RIVAL’S POV
You ever feel the air shift before a storm?
Yeah.
That’s how the night felt.
Thick. Suffocating. Like the walls were holding their breath.
And so was I.
It’d been two days since I left the note in the vent — one word: “Watching.” Whoever was on the other side hadn’t taken the bait. Not yet. But tonight... something changed.
Even Shadow the new one could feel it. He looked at me different — like he knew something was on its way. Like he could smell it in my sweat. Hell, maybe he could.
"You’re shaking like a cat," he muttered that morning, lounging in his usual half-broken chair. “Means trouble’s brewing.”
I didn’t answer. I was already lacing my boots tighter than usual.
I’d been waiting for the enemy to move.
Didn’t think they’d come walking right to me.
It was lat
