登入POV: ACEThe basement of the Callahan estate was a fucking tomb.I was on my knees, my wrists suspended by thick, heavy-duty chains bolted into the concrete walls on either side of me. The cold iron bit into my skin, but it was nothing compared to the fire currently consuming my back. Every time the lash came down, the jagged leather strips tore into the muscle, painting the floor beneath me with a fresh, wet slick of crimson.CRACK.Another whip landed, deeper than the last, slicing through the already shredded skin of my shoulder blades. I didn't wince. I didn't even make a sound. I just stared at the concrete floor, my jaw locked so hard I could feel my molars grinding together, turning my soul into a block of black, impenetrable ice.I was here because I hadn't made the announcement. I had walked out of that boardroom, ignored every single one of my father’s instructions, and essentially spat in his face. To top it all off, I’d turned the playoffs into a personal, ego-driven blood
POV: VINEThe notification burned into my retinas. Laila’s death reopened. My sister, who had been dead and buried for years, was now the center of a new police inquiry because people in Stone Hill Valley were dropping like flies with the exact same symptoms.I didn't think. I just acted.My fingers were trembling so violently I almost dropped the phone, but I managed to navigate to the old contact entry I had saved years ago, back when I still believed in family loyalty. Officer Miller. The detective who had been assigned to the case before he was suddenly removed and reassigned to a desk job in the city.I hit call. It rang three times before he picked up."Officer Miller?" I asked, my voice barely holding together."Who's this?" He sounded tired, older than I remembered."It's Vine. Laila’s sister."There was a long, uncomfortable silence on the other end. "Look, kid. I can’t talk to you. I really can't.""Miller, the news is reporting that cases are spiking again. Similar causes o
POV: VINEI was back in my room, buried under a mountain of blankets that smelled like stale laundry and grief. The Vampire Diaries was playing on my laptop for the third time this week—a desperate, pathetic attempt to drown out the noise in my own head. Every time the screen flickered, I expected to see Ace’s face, or the memory of him punching Bluey into a bloody pulp.My phone buzzed against the duvet, the screen lighting up.Bluey: Hey, V. You still alive?I let out a shaky breath and swiped to unlock it.Me: Barely. Trying to pretend the world doesn't exist. Why?Bluey: 🥱 Just checking. Are you going to be okay? I feel bad about the whole scene. 🤡I stared at the screen, a real, genuine laugh bubbling up from my chest for the first time in twenty-four hours.Me: Did you just use a clown emoji? You are such a fucking dinosaur, Bluey. It’s 2026. Get with the program.Bluey: I literally don't know what the other ones do. That one looked like it was laughing. Is it not? 🫠Me: That
POV: ACEThe fake-haired bastard was still kissing her cheek when the last thread of my goddamn sanity snapped right in half.I didn't think. I didn't care about the scouts, the board members watching from the glass boxes, or the fact that my father’s lethal warning was still echoing in the back of my skull. I skidded across the ice, my blades throwing a sheet of white crystals against the base of the stands as I tore the gate open and hurled myself up the wooden stairs.I grabbed Bluey by the collar of his pristine jersey, ripping his large frame completely away from Vine, and landed a brutal, bone-crushing punch right across his jaw.The crowded arena let out a collective, deafening "Ooooohh!" as the force of the blow sent him crashing down against the wooden benches.I didn't stop. The red mist took over completely. I lunged after him, my knees pinning his chest into the wood as I kept punching, raining down blow after blow into his face. My knuckles split against his skin, the h
POV: VINEAce had been trying to talk to any part of me all fucking day.Every single time I turned a corner in the humanities wing, or walked past the library stalls, his towering frame would materialize out of the shadows. He looked…. horrible—his hair a chaotic mess, his clothes wrinkled, and those dark amber eyes wide with a desperate, bloodshot panic that practically screamed for my attention. He kept reaching for my arm, his mouth opening to launch into whatever pathetic excuse his father had ordered him to make.I ignored him. Validly so. I treated him like a piece of goddamn furniture, walking right past his heavy Alpha aura without so much as a blink. It was completely useless trying to think hard about all the nonsense anyway. I wasn't about to drown myself in the toxic whiplash of his life anymore. So instead of rotting over a guy who belonged to someone else now, I forced my brain to focus entirely on the people around me."I mean, seriously, Vine, I think I completely m
POV: VINEI spent the entire fucking night crying.The second the front door of Ace’s house had clicked shut behind him last night, I had gathered my ruined dress, pulled on my sneakers, and walked all the way back to my place in the freezing dark. My face was stained with mascara, and my chest felt like it had been scooped out with a dull blade. By the time my head hit my own pillow, the dam had broken completely. I wept until my throat was raw, mourning the stupid, fragile hope I had allowed myself to hold onto in that bed.It was morning now, and the harsh, unforgiving sunlight was filtering through my blinds, hitting my burning, swollen eyelids. I was curled up into a tight ball under the heavy duvet, staring blankly at the wall, fully intending to spend the rest of the godgoddamn day rotting right there. I didn't want to see the Vipers, I didn't want to see the pack, and I sure as hell didn't want to go anywhere near Silverclaw Academy.KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.A heavy, rhythmic po
POV: VINEI didn't tell Clyde the truth.When I walked back into the suffocating heat of the frat house, I found her laughing near the stage, looking so completely full of life that the words died straight in my throat. I couldn't bring myself to break her heart right there under the neon lights. I
POV: ACEWe spun around instantly, our hearts stopping, only to find Vine standing there in the dim light of the alley. Her hands were clenched in the emerald silk of her dress, her wide eyes darting between Jaxon and me like she was trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle made of glass."What did
POV: ACEI didn't even let Jaxon finish his sentence before I dragged his heavy ass straight through the sweaty crowd, shoving past a couple of drunk freshmen until we hit the heavy backdoor. I slammed it open and hauled him out of the frat house all the way to the secluded back gravel lot, where t
POV: ACEI was so darn proud of her.A slow, dark smirk spread across my face as I leaned my shoulder against a nearby concrete pillar, crossing my arms over my chest so I could properly watch the drama unfold. Watching Vine stand her ground, looking like a little blade wrapped in emerald silk, was







