Xena''s POV


    *Here! I found these two. Hopefully they''ll work!" Luma Kestrel approached me with a warm smile, holding out two duffel bags.


    "Perfect! These wille in handy. Our stuff wouldn''t fit in just my backpack. I really appreciate it," I said, genuinely grateful for her help.


    "Anytime, dear. I need to get going though."


    "So do we," Ryder said, practically shoving me toward the door. "Bye I called out, waving to his mother as Ryder nodded curtly and mmed the door behind us.


    Our car was already waiting out front. As we drove away, I noticed Ryder''s posture bing increasingly rigid. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel, his eyes taking on an intensity that would make most people cower. I could sense this wasn''t just about beingte-we weren''t even running behind. I ced my hand on Ryder''s thigh, the tension in his muscles obvious beneath my fingertips.


    Ryder pulled into the school parking lot at exactly 8:30. Logan was waiting by the entrance, his stance alert and watchful.


    "Hey, X, Logan said, pulling me into a hug that felt different than usual-heavier somehow, filled with an emotion that immediately set off rm bells in my head.


    "How are you?" I asked, trying to disguise the worry in my voice.


    "Had better days." Logan sighed, draping his arm protectively over my shoulders as we walked inside. The gesture reminded me of when we were kids, how he''d always shield me whenever danger lurked nearby.


    "Where''s Penelope?" I asked quietly, already dreading the answer.


    "At home. I need to go to the bank to handle some things," he replied, his voice carefully controlled.


    I frowned in confusion, my brow furrowing. "That''s Dad''s job..." We reached my locker, and I began unloading my stuff after


    unlocking it.


    "It''s mine now." Logan shrugged, while he and Ryder kept scanning our surroundings, like they were expecting something to happen


    at any moment.


    "Why would Dad have you doing that?" I started banging around in my locker, the uneasiness growing heavier in my chest, like a stone pressing down.


    "Don''t worry about it," Logan said dismissively.


    I finally finished clearing out my locker, and just as I was about to close it,


    realization hit me like a punch to the gut. "You''re taking


    over as Alpha, aren''t you?"


    Logan slowly turned to face me. The pain in his eyes broke my heart. "It''s in progress."


    "That means..." A heavy sense of foreboding washed over me. Dad''s words echoed in my head as I started connecting the dots. My heart raced, my finger trembling slightly. "He''s throwing Martha out isn''t he?"


    Logan clenched his jaw as he looked at me. Ryder remained vignt, scanning our surroundings, though asionally ncing my way. "This isn''t the ce to discuss that."


    "Ryder''s right. Grab your stuff and let''s get out of here,” Logan said, icking up my bag.


    "We still need to go to Ama''s locker, I muttered, my voice barely audible.


    We walked in silence until we reached it. I''d known herbination for years. Opening her locker and clearing it out was easy. But tucked in the corner of the door was a photo. It was all of us from about three years ago. Logan and I were in the middle. Ama stood on Logan''s other side, Samuel next to me, and Leonard beside him. We were all smiling. It was taken at the pond, so we were in swimsuits, carefree and having fun.


    My eyes fell on the ck and blue bruise on my hip. Martha had pushed me down the stairs the day before, and the bruise was still fresh, not yet healed. The memories crashed over me like wayes, and could almost feel the pain returning to my body. But what hurt more was knowing those days were gone forever.


    "What''s that?" Logan asked.


    "That day at the pond," I said, handing him the photo. A sad smile spread across his face. Ryder leaned in for a quick look before returning to his "sentinel" position.


    "That was a fun day," Logan said, handing the photo back to me.


    "Yeah." I closed Ama''s locker, and we headed toward the office.


    "I ran into Samuel''s dad this morning," Logan said hesitantly.


    Oh?" I wasn''t sure I wanted to hear this. My stomach twisted nervously, the shadows of the past refusing to leave no matter how


    far I ran.


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