Aria
The Great Hall smells like old stone and fear. I sit beside Ivy on a hard wooden bench, packed shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of other students. The elites in their black and silver uniforms sit in the front, radiating arrogance. We, the grey-clad nobodies, are crammed into the back.
“Just do what I do,” Ivy whispers, her hands clenched in her lap. “Keep your eyes on the floor. Especially when he comes out.”
“He?” I ask, though I already know the answer.
“Prince Ronin. This is his official welcome to the student body. He’s the heir. He basically owns this place. And everyone in it.”
A hush falls over the massive chamber. A man with a severe face and a long black robe steps up to the podium on the dais.
“Welcome, students, to a new year at Obsidian Moon Academy,” the man says, his voice booming. “It is my great honor to present the pride of the Royal Pack, your future Alpha King. Prince Ronin.”
A figure steps out from the shadows behind the podium. He is tall, built with a lethal grace that speaks of power, not just muscle. Dark hair, a sharp jaw, and eyes so intense they feel like a physical touch even from across the hall.
Then his power hits us. It’s not a request. It is a command. A tidal wave of pure Alpha dominance crashes over the assembly, demanding submission.
All around me, people fall. Students drop to their knees, heads bowed low. Some whimper. Ivy yanks on my sleeve, her face pale with strain. “Aria, kneel!”
But I can’t. My legs are locked. The wave of power washes over me, through me, but it doesn’t force me down. It’s like a storm raging around a single, unshakable stone. I remain standing.
His gaze sweeps the room, a king surveying his domain. Then it stops. It lands on me. The only person not on their knees.
For a heartbeat, the world goes silent. There is only the crushing weight of his stare. I see confusion flicker in his eyes, quickly replaced by something else. Something dark and ugly. Pure, undiluted disdain. His lip curls in a faint, cruel sneer. He looks at me like I am something he found on the bottom of his shoe.
The assembly ends in a blur. I don’t remember the Headmaster’s speech. I only remember that look.
“Are you insane?” Ivy hisses as we are swept into the crowded hallway. “Why didn’t you kneel? He saw you. He saw you defy him.”
“I didn’t defy him,” I say, my voice trembling. “I couldn’t. It was like his power didn’t… work on me.”
“That’s not possible,” she says, shaking her head. “Nobody can resist a Royal Alpha’s command.”
Suddenly, the crowd ahead of us parts like the sea. Prince Ronin is walking toward us, flanked by two other elite students. They move with an untouchable confidence, and everyone scrambles to get out of their path.
“Move, Aria,” Ivy breathes, pulling at my arm. “Get against the wall.”
I try to step aside, to press myself into the stone like everyone else. But he is already there. He doesn't alter his path by an inch. He walks directly into me.
His shoulder connects with mine, sending me stumbling back into the wall. The impact is hard, deliberate. I gasp, looking up at him.
He stops, turning his head just enough to look down his nose at me. His voice is a low, cold rumble that cuts through the noise of the hall. “You were the one standing.”
It’s not a question. It is an accusation.
“I…” I start, but words fail me under his glacial stare.
“Let me teach you a lesson, mutt,” he says, his voice dropping to a venomous whisper only I can hear. “Know your place.”
He leans in a fraction of an inch closer, his scent of pine and winter air overwhelming me. “It is in the dirt. With the other insects.”
Then he turns and continues walking down the hall as if I was nothing, a piece of trash he had just kicked out of his way. The crowd closes in behind him, leaving me pressed against the cold stone, his final word echoing in my head. Insects.
