Chapter 22 Rivalry Escalates
POV: LUNA
Luna overslept.
The nightmares about Miguel kept her up until three. When she finally crashed, she slept through two alarms.
She threw on her training gear without showering. Grabbed her equipment bag. Sprinted across campus.
Professor Thorne stood at the training grounds entrance. Arms crossed. Face carved from granite.
"You're late, Eclipse."
"I know. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
"See that it doesn't. Five laps. Now."
Luna dropped her bag and ran. Her muscles protested. Sleep deprivation made everything harder. But she pushed through.
By the time she finished, the other students were already paired off for exercises. Luna grabbed her bag and searched for an open space.
That's when she noticed.
Her training gloves. Shredded. Clean cuts along the palm grip. Precise. Deliberate.
"What the hell?"
Nova jogged over. "What's wrong?"
Luna held up the gloves. "Someone destroyed my gear."
"Are you serious?" Nova examined them closer. "These weren't torn. They were cut. With a blade."
"Who would do that?"
Nova's expression darkened. "One guess."
Luna looked across the field. Darius stood with his usual crew. Smirking. Watching her.
"I can't prove it was him."
"You don't need proof. Everyone knows."
"Knowing and proving are different things."
Luna dug through her bag. Everything else seemed intact. Just the gloves. A message. Not an attempt to seriously hurt her. Just to mess with her head.
It was working.
Ryder approached. "Problem?"
Luna showed him the gloves. "Sabotage."
He examined them briefly. "Could have been damaged during yesterday's exercise."
"These are clean cuts, Ryder. Someone used a knife."
"Do you have evidence of who?"
"Darius has been threatening me for weeks. This fits his pattern."
"Pattern isn't proof. Without witnesses or evidence, I can't confront him. It would just escalate things."
"So I'm supposed to just accept this?"
"I'm saying pick your battles. Don't let him bait you into doing something stupid."
Ryder walked away. Luna wanted to scream.
"He's useless," Nova muttered.
"He's covering his ass. If he accuses Darius without proof, Darius's family makes problems. Politics."
"Politics shouldn't matter when someone's being targeted."
"Welcome to Silverwood."
Luna borrowed spare gloves from the equipment shed. Too big. Awkward. But functional.
The rest of training was torture. Her focus was shot. Between Miguel's silence, the mysterious watchers, and now Darius's escalation, Luna felt like she was drowning.
Every movement reminded her the gloves were wrong. Every slip made her more frustrated. And across the field, Darius watched. Enjoying it.
After training, Luna returned to her dorm. Nova followed.
"We need to find proof."
"How?" Luna asked. "It's not like he left fingerprints."
"Security cameras. The equipment shed has them. If Darius or one of his people tampered with your stuff, it'll be on video."
"Can we access those?"
"Not officially. But Lyric can."
"Who's Lyric?"
"Tech genius. Third year. Hacks the campus systems for fun. Owes me a favor."
Luna hesitated. "If we get caught..."
"We won't. And even if we do, what are they going to do? Expel us for trying to catch someone sabotaging equipment? That's backwards."
Nova had a point. But Luna still felt uneasy about breaking rules. She'd been trying so hard to fit in. To follow protocols. To not make waves.
But Darius wasn't following any rules. Why should she?
"Okay. Set it up."
Nova grinned. "Already texted her. She'll meet us tonight. Midnight. Computer lab."
The rest of the day dragged. Classes felt meaningless. Luna's mind kept circling back to Miguel. To the text. To the watchers.
She tried calling again. Voicemail. Again.
By dinner, she was ready to explode. Nova tried to distract her with gossip. It didn't work.
"You need to eat something."
"I'm not hungry."
"You haven't eaten since breakfast. You're going to pass out."
Luna forced down some food. It tasted like cardboard.
Across the dining hall, Darius sat with his crew. Laughing. Carefree. Like he didn't have a worry in the world.
Luna's mark pulsed. Angry. Her wolf wanted to cross that room. To confront him. To fight.
"Don't," Nova said quietly. "That's what he wants."
"I know."
But knowing didn't make it easier.
Midnight came slowly. Luna changed into dark clothes. Met Nova outside the dorms.
They crossed campus in silence. Staying to shadows. Avoiding main paths.
The computer lab was locked. Nova knocked. Twice. Pause. Three times.
The door cracked open. A girl with purple-streaked hair peered out. "You Luna?"
"Yeah."
"Get in. Fast."
They slipped inside. The girl locked the door behind them.
"I'm Lyric. Nova says you need security footage."
"Equipment shed. Today. Between 6 AM and 7 AM."
Lyric sat at a terminal. Her fingers flew across the keyboard. Windows opened and closed. Code scrolled past.
"Security here is a joke. They use the same password rotation every semester. Lazy."
Within minutes, footage appeared on screen. Time-stamped. 6:23 AM.
"There."
The video showed the equipment shed. Empty. Then a figure entered. Male. Moving quickly.
He approached Luna's bag. Pulled something from his pocket. A knife. Worked fast. Efficient.
The angle made it hard to see his face. But his build. His movement. Luna knew.
"Can you zoom in?"
Lyric manipulated the image. Enhanced. Sharpened.
There. Clear as day. Darius Kane. Cutting her gloves. Smirking at the camera like he knew exactly where it was.
"Cocky bastard," Lyric muttered.
"Can you copy this?"
"Already done. Encrypted file on this drive." She handed Luna a thumb drive. "Don't lose it. And for the record, I was never here."
"Understood. Thank you."
"Thank Nova. She's the one who helped me pass Magical Theory last year."
They left the same way they came. Quick. Quiet. Back to the dorms without incident.
In Luna's room, they watched the footage again. Multiple times. Making sure they had everything.
"What are you going to do with it?" Nova asked.
"I don't know yet. If I give it to Ryder, he has to act. But if I confront Darius directly..."
"You give him a chance to spin it. To play victim. To make you look obsessed."
Luna hated how complicated this was. She had proof. Clear evidence. But using it still felt risky.
"I need to think about this."
Nova nodded. "Sleep on it. Decide tomorrow."
But Luna knew she wouldn't sleep. Not with Miguel still silent. Not with Darius escalating. Not with watchers in the forest.
After Nova left, Luna checked her phone again. Nothing.
She pulled up Miguel's contact. Stared at his picture. Taken last spring. Him laughing. Happy. Safe.
Before her world became wolves and magic and danger.
Luna almost called. Almost tried one more time.
But the text from earlier stopped her. Stop looking for me. I'm fine.
What if he really did send it? What if she was making this into something it wasn't?
But her gut said otherwise. And her instincts had kept her alive so far.
Luna set the phone down. Tucked the thumb drive into her desk drawer. Tried to sleep.
She managed maybe two hours. Fitful. Filled with shadows and blood.
When morning came, Luna dragged herself to class. Exhausted. Wired. On edge.
She saw Darius in the hallway. He was alone. Unusual.
Their eyes met. He smiled. Not his usual smirk. Something darker. More calculated.
He approached. Luna's hand instinctively moved to her mark. Ready.
"Eclipse."
"Kane."
"Heard you had some equipment trouble yesterday."
"Did you?"
"Shame. Equipment failure can be dangerous during training. Someone could get hurt."
"Is that a threat?"
"An observation. Accidents happen all the time here. Especially to students who don't know their place."
Luna stepped closer. Close enough to see the cold calculation in his eyes.
"I know what you did."
"Do you?"
"I have proof."
Something flickered in his expression. Surprise. Then amusement.
"Proof of what? That your gloves were damaged? Equipment wears out, Eclipse. Nothing sinister about that."
"Wear and tear doesn't look like knife cuts."
"You'd be surprised what wear and tear can look like. Especially to someone inexperienced."
"I'm not inexperienced. And I'm not stupid."
"Never said you were. But you are new. Still learning how things work here. The social dynamics. The unwritten rules."
"Like what? Sabotage is acceptable if you're popular?"
Darius laughed. Actually laughed. "You really don't get it, do you? This isn't about popularity. It's about power. Position. Lineage. You walked in here with that mark acting like you belong. Like you matter. But you don't. Not yet."
"Then why bother with me at all?"
"Because potential threats should be dealt with early. Before they become actual problems."
"I'm not a threat to you."
"Not yet. But you could be. That mark. Your instincts. The way others are starting to look at you. You're gathering attention. Influence. That's dangerous for people like me."
"People like you?"
"People who've worked for their position. Who've earned respect through blood and training. Not through some magical lottery."
"I didn't ask for this mark."
"No one does. But you got it anyway. And now you have to live with the consequences."
Darius stepped back. His casual demeanor returning.
"Keep your proof, Eclipse. Show it to whoever you want. But remember. Evidence can be disputed. Witnesses can be convinced they saw something else. And accidents can happen to anyone. Especially those who make enemies they can't handle."
He walked away. Calm. Confident. Untouchable.
Luna stood frozen. Her hands shaking. Her mark burning.
She had the footage. Clear evidence. But Darius was right. His family had power. Influence. Money.
If she went public, it would turn into war. And Luna wasn't sure she could win that fight. Not yet.
But doing nothing meant accepting defeat. Letting him get away with it. Showing weakness.
Luna's phone buzzed. Unknown number. Again.
Another text. Same as before.
Stop. Please. Before something worse happens.
Luna's blood went cold.
That wasn't Miguel. She was certain now.
Someone was threatening her. Using Miguel's situation. Trying to scare her.
And Darius cornering her immediately after felt too coincidental.
Everything was connected. The sabotage. The watchers. Miguel. The texts.
Someone wanted Luna off balance. Scared. Isolated.
It was working.