jeans. I help Seth gather his broken glasses and the spilled textbooks from the ground. His hands shake uncontrollably as he snatches a spiral notebook from the dirt.

Seth looks at me in sheer disbelief, his voice a hoarse whisper. "Are you insane? You just hit Beta Dante of a powerful pack."

"I don't care if he is the beta of some stupid pack. He was hurting you, and nobody messes with my friend. Too many people already treat us like shit, and we don't need any more of it." I cut him off fiercely, shoving the last of his pens into the canvas bag and zipping it shut with a harsh yank.

Seth weakly brushes the near-death experience off, adjusting the bent frames of his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "It was just a misunderstanding, Kaelia. I'm okay."

I know it wasn't a misunderstanding, but I do not argue with him out here in the open. I hoist his right arm over my shoulder, supporting his dead weight, and begin walking him toward the school medic's office.

As we walk away from the chaotic courtyard, the physical weight of those unnerving golden eyes continuously burns into my back. It is a cold, calculative stare, tracking my every movement as I help my skinny friend limp across the pavement. I refuse to turn around, keeping my focus locked on the heavy double doors of the main building.

"Who are these terrifying people, and why are they at our school?" I ask Seth, keeping my voice low as we enter the safety of the main hallway.

Seth leans heavily against my side, his breathing still ragged as our footsteps echo on the linoleum floor. "People are talking. Some say the Lycan king is here donating money to the school. Others claim an Alpha is recruiting strong students to work as guards. I even heard a wild rumor that the Lycan king is here looking for his mate."

I furrow my eyebrows in deep disbelief. The Lycan King is a myth to most, a supreme ruler who sits at the very apex of our brutal world. I doubt the most powerful being in existence would ever visit our unremarkable, run-down institute to find a mate. They would go to the top academies for that kind of search.

We finally step into the bright, sterile environment of the medic's office. The heavy wooden door clicks shut behind us, forcefully cutting off my intense eye contact with the mysterious golden-eyed stranger in the window. The oppressive, burning sensation on my back vanishes the second the door seals, though my heart continues to hammer a frantic rhythm against my ribs.

Little did I know the Lycan King had come looking for one person specifically… me.