Page 57 of The Hallows Boys

Both girls keep leaning forward on the table, as if they need to whisper to each other whatever juicy shit they’re sharing so no one else hears. The thought it might be about me and the guys makes me swell with pride but also go on the defense. Those memories are not for anyone else – just us, and I didn’t take Sage for the gossiping type.

Once their conversation has fizzled out a little, Sage’s face drops into a mask of disinterest in her surroundings before she gets up. My brows furrow in concern for a breath until I remember that she isn’t mine to take care of. I step from foot to foot anxiously, trying to gain back the dominance in my stance even though she can’t see me.

She says something to Juliet, then puts her backpack over her shoulders and heads right toward me for the exit.

I turn and leave before she can see me lurking, heading into the courtyard to find Vinny and Kai. They’re waiting for me under our usual tree, and I push up the sleeves of my long-sleeved tee so I can feel some of the crisp morning air on my skin. I feel as if I’m burning from the inside out for her – my blood heated beyond a boil with the need to touch her, kiss her, fuck her.

But Kai saysstay away,and his word is law.

He thinks she’s a threat to us, thinks she’ll penetrate the hard exterior we have around us and tear it all down. He’s wrong, though. She wouldn’t break shit. She would build us up higher, adding bulletproof forces around us that absolutely nothing could penetrate.

She’s exactly what we’ve needed for so long, someone that could fall into our ranks and lead the pack, and my friends will realize that soon enough.

Either that, or I’m a pussy-whipped, lovesick fool.

I guess time will tell.

“Where were you?” Vinny asks as I drop onto the bench. His ass is perched on the backrest with his feet resting on the seat beside my thighs, so I prop an elbow on his knee to hold my head up as I look at him.

“Off causing trouble, the usual.” I grin.

Kai snorts, spinning a lighter between his long fingers playfully. I snag the lit cigarette from Vinny’s lips before he can shove me away, pressing the filter against my own to take a drag.

It’s always been an easy friendship between the three of us. We became brothers long before we even knew shit about the Hallows Games. We grew up here, in Blackmore, where everyone knows everyone, becoming close as fuck in elementary school. We’ve been inseparable ever since. Family to each other when our own shitty bloodlines couldn’t give a fuck.

I’m the only child my parents had, and they split not long after I was born. I was handed back and forth between them like an unwanted dog they felt responsible for until I was old enough to make my own decisions. My mom left Blackmore a few years ago, remarrying and leaving me with my careless and absent father.

My father is a world-class dick with high standards and a pretty seat on the town’s council. When I came out to him, he clenched his fist and spit in my face, using derogatory terms to describe me. He disowned me, ignoring my very existence, but his pride is too big for him to get rid of me. His image is everything, and if anyone found out that he didn’t accept his bisexual son, he would look bad. So, we coexist in the same house without speaking.

My home has always been with Kai and Vinny. They’re the family I always wanted and needed. Kai takes care of us, protecting us and defending us, especially from Vinny’s bastard of a sperm donor who speaks through punches and kicks.

I can see why Kai is so hellbent on keeping Sage at a distance. He’s scared. He’s afraid to let someone into our inner circle, just in case they take it in their hands and crush it. He’s protective of our family, and it’s not just something silly he’ll let someone into without wary and meticulous consideration. When we were selected by the previous generation of Hallows Boys, it came to no surprise to us.

Every generation chooses the next group. We’ve already started scouting for who we will pass the torch to, because it takes a lot of pre-planning and thought. The selection is based on popularity, dominance, brains, and physical ability.

Kai, with his big ass brain and dominant demeanor was ideal for the Alpha.

Vinny, football God and muscle maniac with no limits, the perfect Beta.

Then there’s me, the balance. Jokes and heart. I’m the glue that keeps the entire operation together.

“Is she fucking coming over here?” Vinny grunts under his breath, making me look up and across the quad to find Sage walking toward us on some sexy high-heeled boots.

Her steps are determined and purposeful, like she’s a woman on a mission. She’s dark and delicious, covered in black from eyes to feet, and it has my cock thickening in my jeans as I picture her moaning and pleading beneath me.

When she’s about fifteen feet from us, Kai stands up and grabs the cigarette from between my fingers, taking a long drag and then flicking it toward her, almost hitting her with the glowing ember. “Let’s go.”

She stops in place, narrowing her eyes. “What the fuck?”

It kills me, but I stand up and follow Kai and Vinny in the opposite direction. When I take the risk of glancing back at her, Vinny throws his arm over my shoulder and grunts. “Becks.”

I may follow Kai’s orders, but Vinny knows my heart. And he knows that this shit isn’t easy for me deep down.

The bell rings overhead as we push through the door to the academic building, and I pull out from under Vinny’s arm. “I’ll catch you guys later. I’m not feeling this right now.”

I split off before they can say anything, then head back the way we came.

Pulling my headphones from my pocket, I slip them in my ears, hitting shuffle on my playlist and letting the raspy tones of the dark hip-hop I’ve been obsessing over fill my head.

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