Chapter 7. The Wish

Outside, Axel didn’t slow until they reached the edge of the parking lot. He stopped beside his bike, shoulders heaving, the crumpled note still in his fist.

Riven wrenched free, her pulse hammering. “You can’t just drag me away like—”

“You think they’ll stop at spray paint?” His voice cracked like a whip, raw and sharp. “You think a note in your locker is the end of it?”

Her breath faltered.

Axel stepped closer, his voice dropping to a rasp. “They’re coming for you, Hale. And if they want you—” His fingers curled into a fist at his side, knuckles white against the leather of his gloves. “They’ll go through me first. Through my crew. Through anyone within reach.”

Her throat tightened, acid rising. She backed away, one step, two. “Then maybe I should just—”

“Don’t.” The word sliced between them. His jaw clenched, a muscle jumping beneath the skin as his gaze locked onto hers, pupils blown wide against steel gray.

She swallowed. “—stay away fr