Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 130512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Nea and Amber were okay. Aurelia, though, was a different thing.
Axel grinned when he saw me, laughing to himself as he launched himself into the pool, pulling off an impressive backflip.
I glared at Aurelia. “You.”
Nea and Amber’s mouths dropped open silently.
Aurelia’s face twisted. “You. What are you doing here?”
I took a seat at their table. “Traine mentioned it.”
“He didn’t tell us you were coming.” She sat stiffly, her eyebrows permanently stuck halfway up her forehead. It was a weird expression.
I had another sip. This drink was good. “Why? Wouldn’t have come if you knew I was here? Scared?”
Her face got red and she gripped the table. “As if. You don’t scare me, Maddy Kade. Your grandpa’s—” She choked on her words because my hand was at her throat.
There was a beat of quiet. No one expected me to grab her throat. It would take a minute before their brains could make sense of what they were seeing. I was going to make the most of their shock.
“You’re going to stop lying,” I told her, squeezing.
She began choking, trying to stand up.
I was strong. Like, really strong, and I kept her in place. I know, I know. Girls aren’t supposed to be that strong, but what could I say? When she tried to stand up, it was easy to keep her in place.
Then she forgot about trying to stand up and began tugging at my hand. Her nails scraped my skin, but I took a beat to have another sip of my drink.
Really good stuff.
Also, I wasn’t hurting her that much. She wouldn’t have bruises or anything.
Nea and Amber finally comprehended that I was choking their friend and they shoved to their feet, yelling at me, but they didn’t come over to me. They were too scared, and honestly, if I wasn’t myself, I’d be scared of me too. Or at least nervous.
This wasn’t a normal girl move. But again, story of my life.
Aurelia gasped for air.
A part of me, deep in the back of my mind, couldn’t help but note that maybe this was wrong of me to do. Of course this wasn’t right, but I wasn’t really thinking about it in those terms. I was more evaluating myself. Why did this feel so natural? Like it was in my DNA.
It wasn’t normal.
Was I a psychopath? A sociopath? I didn’t feel anything about doing this to Aurelia. She was annoying, and she was a liar, and she was a problem. I was just shutting her up. Literally. She’d think twice before shooting her mouth off about my family in the future.
That’s why I was doing this.
Huh.
She kept trying to dig her nails into my hands, trying to get me to let her go. Nea and Amber were crying now. I heard a splash of water and then, “What the fuck?”
There was a pounding of feet from behind me.
My fun was about to end so I gave her a last squeeze. Her eyes bulged out, but I was ripped away. A pair of arms encircled me, lifted me up and carried me away from the table. Beltraine was at Aurelia’s side, patting her back as she slumped forward, gasping for breath. He soothed her, but his gaze was locked on me.
Everyone was watching me, different expressions on all of their faces. The girls looked terrified of me. The guys… I couldn’t make out their thoughts. Traine gave me a look as if I just turned green in front of him.
I frowned to myself, feeling like I should feel something about that. Satisfaction? Regret? I felt nothing.
Whoever pulled me off Aurelia continued to carry me a good distance away before setting me down. It was Axel, I realized when he moved to stand in front of me, a hand on my arm like he needed to hold me back. Steele moved to stand between me and the girls, blocking my view. He scowled at me.
What was his problem? “What? Is she your girlfriend? You don’t want me to harm a hair on her head?” I rolled my eyes, lifting my drink back to my mouth. Satisfaction pulsed through me because hell yeah. I’d kept hold of my cup. That seemed like something to be impressed about.
“She’s not my girlfriend.” Steele moved toward me a step. “I don’t give a fuck if you stab the bitch. Choke her out all you want.”
A ripple moved through me, and I frowned, not totally recognizing what that ripple was. “Then what’s your problem?”
He didn’t reply.
Axel cleared his throat, letting go of me.
That’s when Aurelia decided to finally say something. “You bitch!” She shrieked. She flew at me, but the guys caught her.
Excitement raced through me. “Let her go.”
The guys’s mouths dropped.
I laughed, tipping my head to finish the rest of my drink. I flashed Traine a grin. “You’re right. This is fun.” I didn’t catch his reaction, but I eyed Aurelia’s neck. There was no mark from me. My mouth turned down.