The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 237

What Happens Next?-2

“That’s good,” Iva murmured against her hair. “That’s really good.”

Lori hugged her back, breathing in the familiar scent of her best friend.

“I hope so,” she whispered

The bell rang.

First class of the day.

They pulled apart, gathered their things, and walked toward the canteen doors. Iva squeezed her hand once before disappearing into the crowd.

Lori made her way to her classroom, her mind still spinning, her heart still pounding.

She found her usual seat near the middle and slid into it, pulling out her notebook and pen. The room was filling up-students chatting, laughing, trading gossip. Normal sounds. Ordinary sounds.

She was so focused on trying to calm her racing heart that she didn’t notice him approaching until he was standing right beside her desk.

Daren.

His grey eyes were warm, his smile easy. He looked exactly as he had in the library-handsome, confident, completely unaware that the girl he was interested in had already shifted her attention.

“Hey,” he said. “I texted you. You never replied.”

Lori’s stomach dropped.

She had been so consumed with Attia-with the bond, with the conversation, with the terrifying hope that had bloomed in her chest-that she had completely forgotten about Daren. His messages. His invitation to study together.

The boy she had been interested in before everything changed.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice too high. “I’ve been busy. Really busy.”

Daren’s smile didn’t waver. “I figured. No worries.” He leaned against the desk beside her, close enough that she could smell his cologne. “I was really looking forward to studying together. Maybe we could reschedule?”

Lori’s throat tightened.

There was something in his tone-something beneath the casual words-that made her realize he meant more than studying. He was interested. Really interested.

If this was happening last week, she would have jumped in happiness… but now… she was dreading.

And she had no idea how to dodge him without being cruel.

“I don’t know,” she said, fumbling for words. “Things are complicated right now. I’m not sure-”

1/3

<What Happens Next?-?

She stopped mid-sentence.

Her heart almost stopped too.

Claim

A familiar scent flooded her senses-pine and something darker, something that made her wolf sit up pay attention. She didn’t need to look. She knew who it was.

But she looked anyway.

Attia was entering the classroom.

and

His massive frame seemed to suck the light from the hallway. His dark eyes were fixed ahead-until they weren’t. Until they found her. Until they took in the scene before him.

Lori, seated at her desk.

Daren, leaning close, his body angled toward hers in a way that could only be described as intimate.

Attia’s expression didn’t change.

But his aura did.

The temperature in the classroom seemed to drop. The air grew thick, heavy, charged with something that made the other students shift uncomfortably in their seats. His jaw was set. His eyes were cold.

Lori took a step back from Daren-literally pushed her chair back a few inches, creating distance.

Daren didn’t notice. He was still talking, still smiling, still completely oblivious to the storm brewing just outside the classroom door.

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