Chapter 50: Back To See Ravenhollow

The black sedan glided past the grand iron gates of Ravenhollow Academy without even slowing down. The security guards took one glance at the front bumper and immediately pressed the override, letting the tinted vehicle roll smoothly onto the pristine cobblestone driveway.

I furrowed my brows, leaning slightly toward the window as the familiar gothic spires of the campus came into view.

"What are we doing here?" I asked, turning a sharp side-eye toward Benjamin. "Didn’t you say you had an errand to run?"

Benjamin didn’t shift from his relaxed posture, his thumb still absently playing with the tip of my dark hair.

"I do," he replied smoothly. "Inside the academy. And you’re accompanying me."

I rolled my eyes hard, letting out an irritated scoff. I hadn’t expected to step foot back on this pathetic campus until the end of my suspension in three days. Yet here I was, dragged right back into the lion’s den.

I hated this place already—hated the pretentious atmosphere, hated the entitled pack heirs, and hated the memories of Brianna being pushed around these very courtyards.

Whatever, I thought, forcing my posture back into a cool, detached line. As long as I get access to those high-grade recovery pods and medical serums to fix this body’s core, I’ll play along. Even if it means running into a few insufferable nuisances.

Outside, the courtyard was packed. Students were lounging on the stone benches, practicing light sparring, and gossiping in groups between classes.

The moment the sleek, unmarked luxury sedan rolled to a halt in the central plaza—an area strictly forbidden for standard student vehicles—the entire courtyard fell into a curious hush.

Whispers rippled through the crowd like wildfire as eyes locked onto the front of the hood.

"Wait... look at the front grille," a girl whispered, nudging her friend furiously. "Is that... is that the crest of the Almond family?!"

"No way!" another chimed in, leaning forward with wide eyes. "The Almond family? Is that really the Almond Pack Heir’s car?!"

"I’ve never seen Benjamin Almond in person before! I heard he barely attends classes because of his condition!"

"He’s supposed to be ridiculously hot," a girl giggled, clutching her books tightly to her chest.

A nearby male student snorted, crossing his arms with a scowl. "Yeah, and possess a ridiculously hot temper. Don’t get too close unless you want your head bitten off."

The excitement in the plaza reached a fever pitch. Dozens of students began pooling around the edges of the driveway, eager to catch a glimpse of the notoriously reclusive, unhinged Almond heir stepping out of a High Pack vehicle.

Then, the rear door clicked open.

Benjamin stepped out first. The sunlight caught his messy dark hair and his sharp jawline as he adjusted his coat. A collective gasp echoed from the surrounding girls, several of them practically holding their breath as he stretched out his long arms.

With a lazy, arrogant smirk, Benjamin turned back toward the open car door, bowing his head slightly and extending his hand inside to offer me a polite escort out.

SMACK.

The loud sound of my hand striking his palm echoed across the quiet pavement.

Who did he think he was playing prince charming for? Once again, he was being too much.

"I can get down myself," I said flatly, stepping out of the vehicle on my own two feet without giving him a single glance. I smoothed down my top and adjusted the cap over my forehead, my gaze sweeping over the crowd with icy indifference.

The entire plaza went dead silent. The collective air vanished from the courtyard.

For three agonizing seconds, no one moved. Then, the shock erupted into a deafening wall of chaotic murmurs.

"No way..."

"Am I hallucinating?! Is that... is that Brianna?!"

"The wolfless Omega?! The clown of the whole school?"

"What the hell is she doing coming out of the Almond Heir’s car?!"

"Wasn’t she suspended after that incident at the cafeteria?! Why is she back early?!"

"Did she just... did she just slap Benjamin Almond’s hand away?!"

"Is she insane?! He’s going to tear her apart right there on the cobblestones!"

Karl Fletcher, who was sitting on a stone fountain near the main archway with his arm wrapped tightly in a hidden brace under his jacket, froze mid-drink. His eyes bulged out of his head as he stared at me, his jaw dropping so low it nearly hit his chest. The lingering agony in his cracked ribs flared up violently at the mere sight of my face, his face draining of all color.

I ignored the wide-eyed stares, the hysterical pointing, and the wave of hostile Beta pressure attempting to probe my frame.

Benjamin didn’t get mad at the slap. Instead, he rubbed the back of his struck hand with a low, amused chuckle, stepping right up beside me so close that his shadow completely engulfed mine once again.

"Look at this, Ms. Noisemaker" Benjamin drawled smoothly, his dark purple eyes sweeping over the frozen crowd with lethal, careless authority. "Everything about you always seems to be noisy."

I looked up at him with tired, unimpressed eyes. He seemed to completely forget that the crowd had formed around the car because of his family’s crest to begin with.

"Let’s just go," I sighed, pulling the brim of my cap down a fraction lower. "And I told you to call me by my name,"

Benjamin was arrogant, intensely entitled, and treated the world as if every breathing soul around him was beneath his boots. And yet, for some strange reason, he was putting up with me. He tolerated my cold shoulder, my sharp tongue, and now a public slap that would have made any other Alpha unleash a bloodthirsty aura to reclaim their pride.

Idiots like him don’t just take humiliation lying down, I thought as I turned toward the main entrance.

Just as I suspected, he wasn’t being soft. He was playing the long game—biding his time, studying my moves, and letting me build a false sense of security until he became the master of the board. The moment he found a crack in my defenses, he would pounce like the apex predator he was and devour me in a single, merciless bite.

Too bad for him, he was playing against a deadly assassin. He was trying to play a long game? Well, I knew how to play an even longer game.