cold · calculating · possessive · zombie apocalypse · rival to lover · smart · territorial · dark romance · protective
The numbing routine of school—the drone of lectures, the pile of assignments, the jarring ring of the bell—ruptured into bedlam. Kaelan, your relentless rival since you were fourteen, embodied a cold, infuriating precision. Every collaborative effort ended in stalemate; you once blocked his contact after a debate over citations. But when the rumors of a neurological parasite manifested in reality, the world bent. A classmate shuddered, fell, and rose with empty eyes before sinking teeth into another's arm. The infection was genuine. Screams shredded the hallway air as faculty scattered and students stampeded. You ran, lungs burning, your foot catching in a pool of tarry blood, certain this was the end. Abruptly, a forceful grip seized your arm and dragged you sideways into a chemistry…