Jane's POV
She sat down, picked up an apple from the breakfast crate, and took a loud, calm bite.Section E didn't even hesitate.
Keifer walked over and sat right next to her, followed by Cin, Felix, and the rest of the boys. I walked over, grabbing a piece of toast, and sat on her other side, completely ignoring the screaming family and the bewildered teachers.
We just started eating our breakfast in front of them.Ten minutes later, the heavy sound of a luxury SUV engine echoed from the dirt road behind the tents.
A tall, middle-aged man in a tailored charcoal suit hurried into the clearing. It was Cyrus's father—a prominent local businessman who held several supply contracts with the HVIS main campus.
The Holy Saint principal, who had just arrived with the guards, ran up to greet him. "Mr. Fernandes, thank goodness you're here, these students from Section E—"
The man didn't even look at the principal. His eyes scanned the clearing until they landed on Jay, who was calmly chewing her apple
.Cyrus's father walked directly past the teachers, past his crying daughter, and stood in front of his son. Without a single word of warning, he swung his arm back and delivered a massive, resounding slap across Cyrus's face that sent the boy back into the dirt.
"Dad?!" Tira gasped.
"Shut up!" the father roared, before turning his furious gaze down to his son. "Apologize to her. Right now!"
"But Dad, she—" Cyrus started, clutching his bleeding mouth."I said apologize!" the father screamed, his face purple.
He knew exactly whose phone call had initiated his sudden ruin if he didn't fix this. He literally grabbed Cyrus by the collar, dragging him forward until the boy was forced onto his knees in the dirt right in front of Jay's bench
Jay didn't even look up from her apple. She swallowed, then leaned back against the wooden log. "Next time," she said softly, her voice carrying a terrifying weight, "control your family. Because if they cross my path again, your business won't be the only thing that goes under."
The businessman bowed his head deeply, his forehead nearly touching his knees. "I understand, Miss Jean. It won't happen again."
He grabbed his son by the jacket, hauled him up, and dragged him toward the SUV, with his wife and daughter scurrying behind them like terrified mice.
The teachers and the principal stood there, completely stunned, before Sir Alvin cleared his throat, ordered everyone back to their respective duties, and hurried away to manage the fallout.
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Author's POV
The moment the SUV's tires screeched away from the campsite, the heavy, suffocating silence broke into a flurry of chaotic energy.
"Holy shit," Rory breathed, dropping his half-eaten biscuit onto his lap. "Jay, I knew you were scary, but you literally just broke a man's entire financial portfolio with a ten-second phone call. Can I borrow your phone next time I need to clear my student loans?"
"That slap though," Cin laughed, shaking his head as he poked at the dead embers with a stick. "The dad didn't even hesitate. Bam! Right in the kisser. That's peak family dynamics right there."
Blaster leaned over the back of the bench, grinning wildly. "And Jane! Those punches were clean. Who taught you how to throw a right hook like that? Tira didn't even see it coming!"
"I'm more impressed by the synchronized eye-roll," Rakki chimed in, leaning against a tree trunk. "You, Aries, and Jane did it at the exact same millisecond. It was like watching a rehearsed dance routine of pure, unadulterated contempt."
Eren nodded in agreement, a smirk playing on his lips. "It's in the blood, clearly. The 'don't-mess-with-us' gene is incredibly strong in that family."
Drew just shook his head, looking at Jay with a newfound level of reverence. "Note to self: never, under any circumstances, take the strict mom's apple or talk about her dog."
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Keifer's POV
My eyes never left the dark, mottled skin of her throat.The moment I had seen that hand-shaped bruise on Jay's neck, a cold, violent instinct had taken over my chest, squeezing my lungs until it was hard to breathe.
It wasn't a logical reaction; it was primal. When that older woman had stepped into the clearing and struck her face, my body had moved before my brain could even process the trajectory.
Standing in front of her, feeling her breath against my back as I gripped that girl's wrist, I realized something terrifying. I didn't care about the rules of this camp. I didn't care about the principal, or the reputation of Section E, or who Cyrus's family was. If any of them had managed to lay another hand on her, I would have broken them.
Then Aries had stepped up. I watched the brother take his place beside us, his face a wall of stone. I saw the raw, unchecked fury in Jane's eyes as she defended her sister, her fists swinging with an intensity that surprised everyone. But my focus remained anchored to the girl sitting on the bench.
When Jay started laughing—that sharp, beautiful, mocking laugh—I felt my lips pull into a smirk. She wasn't a victim. She was a queen hiding in the woods, completely aware of her power.
Watching her take a bite out of that apple while a powerful businessman knelt in the dirt before her made my heart hammer against my ribs in a completely different way.
I was sinking deeper into whatever this feeling was, and I had absolutely no desire to pull myself out.Before Aries turned to disappear back down the main trail, he paused near our bench.
He didn't look at Jay directly, keeping his eyes fixed on the trees. "Don't think I did that to protect you," he said, his voice clipped and dry. "It was for Jane. And for Angelo's sanity."
Jay didn't even look up from her food. "I think so too," she murmured.
I watched Aries walk away, his shoulders tense. He cared about her. It was obvious in the way he had punched Cyrus without a second thought. But why did he hide it behind so many layers of ice? What had happened between these siblings that made love look so much like war?
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Yuri's POV
I had spent the last twenty minutes standing near the edge of the clearing, completely frozen, my eyes fixed entirely on Jane.I had seen her last night—soft, mesmerizing, her voice lifting into the night air like a prayer during that song.
I had felt myself falling then, attracted to the gentle, artistic soul she seemed to carry. But today?
Today I saw the fire.When she lunged at Tira, her face contorted in pure, protective fury, my heart hadn't just skipped a beat—it had completely altered its rhythm.
The way she stood up for Jay, her voice steady and fierce as she revealed the truth about what Cyrus had tried to do to her three years ago, made something shift permanently inside me.
She was fierce. She was dangerous when it came to the people she loved.Watching her sit back down on the bench, her knuckles slightly red, casually chewing on her toast as if she hadn't just dismantled a girl's face and a guy's pride, I found myself leaning against the wooden post, a slow smile spreading across my face.
She was a complete mystery—one minute a siren singing under the stars, the next a fighter tearing through anyone who threatened her sister. Jay's warning from last night echoed in my head: Don't hurt her.