Page 98 of Pure Vengeance

I snort. “Hardly. I told you I’m not giving you any ammo, so you can just mooch along and do whatever it is you like. I don’t give a flying fuck.” I walk past him.

“Noah...”

“Behold my field of fucks,” I shout. “And see it is barren.”

I continue to walk when I hear footsteps coming up behind me.

I turn to shoo Adrian away, but I see two of his housemates. They grab me and drag me into an alleyway. I try to throw them off, dropping my things in the dirt.

I recognize the president as he walks up to me. “Well, well, well... where’s your little boyfriend?”

“I don’t have one. If you haven’t noticed, I’ve got a girlfriend.” I spit at his shoes.

“Now that’s not very respectful.” He punches me in the gut, and I lose my breath. “Your brother isn’t here to protect you now, Bennett. We’ll deal with him later.”

“Leave him alone,” I growl. “Or you’ll piss me off, and you won’t like me pissed off.”

“Your brother said you had a violent side, but as I see it, it’s three of us and one of you.”

I yank myself free and punch the guy to my left in the nose. “Two of you,” I say pulling my knife out. “Who’s next?”

The president sizes me up and glares at me. “This isn’t over. Come on, guys.”

They all walk out of the alleyway, kicking my bag out of their way. I lean on the wall, breathing deeply. Fucking creeps. They’re taking this rivalry way too far. I better speak to Richard about having someone walk with me from now on. If they catch me again, I doubt they’ll be thrown off. I was lucky now.

I pick up my things and walk out the alleyway. I head toward the art building where I see Richard standing outside with his girlfriend. I approach him. “Rich, I just ran into some trouble.”

“With who?” he asks.

“The Alphas, who else?” I scoff. “But they jumped me, three to one. I don’t think any of us should be walking around alone. They’re on a mission, and they don’t care if they use violence.”

Richard nods and says, “I’ll let the others know. You’re okay, though?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I assure him. “I’ll catch up to you later.”

I head into the building and open my portfolio to the drawing of Adrian I’ve been working on. Such a vulnerable drawing. I’ve wanted to burn it a hundred times, but I can’t bring myself to do it.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Noah

I leave the art building later and check out my surroundings. A few of the frat brothers are sitting on the grass out front. I join them in person, but I don’t talk much. They know that I’m not the chatty type. We hang out there until the last class, then we move as one back to the frat house.

I’m supposed to be meeting Abigail for a ‘tryst’, but when I get to the house, she’s not there. I message her, but she doesn’t respond. Confused, I push it out of my mind. I have to finish my last piece for this month for my portfolio or I’ll fall behind. I spend the evening painting, going to bed in the early hours of the morning.

I don’t have class, so when someone bangs on my door, I’m grumpy.

“Noah,” Richard calls. “There’s a problem.”

I get up and open the door. “What?”

He thrusts a paper into my hands. I look at it for a moment before I realize it’s a photo of me in the art studio. The heading is clear in thick bold font.

Legacy Student Blackmails Girls For Sex

My eyes widen.

That fucker Adrian did it. He spilled the beans and got me into shit. His feelings were bullshit. I read the story in horror. It paints me out as some sort of sex addict, as a pervert. The newspaper is calling for a boycott and an investigation against me. This is going to ruin my university career.