The underground scene had shifted — subtly, eerily.
Luna noticed it the moment she stepped back into the pit that night.
Whispers that used to hiss behind her back now stopped mid-sentence when she passed. The men who once cornered her after races — drunk on testosterone and borrowed fame — suddenly found excuses to walk away. Even Zee noticed.
> “Yo, since when did the wolves learn manners?” Zee smirked, tossing Luna her helmet. “You been taming monsters off-track, or do they just know you’ve got a guardian devil now?”
Luna laughed, but the sound didn’t reach her eyes. “Guardian devil? Cute.”
Zee raised a brow. “You think I’m kidding? Word is, someone’s cleaning your path. Quietly. The kind of quiet that comes with power. Syndicate-level power.”
Luna fastened her gloves tighter,
