Page 58 of The Pretty Savage

This was a perfect opportunity to attack Adrian, to see what the Zylla family was up to, and I wasn't going to fuck it up.

By the time the three-hour mark passed, I was furious, tired, pissed off, more bruised than ever, and I just wanted to get the fuck out of this place and lick my wounds in private. The pitying looks I received from other students did nothing to soothe the ache that was slowly spreading through my body or diminish the anger I felt toward him.

And every time he hit me, every time I fell, tripped, and stumbled, he was there, laughing in my face, telling me to get up, to stop being a baby, while my ribs screamed in protest. My shoulder was more fucked up than it was before, and I had a feeling I would need to visit the infirmary whether I wanted to or not. There was no way I'd be able to have one more day like this without at least some pain meds.

"That's it for today," the son of the Devil himself announced while I barely stood straight. Only my sheer stubbornness kept me from tumbling down. "It might not seem like a lot, but I believe you guys have learned a valuable lesson today."

I gritted my teeth as he came closer to me.

"Which is what, Ms. Konstantinova?" he asked, smirking the entire time.

"Always be aware of your surroundings."

"That's right!" He almost squealed, and I wanted nothing more than to smack him across that stupidly handsome face and get the fuck out of here.

Fuck the mission.

Fuck my future.

I would kill him right here and right now if given an opportunity. I had no idea why I thought it would've been impossible for me to kill him. With each passing hour he was making my decision easier and easier.

What little feelings I had for him were getting buried so deep down I had a feeling they would never be able to resurface.

"You're dismissed," he said finally after another round of psychobabble on how we should be on the lookout even while in an environment we thought was safe.

I stopped listening to him at least ten minutes ago, and when I noticed that everyone had started moving toward the lockers, I did too, avoiding looking at Adrian as much as possible. I counted my steps as we crossed over the tatami and then over the cold, hard floor, ignoring the whispers around me.

Yolanda's hand wrapped around my upper arm and I was thankful that I at least had one friend in this hellhole. The rest of the girls here either looked at me as if I stole their favorite toy and wanted me gone, or as if they should be afraid of me. I had no idea which was worse, and if they thought for one second that I liked his attention on me… Well, they could have it.

They could have him. I didn't need that kind of distraction in my life.

"That was brutal," Yolanda murmured as we stepped in front of my locker. "I thought I would need to get you to the infirmary in the middle of class. Fuck, dude," she looked at my lip, "you're bleeding again." Why wasn't I surprised?

I brought my hand to my lip, wincing as my thumb connected with the cut that got reopened when he sent me flying down to the floor in the middle of the sparring session I had with one of the guys whose name I forgot.

"Fuck," I cursed, licking over the wound and hating the coppery taste of blood in my mouth. "Do you have a tissue?"

"Yeah." Yolanda nodded. "Gimme just a sec. I'll bring it to you."

She disappeared to the other side of the locker, and as I turned toward mine, opening it, I noticed four girls I didn't know starting to surround me.

One of them, the blonde one, with eyes the color of ice and slightly taller than me, was one of the offerings I fought against in The Pit.

"You’re so full of yourself, aren’t you?" she started speaking, coming closer to me as I opened my locker.

"I honestly have no fucking idea what you're talking about," I huffed. I was tired, hungry, angry, and so ready to get out of here. "Is there a reason why you and your buddies are surrounding me?"

I looked at her, seeing the rage filling every pore of her face.

"Let me guess." I laughed. "You're here to warn me off of Adrian Zylla, because he's yours?"

"Stay away from him, bitch!" And here I thought that teenage hormones dissipated once you reached a certain age.

"Look, darling," I sighed. "If you want him, he's all yours. I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole even if my life depended on it. Men like him are not exactly my type."

"Liar," one of her friends yelled out. "I saw her this morning, clinging to him, and then they disappeared behind the building. She wants your man, Bethany." Her man?

Now that made me laugh.

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