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The Senior Lounge at the Primary Academy had always been a place of unspoken rules, but Vane and Leo had decided to rewrite them. They realized that as long as the Blackwood Guard—Kenzo and Celine—was present, Calix was untouchable. So, they used their family connections and the influence of the senior student council to manipulate the weekly schedule.
By Tuesday morning, the trap was set.
Kenzo was fuming as he stood by the academy gates, his rucksack already packed. He had been assigned to a "mandatory leadership survival drill" in the Whispering Woods, a safe but distant training camp three days away.
"It's a set-up," Kenzo hissed, looking at the official scroll in his hand. "I've already done this drill twice. Why are they sending me again?"
"It's just the curriculum, Kenzo," Celine said, though she looked uneasy. She had tried to find a mission to join him on, but she was too efficient; she had finished her weekly requirements by Monday afternoon. She had no excuse to leave the campus, but she also had no authority to stop Kenzo from going.
"Watch him, Celine," Kenzo warned, his eyes darting to where Vane and Leo were standing on the balcony, watching them. "Don't let him out of your sight for a second. If those seniors even breathe in his direction, you use those high-level spells I know you've been practicing."
"I will," Celine promised, her voice cold and sharp. "Go. The faster you finish, the faster you get back."
With Kenzo gone, the atmosphere at the academy changed instantly. Calix felt it the moment he walked into the main hall for his morning history lecture. The air felt thinner, and the "weight" of the gazes following him felt heavier.
Celine walked him to every class, but the seniors were clever. They used the crowded hallways and the passing periods to strike.
"Calix, wait up!" Leo called out as the bell rang for the lunch break.
Celine stepped in front of Calix immediately, her hand resting on her mana-conduit ring. "He's with me, Leo. Move."
"Relax, Celine," Leo said, his voice dripping with fake friendliness. He didn't even look at her. He reached over her shoulder and placed a heavy, firm hand on Calix's shoulder. "We just wanted to talk to him about the art project. You're always so defensive."
"Stop it," Calix said, his voice small. He tried to shrug Leo's hand off, but the older boy's grip was like iron. "Leo, please. You're hurting my shoulder. I told you I don't want to talk about the project."
"I'm barely touching you," Leo lied, squeezing harder.
Celine's eyes flashed with a dangerous light. "I said move." She snapped her fingers, and a small, concentrated spark of lightning hissed between her and Leo. He flinched back, pulling his hand away, but he was laughing.
"You're getting sharp, Princess," Leo mocked. "Just like your big brother."
The real trouble happened during the afternoon break. Celine had been called into the Headmaster's office—another manipulated distraction—to discuss her "advanced placement" status. Calix was left sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, waiting for her.
Vane didn't waste a second. He walked up to the bench, his shadow falling over Calix.
"You look lonely without your shadows, Calix," Vane said.
Calix stood up, his heart beginning to race. "I'm fine, Vane. I'm just waiting for my sister. Please go away."
"You're always so polite, even when you're scared," Vane remarked. He stepped closer, completely ignoring the boundary of personal space. Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed Calix by the waist.
Calix let out a sharp gasp, his hands coming up to push at Vane's chest. "What are you doing? Let go! Stop touching me!"
"You're too slow," Vane whispered, his voice low and grotesque. "I'm just helping you. You're going to be late for your music lesson. I'll carry you there."
Before Calix could protest further, Vane hoisted him up, lifting him completely off the ground. He held Calix tightly against his chest, his arms locked around Calix's waist and legs.
"Put me down! Vane, stop it!" Calix cried out. He began to struggle, but Vane was a senior Alpha and far more stronger.
Leo walked alongside them, laughing as he watched Calix's face. "Look at him, Vane. He's actually crying. You were right—he looks even better when he's upset."
It was true. The panic and the humiliation brought hot, fat tears to Calix's eyes. They trailed down his flushed cheeks, making his silver eyes look like shimmering glass. The sight didn't make Vane feel guilty; it made him feel powerful. It fed the sick obsession that had been growing for weeks.
"Stop crying, little Prince," Vane said, his voice shamelessly bold. He knew he shouldn't be doing this. He knew the risks. But the feel of Calix in his arms and the sight of those tears made him lose all sense of caution. "I'm just taking care of you."
"PUT HIM DOWN RIGHT NOW!"
The scream echoed through the courtyard like a thunderclap. Celine was running toward them, her face pale with rage. She didn't wait to talk. She didn't offer a warning.
She raised her hand, and a blast of compressed air slammed into Vane's side. It wasn't enough to kill him, but it was enough to knock him off balance. Vane stumbled, and Calix managed to wiggle free, hitting the ground and scrambling away toward his sister.
Celine caught Calix, pulling him behind her. She was trembling with a fury that made her look exactly like Kyon in the middle of an interrogation.
"If you touch him again," Celine hissed, her voice vibrating with mana, "I don't care about the academy rules. I will burn the hair off your head and make sure you never have enough mana to cast a light spell again. You are disgusting, pathetic cowards."
Vane straightened his uniform, his face twisted in a sneer. "We were just helping him, Celine. He's so fragile, we didn't want him to trip."
"He didn't trip until you grabbed him!" Celine shouted. "Get out of here! Now!"
Leo and Vane exchanged a look—a dark, knowing look. They had seen what they wanted to see. They had seen the tears, and they had seen how easy it was to get to him when the other "twins" were away.
"We'll see you tomorrow, Calix," Vane called out as they walked away.
Calix was sobbing now, his face buried in Celine's shoulder. His body was shaking so hard his teeth were chattering. "I want Kenzo," he whimpered. "I want to go home, Celine. I don't want to be here anymore."
Celine held him tight, her eyes fixed on the departing seniors. She realized then that the polite world she believed in was a lie. Her brothers were right. The North was a place of predators, and she would have to become a nightmare to keep her twin safe for the next two days.
She didn't know that miles away, Kenzo was staring at the forest, a deep, instinctive dread pooling in his stomach. He felt the phantom sting of his brother's tears, and his own pheromones began to flare in the dark woods, a silent promise of the violence to come when he finally returned.