Chapter 10
The campus looked the same.
That was the strange part.
People moved through the corridors as they always did, laughing, complaining, rushing late to lectures. Nothing about the world around Kaela suggested that anything unusual had happened the day before.
And yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that something had.
Kaela walked beside Lila and Jade, her steps slow, her mind louder than the hallway around her.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Jade asked for what felt like the third time that.
"I'm fine," Kaela replied automatically.
But even she could hear it how empty the words sounded.
Lila tilted her head slightly. "You've been saying that since morning."
Kaela didn't respond. Her fingers tightened around her bag strap instead.
Because that was the problem.
She couldn't explain what was wrong.
Nothing concrete. Nothing she could point to. Just a strange gap in her memory, like something important had happened and been placed just out of reach.
And worse… the feeling that someone had been at the center of it.
Ryker.
Her chest tightened slightly at the thought, and she frowned.
Why does that name feel so heavy?
She swallowed it down and kept walking.
Across campus, Edwin stood alone beneath a shaded walkway, watching.
Watching her.
Watching everything.
The world was normal again. Too normal.
Students passed by without a second glance, conversations flowing like nothing had ever disrupted them. No whispers. No tension. No traces of what he knew had just happened.
His jaw tightened.
So he really did it.
A memory wipe.
Not just Kaela. Everyone.
Except him.
Edwin's eyes darkened slightly.
That confirmed it.
Ryker wasn't just dangerous. He was rewriting reality itself to keep her close.
And Kaela… Kaela didn't even know she was being pulled deeper into something she couldn't see.
Edwin exhaled slowly, then turned.
He was done waiting.
Ryker's office was quiet when Edwin pushed the door open.
Too quiet.
He didn't knock. He didn't announce himself. The moment he stepped inside, his voice cut through the room.
"What the hell did you do?"
Ryker didn't look up immediately.
He sat behind his desk as if the intrusion was nothing more than an inconvenience. A page in a book he had already read.
Then slowly, he closed the file in front of him.
"I assume you're referring to your dramatic entrance," Ryker said calmly.
Edwin's fists tightened.
"Don't play games with me. Everyone's acting like nothing happened. She doesn't remember anything. You erased it, didn't you?"
That finally made Ryker look at him.
His expression was unreadable.
Then he leaned back slightly. "Careful."
"Answer me."
Ryker studied him for a moment longer, then sighed faintly as if the conversation itself was tiring him.
"You're louder than necessary."
Edwin took a step forward. "You don't get to..."
The air shifted.
It was instant.
The room didn't fade.
It broke.
Like reality itself had been grabbed and pulled apart.
Edwin stumbled as the office dissolved around him, the walls, the light, the scent of paper and ink all of it collapsing into darkness.
And then
Cold.
Ancient.
Powerful.
He landed on stone.
Not wood. Not carpet.
Stone.
Edwin lifted his head sharply.
They were no longer in the school.
A vast, dim hall stretched around them, lit by burning sconces that flickered with unnatural flame. The air was heavier here. Older. Charged with something that pressed against his instincts.
His eyes widened slightly.
"The vampire realm…" he muttered.
Ryker appeared a few steps away, completely steady, as if nothing had changed at all.
Now he finally looked interested.
"I prefer privacy," Ryker said.
Edwin straightened slowly, anger rising again. "You dragged me here just to avoid being seen?"
Ryker tilted his head. "I dragged you here because the human world is fragile. And you were getting disruptive."
Edwin laughed sharply. "Disruptive? You erased her life without consent."
Ryker's gaze sharpened.
"She is my mate."
"That doesn't give you ownership."
A pause.
Then Ryker moved.
One second he was standing still.
The next, Edwin's back hit stone.
Hard.
The impact echoed through the hall.
Edwin gasped, trying to push up, but Ryker's hand was already at his throat, holding him down with effortless strength.
Not crushing.
Just enough to remind him he could.
Edwin glared up at him, refusing to flinch.
Ryker's voice lowered.
"You keep stepping into things you don't understand."
Edwin grabbed his wrist. "She's not a thing."
Something cold flickered in Ryker's eyes.
"She is mine," he said again, slower this time.
Edwin strained against his grip. "You don't get to decide that for her."
For a moment, silence stretched between them.
Then Ryker released him.
Edwin coughed slightly, rolling to his feet immediately, but Ryker didn't attack again.
He simply looked at him.
"Listen carefully," Ryker said, voice calm again, almost bored. "I tolerate your interference only because you and I share same blood ."
Edwin's eyes narrowed.
"But that tolerance ends where she is concerned," Ryker continued. "You will stop pursuing her."
Edwin wiped his mouth, breathing hard. "No."
A faint pause.
Then Ryker smiled.
Not warm.
Not amused.
Final.
"Then you will lose."
A beat of silence followed that statement.
Heavy. Certain.
Before Edwin could respond, Ryker turned away.
And just like that, the pressure in the air loosened slightly, as if the world itself had been released from a grip.
Later that night, Kaela sat in the dorm with Lila and Jade, the glow of the room soft and warm compared to the strange heaviness she had been carrying all day.
"I swear," Jade said, kicking her feet up on the bed, "boys in this school are either obsessed or insane. There's no in-between."
Lila laughed softly. "Speak for yourself, my David is the best boyfriend ever."
Kaela smiled faintly, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.
She was quiet again.
Jade noticed. Of course she did.
"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?" she said.
Kaela hesitated.
"…I don't know," she admitted.
That was the honest answer.
Because every time she tried to think clearly, everything blurred. Like her mind refused to hold onto something it wasn't allowed to see.
Lila shifted slightly. " You're really getting involved with the proff, huh?"
Kaela looked down at her hands.
"I don't know what it is," she said quietly. "It doesn't feel normal. But I can't explain why."
Jade raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like the start of an epic romance novel."
Kaela let out a small breath that almost sounded like a laugh.
"Maybe it is."
"See I am honestly in support of you boths relationship,and believe it's meant to be as long as things are professional in school, and switch up outside then I'm on board with the #ryla train" Lila said
"Exactly! you both look so cute together" jade excitedly spoke
"But ....what about Edwin, I mean I know you don't have feelings for him, but atleast turn him down officially.He's acting like a lost puppy here" jade added.
Before Kaela could reply.
A knock suddenly sounded at the door.
All three of them paused.
Jade sat up immediately with eager eyes. "Could that be the arrival of our make lead in our fantasy novel."
She got up and walked over, glancing back at Kaela with a teasing grin.
"If it's your professor again, I swear"
She opened the door.
And froze.
Kaela looked up.
The air in the room changed instantly.
Edwin stood there.
Calm.
Serious.
Watching her like he had been searching for her longer than she could understand.
And for reasons she couldn't explain
Kaela's heart skipped.
Just once.
The room fell silent.
And the night held its breath.
But surprisingly it wasn't the professor at the door it was Edwin.