Semua Bab Born To Race, Bred To Fall: Bab 1 - Bab 10

LEOThe sound of engines echoed like thunder beneath the ground. The world above was sleeping, but here, beneath the crumbling subway tunnels and forgotten streets, Redline was alive.And so was I.My fingers tightened around the steering grips as I crouched low on the modified board. The wind bit at my face through my helmet, but I didn’t feel it. I only heard the growls behind me. Two racers gaining fast. I pushed harder.The undertrack curved sharply to the left. I didn’t blink. My reflexes moved before I thought. I leaned, kicked, and sliced past the corner wall with barely an inch of clearance. Sparks lit up the dark tunnel behind me. Someone clipped the edge.Not me.I shot forward like fire in a pipe.“Shade Wolf leads again,” the announcer's voice crackled over the tunnel’s hacked speakers. “This rogue racer is a damn ghost.”I didn’t need the praise. I needed to finish the lap. One more. One more lap and I’d qualify, quietly, secretly, for the Cross-Pack Trials. My chance to

LEOIt started with the locker.A note slipped between the vents,no name, no scent, no handwriting.Only four words, scratched in red ink:We Know Who You Are.I didn’t blink. I didn’t let my hands shake. I just folded the note and slipped it into my jacket like it didn’t matter.But it did.It meant someone had seen me or thought they had.It meant my time was running out.I shoved my books into the locker and walked out into the hallway like nothing was wrong. Juno was already waiting by the courtyard fountain, backpack slung over one shoulder, scanning the yard like a nervous bird.I didn’t go to her.Ash stood near the far gate, pretending to talk to someone from the track team, but his eyes kept darting to me.Every day since the sparring match, he'd found a reason to be close. Not obvious, but there.He hadn’t confronted me.He hadn’t spoken to me.But he was circling.And I was starting to wonder if he already knew the truth, and was waiting for me to admit it first.Coach Briar

LEOAsh didn’t come to school the next day. Not to training, not to class, not to hover at the edges of my space like he had been all week.He vanished like he’d never existed.And I couldn’t stop thinking about the look in his eyes before he left the garage. That mix of confusion, regret… and something deeper he didn’t say out loud. Maybe he was scared or maybe he was just preparing to let me fall.Either way, I had bigger things to worry about.The first stage of the Trials was only a day away.And someone was already planning to make sure I didn’t survive it.*********************The track layout dropped that morning. Juno found me by the mechanics' shed, tablet in one hand and a deep scowl on her face.“They changed it,” she said flatly. “Sector Seven now cuts through the old refinery tunnel.”My stomach dropped.“That tunnel’s condemned.”“Exactly.”I looked at the flashing blueprint. Sector Seven had always been a flat sprint, basic, clean, fair. Now it was jagged, dark, unpred

LEO The drive Ash gave me contained more than just trap locations. It had names. Council members who funded the experiments. Doctors who ran them. Guards who dragged unconscious racers into underground facilities. And at the top of the list: Alpha Magnus Sterling. I spent the night memorizing every detail, every face. Juno sat across from me, silent but present, occasionally sliding coffee my way. "You realize once you use this information, there's no going back," she said around three in the morning. "There was no going back the moment I put on the mask." She nodded slowly. "Then we do this right. We gather evidence during the race. Film everything we can." "How? They scan us before we enter." Juno pulled a tiny device from her toolkit. "Micro-camera. Embeds into your helmet. Streams directly to an encrypted server I set up. They won't detect it." "You're brilliant." "I know." She managed a tired smile. "Just don't get yourself killed before we blow this wide op

ASH The chains bit into my wrists, but the pain was nothing compared to the look on Leo's face when she heard my voice over the speakers. Betrayal. Pure and absolute. My father stood beside me, his hand heavy on my shoulder. A reminder. A warning. "You did well, son," he said, his voice carrying the satisfaction of a predator who'd finally cornered his prey. "I knew you'd make the right choice eventually." I wanted to tell him to go to hell. Wanted to rip these chains off and run down to the arena floor. But Maya's face flashed in my mind—my little sister, barely sixteen, locked somewhere in this facility because I'd been stupid enough to think I could play both sides. "Where is she?" I asked, my voice flat. "Safe. For now." Magnus turned to the observation window, watching Leo struggle to her feet below. "As long as you continue to cooperate, she'll stay that way." I'd known this moment was coming. Known it the second my father's guards grabbed me outside the garage