Chapter 26 The rogues threat getting out of hand
Chapter 026
DARIUS
The body check came out of nowhere.
One moment I was skating towards the puck, the next Raven slammed into me with enough force to send me flying into the glass.
The impact rattled my bones, knocked the air from my lungs, and sent a shockwave through my entire body.
The crowd of students watching erupted. Their roars filled the arena, cheering for her audacity. Cheering for the fact that someone had just sent the Pike heir crashing into the boards.
I pushed myself up slowly, my wolf surging forward with a violence that made my vision blur.
My eyes shifted before I could stop them. Pure wolf. Golden and feral and terrifying.
Everyone went silent.
A fight was about to break out, and I would not accept her treating me this way in front of all these people.
I skated towards her, grabbed her by the shoulder, and shoved her back hard.
"Why did you check me like that?" I demanded, my voice rough with barely contained rage.
She grinned. Actually grinned like some kind of savage who had just won a battle. "Ohhh! You cannot take what you dish out to other people, Pike?"
"Do you know who you are talking to?"
"Oh, I know exactly who I am talking to," she shot back, not backing down even an inch. "The precious heir who thinks he can do whatever he wants without consequences."
"I could crush you with my bare hands right now."
"Then do it," she challenged, spreading her arms wide. "Beat me here in front of your future subjects. Show them all what kind of leader you will be. A tyrant. A coward who attacks people who dare to stand up to him."
The words hit me like a physical blow.
Tyrant. Coward.
I saw myself reflected in her words. I saw my father. I saw the man I was terrified of becoming. The one who ruled through fear and intimidation rather than respect. The one who crushed anyone who dared to challenge him.
I froze.
My wolf was still snarling inside me, demanding that I follow through. That I show her exactly what happened to people who challenged the Pike heir.
But another part of me, the part that still had some semblance of humanity left, recoiled at the thought.
I did not want to be my father. I had spent my entire life trying not to be him.
And here I was, about to do exactly what he would have done.
Coach Bonn skated between us before I could make a decision either way. His presence was commanding, his expression stern.
"That is enough!" he barked, looking between us. "Both of you, off the ice now. You will sit on the bench and watch the rest of practice. And if I see either of you starting trouble again, you are both suspended from the team."
"But Coach—" I started.
"Now, Pike."
I skated off the ice without another word, my jaw clenched so tight it ached.
Raven followed a moment later, taking a seat on the opposite end of the bench far away from me which was probably for the best considering I wanted to throttle her.
We sat there in tense silence, watching the rest of the team continue practice without us. Every minute felt like an hour. Every glance from other students felt like judgement.
My phone buzzed halfway through.
A message from my father.
Return home this evening. We need to talk.
I groaned audibly. Dorian, who was skating past, shot me a questioning look, but I just shook my head.
He knew what that message meant. He had seen me receive similar ones before.
Nothing good ever came from my father demanding my presence.
Dinner at the Pike estate was exactly as cold as I expected it to be.
The dining room was massive, elegant, and utterly devoid of warmth. My father sat at the head of the table, his expression severe.
My mother sat to his right, her face carefully neutral but her eyes sharp and calculating. She had not welcomed me when I returned which was unlike her. She hadn't kissed me which was something I had realized she never missed since I moved out heard ago to the academy. She hadn't smiled at me, just wore a grim look and nodded at me from the kitchen when I had greeted her.
I sat across from them, pushing food around my plate without actually eating any of it.
"The media is having a field day," my father began without preamble. "They are painting this Raven girl as the academy's underdog darling. The lucky human who dares to challenge the mighty Darius Pike. And you? You are being portrayed as the spoiled heir who cannot handle a little competition."
I said nothing. There was nothing to say.
"If she keeps this up," he continued, his voice dropping to something dangerous, "she will not just ruin you. She will ruin us. Our reputation. Our standing. Everything we have built over generations. Do you understand what is at stake here?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then why are you not doing anything about it?"
"I am trying—"
"Trying is not good enough!" he snapped, slamming his hand on the table. The silverware rattled. "You need to eliminate this problem now. Before it spirals further out of control."
My mother, who had been quiet up until this point, finally spoke. Her voice was softer than my father's but no less calculating.
"There is another solution, you know," she offered, taking a delicate sip of her wine. "One that would turn this entire situation to our advantage."
I looked at her warily. "What solution?"
"Make her yours."
The words hung in the air for a moment before I fully processed them.
"What?"
"Claim her," my mother elaborated, setting down her wine glass. "Wolves do not bite what they claim. If you marked her, if you made her part of our family, then her victories would become your victories. Her popularity would reflect on you. The media would eat it up. The powerful heir taming the wild biker girl. It would be perfect."
My wolf howled inside me with approval. The idea of marking Raven, of claiming her as mine, sent a surge of possessive need through every nerve in my body.
But I pushed it down violently.
"I would rather burn," I snapped, standing up from the table. "I am not claiming anyone, especially not her."
"Darius—"
"No. I will handle this my own way. Without turning it into some kind of publicity stunt."
I walked out of the dining room before either of them could say another word. My hands were shaking with barely contained fury. At them. At myself. At the entire situation.
I made it outside to the front steps before I had to stop and just breathe.
The night air was cold against my face, grounding me slightly.
My phone rang.
I looked at the caller ID and saw it was Marcus, my father's Beta. He only ever called when something serious was happening.
I answered. "What is it?"
"We have a problem," Marcus's voice came through, tense and urgent. "The wards around the academy are failing."
My blood ran cold. "What do you mean failing?"
"Someone has been tampering with them. You know what I mean right, weakening them systematically over the past few weeks. And we have intercepted communications that suggest the rogues are organizing. And planning something big."
"How big?"
"Big enough that they are coordinating across multiple packs. This is not just random rogue activity anymore. This is organized and strategic."
I felt my stomach drop. "Do we know who is behind it?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then Marcus said the words I had been dreading.
"Someone inside the academy is feeding them information. We do not know who yet. But they have access to security protocols, ward configurations, everything. Whoever it is, they are helping the rogues plan an attack."
I closed my eyes, my mind racing through possibilities, suspects and everyone who might have a reason to betray the academy.
And one name kept coming up.
"Ravenna."