Page 74 of The Vipers' Vow

It’s still early and no one else is around, thank goodness.

I’m aware of how much I must stink of sex. I might as well have a neon sign around my neck, saying “well fucked.” I smirk at that and rush a little faster down the corridor as a door opens nearby. I take the back stairs and end up walking past all the oil paintings of elderly men that line the walls in this section of the college. They stare down at me, their eyes tracking my movements, their stern lips pursed as if in dismay at what the young people do these days.

I shiver because I’ve heard rumors there are ghosts in this college and it wouldn’t surprise me at all. The place has a melancholy and spooky feel to it on the brightest of days.

I reach the corridor housing my dorm with a grateful sigh of relief.

Back in my room, I shower and change. I’m definitely feeling more like my old self after a great night’s sleep. Even after what happened yesterday, having the love and adoration and sexual fulfilment of those three men makes me feel like I’m twice my height.

An hour later, I make my way to class. I’m sure I’m grinning like an idiot, nodding and smiling at everyone I pass. I’m probably walking a little strangely as well, after last night. I’m sore in the best possible way, and every time I remember everything we did, my body heats up all over again.

Then one person in particular catches my eye.

We both stop dead.

Any good feelings I might have had drain from me instantly.

Angelica pauses and tucks her shiny brown hair behind one ear, then folds her arms across her chest. I swear she taps her fucking foot at me, as though she’s impatient for me to react.

I feel as though someone just injected pure adrenaline into my veins. My jaw clamps shut, my teeth clenching uncomfortably. My muscles are so tense it’s as though I’m vibrating all over.

Is this the person who was responsible for my sister’s death? I want to scream the question at her, but my body has gone into freeze mode. Trust me to be a fawn, instead of a fight or flight girl.

She cocks her head and gives me a strange smile. “Did Saint tell you what happened?”

Jesus Christ, is she actually going to confess, right here in the middle of the hallway?

Finally, I manage to get my tongue to work. “He told me a part of it.”

“Babe, you have to know it had nothing to do with you. It wasn’t personal. I feel awful, but it was bound to happen sooner or later.”

A feeling of unease ripples through me; her words aren’t what I was expecting.

She laughs, and her cheeks color. “It was fate. People like me and Saint are made for one another. You can tell just by looking at us. We have a certain…affinity…that people like you just don’t get. Our souls are the same, you know? You’re far too … mundane to hold a man like him. Saint’s a prince, and he needs a woman who can be his queen.”

My head spins. What the fuck is she talking about?

“You and Saint?” The words tumble off my tongue without me really processing them. It’s not until they’re out of my mouth and into the air that it dawns on me what she’s trying to tell me.

“I mean, I understand what you see in him. He’s insanely hot, and phew,” she flaps her face with her hand, “that man knows how to kiss. But long term, you can’t have themall, Vani.” Her face twists into something ugly. “That’s just slutty, and Saint needs someone just for him, someone who is rightfor him. You’ve made a mockery of him, but I’ll build him up. Surely, you have to see that it’s better for all of us if he’s with me.”

She’s saying Saint kissed her?

I shake my head and make my frozen features move. I paint on a nonchalant expression. “Saint wouldn’t fuck you with somebody else’s dick, Angelica.”

My heart is pounding, even as I use all my power to create a hard shell that this bitch can’t penetrate, the way I’ve had to do so many times in my life. Maybe he did kiss her… Hell, we haven’t talked, have we? We should have. Way before I let him anywhere near me.

The thought of all we did last night, of letting him degrade me,again, when he might have been messing around with Angelica makes me sick. Why the fuck didn’t I talk to Saint about what happened while Zane and I were gone? I knew there was something. The way Saint hadn’t answered his phone and then seemed to avoid any questions. Deep down, I’d known something happened, but I hadn’t wanted to know, had I? I hadn’t wanted to hear the truth out loud. Instead, I’d just blindly believed Saint had learned the truth about Angelica without ever questioning how he'd come across that information.

She gives an unladylike snort. “Oh, he touched me all right, and he loved it.”

“He wouldn’t,” I say robotically. I can’t make my mind come up with anything wittier right now.

She narrows her eyes. “So, it’s okay for you to fuck around with his friends, but he’s not allowed to fuck around with yours.” Her face twists into something truly vicious. “You can stuff yourself full of all them, but he wets his dick with someone else and you’re upset? What a hypocrite you are. No wonder he’s sick of it.”

“You…you fucked him?” Now, my entire game face is gone. I know it, but I can’t process this. It’s like someone just winded me.

“I mean, we were both a little drunk. I’d say it’s more like he fucked me than the other way around.”

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