Chapter 7 CHAPTER 7

Luna lay awake, clutching her pillow, her body trembling with that same strange ache she thought she had conquered. She needed her mate again.

Two souls, restless under the same moon, unaware that the pull they felt was the bond already taking root, binding their fates closer with every heartbeat.

Damian knew he needed to let off some steam; his emotions were hanging by a thread, and at any little provocation, he would lose control. He drove out of his father's mansion and headed to school. Walking through the hallways of Saint Remy Academy, filled with rich but, compared to him, poverty-stricken, arrogant wolf heirs, was draining; he needed to get out of here. What would he do or give his father to let him leave New Orleans? He wanted Lesley and their wild relationship.

What started as an ordinary Monday morning, the kind that smelled of disinfectant and boredom. The fluorescent lights in the science lab buzzed softly, bouncing off rows of test tubes, beakers, and Luna’s anxious heartbeat.

She hated group assignments.

She preferred silence, space, and invisibility. But her teacher had other plans.

“Luna Rivers,” Mr Graham announced, scanning his clipboard, “you’ll be paired with our new student, Damian Blackwell.”

Her pen froze midair. And who the hell is DAMIAN BLACKWELL?

She rolled her eyes as she turned to note who had that incredibly heavy name.

The room erupted in whispers, the girls giggling, some glaring, others whispering envy.

Luna’s stomach dropped. The universe clearly had a sense of humour.

How could she be paired with the most obnoxious new idiot in school, always feeling like he owned the whole school?

Damian looked up from his seat at the back, golden eyes catching hers, unreadable, dangerous.

He leaned back lazily, forgetting he was having a hard Monday, and gave a smug half-smile, that smug half-smile playing on his lips. The kind of smile that said he got what he wanted, always.

He could as well change his partner; he wasn't interested in working with an ugly girl.

Mr Graham gestured. “You two, table three.”

Luna swallowed hard, dragging her books over. Every step toward him made the air thicker.

Damian didn’t move an inch, but she could feel his gaze on her, heavy and consuming.

She could swear the temperature in the room dropped and rose all at once.

When she sat beside him, their arms brushed. Just a light touch. But the world tilted.

Her heart raced.

His breathing deepened.

And for a brief second, the faint outline of a golden aura flared around him; only she saw it.

Her wolf stirred, whispering, He’s here.

Damian stiffened. His wolf howled within him, clawing at the surface. He inhaled sharply; her scent hit him again. Moonlight, vanilla, and wild pine. He gripped the edge of the table, knuckles white. His pulse roared in his ears.

No. It can’t be her.

Not the quiet, ugly girl everyone ignored. Not the one who looked too unkept and innocent, too ordinary.

Luna noticed his sudden tension, the way his muscles rippled under his black shirt as he tried to compose himself. He was clearly fighting something primal.

“Can we just get this over with?” she muttered, adjusting her glasses.

His gaze snapped to her face.

That voice. That attitude. That fire.

Her voice did not match her appearance at all.

Her voice actually made him want to take her to bed immediately and do things to her.

He smirked to cover up his growing interest in who she was. “You don’t like me much, do you?”

“I don’t like narcissists who think the sun revolves around them,” she shot back, pouring liquid into a beaker.

He leaned closer, lowering his voice, golden eyes glinting with danger. “Careful, nerd girl. You’re playing with fire.”

She didn’t flinch. “Then maybe you should stay out of the lab.”

Her words hit harder than she meant. The air around them shifted, charged. The bond between their wolves hummed, invisible but unbreakable.

They both did not understand what was going on and refused to show any signs of effect.

Every glance, every accidental brush of fingers as they passed test tubes, felt like lightning.

When Luna leaned forward to grab a notebook, her hair brushed against his hand. Damian froze. A flash of memory hit him so hard he almost gasped.

Silver fur. Moonlight. Her scent.

His heart thundered.

It’s her.

Nah, it can't be, he said, he almost laughed aloud, but played it cool.

He jerked back, knocking over a glass vial. It shattered, spilling a green chemical that hissed on the counter.

“Mr Blackwell!” the teacher barked.

“Sorry,” Damian said quickly, eyes still locked on Luna. “Got… distracted.”

Luna looked at him, confused. “Are you okay?”

His throat worked as he forced a smirk. “Yeah. Perfect.”

But inside, his wolf was screaming.

Mate.

He couldn’t deny it anymore—the bond, the pull, the way her presence ignited everything inside him he’d tried to bury.

The bell rang.

Luna stood up quickly, avoiding his gaze. But before she could walk away, he reached out and caught her wrist.

The moment their skin touched, time stopped.

A sharp flash of light flickered between them, invisible to others but bright as the moon to their eyes. Her mark glowed faintly under her sleeve; his eyes flared gold. They both gasped, jerking apart.

“What was that?” she whispered.

“Nothing,” he lied, voice rough. “Just… static.”

Luna didn’t believe him. Her heart was pounding too fast for it to be nothing. She rushed out of the room, chest heaving, every nerve alive.

Damian stayed behind, staring at the door she’d just disappeared through. His fingers still tingled where he’d touched her.

He knew what this meant.

He just didn’t want to accept it.

Because she wasn’t just his mate; she was the curse his family had feared for centuries.

And fate had just seated them side by side.

He needed to find out who she was, so he followed her and tapped her on her shoulders in the hallway.

The whole school stilled; they were both wondering and envious of why Luna Rivers deserved this much attention from Damian Blackwell.

I just want to know your name, Luna??

Luna Rivers, Luna said.

Damian walked away immediately, lost in thought.

Luna felt embarrassed. How dare he walk away like that? So rude, he couldn't even acknowledge that he heard her; he just walked away. It was so stupid of her to even respond. She hissed and walked off.

–

Damian was lost in thought and needed to know who Luna Rivers was. He needed to know every little bit about her. "New Orleans just got interesting," he teased himself and mocked his father's love for New Orleans.