Angelina’s POV

The classroom went dead silent.

Kai Matthews stood in the doorway like he owned the place. Which, technically, he kind of did—at least in the high school hierarchy.

I knew exactly who he was. Aria’s memories filled in the blanks automatically.

Fifteen years old. Captain of the football team. Student council president. Son of Marcus Matthews, Alpha of Meadow Pack. Six-foot-two, dark brown hair, amber eyes that probably made half the girls in school weak at the knees.

And the guy who’d humiliated Aria so badly she’d stopped coming to school for three days.

He scanned the chaos—Ms. Wilson collapsed in her chair, Mr. Davis nursing his wrist, me standing in the middle of it all. His eyes landed on me and stayed there.

“What the hell is going on here?”

His voice had that natural authority thing. The kind that made people automatically straighten up and pay attention.

I didn’t move.

“Aria attacked me!” Mr. Davis gestured at his wrist. “She knows some kind of martial arts or—I don’t even know what that was!”

Kai’s eyes narrowed. “Aria?”

The way he said my name—Aria’s name—dripped with disbelief.

Yeah. The girl who’d written him that pathetic love letter. The girl who couldn’t even look him in the eye in the hallways. That Aria.

He took a step into the room. Two of his teammates followed—both big, both wearing the same letterman jackets.

“Is this true?” Kai looked at Ms. Wilson.

She nodded frantically. “She’s been completely out of control! First she assaulted Logan, then she refused to go to the office, and when Mr. Davis tried to escort her, she—she did something to his arm—”

“I defended myself,” I cut in.

Kai’s attention snapped back to me. “Defended yourself?”

“He grabbed me first.”

“That’s not—” Mr. Davis started.

“It is,” I said flatly. “You reached for me. I told you not to touch me. You did it anyway.”

Kai studied me. I could see him trying to reconcile this version of Aria with the one he knew.

“You put your hands on a teacher,” he said slowly.

“After he put his hands on me.”

“That’s not how this works.”

“Then explain how it works.” I crossed my arms. “Because from where I’m standing, the rules seem pretty flexible depending on who’s breaking them.”

His jaw tightened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means—” I gestured at him and his teammates. “When you guys show up late to class, nobody says anything. When you’re on your phones during lectures, teachers pretend not to notice. But I have one incident and suddenly it’s a federal case?”

One of his teammates snorted. “Are you serious right now?”

“Dead serious.”

Kai took another step forward. “You don’t get to compare yourself to us.”

“Why not?” I asked. “What makes you so special?”

His eyes flashed amber. Just for a second. The wolf showing through.

“You really want to go there?” His voice dropped lower.

“I asked the question, didn’t I?”

Around us, the other students had their phones out. Recording everything.

This was going to be all over social media in about five minutes.

Ms. Wilson stood up shakily. “Aria, that’s enough—”

“No.” Kai held up a hand, cutting her off. His eyes never left mine. “Let her talk. I want to hear this.”

The challenge in his voice was clear.

He expected me to back down. To apologize. To remember my place in the hierarchy.

Aria would have. Aria would’ve been crying by now.

But I wasn’t Aria.

“You think you can just walk in here and take over?” I asked. “Act like you’re in charge?”

“I am in charge.” He said it like it was a fact. Like the sky being blue. “I’m student council president. That makes me responsible for maintaining order in this school.”

“Bullshit.”

The word hit like a slap.

Ms. Wilson gasped. “Aria Sterling!”

I ignored her. “You’re not here because of responsibility. You’re here because you like the power trip.”

Kai’s expression darkened. “Watch your mouth.”

“Or what?”

He moved fast. Closed the distance between us in two strides, using his height to loom over me.

Classic intimidation tactic.

“You need to learn some respect,” he said quietly.

“And you need to back off.”

I didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Just stared right up at him.

His amber eyes widened slightly. Like he couldn’t quite believe what was happening.

The entire classroom held its breath.

“Aria—” Logan’s voice cracked. “Maybe you should—”

“Stay out of this,” Kai snapped, not looking away from me.

I could feel it now. That pressure in the air. Alpha presence.

He was pushing it at me. Not full strength—we were in a classroom, after all—but enough to make his point.

My body should’ve reacted. Should’ve felt the instinctive urge to lower my eyes, to bare my throat, to show submission.

Instead, I felt nothing.

Because I’d been a stronger Alpha than he could ever dream of being.

“I said back off,” I repeated.

His jaw clenched. “You’re making a mistake.”

“The only mistake here is you thinking I’m impressed by your little power play.”

One of his teammates moved closer. “Dude, who does she think she is?”

“I think I’m someone who’s tired of your bullshit,” I said, still not breaking eye contact with Kai. “And I think if you don’t get out of my face in the next three seconds, we’re going to have a problem.”

The room erupted in whispers.

“Oh my god—”

“She’s insane—”

“Someone’s about to get destroyed—”

Kai leaned in closer. Close enough that I could see the gold flecks in his amber eyes.

“You don’t want to threaten me,” he said softly. “Trust me.”

“That wasn’t a threat. That was a fact.”

For a long moment, neither of us moved.

Then—

“FUCK!”

The shout came from the back of the room.