Chapter 118 Almost enough

Chapter 118 Almost enough
Chapter 118

RAVENNA

Samantha and I were on our way to Angela's to grab dinner when we noticed students running in the opposite direction. Not just walking quickly but wctually running. Their faces were pale with fear, their eyes wide.

Panic shot through me. "What is going on? Did rogues attack the academy again?"

Sam grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side of the path. "No, the rogues were stopped months ago. The academy's stronghold is too tight now. It cannot be rogues. It must be something else."

I stopped one of the students rushing past us, grabbing his shoulder. "What is happening? Why is everyone running?"

The boy was breathing hard, his face flushed. "Caleb and Darius are fighting at Angela's. Wolves have hopped on both sides. It is absolute chaos in there."

My stomach dropped. "What?"

But the boy had already pulled away and continued running.

"Come on," I grabbed Samantha's hand and we started running towards Angela's instead of away from it.

By the time we arrived, it was too late.

Security officials had already been alerted. They were everywhere, forming a barricade around the entrance to the restaurant.

Through the broken windows, I could see overturned tables, shattered glass, and blood staining the floor.

We pushed through the crowd of students that had gathered outside, trying to see what was happening.

The security officials were leading people out. Wolves who had shifted back to human form, most of them bleeding and injured.

Then I saw Darius in handcuffs, being escorted by two security guards. His clothes were torn and soaked with blood. Deep gashes covered his arms and chest. His face was bruised and swollen. He could barely walk straight.

Right behind him came Caleb in the same condition. He was handcuffed, bleeding and his shirt was completely shredded, hanging off him in tatters.

Then Dorian and Selene emerged, also wounded and bleeding but not as badly as the two Alphas.

I stopped walking. My hand flew up to cover my mouth.

This was real. This had actually happened.

Beside me, Samantha made a choked sound. "He promised me," she whispered. "Dorian promised me he would not get involved in any more fights."

I turned to look at her. Tears were streaming down her face.

"He was probably fighting alongside Darius," I managed to say. "Defending his best friend."

"That does not make it better." Samantha's voice cracked.

I put my arm around her shoulders and steered her away from the crowd. "Come on. Let us go back to the room."

We walked in silence back to the dormitory. Samantha was shaking, whether from fear or anger or both, I could not tell.

When we got to our room, I made her sit down on her bed and pulled a blanket around her shoulders even though it was not cold. She just looked so small and scared.

"Try to get some sleep," I told her gently. "Everything will look better in the morning."

"Will it?" She looked up at me with red eyes. "Will it really?"

I did not have an answer for that. So I just stayed with her until she finally fell asleep, exhausted from crying.

Then I left the room as quietly as I could.

I did not go back to Angela's. I did not go to the library or any of the common areas.

Instead, I headed straight for the empty eastern building where I kept my motorcycle hidden.

The bike roared to life beneath me, the familiar vibration running through my body. I kicked off and tore out of the academy grounds, not caring if anyone saw me leave.

The wind whipped past my face as I picked up speed. I could feel the thrill that usually came with riding, that rush of freedom and power.

But tonight it meant nothing. The buzz of the air as I raced across the bridge barely registered. My hair flew wildly behind me, and only then did I realize I had forgotten my helmet.

I did not care.

I raced with pure rage fuelling every movement. The image of Darius kept flashing through my mind. His blood-soaked clothes, the handcuffs around his wrists and the way he could barely stand.

And Caleb in the same condition. Both of them destroyed because of me.

I knew I had caused this. The video I posted had led directly to this fight.

Flashback

My finger had hovered over the button to release Caleb's video. Just one click and it would be out there for the entire world to see.

Then a message had come through from Asteria.

Create another account. Name it DARIUS FANS. Release the video from there. Make it look like he posted it.

I had stared at the message for a long moment.

It was brilliant. Cruel, but brilliant. If people thought Darius had posted the video, Caleb would go after him instead of looking for the real culprit.

After a few minutes of internal debate, that was exactly what I had done.

End of Flashback

And now Caleb had attacked Darius because of that account name. He had accused Darius of being behind the leak and tried to kill him over it all because of a lie I had created.

I pulled up to my house and killed the engine. Music was blasting from inside. Loud, thumping bass that I could feel in my ears.

I pushed open the front door and froze.

The entire house had been turned upside down. People filled every space: The sitting room, the kitchen, even spilling out into the hallway.

There must have been at least fifty people here, all drinking and dancing like this was the best night of their lives.

I pushed through the crowd, searching for Asteria.

I found her in her bedroom, sitting on the lap of some man I did not recognize. His hands were on her waist. She was laughing at something he whispered in her ear.

I marched over and grabbed the man by his shirt, hauling him off the sofa. "Get out."

"What the—"

"I said get out now."

He looked at Asteria, who just shrugged. He left, muttering curses under his breath.

I slammed the door behind him and rounded on my sister. "What the hell are you doing? Why are you celebrating when the campus is on fire? Caleb and Darius nearly killed each other because of the video I posted."

Asteria stood up slowly, a smile spreading across her face. "I know. Is it not wonderful?"

"Wonderful?" My voice rose. "They were both bleeding so badly they could barely walk. Security had to handcuff them. This is not wonderful, Asteria. This is madness."

She walked over to the small bar in the corner and poured two glasses of something amber. She held one out to me.

I did not take it.

"You are destroying him," Asteria continued, bringing the glass to her own lips. "And it is working. Just like he deserves."

"You are out of your mind." I ran my hands through my hair. "Why are you even throwing a party? You are still a teen old. You should not be doing this."

"I saw the video trending," she replied calmly. "I decided it was worth celebrating. Both of them getting exposed for what they really are. Both of their empires crumbling."

"People got hurt, Asteria. Real people. Not just some abstract concept of revenge."

"Good." Her eyes went cold. "They deserve to hurt."

I stared at her. At my little sister who was supposed to be the victim in all of this. Who was supposed to be the one I was protecting.

But right now, she looked more like a stranger than family.

"What you are doing is right, Raven," Asteria set down her glass and moved closer to me. "You should not feel any sign of remorse. They brought this on themselves."

I hesitated. Part of me wanted to believe her. Wanted to hold onto the anger that had driven me to this academy in the first place.

But then I remembered Darius's face. The blood. The pain in his eyes as they led him away in handcuffs.

"I do not know if I can keep doing this," I whispered.

Asteria's expression hardened. She leaned in close, her voice dropping to barely above a whisper.

"Do you remember what Darius did to me, Raven? Do you remember why you came to that academy in the first place?"