The incident

Kai's POV

I pushed the door open and stepped inside, shoulders still riding high from the sparring session. Riven wasn't there.

Good.

I rolled my neck, kicked off my shoes, and started stripping out of my clothes because after getting sweaty sparring with Jax for two solid hours, a shower wasn't optional.

I was halfway to the bathroom when the window clicked and I heard the voice before I saw him.

"Damn."

I froze.

Riven's voice came from behind me. "Nice ass, man. I'm not even hating."

My hand shot down so fast I nearly pulled something. I spun around, one palm shielding myself, the other shooting out like that was going to do anything. Riven was leaning against the window frame looking like he'd been there the whole damn time, arms crossed, mouth curving into something dangerously close to a grin.

"What the—" I grabbed my towel off the bed, nearly knocked over my lamp, and backed into the bathroom. "What is wrong with you?! Knock! Doors exist for a reason, Riven!"

His laughter followed me through the wall.

By the time I emerged with my towel tied around me tightly, Riven was stretched out across his bed scrolling through his phone like nothing happened.

"Keep your gay ass on your side of the room," I said, pointing at the invisible line down the center of the floor.

Riven didn't even look up. "Relax. I like my ladies slim and my life drama-free. The last thing I want is to be up in a man's—"

"Don't finish that sentence."

"—business." He finally looked up, eyebrows raised. "You good?"

"I will be when you act like you have some home training." I dropped onto my own bed, towel still around my waist. "I pinned Jax four times today."

Riven sat up, surprised. "You're lying."

"I'm not." I replied with an air of pride.

"Jax." He said it slowly, like maybe I'd gotten the name wrong. "Jax, as in the Jax who has been undefeated in hand-to-hand since sophomore year? That Jax?"

"I mean, I guess he's not undefeated anymore." I shrugged, but the corner of my mouth pulled up.

Riven stared at me for a long moment then he laughed. "Okay. Okay, I respect it." He stood, slapping his thighs.

"Come on. All that humiliating the school's best fighter probably burned some calories. I'm hungry and before you say anything — new students eat free for the first month. So technically this is on the school, not me."

I grabbed my jacket. "Let's go."

The cafeteria was loud with two silly boys having a good fight. I loaded my tray and followed Riven toward an open spot near the middle of the room.

We were two steps from sitting down when a voice cut through the noise.

"That's my seat."

I turned around slowly to find three guys standing behind us. The one who'd spoken was big — not just tall but built like someone who'd been lifting since middle school and had a chip on his shoulder the whole time.

“That's Rex,” Riven whispered. Flanking him were two others: Dorian and Cole.

Riven glanced at the table at Rex then at me. "We can just—"

"No." I set my tray down. “We were here first so we're going to sit here.”

I looked at the table, then back at the three of them. "Last time I checked, none of your names were on this seat. So." I pulled out the chair and sat down. "You were saying?"

The cafeteria got quieter, people were already turning their attention to us.Rex's jaw tightened. He exchanged a look with Dorian, who smiled and Cole cracked his knuckles.

"New kid," Rex said, voice low and deliberate. "You don't know how things work here yet."

"Enlighten me," I said pleasantly. I picked up my fork.

Rex moved fast. His hand came down on the back of my head and shoved — hard — face-first into the tray.

The cafeteria erupted with shouts.

Everything happened in fragments after that. The cold shock of food against my face. The scrape of chairs. The roar of the room pulling back like a tide.

I came up swinging with all I had and my elbow caught Dorian across the jaw before the guy even knew I'd moved. Dorian stumbled into a table, sending trays scattering, and the crowd surged backward to make room.

Rex grabbed me by the collar. "Big mistake," I said, and headbutted him.

Rex staggered but didn't go down — he was too big for that, and then Cole was behind me, arms locking around my chest, lifting me half off the ground. I drove my heel back hard into Cole's shin, once, twice, until the grip broke, but by then Rex had recovered and his fist connected with my ribs like a freight train.

I grabbed the edge of a table to keep from going down. My vision swam. Dorian was back up, and when the three of them closed in again, there wasn't a clean angle left.

They didn't stop at one hit and by the time it was over, I was on the floor and my ribs screamed every time I breathed, and my bottom lip was split, and the only thing still working at full capacity was my rage.

"Hey." An all too familiar voice yelled “Walk away right now all three of you."

I tilted my head enough to see Camille standing at the edge of the clearing the crowd had made. Her arms were crossed, her chin was level, and she was looking at Rex like he was a problem she was already done dealing with.

"Or," she continued, "I go directly to Dante and tell him exactly what happened here. Your call."

Rex's smirk didn't budge right away. He glanced at his boys. Dorian had gone still then Rex stepped toward her.

He shoved her hard enough to send her across the room, that she stumbled back a step, catching herself on someone's shoulder.

"Mind your business, whore," he cursed at her.

And then the three of them walked out, slow, like they had all the time in the world.

Riven was next to me immediately, crouching down, one hand on my shoulder. "Hey. Hey, look at me. Can you stand?"

"Yes," I winced in pain because every movement made it worse.

With Riven on one side and Camille dropping down on the other, they got me upright and into a chair. I sat there breathing through it — the ribs, the split lip, the food still on my face I hadn't even bothered to wipe off yet — and stared at the door Rex and his crew had walked through.

Camille handed me a napkin. She didn't say sorry, didn't fuss, didn't make it soft. I was quietly glad for that.

Riven sat back, jaw tight, looking at the door. "Rex."

I wiped my mouth. "I heard you,"