The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 220

Lorelei-2

Claim

She couldn’t even finish the thought.

Lori grabbed her pen from the floor and hunched over her notebook, trying to make herself as small as possible. If she didn’t look at him, she couldn’t be distracted by him. Simple.

Except it wasn’t simple.

Because he had started to speak.

His voice filled the classroom-deep, resonant, with a gravity that commanded attention. He was explaining the theory behind psychic barriers, discussing the ways that a skilled attacker could slip through mental defenses, demonstrating the techniques that could block such intrusions.

Lori heard none of it.

Her eyes had betrayed her again.

She was watching his lips.

Full lips. Well-shaped lips. Lips that moved as he spoke, forming words she couldn’t process because she was too busy staring at the way they curved, the way they pressed together between sentences, the way-

*Stop it!* she commanded herself.

She tried to focus on her notebook. Tried to read the words she had written earlier. Tried to think about anything other than the man at the front of the room.

But her gaze kept drifting.

His strong jaw, dusted with the faintest shadow of dark stubble. The way his throat moved when he swallowed. The column of his neck, powerful and vulnerable all at once.

She was fixated.

Completely, utterly, hopelessly fixated.

*This is because you know,* she thought desperately. *You know he’s your mate, so your brain is playing tricks on you. You wouldn’t find him attractive otherwise. You wouldn’t… you always liked guys like Daren… boys… but Attia was no boy at all.*

But even as she thought it, she knew it was a lie.

Headmaster Attia was objectively handsome. The kind of beautiful that made people stop and stare.

And he was hers.

The Goddess had chosen him for her.

Her stomach fluttered.

Her heart skipped.

13

And then-

“Miss Lorelei Thompson…”

Lori’s blood turned to ice.

The classroom was dead silent. Every eye had turned to look at her. Every single student in the room was staring at her face.

Her head snapped up.

Attia stood at the front of the room, his dark eyes fixed on her with an expression she couldn’t read. One eyebrow was lifted-just slightly-but the gesture carried enough weight to crush a lesser wolf.

“Do you have an answer?” he asked.

His voice was calm. Measured. Terrifying.

Lori’s mouth opened.

No sound came out.

She had no idea what he had asked. Hadn’t heard a single word he had said for the past ten minutes. Her notebook was blank. Her mind was blank. Everything was blank except for the image of his lips, his jaw,

his-

“I…” she started.

Her voice cracked.

Around her, students shifted in their seats. Some of them looked amused. Some looked sympathetic. Most just looked relieved that it wasn’t them.

Attia waited.

The silence stretched, thin and brittle, like glass about to shatter.

Lori’s face burned. Her palms were sweaty. Her heart was racing so fast she thought she might faint.

“I don’t know,” she finally whispered.

Attia’s eyebrow remained lifted.

“You don’t know,” he repeated.

“No, Headmaster. I’m sorry. I don’t.”

Another beat of silence.

Then Attia turned away from her, returning to the board.

୮

“Then I suggest you pay closer attention,” he said, his voice carrying no warmth whatsoever. “The answer was clearly stated three minutes ago. If you cannot keep up with basic theory, you will not pass the practical examination. Only the best will end up graduating… and if you are keeping up like this… I am afraid it would not be the case for you.”

Loreler 2

Lori’s eyes burned with humiliation.

Claim

She stared at her notebook, watching as a single tear splashed onto the blank page and blurred the paper.

*Layla,* she thought weakly.

*Shh,* her wolf murmured. He is not angry. Only… focused.*

*He embarrassed me in front of everyone.

*He asked a question. You did not know the answer. That is not cruelty. That is teaching.*

Lori wanted to argue, but Layla was right. Attia hadn’t been mean. He hadn’t mocked her or belittled her. He had simply stated the facts and moved on.

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