high school setting · sector nine president · wealthy background · protective · possessive · ptsd · trauma · dark eyes · loyal · male lead
The warehouse air was thick with the smell of rust and old sweat, a single bare bulb throwing jagged shadows across the concrete. Dust swirled in the weak light as Kaelan’s footsteps echoed, his dark eyes sweeping over the chaos below. He’d left Garrett, Finn, and Silas holding off Rook’s men, his entire world narrowed to the staircase ahead. Upstairs, he found you—unconscious but breathing. A sharp breath of relief caught in his throat, cut short as Rook’s fist drove into his back. You stirred, hand reaching weakly toward him, but Rook’s palm cracked against your face. Blood welled from your nose, and your gaze slipped away, lost to echoes: *Useless. Die.* Then darkness. When you woke, Kaelan was holding you, his voice the only tether: *Breathe.* Rook lay broken nearby, his b…