Hallow's Edge

Chapter 10 - Lily

Noah Connor dumping me was not part of the plan. I pace down the hallway toward the library, nails digging into my palms, fury simmering under my skin. He wasn’t supposed to end things. Not yet. Not until everything was in place. Not until my father said so. My father is going to lose his mind when he hears about this.

Noah was supposed to stay close. Distracted. Blind. Too busy with football and his perfect little life to notice anything strange happening in Hallow’s Edge. Too wrapped around my finger to pay attention to the signs. Too focused on me to protect the Warren Heir when they finally arrived.

Except now? Now he’s free. Alert. And worse, interested in someone else.

Her. Raven. The new girl. The foster sister. The nobody. Except… she isn’t a nobody. I can feel it. There’s something off about her. Something that makes the air shift when she walks by. Something that makes Noah look at her like she hung the moon. He’s never looked at anyone like that. Not even me. And I hate her for it.

I reach the library doors and stop, taking a breath. I need to get Noah back under control. Fast. Before my father finds out. Before the plan falls apart. Before the Heir slips through our fingers. I push the door open. There she is. Raven stands with Emily and Drake, laughing softly at something Emily said. She looks… normal. Harmless. But the moment her eyes lift and meet mine, something cold curls in my stomach. She knows I’m here. She feels it. Good.

I step forward, letting the door slam behind me. The sound echoes through the library, and all three of them turn. Raven straightens, her expression shifting from surprise to caution. I smile. Not a friendly smile. A warning.

“Well,” I say, my voice sweet as poison. “Aren’t you settling in fast.” Raven doesn’t answer. Emily stiffens beside her. Drake frowns. And I take another step forward, ready to tear into the girl who ruined everything. Ready to remind her exactly who she’s dealing with.

Raven is calm. Too calm. Standing there with her stupid thrift‑store cardigan and her quiet little smile like she isn’t ruining everything. Like she isn’t the reason Noah walked away from me. Like she isn’t the reason my father’s plan is falling apart. The calmness pisses me off more than anything.

I step closer, letting my heels click sharply against the library floor. “Back off,” I hiss. “Noah belongs to me.” Emily gasps. Drake mutters something under his breath. But Raven? Raven just looks at me. Not scared. Not flustered. Just… steady. And then she laughs. Actually laughs. The sound slices through me like a blade.

“What’s so funny?” I snap.

“You,” she says simply.

My jaw tightens. “Excuse me?”

Raven shrugs, turning back to the book in her hands like I’m not worth her time. “We’re in high school. People break up. It happens. But I’m not the reason he ended things.”

I scoff. “Right.”

She lifts her eyes again, calm as ever. “Noah is my foster brother. There are rules we have to follow. All of us. So whatever story you’ve made up in your head? It’s not real.” Emily’s eyes widen. Drake looks impressed. I feel heat crawl up my neck. She’s lying. She has to be lying. Noah wouldn’t just leave me for no reason.

I take a step closer, voice dropping to a venomous whisper. “You’re a nobody. No one wants you. Not even your real parents.” I expect her to cry. To crumble. To run.

Instead, something shifts. Her expression hardens. Her eyes, normally a soft, stormy gray, flare with a flash of red. Red. A chill races down my spine. Before I can react, a gust of wind slams through the library, out of nowhere, knocking books off shelves and shoving me backward. I stumble, hitting the floor hard, breath knocked out of me.

“What the...”

The wind dies instantly. Raven stands frozen, chest rising and falling, eyes still glowing faintly. And then...

“No.” A voice cuts through the air. Noah.

He appears beside her like he teleported, stepping between us, his hands gently gripping Raven’s arms, grounding her, calming her. Her eyes fade back to normal the second he touches her. He looks at her like she’s the only thing in the room. And for the first time since this whole mess started… I feel afraid.

"Noah, what are you doing? I'm your girlfriend, and you're checking on her? She pushed me!" I shout as I get to my feet. Noah still has his back to me, speaking softly to HER. When he finally turns around, I wish he hadn't. My sweet Noah, the boy who was hopelessly in love with me, was gone. This Noah, this Noah was something else, something dark. It was sexy as hell, but it also made me want to pee myself.

"I told you to stay away from Raven. I told you that breaking up with you wasn’t about her; it was about you, Lily. You’ve changed, or at the very least, stopped pretending to be someone you’re not around me. This is the last time I’m saying it: stay the f**k away from me, and stay the f**k away from Raven."

He turned back to the table to check on them, saying he needed to get back to practice before his coach noticed he’d been gone too long. He gave Raven one last look before walking out of the library. I watched him leave, then turned back to the three at the table. I wanted to b***h slap Raven, but decided to walk away for now. I needed to rethink this. She might be more than just a foster sister; she might be the heir.