Page 71 of Moon Kissed

I heaved a sigh. “She has it out for me, because she thinks I’m the one who slipped laxatives in her tea that night. Writing that essay is a massive waste of time, but if I don’t, she’s got an excuse to put me in detention.”

Nia dropped her gaze.

I thought she might say something, but then we joined the flow of students headed into the mess, and the conversation dropped.

When we went inside, Nia veered off to the dais and I dropped my stuff on an empty seat close to the front doors. Holly was by my side by the time I sat down, carrying a pot of that staff-only coffee.

She had to know who I was by then, but for some reason, she treated me as friendly as I treated her.

“Afternoon, Daze.”

“Afternoon.”

“How’d you sleep last night? That storm seemed to rage on forever.”

“I didn’t get any sleep, but that’s because I was enjoying it.” A true smile tugged at my lips. “I curled up against the window, drank chamomile tea, and watched the lightning race across the sky. That’s my kind of night.”

“You’re an old soul, Daze.” She poured me a mug while handing over the menu. “People your age won’t appreciate that now, but one day, you’ll find your kindred spirits.” Holly patted my shoulder walking away.

Even the lunch lady can tell I’m friendless, and she pities me. Is this rock bottom? Or will I know it by the bus I can’t catch?

“Mind if I move this?”

I raised my head at the voice. Nia placed my bag on the floor and sat down.

“What’s this? Why aren’t you sitting with the asshole, the other asshole, the flatulent asshole, the smelly asshole, and the smirky one?”

“Hmm. Is that Badr, Nyx, Edric, Orion, and Paxton in that order?”

“Couldn’t be anyone else.”

Nia laughed. “I’m not sitting with them because it’s time everyone went back to their own lives and stopped worrying about me.” Her smile dimmed, hardening around the edges. “I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. I don’t need protectors. I never did, and I won’t start now.”

I hesitated. “Nia, if this is because of what I said—”

“It is,” she sliced in. “Get stronger, and then get even. Isn’t that right.” It sounded like a question, but it wasn’t.

Looking her in the eyes, I tipped my chin. “You’re right.”

“Good.” She straightened in her seat, steeling herself as she patted her rainbow butterfly clips. “I told the guys, and now I’m telling you that I want everything to go back to how it was. Number one: Don’t take bullshit from Raza because of me.” Her voice was hard. “You wouldn’t have done that before. Don’t do it now.”

“You asked me to stop landing you in detention before,” I reminded her.

“I know, but this is different. Raza is abusing her power and”—golden eyes flashed the power and fury of a wolf—“I’m getting real fucking sick of people doing that.”

My part smile blew into a real one. “Agreed.”

A chime drew my attention to my pocket. I was keeping my phone on me at all times now after discovering the day before that my room had been searched again. I knew because the stranger’s scent was heavy in the air, and the note I had taped to the vanity was removed and put back half an inch higher than where I put it.

I stared at that note enough times to notice that detail. I only wondered how long the intruder studied the note trying to crack it. However long was a waste of time because they never would. It was a code I invented based on a forgotten line in a book no one’s read, and then I translated said code into a dead language.

I had no fear that someone would discover what it said, and what drove my ultimate endgame. But I was a tad worried someone—Edric—would crack my second phone and discover a few too many secrets waiting for their big reveal—like the list.

I had gotten rid of the paper trail and now kept the hitlist on my phone. Can’t have that found, or chance Edric cracking the encrypted texts between me and Lucia.

There’s so much subterfuge in world domination,I mused, clicking the notification that appeared from my Loop-Garou app.Who knew?The app opened up, going straight to the video tagged on my profile.

The phone shot out of my clenched grip.

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