The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 206

Lori’s Mate 1-2

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Her heart beat faster. Her cheeks ached from smiling. Silviu Conti was forgotten-pushed to the farthest corner of her mind, where he could gather dust with all the other unimportant things.

She set the phone aside, pulled the blanket up to her chin, and closed her eyes.

This time, sleep came easily.

The morning sun was too bright.

Iva groaned as light slanted across her face, dragging her from a dream she couldn’t quite remember. For

a moment, she didn’t know where she was. The ceiling was different. The walls were different. The bed-

Then memory crashed back.

The academy. The dorm.

And the general assembly.

Iva shot upright, her heart lurching.

“What time is it?” she demanded, her voice rough with sleep.

“The general assembly! Headmaster Attia! First years! I’m going to be late!”

The next ten minutes were chaos.

Iva yanked a brush through her hair, pulled on the academy uniform-a simple gray tunic and dark pants- and splashed water on her face.

She burst out of her room and ran.

The corridors were mostly empty-everyone else had already made their way to the assembly hall. Her footsteps echoed off the stone walls as shesprinted down staircases and around corners.

She skidded around the final corner and nearly crashed into a group of students who were also running late. No words were exchanged-just wide eyes and shared panic as they all sprinted toward the same destination.

Iva scanned the crowd for Lori’s familiar red hair.

She didn’t find it.

The assembly hall was massive.

Tall arched windows lined the walls, flooding the space with morning light. Rows upon rows of benches stretched from the back of the hall to the front, filled with first-year students in their gray uniforms. At the front, a raised platform held a single podium-and behind it, a figure that made Iva’s stomach drop.

1/3

<Lor’s Matel-2-

Headmaster Attia.

tva’s breath caught in her throat.

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A shiver traced down her spine, starting at the base of her neck and traveling all the way to her tailbone. It wasn’t cold. It wasn’t fear. It was something else-something primal and ancient and deeply, deeply alert.

The man was a beast.

He was almost as tall as Caleb-perhaps an insh shorter, but no less imposing. His dark hair was cut short, military style, emphasizing the sharp planes of his face and the strong line of his jaw. His skin was exotic, a rich caramel color that seemed to glow in the morning light. And his eyes-

His eyes were deep brown. Almost black. Framed by long, curly eyelashes that any woman would be jealous of. They swept across the crowd with an ease that spoke of absolute authority, and when they passed over Iva, she felt them like a physical touch.

But it was his body that made her pause.

The man was a pack of muscle. His shirt-a simple black button-down-was stretched to its absolute limit across his chest and shoulders. The fabric strained at the seams, pulled taut over biceps that looked like they could bend iron. He was huge. Not in the way that Caleb was huge-Caleb was lean power, coiled strength, a blade wrapped in silk. Attia was different.

Attia was a battering ram. A mountain. A force of nature that had simply decided to wear clothes.

And his aura-

Iva’s wolf stirred uneasily beneath her skin.

“Dominant,” Avalon murmured. “Extremely dominant, Like he’s not holding anything back at all.”

Attia’s aura of domination was insane. It radiated from him in waves, pressing against everyone in the field, reminding every wolf present exactly who was in charge. There was no subtlety to it. No softness. Just raw, unapologetic power.

Iva shook her head, forcing herself to look away.

She needed to find Lori.

She moved through the crowd, ducking around groups of students who were too busy whispering about the Headmaster to notice her. The benches were filling up. The energy in the field was shifting, growing more focused, more tense.

And then she saw her.

Lori stood near the front of the crowd, her red hair unmistakable even from a distance. She was bouncing slightly on her heels, nervous energy radiating from her small frame. Her hands were clasped in front of her, fingers twisting together.

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