Chapter 22 A reminder and warning
Chapter 022
Ravenna POV
I whistled as I walked out of practice, feeling the ache in my muscles from the brutal drills.
Darius had been an absolute asshole today. He had made us do drill after drill after drill. And he had made sure to attack me directly. Twice he had checked me into the wall. Twice I had gotten back up and told him I would not break no matter what he did.
But now practice was over, and I was ready to go back to my room and sleep for the next twelve hours.
Except when I stepped outside, I saw Darius standing near a bike that I remembered seeing this morning when I arrived.
I had wondered who owned a bike on the team. I guessed it was either him or Dorian. From the furious look on his face right now, it was definitely his.
He walked up to me, his eyes blazing red with barely contained rage. He looked like he was about to explode, like all the anger coursing through him was searching for an outlet.
He grabbed my neck. Again.
"You are crossing your lines," he snarled, his fingers pressing against my throat. "I will crush you if you do not stay in your lane."
Something inside me snapped. I was tired of this. Tired of him grabbing me like I was some object he could control. Tired of being treated like I had no right to exist in his world.
I grabbed his hand and twisted it hard, yanking it off my throat with more force than I knew I had. "Never grab my throat like that again."
My voice was cold. Underneath it was pure fury.
He smirked at me. Actually smirked. Then he leaned closer, so close I could feel the heat radiating off his body.
"What are you going to do about it?" he whispered.
That sensation passed between us again. The one I could not name. Could not explain. My heart began thumping so loudly I was certain he could hear it.
Him up close like this, his scent drowning out the normal air, he was all I could see. All I could breathe. This one moment felt alive in a way that terrified me.
"Asshole," I muttered, pushing against his chest and shoving him away from me.
I turned and walked away before I could do something stupid. Before I could let myself think about what that moment had meant. Before I could acknowledge the dangerous path I was walking.
Because I was on a dangerous mission. Playing a dangerous game. And one of these days, one of us would break and bow to the other.
It would not be me.
That night, I sneaked off campus. It was risky. But I needed to see them and remind myself why I was doing all of this.
The roadside bar was not our usual meeting spot. We normally met at the club on the edge of town. But Jax had texted me earlier saying this place was safer and more private.
I parked my bike outside and walked in, scanning the dimly lit room until I spotted my crew.
And surprisingly, Asteria was there.
The moment she saw me, she ran over and threw her arms around me in a tight hug. "Look at you! You have added some flesh. The academy suits you."
I flicked her nose playfully. "I hate being at that academy."
She laughed and pulled back to look at me properly. "Sure you do. That is why you are dominating their ice rink and making headlines."
"What are you doing here?" I asked, genuinely surprised to see her.
Asteria grinned. "I got intel that you would be meeting with the crew tonight. I thought I would use the opportunity to see my favourite person."
We moved to join the others at a corner table. Drinks were already flowing, and the moment I sat down, Jax pushed a glass towards me.
"We saw the news," he announced, his voice filled with pride. "About the rival game. You won and put Darius Pike in his place. That was incredible."
"She did more than that," another one of the crew chimed in. "She made him look ordinary. Like he was nothing special."
I smiled despite myself. "I also intend to win the moon trials. They are still ongoing."
Asteria leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "My friends told me you tied with Darius in the first trial. Is that true?"
I flashed her a smile. "It is."
She laughed and raised her glass. "Look at you taming the golden prince."
But then her expression turned serious. "Just remember why you came there, Raven. You came to ruin him. Not to play games with him."
The words hit harder than I expected. Because she was right. That was why I was there. That was the entire point of infiltrating the academy.
Jax, who had been quiet up until now, finally spoke. His voice was heavy with concern. "I have been worried about you. Ever since I saw those headlines, I have been worried. The Pike family are dangerous, Raven. You are toying with their child. Their heir. They will not want his reputation ruined. They will do anything to anyone who crosses them."
He looked at me directly, his eyes serious. "You need to be careful of the things you do to push him. You need to think about the consequences."
I went quiet. Actually quiet. Because for the first time since starting this mission, I found myself wondering if what I was doing was right.
If I truly knew what I was getting into. If I could stand being attacked by an entire family when they inevitably came after me.
The weight of it pressed down on me. The reality of what I had set in motion.
Jax must have seen something in my expression because he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. "Just promise me you will be careful."
"I promise," I whispered.
I stayed for another hour, drinking and laughing and pretending everything was fine.
I finally stood to leave, "I promised to come visit you all at the next hangout." I say walking, towards my bike and grabbing my helmet. I could feel their worried eyes following me.
I managed to bypass the security on my way back. I had learned the patrol patterns over the past few weeks. Knew exactly when and where to slip through unnoticed.
I parked my bike in a building off the main academy grounds. Somewhere it would not be seen. Then I started walking the dark, lowly lit path back to my dormitory.
I was almost at the stairs when I saw
Darius leaning against his car near the gates waiting.
I kept walking, trying to act casual. Trying to pretend I had not just been caught sneaking back onto campus in the middle of the night.
But he pushed off from the car and walked towards me, closing the distance between us in a few long strides.
He stepped close. His presence was overwhelming in the darkness.
"Keep dragging them into this," he whispered, his voice low and dangerous, "and I will have the chance to burn your entire gang to the ground."
The threat hung in the air between us. It was real, so tangible and terrifying.
But I refused to show fear. Refused to let him see how his words had shaken me.
I smiled sweetly at him. "Try me."
For a moment, we just stood there. Staring at each other.
Both of
us knew this was about to escalate into something neither of us could control.
And neither of us are willing to back down.