by River Ramsey
As if woken from a trance, Marissa turned angrily and ran down the hall, but not without one last murderous glance in Ella’s direction.
Of course she blamed Ella. When had a member of the Hill family ever been held directly responsible for their actions?
Marissa’s posse ran after her and one look from Axel was all it took to scatter the other onlookers. No one wanted to be the object of his bottled up fury.
Ella was going to leave herself when he turned back to her, his left cheek turning red even though he didn’t seem to have noticed.
“What the hell was that?” she demanded, unable to stop from staring at him. Of all the things she’d ever seen him do, this was by far the one that had shocked her the most.
“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” he challenged, taking a step toward her. “For me to choose you over her.”
“Choose me?” Ella echoed, her brain shortcircuiting from the absurdity of his words. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Come on. It’s me,” he said knowingly. “Don’t pretend like you haven’t been madly in love with me all these years. You’re finally getting what you want, and Marissa was humiliated in the process, so you should be happy.”
It took Ella a few seconds to process his words, let alone remember how to speak. The utter callousness was what she couldn’t get over. Not because she had any warm sympathies for Marissa, but because she didn’t want to believe that Axel, even Axel, was that cruel.
“You’ve been together four years. You’re really willing to throw all that away just because she turned out not to be who you thought she was?”
“Yeah,” he answered without hesitation, driving the nail in her chest even deeper. She was as heartbroken as if it was her he was throwing away without a second thought, because for fourteen years, it had been.
Now the other students were focused on them, but Ella was too stunned to care or even notice. She couldn’t find the words to express what she was feeling, and she wasn’t exactly sure herself. The ones that finally came out were words she never imagined she’d have the courage to speak to anyone, let alone him.
“You’re disgusting.”
He blinked a few times, as if he hadn’t heard her correctly. Or maybe he was just struggling to believe that was actually what she’d said. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” she spat, tightening her grip on her bag, feeling her claws ready to come out. If she didn’t get away from him, she was going to shift, and turning into a six-pound cat was not exactly the way she wanted to make a dramatic exit. “I think you’re disgusting, and you should be ashamed of yourself.”
With that, she turned and left him to puzzle over what was probably the first time anyone had actually told him the truth. At least the truth that was now as heartbreakingly plain to her as day.
Ella heard him calling her name, but she kept walking, tears stinging her eyes, and headed straight for the administrative offices, which were the only area of the Academy where she was reasonably sure even he wouldn’t follow her.
She ducked into the broom closet and pressed her back against the door to catch her breath. She still couldn’t believe everything that had just happened, least of all what she’d said to him before walking away, but more than her embarrassment or the dread of the consequences that were surely to come, both for her actions and his, she was overwhelmed with grief.
Marissa was the one he’d broken up with, so why the hell did she feel like she’d lost him all over again?
Chapter 8
Axel
She walked away from him.
No one ever walked away from him.
Especially not her.
If he hadn’t been so damn shocked, Axel knew he probably would have lost it right there in the hallway, but instead, all he’d done was watch her walk away in disbelief. As soon as he realized the students who’d gathered to watch the drama unfold were still staring at him, all it took was an icy glare for them to scatter.
Throwing his fist into the nearest locker hard enough to bow the door, Axel took off down the hall, intent on getting as far away as he could. He didn’t trust himself to be around people and not rack up the murder charges right now. God help him if Marissa or any of her cronies showed up again.
Kyrie appeared out of nowhere, catching Axel by the arm. “Dude. What the fuck was that?”
Axel jerked violently out of his grasp. “Fuck off.”
“Seriously?” Kyrie raised his hands in a shrug of indignation before giving up and flipping him off.
Axel ignored it, stalking through the front door. He kept going until he reached the woods, putting enough distance between him and the classroom building that he would have time to talk himself out of following her to class and hashing it out in front of everyone.
Hell, he’d probably get away with it, too. With a few notable exceptions, the teachers at the school kissed his ass just like the students did. It was more a matter of pride than practicality that kept him in check.
Who the fuck did she think she was? No one ever talked to him like that. Not his family, not Marissa, not the moondamned High Priestess herself. He always figured if anyone ever did, he’d put them in their place immediately, but it was complicated with Ella.
Everything was complicated with Ella.
This was one problem he couldn’t solve with a fist or a wad of cash.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. It was supposed to be easy.
Of all the girls who’d fallen into his bed, Ella was supposed to be the low hanging fruit. Now that she was hanging up above him, not even just out of reach but far, he wanted to cut the whole damn tree down.
He’d wanted her before for reasons both unknown and maddening, but this was different. This wasn’t curiosity or even lust. It was fucking war, and he wasn’t going to stop until he’d conquered her, body, mind and soul. Until there was nothing left of her but an empty shell because he’d filled her with the same poison his filthy soul was marinated in.
Until he’d absolutely ruined her and there was nothing left for him to want.
Fire burned under his skin, fueled by spite and the same chemical madness that plagued him whenever that mewling little stray was near.
If he didn’t shift now, the beast was going to come out on its own and there’d be no controlling it.
The Academy was far from town, but no distance was too much for a furious tiger to bear in search of prey, and even he couldn’t get away with the body count that would result in.
Axel tore off his shirt and unbuckled his belt just enough to shove his slacks down over his cock. He’d no sooner left his clothes in a trail along the grass than the shift came over him and only the painful crack of bone and the heady rhythm of the earth beneath his paws was enough to distract him from far more unsettling sensations.
What was it, even? It smoldered like anger and cut like betrayal, but there was a far more acrid note to the sickness lodged deep in his bones, spreading through his system like wildfire.
Humiliation.
The answer came to him, no more welcome than the feeling itself.
There was a first time for everything, but this was damn sure going to be the last time that little bitch made a fool of him.
He hoped she was enjoying the brief moment of comeuppance, because it was going to be the last thing she enjoyed, period.
No…
That was too easy. Sure, he could turn the whole school against her on a dime. He could make her every waking moment at the Academy pure torture that made all of Marissa’s bullying seem like child’s play in comparison, but where was the fun in that?
He didn’t just want to break her. There wasn’t enough substance to Ella for the crumbling of her in his grasp to be satisfying.
He was going to build her up first. To make her think she was safe. To convince her of the beautiful lie that her fortune really had changed and she had a chance at the happily ever after he’d given up on a long time ago.
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He was going to make her fall in love with him all over again. He was going to show her pleasure and decadence she could never even imagine, just so he could hurt her more than anyone ever could or had or would.
He was going to bring her to such heights that the inevitable drop would crush her into nothing, even if the fall killed them both.
Chapter 9
Ella
After her confrontation with Axel in the hallway, the rest of the day was pleasantly mundane. Ella wasn’t sure if the other students were not quite as cruel as she’d feared, or if they simply didn’t know what to do with her, but either way, they left her alone.
For the most part.
She wasn’t used to the stares, but it was something she knew she was going to have to get used to, considering she bore the obvious sign of her moonmark everywhere she went.
She still wasn’t even sure what it meant to be Empress. What would be expected of her beyond her time at the Academy, or during it. Getting into fights with the school’s most prestigious student definitely wasn’t on the list, but maybe that would be the end of it.
If she stood any chance at a normal life at the Academy, she knew it depended upon distancing herself from Axel as much as possible, not only for her own sanity, but because she didn’t want to give Marissa and her minions any more reason to think she was involved with him.
One day, she would have to choose a mate, and the idea that she would deny Axel would have once been unfathomable, but now that she’d done it, she felt...freer.
And a little bit terrified, but mostly she just felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
When the time came for her last class, Ella checked her schedule to make sure she had the right room. The room looked standard enough from the outside, but as soon as she opened the door, she knew she had to be in the wrong place.
This wasn’t a classroom, it was a five-star restaurant, by the looks of the immaculately set tables scattered around the room. There were candles lit on too many surfaces to count, and soft, ambient music played from some unseen source.
There were a few other students gathered sparsely around the tables, and they all ceased conversing when Ella entered the room.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, more as a reflex than a conscious thought. “I think I have the wrong class. This isn’t Etiquette, right?”
The two girls at the table looked at each other, and the brown-haired boy next to them snorted a laugh. “You’re in the right place.”
“Well, that’s a matter of debate,” the girl to his right said with a malicious little sneer. Her friend giggled.
Ella sighed, taking a seat at the furthest empty table. So much for making friends.
At least Axel hadn’t come to any of the classes they had scheduled together. Ella couldn’t help but feel a familiar twinge of guilt, even though she knew it was his fault.
He was the one who’d behaved like a complete ass in front of everyone, and whether he went to class or not was none of her concern.
Maybe if she told herself that enough times, she’d stop worrying.
The room began to fill up quickly, and Ella’s table remained notably empty as the others reached full capacity. The other students even started pulling over chairs from her table to cram in with their friends, as if the point they were trying to make wasn’t obvious enough.
Ella decided the best strategy was just pretending like she didn’t notice. Or hear the whispers and snickering from the other tables. She took out her phone and scrolled absently through the last thing in her browser history, which happened to be a recipe for the most recent dish she’d helped Beatrice make. She was so intent on pretending not to notice anything that she failed to hear the approaching footsteps until a shadow loomed over her.
Fully expecting to turn around and find Axel there to finish what he’d started, Ella wasn’t sure she should be relieved to see the man standing in his place. Tall and lean with glossy black hair pulled into a tie at the nape of his neck, the man didn’t look any older than his late twenties, but the maroon blazer that complemented his ice blue eyes left no room to doubt he was a teacher.
Ella’s mouth felt as dry as cotton as she stared up at him, taking in his sculpted and strangely beautiful features along with the condescending sparkle in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, would you like me to postpone my class until you’ve had the chance to finish your conversation?” he asked in a voice as smooth as silk with a soft English lilt that made his sarcasm all the more cutting. That voice at once caressed and wounded, but Ella couldn’t bring herself to regret hearing it.
“No, I… I wasn’t…” she trailed off when she realized he was utterly indifferent to any explanation she had to offer and quickly silenced her phone before stashing it in her bag. “I’m sorry.”
Satisfied, he turned toward the others and their gleeful chatter immediately stopped. “Now, would someone like to give me a reason you’re all crowded around these tables like an infestation of rats?”
No one dared to answer him, but several students leaped out of their chairs and scurried over to Ella’s table. They still made sure to stay as far away from her as the curve of the table would allow, as if her lowly social status was contagious.
To be fair, if the Academy was anything like the rest of the shifter world, it probably was.
“Now that we’ve resolved that little melodrama, perhaps your walnut brains will entertain a brief introduction,” he said, making his way to the front of the room. “As most of you already know, my name is Sterling Bryant, but that piece of information is utterly irrelevant, considering that you lot will only be referring to me as Sir, Mr. Bryant, or--and this one is my personal favorite--the teacher whose class will single handedly tank your collective GPA.”
The fact that no one laughed did not bode well for Ella. She had already struggled to understand what most of her other classes were about, given that everyone else had years of context to go off of and all she had was a stack of syllabi and an as of yet unused login to the online classroom boards.
“I’m sure those of you who already have me for Colony Structure and Civics are wondering where the lovely woman whose name is printed on your syllabi is, and how you came to be blessed with my company,” he continued, scanning each table in such a way that each of his students could feel sufficiently singled out. “The unfortunate answer is that Mrs. Talbot has run into some unexpected complications during the third trimester of her pregnancy, and I’ve been asked to take her place for the rest of the semester. Thus, the unenviable task of molding you spoiled, pretentious little kits into reasonable and well-adjusted queens and toms capable of attending a dinner party without shaming our collective species falls to me.”
Ella took a deep breath and let it out as slowly as possible. At least he didn’t seem to have any particular disdain for her that he didn’t lavish on the rest of his students.
“Now that we’ve gotten the pleasantries out of the way, it’s time for an overview of what we’ll be doing this semester,” Mr. Bryant said, slipping on a pair of black square glasses that somehow made his features even sharper and more appealing as he looked down at the syllabus in his hand.
“Though I have a great deal of respect for Mrs. Talbot, I take a slightly different philosophy when it comes to teaching. She would typically spend the first month or so reviewing the finer points of etiquette in various common social functions, as well as the traditions and reasons behind them, but I am not so charitable and I don’t believe in repeating myself. A quick glance over the course plan and you’ll see these are all things even a stray should have learned from primary school, and if you can’t put them into practice, there’s very little hope of you surviving in this cutthroat society anyway.”
Ella winced internally. She wasn’t sure if he knew of her lowly origins and was intentionally trying to get under her skin, or if he was just the same as everyone else. Either way, she decided to keep her mouth shut and hope aga
inst hope that no one told him where she’d come from--and where she hadn’t.
The rest of the class period was a blur of etiquette terminology the others all seemed to grasp perfectly, judging from their assenting nods. Ella struggled to keep up with flipping through the pages as she tried to skim over each section the others breezed past, but when the teacher tossed his copy away and came to stand in the center of the room, she realized she was out of time.
Of all the classes on her schedule, she’d assumed this would be the easiest one, but it seemed the Academy was intent on proving her wrong every step of the way.
“We’re going to end today’s class with a brief exercise even you uninspiring souls should be capable of,” he remarked, walking down the line of tables. “Introductions. I want you to split into two lines and pair off face to face, boys with girls if you can. Or, for those who’ve written off the opposite sex entirely, a partner of your own persuasion.”
There were a few chuckles, but no one seemed willing to take him up on it. Ella was reasonably hopeful of her chance of getting through the exercise without humiliation since, despite Axel’s absence, there were a good many more boys than there were girls. She stopped in front of one timid looking young man who was too far from the group to have a partner, but his eyes bugged out as soon as she drew near and he quickly rushed to pair off with the one girl who hadn’t chosen yet.
There were only three students left, and Ella found herself looking fearfully between the two boys opposite her. They looked at each other and pointedly stood on opposite sides of the line, making it clear they preferred that arrangement to one of them being saddled with her.
“It would seem we have an extra,” Mr. Bryant remarked, his tone short with irritation. Ella could only assume it was directed at her, and when he came to stand in front of her, she wanted to hide under a table. “No matter. You’ll work with me. It’ll give you time to watch the others.”