prologue
There were three rules everyone at Blackthorne University knew. Do not cross the faculty families,do not trust anyone at a party after midnight and never get involved with Zane Morreti.
People still did,that was the problem.
The rain that night came down hard enough to blur the city light outside the penthouse windows. Music shook the walls. Bodies moved everywhere, expensive liquor spilled over marble floor nobody cares about.
Blackthorne parties were never normal. They were where secrets started and where reputations died.
Someone is bleeding in the bathroom.
Mason Carter barely looked up from the poker table. "They should probably stop bleeding". A few people laughed nervously.
Across the room,Zane sat lazily on a black leather couch,one arm stretched across the backrest, tattooed fingers tapping slowly against a crystal glass.
calm, always calm.
That was what made him terrifying,not the money, fights or the rumors about what happened to the last guy who touched his car with a key.
It was the fact that nothing ever seemed to affect him.
people screamed around him.
people flirted with him.
people also feared him.
And Zane?
He looked bored of through all of it.
Your father called again,"Eli Navarro said from nearby.
Zane took a slow sip of whiskey.
"and yet l am still alive "
"That's because he's in Italy "
"unfortunately" Mason snorted
At exactly 1:13AM,the penthouse elevator opened. Nobody payed attention at first, girls came and left constantly. Athletes, influencers,rich kids looking for stories to survive the semester.
Then the room slowly quieted. Not completely though just enough because the girl stepping out of the elevator didn't look lost.
She looked dangerous.
Black dress, black boots, dark hair falling over one shoulder. No nervousness,no hesitation. And eyes that looked like they'd seen worse things than this room could offer.
She walked through the party like she belonged nowhere and everywhere at once.
people stared
Some because she was beautiful, others because instinct told them to.
Jude leaned against the bar
"who the hell is that?"
Mason whistled lowly.
"definitely not giving freshman energy ".
Eli narrowed his eyes slightly because the girl wasn't looking around in awe. She was observing exits, windows, people.
Like she was measuring risk.
And then her gaze landed on Zane across the room.
For one brief second, everything else disappeared into background noise. No smiles,no flirting,no obvious attraction.
Just two strangers looking at each other like they recognized something ugly beneath the surface.
Zane finally sat forward slightly interested. That alone was rare enough to make Mason notice "oh, this should be illegal," Mason muttered.
The girl broke eye contact first,not because she was intimidated but because she looked uninterested and somehow that irritated Zane immediately.
She's leaving,"Jude noticed.
The girl turned towards the elevator again.
One of the drunk guys near the hallway grabbed lightly at her ass has she passed.
Bad decision.
The room barely had time to react before she twisted his arm hard enough to force him to his knees.
A sharp gasp spread through the crowd.
The girl leaned down slightly towards the guy, voice soft enough to be terrifying.
Touch me again," She said calmly,and they will clean your teeth off this floor ".
Then she let go.
The guy stayed down,to embarrassed to move. And for the first time that entire night Zane smiled,not nicely or warmly,but like he had finally found something worth paying attention to.
The girl pressed the elevator bottom,
Ding , The doors slid open,, before stepping inside,she looked over once more. Straight at him.
Zane held here gaze easily,like a challenge already forming,then the elevator doors closed and she disappeared.
Nobody spoke for a few seconds.
Then mason exhaled dramatically.
"well, he announced,"I'm in love with her".
Eli ignored him,still watching the elevator.
"she's trouble "
Jude smirked.
"so is he".
Zane stood slowly, picked up his jacket,and headed toward the exit.
Mason blinked.
"you're leaving? Since when do you leave your own parties early?"
Zane slid his lighter into his pocket.
For the first time all night,he didn't sound bored.
"I want to know who she is".
And somewhere downstairs, walking alone into the rain,the girl finally pulled her phone from her pocket. One unread message glowed across the screen.
Unknown number:
Welcome to Blackthorn University, Anastasia try not to ruin it before classes even begin.
Anastasia Valez smiled faintly cold. and dangero
us
Then she typed back: that depends.
