Yanin Roven didn't believe in fate. She believed in preparations, in strength, and in herself. Fate was just what people called the consequences of poor planning or what people used to subtly manipulate others.
So, when the richest person in school handed her a golden envelope and told her that it was "her fate" and "her duty" to make a difference, she scoffed.
She wanted to decline but the girl in front of her offered her a deal she couldn't refuse.
"I'll save your mother. The Valeine Family has the best hospitals in this city. All expenses paid. Whatever price you want, just write it down. I want you, Yanin." Mico held out a blank check, all she had to was to accept.
And she did.
But on the day of the meeting, she came across someone unexpected.
Axel Lycan
Axel was annoying. He was someone that she couldn't figure out. He was casual and outgoing, but so…detached. Like if he was staring at a bunch of characters in a videogame rather than real people. He was always so calm and collected like nothing could faze him.
But there was one thing she respected about him. The fact that he would never bow his head in the face of oppression and maybe that's why she paid so much attention to him.
Seeing him struggle with the guard, she threw him a bone.
"He's with me"
He followed her in like he belonged there. Like he was meant to be there. When she looked at him and asked if he had an invite, he didn't even blink before lying to her face. So casually. So smoothly. The audacity made her spine prickle.
And still… she let him in.
For reasons she hadn't yet decided on.
Maybe she was bored. Maybe curious. Maybe something about the pure defiant confidence in his posture annoyed her just enough to want him in the room, just to watch him fall on his face.
But he didn't.
He sat down naturally. Held his gaze steady, even as the whispers started. She wasn't surprised that Mico didn't intervene. Even that cunning fox would get bored and Axel was merely entertainment to her disguised as her goodwill.
And when Cael Dravik finally opened his smug mouth to spit the inevitable challenge… Axel didn't flinch.
If anything, he looked like he was waiting for it.
She knew Cael's type. Wealthy, privileged, and loud. The kind of boy who always assumed the world was beneath his heel just because of the family crest stitched onto his collar.
She hated people like that.
But this wasn't about Cael.
It was about Axel..
Mico led them to the training room. It was a sleek, fortified space, the kind of place designed for real fights, not schoolyard sparring. Most of the room followed, drawn like moths to the tension.
His posture was too loose for a beginner. His gaze too observant. Calm, but never idle. A quiet storm pretending to be a breeze.
Still, she wasn't prepared for what came next.
The moment the fight started, it was clear Cael had underestimated him. Everyone had.
Axel didn't even hesitate. His movements were exact. Efficient. Not showy, not wild, just brutal. She could feel the difference immediately. There was no warmup, no buildup. It was like watching someone unshackle a blade they kept buried underneath shirt.
Strike. Dodge. Crack.
He let Cael breathe, but only just enough. It wasn't a duel.
It was judgment.
Yanin watched in silence as Cael faltered. Again. Again. His weapon went flying, and that should've been the end of it.
But Axel didn't stop.
The air shifted, heavy and wrong. The spar ended. What followed was rage.
He grabbed Cael by the collar and hit him. Once. Twice. A third time.
The sound echoed. Blood stained the floor.
The others shouted, but no one moved. Maybe they were too stunned. Maybe they were afraid.
Axel was desperate, so fucking desperate. Yanin knew how that felt. The pain and the anguish that hit her once she found out that the only living person in her family was diagnosed with an incurable disease.
Her body moved before her brain did. She didn't remember reaching him, only the feel of his wrist under her fingers. Hot. Tense. Shaking with fury. Mana sparked around her hand, not to attack, but to steady.
"Enough," she said.
He didn't hear her.
So she pressed harder.
"Axel."
This time, he paused.
His face turned to hers, wild and lost, eyes wide like he didn't recognize her. Like he wasn't even in the same room anymore.
This wasn't bloodlust; it was pain disguised as wrath.
"Axel," she said one last time, softer now.
And he stopped.
His hand dropped. The fight was over.
The silence afterward was thick. Cael was dragged out like a broken doll. Mico declared the meeting over, her tone unreadable.
But Yanin didn't move.
She stayed behind, watching Axel stand alone in the center of the room. Dust on his hoodie. Blood on his knuckles. His shoulders trembling with something he couldn't—or wouldn't—name.
He didn't look victorious.
He looked haunted.
And for the first time since meeting him… she didn't feel annoyed.
She felt something that unnerved her even more.
Concern.
At the doorway, just before she left, she turned back. His eyes weren't on her, but she said it anyway.
"You looked like someone else back there."
She didn't know why she said it.
She just knew it was true.
And for the first time in years
Yanin wasn't sure she was the most dangerous person in the room.