The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 219

Lorelei-1

Lori had woken early, splashed cold water on her face, and studied her reflection in the small mirror above her desk. Dark circles still shadowed her eyes-she hadn’t slept well, not since Iva had dropped the bomb that had shattered her world into pieces.

But today, she had told herself, today she would focus. Today she would be normal. Today she would attend her classes and take her notes and pretend that her fated mate wasn’t the most intimidating man on campus.

She had almost believed it.

After her breakfast with Iva, she walked into her next class of Magic Defense.

The classroom was half-full when she arrived, students scattered across the wooden benches, their voices low and sleepy. Lori found her usual seat near the middle-close enough to see the board, far enough to avoid the professor’s attention.

She pulled out her notebook and pen, arranging them with care. Her mind wandered to Iva’s words from breakfast. *Two days. Caleb will tell him in two days.*

Two days until her entire world changed forever.

She was still thinking about it when the door at the front of the classroom opened.

And to her shock, Headmaster Attia walked in.

Lori froze.

Her pen slipped from her fingers and clattered onto the floor. She didn’t pick it up. Didn’t move. Didn’t breathe.

Around her, the other students had gone equally still. The chatter died mid-sentence. Hands stopped mid-gesture. The entire room seemed to hold its collective breath as the headmaster strode to the front of the class and turned to face them.

He looked… annoyed?

His dark eyes swept across the room, taking in the frozen students, the open books, the nervous fidgeting. His jaw was tight. His broad shoulders were set beneath the crisp black shirt that strained across his chest.

“Your teacher for Magic Defense,” he said, his voice low and measured, “is indisposed for the day. I will be replacing him for this class.”

No one moved.

No one spoke.

Attia’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Open your books to chapter fourteen. We will be discussing defensive barriers against psychic attacks. You should have covered the theory last week. Today, we will test your practical understanding.”

12

Lorele 1

Papers rustled. Books thumped. Students scrambled to comply.

But Lori didn’t move.

Claim

She sat transfixed, her eyes locked on him like a moth drawn to flame. Her heart pounded so loud she was certain the entire room could hear it. Her palms were slick with sweat.

“Layla,” she thought, but her wolf was already there-pressing against the surface of her mind, eager and alert and utterly captivated.

“Mate,” Layla breathed. “Our mate. He is so close.”

Lori couldn’t argue.

Because suddenly-whether it was because she knew they were fated, or because the bond had already begun its invisible work-she saw him differently.

Not as Headmaster Attia, the terrifying authority figure who made students tremble.

But as a man.

A devastatingly handsome man.

She watched him move to the board, his body fluid and powerful beneath the tight fabric of his shirt. His shoulders were impossibly wide-she could see the muscles shifting beneath the cloth as he picked up a piece of chalk and began to write. Her eyes traced the line of his spine, the narrow taper of his waist, the way his trousers fit across…

He turned to write something on the board’s higher section, reaching up with one arm.

The shirt pulled taut across his back.

And Lori’s gaze dropped, against her will, to his…

“Round,” her brain supplied helpfully. “Very round.”

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