LOGINMaddox's POV:I bolted upright in bed, the sheets tangling around my legs like they were trying to hold me down. The room was pitch black except for the faint glow of my phone on the nightstand, buzzing insistently. I glanced at the clock, it was exactly 2:47am. Who the hell calls at this hour? My heart raced with a mix of annoyance and that low-grade paranoia that had been my constant companion since the videos dropped. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, as its cracked screen felt cool against my palm. It was a call from an unknown number, but I knew who it was. The Boss. That gravelly auto-tune voice had become a nightmare soundtrack.I swiped to answer, pressing it to my ear. "What?" I snapped, my voice thick with sleep."Maddox," the distorted voice drawled, calm as ever, like he was calling to chat about the weather. "Hope I didn't wake you. But this couldn't wait till morning."I rubbed my eyes, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. The hardwood floor was cold und
Mordred's PoV:I slumped on the edge of my bed, the thin mattress creaking under my weight, staring at the cracked screen of my phone like it might suddenly come alive and explain everything. It was well past midnight, and the apartment was eerily quiet—too quiet. The kind of silence that presses in on you, broken only by the distant hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen and the occasional car horn from the street below. My room was a mess: clothes piled on the floor, empty energy drink cans scattered across the desk with posters of old rock bands curling at the edges from the damp. But right now, none of that mattered. The events of the past few days had me wired, my mind racing in circles that led nowhere good.The Vipers’ garage still haunted me—Rico’s story about Diego, that poor bastard who’d taken help from a stranger and ended up manipulated, arrested and now screaming in a psych ward about voices giving him orders. It hit too close. Ever since that auto-tuned call at the
Maddox's PoV:I paced the length of my bedroom like a caged animal, the plush carpet doing nothing to muffle the thud of my footsteps. It had been three days since that goddamn post exploded on the school forum—three days of whispers in the halls, sidelong glances from teachers, and my phone blowing up with "concerned" texts from so-called friends. The videos were everywhere now, not just the forum but screenshotted and shared on group chats, even popping up on some local gossip pages. “Maddox the bully.”“Maddox the fake.”‘Maddox the mayor's disappointing son.” And still, no clue on who was behind it.I'd checked the anonymous profile a hundred times…ShadowExpose. No bio updates, no new posts, just that one damning thread hanging there like a noose. Views in the tens of thousands. Comments piling up: "Knew he was trash,""Emily deserves justice," "What a hypocrite." I'd reported it to the forum mods, but they were a joke—some student-run thing with no real power. And the Boss?
Kianna's PoV:I lingered on the terrace longer than I meant to, the black card burning a hole in my clutch like a secret I wasn't sure I wanted. The city lights blurred as my mind raced—who was that girl? How did she know so much? And what "price" was she talking about? The cold seeped through my dress, finally chasing me back inside. The ballroom was even more chaotic now, the music pounding harder whilst bodies pressed closer on the dance floor. I wove through the crowd, scanning for Lesley.I found her near the bar, arm slung around Marcus's shoulders, both of them laughing hysterically at some inside joke with a group of college kids. She spotted me and waved wildly. "Kianna! There you are! We're heading upstairs—sleepover after-party in room 512. You in?"I hesitated. A hotel room full of strangers? After the weirdness in the bathroom, my instincts screamed to go home, curl up in bed, and pretend the night never happened. But the thought of the empty dorm room—of sitting alon
Kianna's PoV:I stared at my reflection in the dorm mirror, tugging at the hem of the black dress Lesley had practically forced me into. It was simple—satin, off-the-shoulder, with a slit that felt far too daring for my mood—but she’d insisted it made me look “mysterious and untouchable.” Right now I just felt exposed and vulnerable, like everyone would see the mess inside me if they looked too close.Lesley bounced on her bed behind me, curling the last section of her hair. “You sure you don’t want me to do yours? Loose waves would be so cute.”“I’m good,” I muttered, running my fingers through my straight hair one more time. It fell like a curtain around my face, a shield I desperately needed tonight.She caught my eye in the mirror and softened. “Kianna… come on. You’ve been holed up for days. This party is exactly what you need. It’s not even our school—no one there knows about the videos, or Maddox, or any of the drama. Just music, dancing, free food, and a bunch of college se
Mordred's PoV:I stayed in the shadows across the street from the cinema, hood pulled low, hands buried deep in my jacket pockets against the December chill. The marquee lights cast everything in that sickly red-and-gold glow, turning the sidewalk into some cheap stage set. I hadn’t planned on following Kianna and Lysander. I’d just… ended up here. After seeing her look so broken at school all day, I told myself I was checking on her. Making sure she was okay. That’s all.But when they came out laughing—actually laughing—after whatever dumb movie Lysander had dragged her to, something twisted hard in my chest. She needed comfort, and it wasn’t me giving it to her. It was him, the pretty-boy art kid with his perfect hair and easy smile, always hovering like he was some kind of guardian angel.Then Maddox showed up.I pressed myself flatter against the brick wall of the closed bookstore,breath fogging in the cold. Maddox looked like hell, the type I was always begging to see him ther







