Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 114617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 573(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
“What?” I cried. Two demerits in the first half an hour?! “Why? I didn’t do anything.”
“Incorrect. You did three things. You shifted indoors—an act that is expressly forbidden as it says in the rulebook. You injured a student. And you were passing notes in my class like a twelve-year-old instead of paying attention like the adult you’re supposed to be. Inattention and causing a disruption are both against the rules, and again, that’s in the rulebook you were supposed to read.
“So don’t go around claiming I’m abusing my power.” The douchebag smiled right in my face. “You are being held to the same standards as everyone else, mother wolf. Likely for the first time in your pampered princess life.”
Crying out, I doubled over—clutching my shoulder.
“Cease your dramatics,” Hall barked, “and get out of my classroom.”
I didn’t argue. Gritting my teeth, I grabbed my stuff and ran out into the hall. I ignored the flow of students rushing about, and yelling at me for getting in their way, and strained my neck to see.
There were three, bloodless gashes raked across my shoulder blade.
“What the hell—?” Suddenly, it came back to me. “I swear on Luame that I will not kill, maim, or harm my chosen fates.”
I bit off a curse. This! This was why people didn’t go around making promises in the goddess’s name! I didn’t even mean to hurt Nyx. He was the asshole playing keep-away with my note.
I stormed off, ignoring the sniggering at my new, unfashionable forest dress. I wasn’t mad at Nyx. I wasn’t even mad at Badr or that douchebag Hall. What was really pissing me off was that my play didn’t work.
I went over-the-top protecting the note because I didn’t want Badr seeing what Paxton wrote about his brother. That would get the lone omega thrown out of their little brotherhood, and then Paxton would resent me.
No, what I wanted was for Paxton to see me fight to protect their little fivesome. I wanted him to keep thinking I was justified in killing Castor. I wanted him to believe I was misunderstood, and he was the only one who saw the true, kind, sweet me. I wanted him to trust that I had a good reason for everything I do. A reason he didn’t need to know. He just had to trust.
I wanted this because it occurred to me that a water wolf would come in handy for anyone looking to poison an alpha, or more.
I blew into Leadership and Diplomacy, finding the classroom much the same as Hall’s except a tall woman with reddish-brown hair and thick glasses stood at the front.
There was also a desk between my fates—whole and waiting for me.
The instructor glanced up. “My goodness, girl. What on earth are you wearing?”
“Do you like it?” I spun on my heels, flashing Nyx a grin. “My sweet, precious fate made it for me. It seemed wrong to change.” I pulled out my chair to sit.
“I made this for you too.”
My butt hit the seat, and something snapped. Tipping sideways, the chair threw me flat on my face. Next to me, the wooden desk aged and rotted before my eyes. In a blink, it was a broken, crumbled mess.
I flailed and kicked righting myself and scrambling away from the mound of termite food that used to be my desk. All around me, the class laughed uproariously.
“Oh no,” Badr crowed, smug as shit. “Not another accident. Hope it doesn’t happen again.”
I shoved up, growls leaking through my teeth. I told myself before all this started that I wouldn’t let anything anyone said or did get to me. But I didn’t take into account that anyone who was meant to be my soulmate had to be as relentless as me.
“Just where you belong,” Nyx said, winking at me. “Flailing around on a pile of garbage like the cockroach you are.”
“I’ll shove this where this belongs,” I bellowed, snatching up a rotting chair leg. “Don’t think you’re tough now that you’ve finally crawled out of the hole you’ve been pissing and cowering in for the last year.”
Nyx’s grin didn’t go anywhere. “I’m feeling pretty good outside of my hole, because you’re not shoving that anywhere.” He clicked his tongue, jerking his chin. “Those are some interesting marks on your back. Should I guess how you got them?”
I stiffened. This guy was smart. Damn you, Luame! Would it have killed you to give me the empty-headed himbo that he looks like?
“Go ahead, Volana.” Nyx stood, turned, and shook his ass in my face. “What’s the hesitation? Get to shoving.”
The guy was dropping it like it was hot right there in the middle of class. Everyone was laughing so hard, one guy fell out of his chair.
“Can’t believe Mom expected me to drop out of school when she heard Daciana Volana came,” wheezed a girl next to me. “No way I was missing this.”