The Rogue Triplets’ Little Nerd

Chapter 1 - Persefone

PERSEFONE POV

I grabbed my backpack from the back seat just as my sister’s voice hit a pitch only dogs should be able to hear.

I swear, she was born to be a cheerleader.

Loud. Dramatic. Surrounded by people like she needed oxygen in the form of attention.

I shook my head, smiling despite myself as I slammed the car door shut.

We were twins only on paper, I swear.

“Sissy, come here! You have to hear this!” she called after me, still half inside the car, half already deep in a conversation with her friends, smiling like a maniac.

As usual.

A ray of sunshine in a thunderstorm.

“I’m pretty sure you’ll tell me later!” I shot back, already heading toward the main building.

I hated being late.

Hated it.

And if I waited for her social circus to wrap up, I’d be sprinting through the halls in five minutes.

Not happening.

I adjusted the strap of my backpack on my shoulder, weaving through the usual morning chaos—students, lockers, voices blending into background noise—

—and then everything went wrong.

In the freaking blink of an eye.

A roar split the air behind me.

Too close.

Way too close.

Close enough that I felt the heat of it brush past my skin.

I barely had time to turn before something black and fast cut right past me, the force of it knocking me off balance.

“s**t—!”

My foot slipped.

My backpack slid off my shoulder.

And suddenly I was on the ground, palms scraping against concrete, books spilling everywhere like I’d never learned how to hold onto anything properly.

Laughter followed.

Of course it did.

I exhaled slowly, pushing myself up to my knees, ignoring the sting in my hands as I started gathering my things.

Don’t react.

Don’t give them that.

The engine cut off behind me.

Boots hit the ground.

Unhurried.

Confident.

Like this was exactly what they meant to do.

Try to kill me. Again.

Fuckers.

My grip tightened around my notebook for a second before I forced it to loosen.

I didn’t need to look.

I already knew.

Still—

I did.

Because apparently, I had a self-destructive streak.

Keres pulled off his helmet and swung off the motorcycle like he’d just done something impressive instead of nearly running someone over.

Me.

His grin was already there—smug, entertained, like this was the highlight of his morning.

Tattoos on full display.

In a freaking tank top.

In March.

Narcissist.

“Careful, nerd,” he said, dragging his gaze over me.

“I’d hate to explain to your mutts why you’re splattered all over the parking lot.”

I picked up my notebook, brushing dirt off the cover like he hadn’t just tried to turn me into roadkill.

My jaw tightened slightly.

Just for a second.

Then I let it go.

“Disappointing,” I muttered. “You almost had a personality.”

His eyes narrowed, his jaw ticking—

and for a second, I could’ve sworn I saw the edge of fangs pressing against his lower lip.

'Please, please, give me a reason to kick your ass in the proper way' Eden purred in the back of my mind, already savoring the taste of blood.

Then a low chuckle at my side snapped my attention away, breaking the eye contact I hadn’t even realized I was holding with one of the three devils haunting my existence.

Aiden.

All messy hair, piercings, and a worn leather jacket like he’d stepped out of some cliché bad-boy fantasy and decided to make it everyone’s problem.

He stepped closer slowly, dragging his feet like he had all the time in the world—or like he was competing for the title of slowest man alive.

His eyes flicked over my scattered books, taking everything in.

Then lifted back to my face“Ever heard of concealer?” he said calmly.

“They say it helps with… that.”

He gestured vaguely toward my eyes—which, to be fair, were probably puffy and ringed with dark circles.

“I’ll add it to the list of things I don’t give a flying f**k about,” I shot back, not looking up as I shoved a pen into my bag.

“Right under all our past pleasant interactions.”

I didn’t check if his jaw was ticking or hanging open in shock.

Didn’t give a s**t.

I reached for the last book—

—and stopped.

Because I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck rising.

He was watching me.

Thane.

Still by the bike.

But his gaze was burning straight through the back of my skull.

Fuck.

He was the only one I wasn’t sure I could handle in a fight.

His brothers were massive alphas, sure—but they had weak spots.

Ego.

Curiosity.

But Thane?

He was an impassive wall made of muscles and scowls.

The jagged scar slicing across his left eye only added another layer of mystery.

People talked. He was one of the school’s three resident bad boys, so … rumors were always flying around those three.

The most followed theory between my pack members was that another rogue tried to kill him when he was ten—and turned up dead the next day.

The few rogues and witches attending our school swore instead that the three of them had been fighting in illegal rings since middle school, making money the only way rogues could. That Thane got that scar from a beta twice his age.

I didn’t know what was true.

The only thing I did know—

He was the one I needed to watch.

I stood, slinging my backpack over my shoulder in one clean motion.

“Next time,” I said flatly, finally meeting Keres’ eyes,“try harder.”

His grin widened.

Aiden’s gaze zeroed on my hands.

And Thane—

didn’t look away.

I turned before any of them could answer, stepping past them like they didn’t exist.

Like they’d never mattered.

Like I didn’t feel that weight pressing into my back the second I did.

I should have worked on my acting skills a bit more maybe… still, I wasn’t going to let them believe I was scared by any of them. Because I was not. I could totally handle their muscular asses in a fight. The thing was… Daddy and Papa would be called by the principal and I would have hell to explain.

So, I chose the safest way. I kept walking, adjusting the strap of my backpack, forcing my pace to stay normal even if Eden stayed tense under my skin , alert, like she was waiting for one of them to cross a line.

And then I heard it.

Footsteps.

Behind me.

Steady enough that I couldn’t pretend I imagined them, matching my pace perfectly.

I didn’t turn.

I wasn’t going to give them that.

But I didn’t need to look to know it was all three of them.

Both Eden and I could feel it.

The same way I’d felt Thane’s eyes on me minutes ago, the same way something had always shifted in the air the second they showed up.

I walked through the doors, into the hallway, blending into the noise and movement of everyone else trying to get to class, but they didn’t slow down, or go on their way. Nope.

If anything, they got closer.

They weren’t even trying to hide it.

My grip tightened slightly on my bag as I turned the corner toward my classroom, refusing to speed up, refusing to react, even as the awareness of them stayed right there, just behind me and impossible to ignore.

They followed me the entire way.

Right up until I stepped inside.

And only then—

They were gone.