CH 5 - Persefone
1445 Words
PERSEFONE POV
I flushed the toilet, still lost in thought.
Mom and Pops Derrick had handled my ass pretty damn well this morning at warrior training—so well I hadn’t even had time to check the cameras and figure out where Daddy had hidden my laptop.
Which was just rude, honestly.
Two years of work and he grounded me like I’d snuck out past curfew.
I still had half a mind to break into his office later.
Penny, of course, refused to help.
“It’ll be so much worse and you know it,” she’d said, all sweet and annoying and absolutely useless.
And then went right back to obsessing over our birthday party like my entire life wasn’t currently collapsing in the background.
Supportive. Truly.
I pushed the stall door open—
—and froze.
What the f**k?
“I f*****g knew you were a creep,” I hissed under my breath, eyes narrowing as I took him in. “Or do you have vision problems? Ever noticed this is the girls’ bathroom?”
He didn’t answer.
Didn’t move.
Just… stared.
Goddess, he was massive up close.
Bigger than his brothers, if possible.
Wider. Taller. Entirely too intimidating for any normal, sane human being, which obviously didn’t include me.
And he was silent.
Creepy, silent, and very much not supposed to be here.
Was he planning on murdering me? Before I had even had my second cup of coffee?
Rude. Plain rude.
I crossed my arms, shifting my weight to one side like I wasn’t even slightly aware of the fact that I was alone in a locked room with one of the most dangerous guys in school.
“Wow,” I added dryly. “Stunned into silence. Must be my charming personality.”
Still nothing.
His gaze dragged over my face like he was trying to figure something out.
Not checking me out like Aiden.
Not mocking like Keres.
Just… looking at me like he always did. With those piercing blue eyes that made chills run down my spine every single time.
Too focused.
Too intense.
It made something uncomfortable twist in my stomach.
I pushed it down.
Hard.
“Take a picture,” I snapped. “It’ll last longer.”
Nothing.
God, this was weird.
Worse than weird.
But then Thane took a step forward.
And Eden instantly pushed to the front of my mind, alert, hackles raised, ready for a fight if needed.
Good. For once she was going to be useful at the right moment.
Because I wasn’t moving.
Wasn’t flinching.
Wasn’t stepping back.
Nope.
I was an Alpha.
And a pretty damn good fighter too.
He kept walking anyway.
Slow.
Steady.
Rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck.
Like he already knew I wouldn’t run. Like he was getting ready to punch.
My chin tilted up the closer he got, annoyance instantly burning hotter in my chest because—goddess, he was tall.
Massive.
And when he finally stopped right in front of me, I could feel the heat coming off his body even through layers of clothes.
Too close.
Way too f*****g close.
His jaw was ticking hard enough to see under his stubble.
Like he was having a weird kind of internal struggle. Even his aura was flickering.
Maybe he was just deciding the best way to strangle me and hide the body.
Honestly? Fifty-fifty.
“Why are you upset?”
The words left his mouth and my brain just—
didn’t process them.
“…Hm?”
He rolled his eyes, tilting his head back for a second with an irritated grunt, exposing the strong line of his throat and the sharp movement of his Adam’s apple.
Fuck.
That should not have been attractive.
He looked like a serial killer.
A very hot serial killer, sure—but still.
Exactly the kind of man Penny would drool over in those ridiculous dark romances she read at three in the morning.
Not me.
Duh.
Another grunt left his throat before his gaze snapped back to mine.
“I asked why you’re upset,” he grumbled, setting his jaw once again.
Oh.
So that had actually happened.
Great.
Wonderful.
Maybe I really had finally lost my mind.
“I’m not upset.”
Which was technically true.
Upset implied sadness.
I was closer to a volcano seconds away from erupting and taking innocent civilians down with me. Vesuvio’s eruption had nothing on me.
“f*****g stubborn,” he muttered under his breath, redoing his man bun with one rough movement.
I hated that my traitorous gaze wandered over his bicep.
Then his eyes pinned me again. Light blue, piercing, the kind that would have been freaking magnetic on anyone else but him.
“You are upset,” he said flatly. “So either you tell me why or—”
“Or what?” I snapped, stepping forward before I could stop myself, until my chest almost brushed his. “You’re gonna torture the information out of me? Kill me? Punch me? What exactly is the plan here, creep?”
Eden was practically vibrating under my skin now.
Not scared.
Excited.
Ready.
And honestly?
So was I.
If he wanted to be an asshole today, I had absolutely no problem frying his ass right here between the sinks and cheap soap dispensers.
But then—
he flinched.
Actually flinched.
A sharp grimace crossed his face like I’d hit him instead of just talking.
My anger faltered for half a second. I almost regretted my harsh words.
Weird.
“Forget it,” he growled suddenly.
And then he turned and stormed out of the bathroom hard enough that the door slammed behind him.
Leaving me there.
Alone.
With enough rage pumping through my veins to level a building—
and a weird feeling twisting low in my stomach that I absolutely did not want to examine.
Fucking great.
—--------------------
Penny’s voice was a constant stream in my head.
Centerpieces.
Color palettes.
Music.
The dresses that were supposed to be delivered tonight.
She was vibrating with excitement.
Practically glowing.
Meanwhile, I was shoving fries into my mouth and acting like a creep. My gaze locked on the corner of the cafeteria.
On them.
The infamous trio of devils.
Thane wasn’t looking at me for once. He was way too focused on his phone.
That should have been good. Great. A relief. Perfect.
Except my brain clearly hadn’t gotten the memo, because our little bathroom encounter kept replaying anyway.
On loop.
Annoying.
So I focused on Keres instead.
Who was currently leaning back in his chair, boots stretched out, sneering at Rachel like she was the highlight of his day.
My jaw tightened.
“Have you talked to Rachel yesterday?” I asked, cutting Penny off mid-rant about flower arrangements.
She stopped.
Dead.
Then slowly turned her head toward me.
“Are you even listening to me?”
I shrugged, grabbing another fry.
“You know I’m okay with everything, so…?” There was no point in lying.
Penelope huffed, clearly offended I wasn’t nearly as invested in what she called our turning point.
“I tried,” she said after a second. “But she wouldn’t budge. Didn’t say a word about what happened.”
My grip tightened slightly around the fry.
“She didn’t share anything?”
“Nope.” Penny shook her head. “And I didn’t push. She looked so spooked I thought she was going to cry.”
That didn’t sit right.
Not even a little.
Because Keres was still watching her.
Still sneering.
And something about that didn’t match.
“I don’t like it,” I muttered.
Penny went quiet.
For a heartbeat.
“I mean…” I went on, eyes still locked across the room, “they’re usually just annoying, rude jerks. But I’ve never seen them get physical with anyone from our pack. It’s just…”
Weird.
Off.
Not adding up.
I had that prickle at the base of my neck that was screaming at me ‘you’re missing something’. And I hated missing anything.
Penny opened her mouth.
Closed it.
I raised a brow.
“So?”
She hesitated, then shook her head.
“I’ll try talking to her again later.”
And I was sure she would.
Because that’s who Penny was. A caretaker through and through. She was going to be one hell of a Luna.
I hummed absentmindedly, shoving another fry into my mouth—
—and froze.
Because Keres wasn’t looking at Rachel anymore.
Nope.
The tattooed, overconfident asshole was staring right at me.
Grinning.
Like he’d been waiting for me to notice.
Shit.
Did he hear me?
- Writer
