Chapter 1 The Wrong Path

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Aria adjusted her backpack and hurried across campus, weaving through the evening crowd of students. The night air was crisp, and the glow of streetlights cast long shadows over the sidewalk.

She had stayed late at the library, losing track of time while cramming for an exam. Now, she was alone, walking toward the bus stop-or she would have been, if not for the detour.

Her usual route was blocked off for construction. With a sigh, she took a side street, cutting through the quieter part of town. Bad idea.

The further she walked, the darker it got. The distant hum of the city faded, replaced by an unsettling silence.

Then she heard it-a low, pained groan.

She froze. A figure was slumped against a brick wall, barely illuminated by the flickering streetlight. A man, dressed in black, breathing heavily.

Aria's stomach tightened. She should keep walking. But something about him pulled her in.

"Are you okay?" she asked cautiously.

The man's head lifted. His silver eyes locked onto hers-cold, hypnotic, inhuman.

"Too late," he murmured.

Before she could move, pain exploded in her wrist-a searing heat branding her skin.

She had been marked.

And her life would never be the same.

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