Page 34 of Vicious Kings

Tracey laughs, and the more we talk, the more her accent comes out. “Okay, so I let him put his hand under my bra. God, I thought I was going to lose my shit.” She scoffs. “Prisha and Wren would have done the same thing. I don’t believe they’re uptight all the time. Not the way they talk.”

Wren is an expert at sucking without gagging, but I keep it to myself. Maybe I’ll spill it later, but it’s too soon to tell Tracey too much. “Are you still a virgin?” I ask her.

She nods. “And you?”

I nod also. “I’ve done a lot of stuff, but my...father made it clear that was off-limits. He expects me to make a good match.” My family name was my guarantee that I would have everything, but now it’s gone.

“Sucks that men use that as a bargaining chip. I don’t think the Alphas are virgins,” she replies. “I would’ve done it by now, but the boys I met were fumbling nerds. If I’m going to lose it, I want to feel like I just lost something.”

We laugh. And I shimmy over on my bed, patting the empty spot beside me. Tracey jumps up and sits beside me as I pull a throw over our legs. Memories of lying in bed with Astrid and gossiping until we fell asleep float into my head. Everything else that year was shit except becoming her sister.

“What do you really think of Prisha?” she asks.

I shrug. “She’s nice.”

“Very safe answer,” Tracey smirks. “I like her and Wren, but they’re stuck in boarding school. Status means a whole lot to them, and doing the right thing to impress the right people. I like Sam because he makes me feel special, not because he’s an Alpha. What did Jaxon say to you in the kitchen? It looked intense. ”

I wasn’t expecting her to ask that or mention it at all. “He was hitting on me, not that that’s unique. Jaxon hits on anything that bounces around. The man is not selective.”

“Yeah, he’s cute, but he’s a walking STD.”

I snort. “He’s talking about pledging Alpha. That’s why he’s there all the time.”

Tracey lifts her brows. “He doesn’t look like he would want to belong to a frat, not with all those tattoos and piercings, but I guess that’s my hang up. Sam wants me to pledge Theta.”

I grin as she waits for my opinion. “It sounds like he’s already serious. Helen didn’t have to talk to me, but she did.”

“So, do you want in?”

I shrug. “There are benefits to belonging to the top sorority on campus. Even after graduation.”

“It was nice of her to talk to you. You looked a little upset, but I was stuck on that couch, or I would’ve gone and talked to you. So, what are you going to do about those three guys?”

Playing stupid is sometimes just as bad as being stupid and definitely a waste of time. I know the three guys she’s talking about. Everyone on our floor must notice the amount of time I spend with them. I sigh. “Nothing. I’m not really interested in pursuing any of them.”

“Really.” Tracey leans against the wall in shock. “Because when you’re around Asher, the energy coming off the two of you makes me horny.”

Not what I wanted to know, and I giggle despite how I feel inside. “We have a rocky relationship, even though I think he is hot as fuck. But there’s no point in getting deeper into something that’s a shitstorm from the start. Besides, I’m not in college to hook up. I want to run a business when I graduate.”

Tracey nods her head. “I so agree. My dad and my uncle want me to take over the family business instead of my waste of a cousin. Still, I plan on having some fun while I’m away from home. What about Hudson? You two look like a couple already.”

“He is a jerk,” I declare flatly. “My sister and her friend preach that men are unreliable. You have to take care of yourself first.”

“Agreed, but they do have their uses.” Tracey stares off into space as she thinks about Sam again.

We talk for another hour, and after she leaves, I climb into bed exhausted but calmer. Maybe I’ll sleep instead of tossing all night. I won’t let the boys get to me. Nova and Astrid repeatedly told me that I didn’t need a man to get ahead. They’re doing it on their own, even though they’re both in complicated relationships. I can’t picture Asher as being supportive. He only wants to control me, even now.

A solid plan is a must, and one that’s more than a rising tweet someone copies and pastes when they’ve barely dealt with the issue head-on. Astrid knows how to climb out of the ashes, but was it luck or determination? It was both. I could start a legit influencer channel—how to dress like a queen on a fast-food allowance.

I stare at the thin line of light on my ceiling and pull back the curtain to peek outside. The light on the rooftop illuminates my room as I spy down on the path leading to the dorm. Hudson is talking to Jaxon as Asher looks on. The three of them laugh at a joke I can’t hear, and then Asher glances up at my window. I duck and flatten my face against the bed, but I’m certain that he didn’t see me. Of course, he couldn’t have seen me, but my heart jackhammers anyway.

I can’t believe I still have anything to do with him, but I feel an uncontrollable drive to be with him. I can’t reason it out of my head. I’m not naïve enough to think it’s love. But it’s something deep that binds us together. I’ve almost always gotten the boys I wanted, but Asher is no longer a boy. He never was. My breathing becomes ragged as I hear the fire door slam. I listen for his door to open and shut, and only then can I relax.

Why him? Why must I be attracted to Asher? I can only control my resistance when he’s not around me. If he’s near, I want to be the center of his world. I thrive on his attention and his rough touch.

My body stiffens when there’s a noise outside my door. I close my eyes, determined to ignore it. Then there’s a swoosh, as if something has been pushed underneath my door. I listen for another moment longer and then jump out of bed. I don’t need the overhead light to see the green paper in the middle of the floor, illuminated by the light from the window.

Another invite to that frat. I snatch it off the floor, and the thought of pledging Theta seems less likely. I sit on my bed, open it, and read in the light from outside. The smirk on my face freezes into a grimace as I read the words typed in cap letters.

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