Bash was met with loud calls from friends while I was met with so many side-eyes, I couldn’t keep count. Gazes moved over me and down to where our hands were firmly clasped together, then the whispers began.
I paused, uncertain of my place in the social order here, but Bash wouldn’t allow it. He tugged me closer and leaned in to my ear to whisper, “Ignore them. You belong here.” His lips brushed against my earlobe, making my entire body shudder, then he was pulling back with a wicked grin that made me want to smack him. He knew exactly what he was doing to me. From the scent coming off him, I was doing the same to him. “What would the Irish like to drink?” he asked, still looking at me with mischief in his eyes.
“Vodka and soda,” I said with a cocked eyebrow, letting him know I was more than ready to play. He and Darius wandered off to get drinks, leaving Rory and me alone in the midst of gossips and unfriendly faces.
Before I could turn to Rory, she grabbed my arm and pulled me close. “Holy crap, Darius is freaking gorgeous and I think he likes me!”
I laughed at her expression of shock. Keeping my volume low, I said, “Of course he does. You’re beautiful, and funny, and smart,” I added. “He’s be a fool not to like all that. And yeah,” I glanced over to where he was pouring up a beer from a keg that had somehow made it to the middle of the forest, “he’s gorgeous.”
Rory’s cheeks bloomed with color. “And Old Ones, you were right about you and Bash. You’re both pumping out pheromones. If anyone here had any doubt about the two of you, it’s gone now. He’s got it bad.”
“I do, too,” I admitted with a grin.
I was too busy watching Bash pouring up drinks to pay attention to my surroundings, which is why I never saw Daniella coming.
I stumbled back as her hand shoved hard against my shoulder, knocking me into Rory who fell to the ground. My head whipped around to see who had hit me but I already knew from the scent of fury and perfume wafting from her. The look on her face was pure rage so I did the one thing I knew would piss her off the most. I turned my back on her and helped Rory to her feet.
“Are you alright?” I asked quietly as my blood began to boil. Rory wiped blood from her elbow where it had connected with a rock.
“I’m fine,” she whispered, her eyes darting over my shoulder to where I knew Daniella stood. “What are you going to do?”
I didn’t really know. All I knew was that Daniella had pushed me too far this time. I could take a lot of shit but hurting my new friend? That drew the fucking line. I turned on my heel and was met with the palm of her hand.
The slap sounded like gun fire in the suddenly silent meadow. From across the space I heard Bash’s voice ring out, yelling for his sister to stop, then his feet hitting the ground as he ran towards us.
But it was too late, I couldn’t stop myself. My hands balled into fists and I pulled back, too fast for anyone to stop.
And when I heard the crunch of cartilage as Daniella’s nose broke under the force of my punch, my blood sang and one thought echoed through my mind.
Oh, fuck!
Chapter 7
I jumped as a loud knock interrupted my staring at the ceiling time.
Everything in me froze, just like it had every time I’d gotten a text, a phone call, or a knock in the days since I’d broken Daniella’s nose then raced away from the party with Rory on my heels. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Donahue to call me to her office and inform me that I was being expelled and my scholarship rescinded because I was a menace to society. I’d made it through Sunday and Monday without getting the bad news but it was only a matter of time.
Rory opened the door and poked her head into the room. She frowned at me and glanced at her watch. “You’re going to be late for class if you don’t get up.” She marched in as if she owned the place, our shared drama over the weekend having bonded us, and grabbed my arm to tug me up. I allowed the indignity.
“What’s the point, Rory?” I moaned, knowing I was acting like a baby but not really caring. “I’m getting expelled, we both know it. The whole campus knows it!” I flopped back on the bed and closed my eyes, wishing I’d never gotten dressed.
“So, she wins, is that what you’re saying?” Rory delivered the blow dryly with only the slightest hint of snark.
I opened my eyes and sat up.
“That’s what everyone is thinking, especially since you’ve been hiding in your room since you knocked her back to Sunday.” Rory walked to the mini fridge across the room and pulled out an apple and a bag of cheese I’d taken for a snack from the cafeteria. She tossed me the apple and put the cheese on the bedside table next to me. “She’s the Queen bitch and you broke her nose. You could have been campus hero but, instead, you’ve been cowering in your room, waiting for Daniella to nark on you and get you expelled.”
“My parents…”
“Your parents won’t hear a word about this because no one is talking,” Rory said patiently as I bit into the apple. “The last thing her royal bitchiness wants is to have the administration calling home to mommy and daddy to explain how their precious got a boo-boo in a fight she’d instigated. Face it, you’re covered. Now be a big girl and eat your breakfast on the way to class.” She cocked an eyebrow in what was clearly a challenge and waited for my response.
I had to admit, she was good. I’d been doing all the things she’d just accused me of and more, and it was high time I stopped hiding. I wasn’t the one who’d started the fight, I was just the one who’d finished it.
A smile crept over my face as I remembered the satisfying crunch of cartilage. The break wouldn’t last, I knew, we wolves healed too quickly, but we were also young, which meant she might still be dealing with some bruising. I got up and went to my mirror to run a brush through my hair. If I was coming out of hiding, I’d damn well have good hygiene.
“You’re good, you know that?” I asked with a grin as I locked up behind me.
“I know,” Rory said with a chuckle. “It comes from being the oldest of seven. I’ve given more than my fair share of pep talks over the years.”
I blocked out the whispers and stares as we moved through the halls, even though they were wearing really thin. Rory’s words echoed through my mind, I hadn’t started the fight, I’d taken down the Queen bitch. So, instead of hunching forward as I’d done all yesterday, I pulled my shoulders back and walked tall, flinching for no one.
Then I saw him and all my bravado disappeared in an instant. My stomach flopped, making the small breakfast I’d scarfed down threaten to come back up. Bash was at the far end of the hall talking to Darius, laughing over some joke they were sharing, with his back turned so he didn’t see me. I wanted to turn around and run, to duck into an open door and hide because I was sure he hated me now. Attraction or no attraction, I’d decked his twin sister. Even if he wasn’t furious with me, any relationship we could have had was over now. He’d have to walk away out of loyalty to her.
I forced my legs to keep moving and tried to hide behind two big guys who were chatting about football and ambling slowly down the hall.
Rory, ever perceptive, glanced around until she saw what had caught my attention and reached out to tug me even further behind the jocks. As we approached, Darius’ gaze caught mine then shifted to Rory and back again. He looked as if he were about to point us out then stopped as my eyes went wide, pleading for him to ignore us and let us pass. His nod was almost imperceptible but it was there. As we stepped around the jocks and rushed on without being seen, I decided he was worthy of my girl.