Page 75 of Theirs to Ruin

People thought I killed Ava. The Ty I’d known had disappeared.

In that moment, it’s what I wanted, too.

To disappear. To fade away. To give up.

You were right, Ava.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Chapter 32

Ty

Igrabbed Jenji by her shoulders, backed her into a wall, and stuck my face close to hers. “What did Camille mean about rats?” I barked.

I didn’t question her about the blade. I believed her that the blades had been switched without her knowledge. But by who?

Fear flickered in Jenji’s eyes. “I don’t know!”

I smiled grimly, not buying her innocence for a second. “Lie to me again. I’ll happily finish the job Camille started.”

“Okay!” Jenji shivered with fear as she squeezed her eyes shut. “Someone put a dead rat in her bed after she got back from the hospital, but it wasn’t me. I promise.”

“If it wasn’t you, who was it?” I challenged her, tightening my grip. “And don’t fucking lie to me. I know you know.”

She muttered a name then begged me to let her go. Disgusted, I released her and turned to see the professor holding the blade Camille had tossed. He didn’t seem fazed that I’d been threatening one of his other students. Asshole.

But no,Iwas the real asshole. I had made that comment about Ava to goad Camille. I wanted to hurt her, drive her away.I wanted her to hate me. The last thing I wanted was for her to end up hurt—which was ironic, considering I had broken her heart.

“This is a remarkably accurate replica of our training blades,” Malachai murmured aloud, almost in awe of the weapon. “The weight, the balance... everything except the edge.”

Jenji marched up to Malachai, obviously feeling brave due to his proximity. “I swear, I didn't know about the blade. But if I did,” she snarked, her voice dripping with faux sweetness, “then I'd be doing CU a favor by eliminating a murderer.”

“That's enough,” Malachai snapped.

My gaze scanned the room until it landed on Kellan Howard, the prick Jenji said was responsible for the dead rat in Camille’s bed. I stalked over to him. He looked at me suspiciously, sizing me up.

“The rat was a mistake,” I said, my voice low and threatening.

Kellan’s eyes narrowed in surprise, but then he smirked. “Really? And what are you going to do about it?”

“Trust me.” I grinned, making sure he caught full sight of my scars. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Kellan tried his best to maintain his cocky grin, but it slipped just long enough for me to see it—the hint of fear that flashed in his eyes. Kellan had caught a glimpse of the wolf that lurked inside me and soon, he was going to experience its full wrath.

Camille might want to believe my fangs were just part of a mask. I saw it in her sweet, innocent eyes. But Kellan knew.

There was nothing beneath my fangs but more fangs.

Under the cover of darkness, I crept over to the Science wing. My Anatomy and Physiology class had an upcoming assignment,and I knew where to find what I needed. It took me only a few seconds to pick the lock and I was in. I grabbed a large transport cart, then headed to the room marked “REFRIGERATED SPECIMENS.”

The room was cold, which calmed me in some fucked up way. Carefully, one by one, I loaded the cart with dead rat after dead rat. They were frozen, but they would thaw soon, which was exactly what I wanted.

Once the entire cart was loaded with over a hundred rats, I flung a tarp over it, then headed out. The moon was shadowed by heavy clouds as I maneuvered the cart across campus and to one of the school’s parking structures.

It didn’t take long to find Kellan’s Alpha Romeo.

It took longer to stuff dead rat after dead rat into every single crevasse of his precious little car—including under the hood.

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