FAZER LOGINElla's POV
On the day of the exhibition race, I got to the track two hours early.
The paddock was even louder than I remembered.
Mechanics pushed tire carts down the crowded walkways, dodging engineers hurrying past with laptops. Out in the distance, the roar of engines pushed to their brink echoed off the pavement. The air was thick with the smell of motor oil, burning rubber, and hot metal. It had been so long since I'd felt this energy that even my wolf surged with exc
Ella's POVNoah stood still, gripping a model of Corona, oblivious to the cameras trained on him.Beside him, Margaret looked lost. She pointed at the big screen, asking a question I couldn't hear.Someone next to her leaned in to explain.I couldn't see her reaction after that, but I watched Noah glance down at the model Corona in his hands.Then, his gaze snapped back to the track.We were too far apart to lock eyes, but in that moment, I knew he was staring at me.The announcer's voice boomed over the stadium's PA system."For the first time in five years, Nova has taken off her helmet at a public race! She is revealing her identity: Ella Winters!"The grandstands exploded again.Reporters swarmed out of the infield tunnel, shoving a dozen microphones in my face as the red recording lights on their cameras flicked on. Behind me, the jumbotron looped Corona's final lap.One reporter fired off the first qu
Ella's POVThe second the hood flew up, my windshield went mostly dark.Dylan's voice crackled through my headset."Ella, get ready to pit! Your front view is blocked, so don't take any chances!"I didn't answer right away.Corona was still tearing through a high-speed section, and the two cars behind me were riding my bumper.Slamming the brakes now wouldn't just ruin this lap; the drivers behind me wouldn't have the time to dodge me.More importantly, I could still see the track.The crumpled hood killed my direct line of sight, but it didn't cover the edges of the windshield.I could still catch the boundary lines, guardrails, and brake markers flashing by in my periphery.Besides, I'd driven this circuit more times than I could count five years ago.Gearing up for that race, I'd been out here practicing eight or nine hours a day. I burned through so many sets of tires that I lost track.I still k
Damien's POV"Ella, get out of the car!"I reached out to yank the door open, but two race officials blocked my path."Alpha Damien, the race is about to start. Stop getting in the driver's way!""That's Ella sitting in there. Not Nova!" I barked.I stared at the idling Corona, struggling to accept reality.But no one gave me the chance to keep arguing. Corona was pulling out of the pit lane, heading toward the starting line.I shoved past the officials blocking my way and ran to the edge of the track.At that moment, the cheers from the grandstands hit a fever pitch."Nova! Nova!"Thousands of people were on their feet, screaming her name.The starting lights flashed, and several cars launched off the line almost in unison.Corona shot to the front of the pack right out of the gate.Ella showed no hesitation, making no unnecessary steering corrections. Her cornering, braking, and acceleration
Damien's POVI'd been hanging around the track entrance for almost twenty minutes.Pit crews hustled past while engines whined in the distance, but there was no sign of Nova.Footsteps echoed from the far end of the corridor.A woman walked toward me in a black racing suit, carrying a helmet.I knew it the second I saw it—the dark shell, the gold star-track design, and Nova's official logo.I'd spent weeks hunting her down after her last race, and today, I was going to put a face to the mystery driver.She stepped out of the harsh backlight, though shadows still hid the top half of her face.Leaning back against the wall, I said, "You missed the scheduled pickup time for the cars, so I disposed of them."She stopped in her tracks."But I'm willing to give you one last shot today," I continued. "I'll pay you handsomely to train Chloe and get her ranked on the national circuit within three years."She s
Ella's POVNoah's eyes widened.The smirk slid off Chloe's face as she muttered in disbelief, "Impossible. You must've had this forged in advance."I almost laughed."Right. So the event organizers, the driver certification board, and the old Eclipse Racing archives conspired with me to fake this?"She opened her mouth to argue, but heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway. An event official walked in, followed by two security guards."Chloe," the official said. "This is Nova's private lounge. You and your camera crew aren't allowed in here. You're already messing with her prep.""But she—""Ella is Nova," the official answered flatly.He pulled up the system's registration data, and my name appeared next to Nova's on the screen, sitting above the event's verified credentials.Noah stood frozen. His gaze darted from the official to my face, then dropped to the helmet in my arms. He stared at me like I was a str
Ella's POVOn the day of the exhibition race, I got to the track two hours early.The paddock was even louder than I remembered.Mechanics pushed tire carts down the crowded walkways, dodging engineers hurrying past with laptops. Out in the distance, the roar of engines pushed to their brink echoed off the pavement. The air was thick with the smell of motor oil, burning rubber, and hot metal. It had been so long since I'd felt this energy that even my wolf surged with excitement.Dylan was standing next to Corona, running through the final inspections."I fixed the turbo issue and set the suspension parameters back to your old preferences. But since you haven't raced professionally in five years, I made the rear-end settings a bit more conservative."I pulled on my driving gloves, shooting him a grin."Why? Afraid I'll crash?""I'm afraid you'll drive like a twenty-year-old on the first lap."I laughed and punched him li







