Love, After Dark

Chapter 28

WYNTER

I sat in the main office with one leg crossed over the other, filing my nails like this was any other afternoon. Calm. Unbothered. The soft scrape, scrape of the emery board was the only thing grounding me while chaos unfolded a few feet away. Behind the closed door of the principal’s office, voices echoed. Sharp, raised, furious. My mother’s voice cut through the rest, unmistakable and lethal. Good.

I smiled to myself and blew lightly on my nails, inspecting my work. Serves them right. How dare Coach Parks call me out in front of the entire gym class like that? Embarrassing her only daughter? Please. If he thought that little stunt would stick, he clearly forgot who my mother was. Yes, the game was technically over when I hurled the ball at that girl’s face. But so what? She didn’t even get hit. Much to my dismay. That b***h Nala just had to step in where she wasn’t needed. Always the hero. Always inserting herself. No worries though. She’d get what she deserved soon enough. Girls like her always did. And Siri.

I rolled my eyes as I switched hands and kept filing. Who the hell does she think she is? I’d briefly considered Whitney’s idea to befriend her, use her to make Keisha jealous. Keisha had clearly taken a liking to the new girl. Not surprising. It’s not like Keisha has many friends these days now that she no longer has us. But the more I thought about it, the faster I shut that idea down.

Siri was too perfect. Don’t get me wrong, my friends are hot. Obviously. But I’m Queen B. This is my town. And Siri? She’s gorgeous. Too gorgeous. The kind of pretty that turns heads without trying. I couldn’t let her steal my spotlight. And then there was Brice. My jaw tightened. I saw the way he looked at her. Like she was the most precious gem he’d ever seen. Like the world faded out when she was in front of him.

Good thing I showed up when I did. The way Brice jumped- as if I’d caught him doing something forbidden- did not help my mood. If that w***e thought she was going to get my man’s attention, she had another thing coming. Brice was mine. I was born to be his Luna. Destined. Planned. Written in stone. Nothing and no one was getting in the way of that. I’d tried to knock Siri down a few pegs in gym class. Literally. The girls and I landed a few good hits, using just a bit more of our werewolf strength than we were supposed to. Watching her slam into the wall, dazed and struggling to breathe? Satisfying. Very satisfying. But then something changed. She turned out to be more athletic than she looked. That alone pissed me off.

When she caught the ball and eliminated me from the final round, I swear I saw red. How did a human do that anyway? It didn’t make sense. Our team still won two out of three rounds, so at least I didn’t have to help Mrs. Parks with her stupid little production, But that smug look on Siri’s face? It set me on fire. I grabbed the ball without thinking and hurled it with everything I had. Part of me was thankful Nala caught it when she did. Killing a human girl with an entire class as witnesses would’ve been… inconvenient. Even for my mother. But that moment sealed it. Nala was officially at the top of my s**t list. Right alongside Siri. And Keisha.

The principal’s office door suddenly flew open. Coach Parks stormed out first, his face red, jaw clenched, anger radiating off him with every stride as he marched past the front desk without a single glance in my direction. I looked up just in time to see my mother exit behind him, perfectly composed, lips curved in a satisfied smile. She glanced at me. “Come, darling.” I stood, slipping my nail file back into my purse. “Yes, Mother,” I replied sweetly, flashing a smile as I passed Principal Beaver. He looked… disappointed. I smirked at him before following my mother out of the office, heels clicking confidently against the floor. They should’ve known better. And if Siri and her friends thought this was over, they were dangerously mistaken. I wasn’t through with them yet. No, I was just getting started.