Page 18 of Shadow

I’d broken his favorite lamp.

“We’ll talk later,” was all he said before he took Sirena back and gestured at me to clean up the mess I’d made.

Sighing, I got to my feet and set to work, knowing he’d probably punch me in the face later. Judging by how tender my face already was, I doubted anyone would notice another hit to it.

Bryce Andrews truly was an enigma. I was going to unravel all his fucking secrets before I choked him with them.

SHADOW

“You need to keep yourself in check.” Asylum scolded me as we walked back across campus.

“He attacked me,” I snapped back.

“Then you fucking take it. You’re used to being a fucking punching bag, so I know you know how to just let it happen.” He shot me a pointed look.

“That doesn’t mean I want to keep doing it. You know I’m not that guy.”

He stopped and rounded on me. “What I know is thattheydon’t fucking know. No one does. Keep it that way. Sometimes, having a secret weapon is a good thing.”

“I almost died the last time Itook it.” I glared at him. “I’m sick of just sitting back and taking it.”

“Listen to me. You have gifts. We both know what happens when people find out about our gifts. Keep the ball in your court. You’re too damn cozy with Sirena. The guys don’t like that.”

I looked up to the sky, trying to get my head right before looking back at him. “How should I be? Should I fucking beat her with a shovel and stuff her inside a box and hope she dies as a means to save her? Huh? Then wait eight years and hope she comes back from the dead to love me?”

He stared me down, his face not giving anything away. Finally, he spoke.

“The shovel and box were my idea. Get your fucking own.” He turned and kept walking. God, he was fucking odd. I expected him to snap back at me. Maybe even punch me.

“I’m not really the violent sort,” he said as if reading my mind when I caught up to him. “Unless I need to be. I’m really just like a sweet orange house cat. I kill the mice every now and then, but overall, I’m rather lovable.”

“You’re insufferable,” I muttered as we walked.

He shrugged. “Not always.”

“You’re also frustrating. Tell me, when are you going to let the house cat out of the bag and tell the watchers what you did to Sirena?”

“Sinclair knows,” he said, glancing to the woods, a smile curling his lips upward. “In time, the rest will. For now, I’m more concerned about getting you in than me. I’ve already fucked her. You’re a virgin.”

“Fuck you. Don’t talk about her like that, and don’t talk about my shit,” I snapped at him.

He scoffed. “You don’t want her to be your first?”

I ground my teeth and didn’t say anything.

“Dante was her first. He basically just asserted himself and took what he wanted. I’m sure if she’d have screamed no to him, it wouldn’t have stopped him. You could do that.”

“Never,” I snarled. “Don’t fucking insult me by thinking I’d do that to her.”

We reached my dorm, and he opened my door before following me in. I was irritated as hell with him. I wasn’t the sort of guy who did that to girls, and never to her.

I sat on my bed while he took a seat at my computer chair and stared me down.

“What?” I muttered, wiping at my swollen lip. Malachi sure knew how to hit. My ears were still ringing.

“You need to stop lying to yourself. That’s your problem. You play this nice guy. We both know you’re not.”

“I am nice,” I said, sighing.

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