The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 205

Lori’s Mate 1-1

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The dorm room was dark save for the sliver of moonlight slipping through the gap in the curtains. Iva lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, her body exhausted but her mind refusing to quiet.

Iva turned onto her side. Then onto her back again. Then onto her other side.

Sleep evaded her like a shadow just beyond reach.

Every time she closed her eyes, the image returned. The dark hallway. The two figures stepping out of the shadows. And him-Silviu Conti-with his predator’s smile and his eyes that looked through her instead of at her.

She had dismissed him.

The memory brought a small, satisfied smile to her lips even now. He had approached her with that arrogant confidence, that smooth voice, that assumption that she would be impressed. Intrigued. Flattered.

*My name is Silviu Conti. I think you and I are going to become very good friends.*

And she had looked him straight in the eye and said, “I already have friends.”

Then she had turned her back on him and walked into her room.

She hadn’t looked back. But she had felt his shock-the stiffness in his posture, the way his smile had frozen on his face. He had not expected to be dismissed. Probably, no one had ever dismissed him before.

The larger man behind him-the one with the stone-carved face and the warning eyes-had looked almost relieved.

By the time Silviu had recovered his composure, Iva’s door was already closed and locked.

“Good,” Avalon had said, her wolf stirring beneath Iva’s skin. “We avoided him. He felt like trouble. I didn’t like his aura.”

ľ

Iva had agreed silently. Undeniably, Silviu Conti was handsome. Strikingly so. The kind of handsome that made people stare and forget to blink. Dark hair, sharp features, a body that spoke of power and breeding.

But something was wrong.

Extremely wrong.

It wasn’t anything she could name. Not a specific threat or a visible flaw. It was deeper than that-an instinct, a whisper, a chill that had crawled down her spine when his eyes had met hers.

“Predator,” Avalon had murmured. “Not the good kind.”

Iva turned onto her side again, pulling the blanket up to her chin.

She didn’t trust him. Didn’t like him. And she intended to stay as far away from Silviu Conti as possible for

1/3

< Lon’s Mates-

as long as she remained at the academy.

But still…

His face lingered in her mind. The way he had looked at her. The way his smile had faltered when she dismissed him.

Claim

“Forget him,” she told herself. “He’s nothing. He’s no one.”

But sleep still wouldn’t come.

Then her phone pinged.

The sound was soft-just a small chime-but it cut through the silence like a bell. Iva’s hand shot out from beneath the blanket, fumbling on the nightstand until her fingers found the device.

The screen glowed to life.

A message.

From Caleb.

Her heart skipped, then raced, then settled into a rhythm that felt like a song.

“Good night, little mate. I hope you slept better than I am. The meetings are endless. I would rather be with you.”

Iva’s face split into a wide smile.

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