Awakeners were unpredictable, each with their own quirks, their own rules. But if Axel wasn’t careful… if he let even a moment of weakness slip in at the wrong time… It could cost him his life.

  The last glow of the sunset stretched across the conference room, dragging his shadow long across the floor.

  The night was settling in when Orion heard it— A faint creak. The battered iron door groaned open. His brow furrowed in irritation. He had made it clear he didn’t want to be disturbed.

  "Didn’t I tell you not to—"

  He froze. A small, ghostly figure moved toward him. Purple-red hair swayed in the dimming light. Pale, delicate hands gripped a knife.

  Before he could react, she was already there. The blade plunged in. Warm blood spread across his chest.

  Through hazy vision, he watched the masked girl withdraw her knife, wipe it clean with practiced ease, and pull out a phone.

  She lifted it to her ear. "Brother," she said softly, "it’s done."

  So, you had a backup plan all along. Orion let out a slow breath. A small smirk curled at the corner of his lips. And then— Darkness took him.

  ......

  Ding Ding.

  Inside the speeding SUV, Axel glanced at his phone, watching as the voice message converted to text. His gaze flickered once more toward the darkened streets behind them before he leaned back, finally letting himself relax.

  Cassia, sitting beside him, shot him a curious look.

  Axel spoke softly. "It's nothing. My sister just called me back for dinner."

  "Oh." Cassia turned toward the window, her expression distant. Even Drayke—normally the most talkative of them all—struggled to find the right words.

  At first, he hadn’t understood what had just happened. But when they saw the photo on Axel’s phone, it hit them. Axel had gone back into the 'lion’s' den for a fight to the death. And Cassia’s life had been on the line.

  If Axel hadn’t insisted they stay put and rent a car to wait for him at the entrance, there was no doubt—they would have charged in after him.

  Fortunately, for their first real mission, things had gone down perfectly.

  Under different circumstances, Drayke would have been dying to brag about it. After all, how many high school graduates could claim they had just shaken up two of Dune’s biggest underground factions?

  But now wasn’t the time.

  As the adrenaline faded, curiosity took over. The team gathered together, reviewing every step of the plan, retracing how it all played out.

  Benjamin and Cassia listened in silence. They had witnessed it all firsthand.

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  But hearing Axel break it down now, revealing how each scene wasn’t a coincidence but a carefully designed trap—it hit differently.

  Benjamin’s eyes gleamed with realization. Cassia had praised Axel before, but up until before, Benjamin had just thought of him as a talented kid. He had underestimated him.

  "That was fucking brilliant," Benjamin finally muttered.

  The others nodded in agreement. Their gazes toward Axel shifted, now carrying something closer to respect.

  Drayke, sitting in the passenger seat, scratched his head, struggling to put his admiration into words. Instead, all that came out was: "A sneaky bastard, you know that?"

  "Shut up!" Cassia snapped at him before she could stop herself.

  For a beat, the car fell into stunned silence. Then, all at once, they burst into laughter.

  The tension shattered, the weight of the night easing, if only slightly.

  Axel exhaled, relieved. The plan had worked out, but he knew there was no such thing as a perfect plan. It was all a gamble. What if Griffin never showed? What if Zane’s disguise had been blown too quickly?

  If anything had gone sideways, it would have fallen back on his own strength. He would have been forced to burn through all his life crystals just to stall for time—and even then, he could have ended up seriously injured.

  The SUV cruised out of the suburbs. Ahead, the city lights of Dune flickered in the distance. Everyone let out a quiet breath.

  Then— Sirens.

  A sharp wail cut through the night.

  Axel’s stomach twisted as four police cars sped toward them.

  Tires screeched. The black SUV was surrounded.

  A burly, slightly overweight officer stepped out of one of the vehicles, rapping his knuckles against the window.

  "Step out of the car," he ordered. "You're under suspicion for murder. Cooperate with the investigation. Do not resist."

  Other officers emerged behind him, hands gripping their holstered weapons, watching them with cautious hostility.

  Drayke swallowed hard, his hands yanked behind his back as cold steel locked around his wrists.

  "This—wait—Uncle Police, we’re good guys! We—ouch!" His protests died in a strangled yelp as the cuffs tightened. His face went pale.

  Something was off. In Dune—especially in the slums—gang fights were routine. Bodies turned up all the time.

  The night’s bloodshed had been brutal, sure. But it had all happened within the Ironfang Syndicate’s stronghold. There had been no witnesses.

  Who the hell would be stupid enough to call the cops? The pieces weren’t adding up.

  Still, Axel wasn’t panicked. None of his friends had actually killed anyone. That was key.

  As for himself—yes, he had killed Griffin. But he already had a way out of that situation. He could explain it.

  "Everyone, just cooperate," Axel said, scanning the officers. "Tell the truth, and we’ll sort this out." The moment the words left his mouth—

  "Shut the fuck up!" The fat officer snapped, glaring at him with naked hostility.

  Axel stilled.

  That reaction—that malice—was not standard protocol. And with that, he knew for certain: This wasn’t random. They were walking into a setup.

  .....

  "Boss, we’ve identified them. These four are recent graduates from Brookhaven High. Two of them are Awakened."

  Callum, the overweight officer, took a slow sip of his coffee, flipping through the files in his hands.

  Axel and his group had already been placed in separate interrogation rooms, waiting for questioning. But even now, Callum had no idea who the hell these kids really were.

  "Awakened, huh?" He scoffed, nearly spitting out his coffee.

  Callum had never given a damn about the Awakened. Sure, they had their privileges, and the department handled their cases with a lighter touch. But at the end of the day, they bled like everyone else.

  His eyes scanned Axel’s file. A name like that carried weight. The Axel who had ties to Wolfe’s downfall?

  Callum’s brows furrowed. He picked up his phone and made a few calls to his contacts in the department. No background. No powerful connections. Just some orphan from the slums who happened to get involved.

  The tension in his chest eased. His thoughts drifted to the man who had hired him for this job. Poor bastard. Some so-called city hero, completely unaware of the real rules of the game.

  Callum took another sip of coffee before flipping through the rest of the files. Nothing special. Just a bunch of kids who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  Satisfied, he stood up and walked toward the reception room, his usual slouch straightening into something more formal.