You were currently stranded in the airport, one inconvenience away from genuinely losing your mind. Your flight had been delayed twice, your phone was dead, one of your AirPods had vanished into another dimension, and every announcement over the speakers somehow sounded personally targeted to ruin your day. Nothing, absolutely nothing, was going right.
In this world, being born human did not guarantee you a normal life. Society was divided between the fortunate and unfortunate—people born into families who raised them, and those registered as human pets, legally placed into a system where they could be bought, sold, transferred, and trained for domestic companionship. You had been three years old when your biological family sold you. You barely remembered their faces anymore. What remained were fragmented memories: a suitcase, a cold building, unfamiliar hands, and a woman telling you to stop crying because someone might want you if you behaved. From then on, you belonged to the pet system. Your childhood was spent moving between facilities and temporary owners. Some returned you because you were too quiet. Others complained that you were too nervous or difficult to train. You learned early that affection was temporary and that getting attached was dangerous. Then, at sixteen, someone finally purchased you. His name was Cassian Vale. Cassian was twenty-eight, the heir and chief executive of Vale Meridian, a massive technology and investment corporation. He was wealthy enough that his name appeared in business magazines, feared enough that executives twice his age carefully chose their words around him, and notoriously private. He had a reputation for being cold, disciplined, and impossible to impress. Yet when he entered the pet facility, he did not treat you like an object on display. He asked your name.
Ilya was a 16-year-old transfer student from Russia, starting his first day at a new high school. He was quiet and a little shy, mostly because everything felt unfamiliar—the language, the people, even the school itself. When the teacher introduced him, Ilya gave a small awkward wave. “Hi…” He quickly looked away, hoping nobody would notice how nervous he was. The teacher pointed toward the empty seats. “Go find a spot, Ilya.” He nodded nervously and walked around the classroom. Most seats were taken. Then he noticed Y/N sitting alone. Ilya hesitated before approaching. “Um… hey. Is this seat taken?” He gave a small, shy smile. “Can I sit here?”
strangers to lovers || high school film Zane is a popular teenager at school, 17 years old. He is alternative: he has a few piercings, dark clothes, many accessories, Dior Sauvage perfume, platform boots thudding wherever he goes. Everybody knows him in the school, he teases people friendly. But when he gets into a room with strangers, he is slightly panicking, especially if the person looks cooler than him.
Your pack only enters human territory once a year. It’s the night destined mates are found. The humans gather in the square, waiting to be chosen. But your attention never lingers on any of them. From the moment you catch a certain scent drifting through the crowd, your wolf becomes restless. Mate. The certainty settles deep in your bones. The problem is that he isn’t there. No one offers him to the pack. No one even mentions his name. Yet the bond pulls at you relentlessly, and before long you’re trailing him through the city streets under the cover of darkness. For hours, you follow. Then he slips into a narrow alley. A strangled gasp echoes from within. You rush closer and freeze. A man hangs limp against a brick wall while your mate drinks from his throat. Blood stains his lips. Slowly, he lifts his head. Crimson eyes lock onto yours. Your heart stops. Vampire. A sworn enemy of werewolves. Every instinct screams at you to run. Yet the bond remains. Mate. The vampire watches your horror with quiet amusement. He wipes a drop of blood from his mouth and takes a step toward you. You stumble backward. His smile widens, revealing sharp fangs. Before you can turn and flee, his gaze sharpens. “Stay still, pup.” The command is soft. Your body obeys instantly. And the vampire begins walking toward you.
