Page 17 of Mayhem

I stay in the shadows and watch- God, I feel like Odin. Knowing him, he is probably not too far away. The man is obsessive and loves to know his prey. He can blend in and be inconspicuous when he wants to be. It’s what makes him so dangerous.

Serena gets her coffee and walks back out to her car. I sneak out the back and head to my bike, keeping my eyes on her the whole time. She is sitting in her car, and it looks like she is texting someone.Who are you talking to, princess?Looking defeated, she tosses her phone down and starts the car. I put my helmet back on and followed behind her to school. She parks in the back of the lot, far away from where I always park.

I pull my bike in next to Odin and Midas and turn it off. I sit on my bike as I watch her walk into the school. God, she looks so fucking good in that dress. The only thing that would make it better is if she had some leather on.

Or nothing at all.

The morning goes by slowly. I have been impatiently waiting for lunch, hoping my stupid idea works. Finally, the bell rings, and I rush out of the class and down the hall to where her last class was. I wait a little down the hall, knowing she needs to walk past me to get to her locker.

I see Serena walk out the door, her head down, not paying attention to anyone until Valerie and her little minion Melanie walk up behind her and purposely bump into her, knocking her bag and books on the ground. My fists clench, and I storm over to them.

“You should watch where you are going, new girl.” Valerie sneers at her while Melanie laughs.

“Maybe you should watch where you are going, Val,” I growl behind Serena. Serena’s body tenses then relaxes as I pull her behind me, creating a wall between her and Valerie.

Valeria and Melanie’s jaws drop as they look between us two. It’s wildly out of character for me to stand up for anyone, let alone someone I don’t know. It is also against my nature to hit a woman, but right now, these two bitches want to make me break that rule.

Serena places her hand on my back. I look over my shoulder at her. Her stunning pale green eyes stared up at me. The anger in my body slowly dissipates the longer I look at her. An uneasy feeling courses through me that I can’t place, like a peculiar sense of calm I have never felt before. As if Serena can sense where my thoughts are going, and she shakes her head at me.

I stare at her, warring with myself about what to do next. I want to hurt them for hurting her, but would I be hurting her if I went against what she wanted? I begrudgingly sigh and nod at her, earning me a smile that melts my frozen heart.

I turn back to the two bimbos in front of me. I never understood what Midas saw in Valerie. She is a vapid, pretentious social climber. Her father wasn’t a well-off man, and she hated that. Valerie always felt like she was intended for more. In her eyes, Midas was just that. We all knew the power he would have one day, and she wanted a piece of that. She would be untouchable if they were tied together. She would be a queen, even if it was just in this small town.

I stare down at both of them. Melanie at least has the decency to look scared at me. She’s not as dumb as I thought. Valerie stares defiantly back at me. She always assumed because Midas fucked her, that meant she didn’t need to fear us. She also thought Odin and I would come crawling to her as well. I guess fucking her before school started with them wasn’t a great idea, but I was needy and desperate that night, needing an outlet. Since then, she has bragged about how she ‘finally’ conquered all the Kings and that she was ours.

“You can’t speak to me like Zeus.” Valerie sneers at me. Melanie gasps at her. Serena stiffens a little behind me.

“I will do whatever the fuck I want, Valerie. Youdon’town me and never will. Remember that, bitch.” I growl. Fuck, this girl is going to get on my last nerve.

Melanie grabs Valerie’s hand and pulls her away, but that doesn’t stop her from glaring at Serena. I scoff at her stupidity before turning to the girl who occupies all my attention.

Serena’s head is down. She looks so meek and timid, but I can see the fire in her. She needs someone to stoke those flames and turn her into an unstoppable force.

I bend down and pick up her stuff before she can. I look up at her from my knees. Her mouth drops open a little, and a small gasp leaves her precious lips. I smirk at her, loving the reaction I get from her.

“Th-thank you.” Her voice is small and quivers a little.

“You never need to thank me, siren.” I shrug as I stand back up.

She is so beautiful and delicate, especially beside me. I stand at 6’3”, and she has to be six or seven inches shorter than me. I imagine what she would look like on my arm, the back of my bike, naked in bed.Fuck, I need to stop that before I get hard.

I place my hand on her back and slowly guide her toward her locker. She keeps her head down the whole time, but I can see the blush spreading across her cheeks. A warm feeling is spreading through me, not knowing what emotion this is, but I like it. She places her books in her locker and shuts it. We stand so close that it is beyond tempting to close the distance and kiss her. I won’t, not until herboyfriendis out of the picture. Then, and only then, I will make my move, and if that doesn’t work, there is always plan B.

I give her what I hope is a reassuring smile before guiding her to the cafeteria.

Midas and Odin are sitting at our table. Valerie is moping next to Midas. He looks like he doesn’t care what she is saying, but she won’t shut up. Odin is wearing a cruel smirk until he glances over at me. I can see the jealousy in his eyes as he quirks his eyebrow at me. Midas glares at me.

Serena and I get into the line. She grabs a small salad and a bottle of water. That’s not enough food for her. I give her a look to ask if that’s it. Her cheeks redden, and she shyly nods her head. I load the tray with a burger, fries, chips, and cookies. I pay for both of us and walk over to an empty table. We sit next to each other.

Say something to her, you idiot.

She pushes her salad around with her fork, not eating any of it. I scowl.

“You need to eat something. Here, have some fries.” I push the plate closer to her.

She looks down at the plate, her mouth practically watering. I push it in front of her and give her a small smile. I bite into the burger and wait for her to pick a fry. Her hand shakes a little as she grabs the smallest fry. She reluctantly takes a bite, a sigh leaving her lips. She goes to take another fry but stops and pulls her hand away.

She quickly goes back to eat her salad. She looks so nervous beside me. Her little body has a slight tremble that I don’t think she even notices. She is constantly looking around like someone might jump out and hurt her. It stirs something animalistic in me. Whoever she fears, I want to kill them for her and lay them at her feet like a trophy.

---