RYDER
My phone buzzed with a text message.Unknown number: Need to meet. Urgent. Bennett in danger-KI stared at the message wondering what might have possessed Kael to text me that way. He never reached out directly on the phone.He prefers to catch a person unawares, making it his life goal to frustrate me. And he also never uses dramatic words like “urgent” or “danger.”Bennett was in the kitchen pacing around restlessly like a caged Alpha wolf. He has been like this since last night, refusing to settle down or relax. He hadn't slept and hadn't eaten. And he sure as hell hadn't talked about it.“You need to eat something,” I said, sliding my phone into my back pocket. He was a few feet away from me so he thankfully hadn't noticed the message.“I'm not hungry.”“When was the last time you had a full meal?”He shot me a glare sharp enough to melt ice. “When was the last time you didBennet’s POV“Aha! So you do still exist.”Avery’s voice rang out behind me, as I got to the school premises.I turned just in time to see her toss her honey-blonde ponytail over her shoulder, her arms folded tight across her chest.She looked pissed.“You were supposed to come over last week,” she said, her tone more hurt than angry now. “I made snacks. I even cleaned up my room, Bennet. You… didn’t show.”Ah, hell. The meetup at her house. I forgot.I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck, forcing a sheepish smile. “Yeah. Look, I’m really sorry. Things got… hectic. The whole rogue situation’s been a nightmare. It wasn't exactly safe for me to be sneaking out for…dates.”The last word barely left my mouth. I shouldn’t have said it. She latched onto it immediately.“So it was a date,” she said, a ghost of a smile curling her lips. “I knew it.”I didn’t respond. Just offered her a lazy shrug that I hoped came off more apologetic than dismissive.She sighed, dramatic as ever. “That’
BENNETT I lay flat on my bed, my arms flung out, staring blankly at the ceiling.The weight in my chest hadn’t budged all day. My thoughts had been stuck on replay, from Lucas, to the event at school, to Marcus’s threats.Everything I thought I understood seems to be crumbling right before my eyes. And the scariest part? There was nothing I could do about it. At least none that I know of.A soft knock came at the door before it creaked open.“I said I wanted to be alone,” I snapped, not looking.“I didn’t realize I wasn’t wanted by my own son,” came a familiar voice, light but laced with affection and that trace of fatigue I now associated with her. I shot up. “Mum?”She stood in the doorway, one hand braced lightly on the frame. I scrambled to my feet, closing the distance.“I thought it was Ryder or one of the maids,” I said quickly, taking her arm as my brows creased in worry. “You shouldn’t be out of bed.”She chuckled. “I’m stronger than I look, you know that.”“Doesn’t mean
LUCAS POVMy fingers wouldn't stop shaking and my heart was still beating erratically from the craziness.The police lights behind us flashed blue and red across the street, and I could still hear the distant wails of sirens, the cries of frightened students, and the shouts of officers trying to make sense of the scene. A cool breeze blew through the parking lot and I pulled my jacket tighter as a shiver ran down my spine.My father stood a few feet away from me, half hidden in a shadow speaking into his phone in hushed tones. As I watched him, his fingers tightened around the device and turned white as his voice rose.I don't think he knew I could hear him from where I stood.“…No. I said delay it. We can’t risk more exposure, not yet. If they sniff around again, we’ll bury it like last time.”He paused.“No—he doesn’t know. Not completely. But if that rogue had gotten another fiv
Bennett’s PovI sat in the back of the ambulance, the silver shock blanket crinkling around my shoulders like tinfoil.It didn’t make me feel any warmer. I wasn’t cold, I was just numb. The inside of the ambulance was a flurry of motion, metallic cabinets, rustling gloves, and clipped voices. I sat on the edge of the gurney while a paramedic with a tight ponytail knelt in front of me, her fingers wrapped around my wrist.“Pulse is steady,” she muttered to her partner, then looked up at me. “You with me, sweetheart?”I nodded slowly.“Good. I need you to follow the light for me.” She clicked on a small penlight and shined it in my right eye. “Eyes wide.”I blinked against the glare, but did as she asked. She repeated the motion with my left eye, then made a satisfied sound and jotted something down on a clipboard.“Any dizziness? Nausea? Trouble breathing?”“No,” I murmured.“Okay, shirt up. Let’s check for bruising.”I hesitated, then lifted my blood-speckled shirt. Her fingers were
Kael POVI pressed my back to the cold concrete pillar, holding my breath as heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway. My pulse was racing with urgency. I could still hear the rogues prowling just beyond the corridor.Sarah was pressed flat against the wall beside me, her fingers trembling as they curled around her phone, which had long gone out of service. Her eyes darted toward the closed classroom door we’d just escaped from.“Is it gone?” she whispered, her voice barely audible.I didn’t answer right away. Instead, I strained my head, tuning into the rhythmic shuffle of boots scraping tile. They were not talking and just moving with focus, checking every room. Methodical, patient hunters.“We’ve got maybe two minutes before they get to us,” I whispered. “Maybe less. There’s an exit through the back hall that leads out to the parking lot. If we move now—”
BENNETT’S POVThe severed head hit the floor with a dull, wet thud, and I nearly threw up the contents of my stomach.I couldn’t move. My breath came out in ragged pants. I stared into those lifeless eyes and forced myself to turn away.There was no time to fall apart. Not now. We needed to find Kael and Ryder and get the hell out of the school. As we moved through the hallway, searching for them, a sense of foreboding went through me. For the last month, it has been from one attack to another. At this point, I wish I could disappear. If anyone had told me that finding a mate would come with this level of trouble I would have opted out. Not like I have accepted the mate bond… I digress.Lucas stood beside me, his muscles coiled and trembling, not from fear, but from something else.His eyes locked on the rogue who’d thrown the head, something shifted in his expression. Recognition “I know him,” he muttered, his voice low and venomous.My head jerked toward him. “What? You know the