Page 41 of Kings of Lust
The student barely shook his head in a sign that he understood while he needed to keep a hand on his bloody nose.
A speech from me would have been useless at that point. Nothing could get him to change his ways, and saying something about it would only bring Cole’s hate upon me.
It was too late anyway. But that didn’t mean I was going to support him, so before he got himself together from the rush of the moment, I was already out of there.
My old pack had gathered at the other end of the hallway so I decided to join them, no matter how many despiteful looks I got along the way.
‘Hi guys,’ I waved a few shy fingers at them, though their enthusiasm of seeing me didn’t match my own. And I couldn’t blame them, since I had switched camps with the enemy.
Jenna knew better than to believe it, but explaining to the Darrel and Thomas why I was sucking faces with their mortal enemy was a little more complicated.
‘Let’s go outside. We still have fifteen before the seminars start,’ Jenna was trying to save me without having to answer too many questions.
‘Fine by me,’ Thomas was the first out the door, followed by the rest of us.
It was late autumn already and the cold breeze in the air was keeping everyone else inside, leaving our gang with the whole yard at our disposal.
‘So, you abandoned us to live amongst the Elite.’ I wasn’t sure if Thomas was joking or being serious. Either way, I didn’t enjoy the tone of his voice.
‘Back off, she didn’t have a choice. She was selected.’ Jenna’s explanation was making me sound like a pawn with the sole purpose of being selected by the king. But the more I thought about it, the more I was beginning to think she’s right. I wasselectedto be his experimental girlfriend out of hundred girls that would kill to be in my shoes. If it was up to me, I’d let any of them have him. Shoes and socks and all. That was, if I diddn’t needed him.
Or maybe I was being selfish. I was using him the same way he used me, both aiming for a goal impossible to reach without the other.
‘We could try and do something against him, you know. It’s not fair that he gets to do anything he wants and gets away with it,’ Thomas was letting his feelings towards Cole out, but no matter how badly he may have treated me, I wasn’t going to start bitching at him. Cole and I were in the same boat, whether I liked it or not.
‘There’s nothing to be gained except getting ourselves in trouble. Things are tense enough already between us and the Elite. Just drop it for now, at least until everything cools down.’ Besides, at that point, Cole was part of the team that was trying to save his ass, although Thomas couldn’t know that.
‘We will burn the Elite and everything they stand for,’ Thomas seemed to be taking things to another level. One that seemed dangerously close to a rebellion.
‘Do you know anything about what’s happening in the Pit?’ I was trying to get information out of him, sensing I was onto a lead.
And I was right ‘Let’s just say our days at the other end of the hall are numbered,’ Thomas grinned. He was definitely up to something and I needed to find out exactly what.
It was time to use a little reverse psychology on him ‘Just don’t get in trouble, Thomas. Stay away from their rebellion and its leaders.’
‘A little late for that.’ He was confirming what I feared to be true. That only meant one thing, he was becoming an asset in our plan. The more people we knew on the inside, the more chances of stalling their actions. Now all I had to do was ask Brax to reason with him. Another joy added to my life. I could feel a mental eye roll just by thinking about asking him to do it.
I just sent him a text with Thomas’s details, accompanied by aDon’t hurt him!warning in capital letters.
What do I get in return if I behave?
The text lit up on my screen.
He was being flirtatious, but the improvement in his mood came a little too late. The way he acted two nights ago could only leave me with a single answer.
I already gave you everything I had.
I put the phone back in my bag while Brax’s absinthe eyes were watching over me in the back of my mind.
‘Thank you,’ Jenna whispered in my ear, snapping me out of my thoughts. ‘I had to sell it to pay off an eviction order, but at least it bought us till the end of the month.’ Her hand searched for mine, giving it a tight squeeze, thanking me again without letting everyone in of our secret.
‘I’ll figure out something to help you. I promise,’ I whispered back to her without letting Thomas and Darrel in on our plan.
We didn’t stay out for much longer since it was about to start raining. The guys began talking about the Advanced Math class anyway so the rain was just an excuse to get out of there.
I didn’t share the first class with Jenna, but we did meet up during the break as I was still trying to ignore Cole. The little display of force he used today took him out of my graces completely, not that he was too high on my favorite lists. None of the kings were.
I didn’t join Cole in his little select group, preferring to remain in front of the door where I was about to start my next seminar. This one Iwassharing with him and I could only hope he didn’t feel in the mood to attend today.
