The Warning

The halls of Ridgecrest Academy were a maze of polished floors, arched windows, and intimidating stares. Sienna kept her head low as she followed the map clutched in her trembling hands. Her first day wasn’t even half over, and she was already drowning in the weight of it all.

The whispers followed her, soft and sharp, cutting through the air like knives.

“Did you see her hoodie? Who even wears that here?”

“Probably can’t afford the uniform.”

“Bet she’s on some kind of pity scholarship.”

She clenched her teeth and kept moving, her nails digging into her palms. They didn’t know her. They didn’t know the nights she spent sleeping on a thin mattress, the jobs she juggled to make sure her father’s rent wasn’t late, or the bruises she’d learned to hide.

They don’t matter, she told herself. Just survive.

She turned a corner, and the low hum of conversation faded into a different kind of noise—laughter, loud and raucous, accompanied by the sound of something slamming against the lockers.

“Come on, Deveraux, show us how it’s done!”

Her stomach dropped.

Luca Deveraux leaned casually against a row of lockers, spinning a rugby ball in his hands as a group of students cheered him on. His sharp jawline and confident smirk made him look like he belonged on a magazine cover, but it was the dangerous energy radiating from him that made Sienna’s pulse quicken.

He tossed the ball toward one of his teammates, his movements effortless, his laugh low and rich. But his eyes—those dark, piercing eyes—caught hers again.

The smirk vanished.

“Hey, new girl.”

Sienna’s feet froze. She didn’t want this. Not now. Not ever.

Luca pushed off the lockers, the crowd parting as he approached her. The way he moved—deliberate, predatory—made the hair on her arms stand on end.

“What’s your name?” he asked, his voice low enough that only she could hear.

“Sienna,” she managed, her throat dry.

“Sienna,” he repeated, like he was testing the sound of it. His gaze flicked over her, lingering on her hoodie and worn sneakers before meeting her eyes again. “You don’t look like the type to last here.”

Her stomach twisted. She could feel the weight of the others watching, waiting for her to crumble.

“I’ll be fine,” she said, her voice steadier than she felt.

His smirk returned, slow and mocking. “Sure you will.”

He stepped back, and the group erupted into laughter as he tossed the ball to another teammate.

Sienna turned and walked away, her face burning. But as she reached the end of the hall, she glanced back.

Luca was still watching her.

The library was quiet, a sanctuary of old books and heavy silence. Sienna sank into a corner table, finally able to breathe. She opened her notebook, trying to focus on her notes, but her mind kept drifting to Luca Deveraux.

What was his deal? Why was he so interested in her?

“Don’t let him get to you.”

The voice startled her. She looked up to see a girl with short, dark hair and glasses sitting across from her, flipping through a thick textbook.

“Sorry?” Sienna asked.

“Luca,” the girl said, not looking up. “He does this with everyone new. Tests them. It’s his way of figuring out if you’re worth his time.”

Sienna frowned. “And what happens if I’m not?”

The girl finally looked at her, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “Then he’ll forget you exist. But if you are…”

Her voice trailed off, her expression turning serious.

“What?” Sienna pressed.

The girl hesitated. “Let’s just say, being on Luca Deveraux’s radar isn’t always a good thing.”

Sienna swallowed hard, her stomach churning.

“Welcome to Ridgecrest,” the girl added, her tone light but her eyes sharp. “You’ll need all the luck you can get.”

Luca leaned against the edge of the bleachers, the cool evening air biting at his skin. His teammates laughed and joked around him, but his mind was elsewhere.

Sienna.

She didn’t belong here, and it wasn’t just the way she dressed or the way she shrank into herself like she wanted to disappear. There was something else—something she was hiding.

And for some reason, he wanted to know what it was.

“Deveraux, you coming?” one of his teammates called.

Luca waved them off, his gaze fixed on the horizon. He didn’t know why she was getting under his skin, but one thing was clear.

Sienna Hayes was trouble.

And he wasn’t the kind of guy who could stay away from trouble.