While the pack was literally ripping each other apart, Violet and Lila quickly gathered all the containers, pastries, whatever they could manage, ignoring the bedlam erupting around them.
They stuffed the takeout boxes into their arms, balancing them precariously, and when it became clear they couldn’t grab more without toppling everything, they agreed it was time to go.
But there was one small tiny problem.
The fight had expanded, spilling into every corner of the cafeteria. The entrance was completely blocked with the pack members clashing in an all-out brawl, snarling and lunging at each other. If they tried to push through, they’d no doubt get dragged right into the brawl — and lose their food.
"We can’t go through the entrance," Lila said, reading her mind.
"There should be an emergency exit."
"That’ll be crowded too with the students trying to get away from this madness," Lila pointed out. "We can’t carry all this and fight for space." It was impossible.
Violet was frantically scanning for another route when her gaze landed on one of the cafeteria staff slipping through a side door—the kitchen.
She beckoned to Lila. "Follow me!"
Lila didn’t hesitate. The two of them hurried through the door, slipping into the kitchen, where the lingering scent of freshly baked bread and spices clung to the air. The staff members were huddled together, apparently debating how to handle the warzone happening just outside.
They barely had time to register the intruders before Violet and Lila were darting past them.
"Hey! Come back here!" one of them shouted, but their protests were met with only laughter as the girls bolted through the kitchen, weaving past countertops and industrial-sized pots.
And at last, they saw the back exit leading out into the open. Violet shoved the door open, and the two of them burst outside, landing in the cool, rain-slicked air.
They had exited near the back of the Silvered Court, but their destination was the front, where Roman’s car was waiting.
By some stroke of mercy—or perhaps Alaric had changed his mind—the downpour had tapered off, so they weren’t instantly drenched again.
It was not hard to find Roman’s car, not when it was so flashy even a blind man could find it. Violet pressed the car key fob, and immediately, the overhead lights blinked to life.
They threw open the doors and dumped their precious cargo—boxes of food, pastries, soups—onto the seats.
Then it hit Violet.
"Do you know how to drive?" she asked, suddenly realizing a major flaw in their escape plan.
Lila’s head popped out from where she was shoving her favorite croissants into a bag. Her response was ominous.
"I can’t."
Violet blinked. "Excuse me?"
Lila, unfazed, added, "But I’ve seen enough humans do it."
Violet swallowed. May the gods save their lives today.
But their problems didn’t just end there.
With the fight consuming the inside of the dinning hall, it meant students had spilled outside, and they noticed them.
"Isn’t that Alpha Roman’s car?"
All heads turned in their direction.
"That’s definitely his car."
"Wait—what the hell are the Rogues doing with it?"
And just when Violet thought the universe couldn’t hate her more, a disheveled, and enraged Sharon appeared out of nowhere. Her hair was a tangled mess, her face still smeared with remnants of food.
"Stop them at once! Don’t let them get away with that car!" she shrieked with venom in her eyes.
Before anyone could react, Violet tossed the keys to Lila who snatched them out of the air with infuriatingly cool accuracy.
With zero hesitation, they both jumped into the car with Violet sitting in the passenger seat, and Lila, the driver’s side.
For someone who claimed not to know how to drive, Lila turned the ignition like a pro and the car let out a thunderous roar, purring like a beast ready for carnage. Clearly, Roman knew his stuff.
The students in front of the car scrambled to form a makeshift barricade, but Lila narrowed her eyes with determination and hit the gas, accelerating straight for them.
"Lila..." Violet warned under her breath, pulse pounding.
Lila, however, didn’t flinch. Only at the last split second did the students realize she wasn’t slowing, and they leaped aside with panicked yells.
"You morons! Good for nothing!" Sharon yelled at the students who had chosen their life over dying for a useless cause.
But the real moment of satisfaction came when they saw Roman standing at the stairs of the Silvered Court. He looked like he had just walked out of a battlefield with bloodied cuts marking his face and arms, bruises already forming. And yet, despite all of the wounds, he was standing tall, his expression unreadable.
Violet rolled down the window. Then, with all the grace and pettiness of a queen, she stuck out her hand and flipped him off.
Roman said nothing. Did nothing. Instead, he stood there, watching them go, something indescribable flickering behind his eyes. And no one pursued them.
Lila drove on without pause, ignoring the stares of any bystanders, until they left the school’s smooth, graveled roads for the muddy path leading back to the shack.
Finally, they braked outside the house, and Lila slammed on the horn, announcing their glorious return.
Daisy and Ivy peered nervously out from the doorway, half-expecting some new kind of trouble to land at their feet. After all, they didn’t own a car, so the roar of an engine outside could mean nothing good. But the moment they recognized Violet and Lila stepping out, both let out a sigh.
"What took you two so long?" Ivy demanded, relief coloring her tone. "We were this close to thinking they’d persecuted you or something. We were already planning a rescue."
"Aww, that’s so sweet of you." Lila’s eyes crinkled with amusement. "They tried, but the Princess is unstoppable, and we brought you the food as promised." She handed Ivy a bag stuffed with buttery pastries. Ivy wasted no time biting into one, entirely forgetting to mind her manners. God, she was so hungry.
Meanwhile, Daisy, the more observant one, shifted her gaze from Violet to the "mysterious" car idling in front of their shack.
A dawning realization spread across her face. "That’s Roman Draven’s car, isn’t it?"
Violet nodded without hesitation.
Daisy’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. "What have you done this time, Violet Purple?"