Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR — Cracks in the Ice

Alexa’s POV

Morning came too fast.

Again.

The moment my eyes opened, reality crashed back in like a wave I couldn’t outrun.

The Blackwood estate.

The chores.

The whispers.

Xavier.

I stared at the ceiling for a moment, letting out a slow breath before forcing myself out of bed. My muscles ached from yesterday, from scrubbing floors and carrying trays like I was born to serve instead of lead.

Maybe this was my life.

Maybe this was all it would ever be.

No.

The thought came suddenly.

Sharp.

Unwelcome.

But strong.

No.

Something about yesterday had shifted.

The way I spoke to Joan.

The way Chloe looked at me.

The way—

I cut the thought off as I stood and pulled on my uniform. Black trousers. White tank. Jacket. Same as yesterday.

Same routine.

But something inside me didn’t feel the same.

By the time I reached school, the whispers had already started.I felt them before I heard them.

Eyes on me.

Following me.

Judging.

“Is that her?”

“That’s the one who talked back to Joan.”

“No way…”

I tightened my grip on my bag and kept walking.

Let them talk.

For once…

I didn’t feel like shrinking.

Chloe was already waiting by my locker when I arrived.

The moment she saw me, her face lit up.

“There she is.”

I rolled my eyes slightly. “Don’t start.”

“Oh no, I’m starting,” she grinned. “You? Standing up to Joan Carter? Iconic.”

“I got food dumped on me.”

“Details,” she waved it off. “The point is—you didn’t stay quiet.”

I hesitated.

Because she was right.

And that terrified me more than anything.

“What if she makes it worse?” I asked quietly.

Chloe leaned against the locker, arms crossed.

“She will.”

“Chloe—”

“But so what?” she cut in. “She already treats you like trash. At least now you’re not helping her do it.”

I didn’t have a response to that.

Because again…

She wasn’t wrong

Classes passed in a blur.

But something was different.

People were watching me more.

Not just like before—like I was weak.

Now…

They were curious.

Like they didn’t quite know what I was anymore.

And for the first time in my life—

That didn’t feel like a bad thing.

I shouldn’t have gone near the training grounds.

I knew that.

Everyone knows that area is for warriors.

For fighters.

For people who actually matter.

But my feet carried me there anyway after school.

Like something was pulling me.

The sharp sounds of fists hitting flesh echoed through the air as I approached. The scent of sweat and earth filled my lungs.

Wolves in human form.

Training.

Fighting.

Becoming stronger.

Something inside me stirred.

A strange, restless energy I didn’t understand.

Dangerous.

“Again,” Xavier said coldly.

The other man lunged.

It was over in seconds.

Xavier moved like a shadow—fast, precise, brutal.

He dodged, grabbed, twisted—

And slammed the man into the ground hard enough to shake the dirt beneath them.

Silence fell for a moment.

Then murmurs of approval.

Power.

That’s what he was.

Pure, undeniable power.

My breath caught slightly.

And then—

His head turned.

His eyes locked onto mine.

Everything in me froze.

He saw me.

Of course he did.

He always does.

Xavier pushed himself off his opponent and walked toward the edge of the ring.

Toward me.

Each step slow.

Controlled.

Intentional.

I should leave.

I don’t.

“Enjoying the show?” he asked.

His voice was calm.

Too calm.

“I wasn’t watching you.”

A lie.

A bad one.

His eyebrow lifted slightly.

“Then why are you here?”

Good question.

“I was just passing by.”

He stepped closer.

Now he was too close.

“You don’t belong here.”

There it was.

Familiar.

Cold.

Sharp.

Something inside me snapped.

Maybe it was yesterday.

Maybe it was everything.

But I was done.

“Then where do I belong?” I shot back.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“What?”

“You keep saying that,” I continued, my voice stronger now. “I don’t belong here. I don’t belong at home. I don’t belong anywhere, right?”

“Alexa—”

“No,” I cut him off. “Answer me.”

For a second—

Just one second—

Something flickered in his eyes.

Not anger.

Not cruelty.

Something else.

Something I couldn’t name.

Then it was gone.

“You’re making a scene.”

“I’m asking a question.”

“And I’m telling you to leave.”

I let out a short laugh.

“There it is.”

“What?”

“You don’t have an answer.”

His jaw tightened.

“Go back to doing what you’re good at.”

“And what’s that?”

His gaze dropped slightly.

Then returned to mine.

“Staying out of the way.”

Silence.

Heavy.

Thick.

But this time…

I didn’t break.

I stepped closer.

Close enough to feel the heat radiating off him.

“You don’t get to decide that for me anymore.”

His breath hitched.

Barely noticeable.

But I saw it.

For the first time—

I saw it.

I turned and walked away.

Before he could respond

Before I could lose my nerve.

Before whatever just happened between us could become something bigger.

Something dangerous.

I didn’t realize my hands were shaking until I reached the edge of the forest.

What just happened?

I just stood up to Xavier Blackwood.

And survived.

Barely.

But still.

Something had changed.

I could feel it.

Deep in my chest.

Like a spark waiting to become a fire.

Behind me—

Unseen—

Xavier stood frozen in the training grounds.

Watching the place where I disappeared.

Something unfamiliar settled in his chest.

Something dangerous.

Something he didn’t want to name

Because if he did—

Everything he believed about me…

Would start to fall apart.