Page 5

CHAPTER 5

ZAIDEN

M etal scraped against metal as I yanked open my locker. The bang echoed through the room. I slung my bag over my shoulder before throwing it closed again.

Sterling slammed his locker shut at the same time. The sound rang like a gunshot.

Silent, we moved toward the exit, our footsteps matching the rhythm of my pulse. Too fast. Too hard.

"I haven't seen Ariella today. Did last night work?"

Rolling my eyes, I shouldered through the swinging locker room door into Sports Alley—the central tunnel connecting all the coed locker rooms at Westbrook.

Unlike other schools, Westbrook prioritized athletics above everything else. You could tell from the moment you stepped inside, with an entire massive building dedicated solely to their sports programs. Each team had its own dedicated space, though they all shared a unique arrangement. While the locker rooms were technically coed, they were designed with girls' lockers on one side and boys' on the other, with shared amenities like showers in between. Football players shared with cheerleaders and the dance team. Hockey players with figure skaters. Basketball players had their own dance team and cheerleading squad.

"No." The word came out rough. "Her car was in student parking this morning."

"So you're letting this go?" Sterling asked.

A laugh escaped me. Cold. Empty.

"No." I met his eyes. The plan had been forming all night, each detail clicking into place like the blade of a knife. "I have something better in mind."

"Looks like she already belongs to the football team," Sterling said, and I lifted my gaze, following his line of sight.

The football team's coed locker room was diagonal to the hockey team's locker room.

"Is she on the dance team?" Sterling adjusted his Westbrook Predator's ball cap, and I nodded. "Ah, come on, man, you're not only going to try to start a feud with her. You're going to put the whole hockey team against the football team this year." Sterling warned, his voice dropping. "You know the rules."

I knew them all too well. The invisible boundaries that kept the peace. Hockey claimed the figure skaters. Basketball, the hip-hop dancers. And football? They guarded their half-time dancers and cheerleaders like crown jewels.

I just didn't care.

My gaze followed Ariella in her tight black leggings and white Predator dance team tank top as she walked down the hall next to Elijah, also known as EJ Anderson, the quarterback of the Westbrook Predators, with most of the team surrounding them.

Ariella's hair was pulled up loosely in a ponytail that swayed back and forth as she walked, and my cock stiffened. Apparently, it did not understand the assignment.

"Don't worry," I smirked, not taking my eyes off Ariella as she hiked her bag higher on her shoulder and threw her head back on a laugh. My jaw tightened with annoyance, and I couldn't explain why. Maybe because she was here laughing and Kacie wasn't, or maybe because he made her smile like that. "It will be her decision."

"Yeah, I doubt that." He stepped in line with me as I picked up my speed. "It was her and Kacie's dream to be on that dance team. She's not quitting."

"She doesn't have to," I said. "She just has to tell them she belongs to me."

"Right," he said, drawing out the word.

"I'll catch you later." I waved him off as I bolted for the football team.

"Knight."

Adrian Donovan's voice cut through the hall. The wide receiver's call silenced the group. One by one, heads turned.

The conversation died.

Ariella's bright blue eyes found mine, ice against fire.

"Hockey team showing up this weekend?" Adrian asked, breaking the silence.

"We'll be there." Every year, one of the teams hosted a massive blowout party at the beginning of each season, and we were heading into football season. It was the only party where all the teams participated together. "But I need to borrow Ariella for a minute."

Elijah slid a protective arm around her neck, and my jaw flexed. "Sorry, man, Ari is part of the team."

"Yeah, bro," Kai Morgan, a linebacker for the Westbrook Predators, said. "Maybe you didn't hear, but she's on the dance team."

"And maybe you didn't hear she's my new stepsister."

"We didn't, but now isn't a good time," Elijah said. "We are headed to a meeting on the field. I'm sure you'll catch up tonight at home."

"Yeah, man." Sterling's fingers dug into my shoulder, his grip just shy of painful. His brown eyes flashed a warning. I hadn't realized he'd followed me. "I'm sure you two can catch up later."

"Sure." The words slid between my teeth as our eyes locked. "I'll catch you tonight, Ariella."

Her jaw flexed.

She squared her shoulders and coiled an arm around Elijah's waist. "Go to hell, Zaiden."

"Ohhh," Adrian's voice cut through the tension. "Fighting with the little sis." His laugh echoed down the hallway. "See ya at the party, bro."

Their laughter faded as they moved toward the field. But I caught it—the glance Ariella threw over her shoulder. Uncertain. Wary.

Good. She should be.

"Zaid." Sterling's voice dropped. A warning. "Do you even know what game you're playing?"

I watched until she disappeared around the corner, the memory of her defiance burned in my chest.

"Trust me. After tonight, Ariella Ledger will learn exactly who's in charge." My fists unclenched, one finger at a time. "She will learn exactly who she belongs to."