Sorority Row

by Tl Reeve

  “Yes.” He headed for the door. “Oh, and one more thing. If I find out you are looking for Aislinn at any point, I will make you suffer. Slowly and painfully.” Physical violence wasn’t his thing, but he understood how to hit his father where it hurt most. “Good-bye, Mother.” He closed the door behind them and sagged.

  The whoosh of his blood filled his ears, while his body shook from the adrenaline rush. He needed to get out of there and find Bell. Finally free. “You don’t look so good.”

  Jackson laughed. “You look like warmed-over shit.”

  “I bet I do. Let’s go find Bell.”

  “Lead the way.”

  ***

  Bell paced outside the meeting hall. She’d chew her nails, but her mother would kill her for picking up the nasty habit again. When she’d been little, especially right after her father had moved them to Window Rock, she made her fingers bleed from all the chewing she did. It took several months of reassurance for her to stop. Then, one day, she couldn’t remember what triggered it, and she didn’t have the need to do it anymore.

  Until today.

  It’s going to work out, Bell. Don’t worry so much.” Hayden stood beside her. “We have all the evidence we need, plus we have more than enough pledges to keep the house.”

  She took a deep breath. “Yes, we do. I think it’s the idea of having to defend ourselves in front of the dean. I’ve never been called to the principal’s office, let alone had to deal with this kind of pressure.”

  Her cousin laughed. “It’s no biggie. Let the proof do the talking, and don’t allow any of the other sororities to rattle you.”

  Last night while they put the last touches on their appeal, an email had arrived in her inbox. Initially, when the letter arrived from the dean, she’d assumed it would be her and him discussing what to do and how to move forward after their thirty days ended. Instead, it detailed who’d be in the meeting and stated, if asked, she would be required to answer any and all questions from the sorority sisters. “You’re right.”

  “Of course I am,” she teased. The doors opened moments later, and they stepped inside. “You’ve got this, Bell. I’ll be here the whole time.”

  “Bell!” Christoph’s deep rumbling voice stilled her.

  “You made it!” She jumped into his arms when he approached.

  “We’d never miss this.” Jackson stepped around him and gathered her in his arms. “Everything has been taken care of.”

  “Aislinn?”

  “On her way.” Christoph nuzzled her neck. “She’ll be fine, and we’ll get a phone call when they arrive.”

  One less thing for her to worry about. “Thank goodness. I’m so glad that’s over.”

  “This will be, too, blondie. Go kick some ass for us. We’ll be here waiting when you’re done.” Jackson brushed a kiss over her lips.

  “You’ve got this, kitten.” Christoph pressed his mouth to her forehead. “Be brave for us.”

  Warmth and acceptance filled her. “I will.”

  “That’s our girl.” Jackson turned her toward the door. “Go get ’em.”

  She lifted her chin and straightened her shoulders then took the first step into the conference room. As per the email, every sorority had made an appearance. Terri, Emma, and Zoe sat together with Hayden, while Laney, Lacy, and Reagan sat near the head of the table. Disdain oozed from them. Their cruel smirks and haughty dispositions had her second-guessing her confidence.

  Don’t let them get to you. The minute you do is the minute you lose. Besides, you have the evidence in your corner. It sat in the envelope she’d tucked away in her satchel. Laney might be feeling a little too smug, but after she got done with her, she’d never harm another person again.

  Taking her seat beside Hayden, she laid the bag on the table and waited. A few moments later, the door opened and Dean Ames walked into the room. He took his seat at the head of the table and opened his folder.

  “Good morning, ladies. I am glad you could all make it on such short notice. I’ve been informed there have been some changes…new developments within the last few days.”

  Bell glanced at Hayden who shrugged.

  “Why don’t we begin with the initial issue then we’ll move on to the more delicate items.” He glanced around the room at all of them then stopped at Bell. “Miss Dryer, you are here due to the lack of pledges for your sorority. I have the stack of new applications along with your proposal. Though you have made the cut-off number and then some, there are some serious issues with your new roster. Care to explain your solution to the rest of the sisters?”

  She nodded while grabbing her things out of her bag. “A few weeks ago, I received two notices. One for not having enough pledges, and the second was a condemned property notice for our house.” She handed out a copy of the notices to everyone at the table. “The first one, I’ll admit, we had a hard time fulfilling. The second was much easier. My father owns a construction company and volunteered to help renovate the house. I am happy to say the place is 90 percent renovated, and the other 10 percent will be finished within the next two weeks.”

  “Let me stop you there.” Dean Ames pointed to the condemned property letter from the city. “You would have gotten one from us first then the city. Did you ever receive one from the school?”

  She shook her head. “This is the only notice I received.” Bell retrieved the information Raquel gave her about it being a forgery. “But I have something I’d like to share with you, if it’s appropriate to do so in a public meeting.”

  “Does it pertain to your case?”

  “Yes, sir, it does.” Adrenaline and anxiousness swirled through her system. Her hands trembled while she held the information to set her sorority free.

  “Then I’d like to see it.”

  She pushed away from the table then stood. Hayden gave her the thumbs-up as she delivered the documents to the dean. “A source, I will not divulge her name in public, did a little digging when she noticed inconsistencies with the condemned property notice. So, she traced it. I won’t bore you with the details of how she did it. But, she figured out the ink and the printer lines didn’t match any other printer for the city offices. So, she dug a little deeper. If you’ll turn to page two, you’ll see her explanation.”

  There in black and white on the results page, sat the different marks on the paper and the style of how the letters were presented on the pages. “You can see the city uses an industrial printer made by Xerox, and the sorority who stole the letterhead and printed the condemned property letter used an off-brand printer.”

  He glanced down at what she’d presented and, for long moments, didn’t say anything. “It could be a coincidence.”

  “I thought about that, too.” Raquel had also checked out how many people in their small area had a printer like the one used to write the letter. “You can see on the next page, thirty people in a ten-mile radius of the school have a printer like this one. However, only one is on campus.”

  “Hmm…. Laney, what do you have to say about this?” He glanced up at the girl who’d made Bell’s life a living hell.

  “She’s lying of course. There is no way those letters came from a printer in my sorority.” She crossed her arms and pouted.

  “So, you won’t have a problem with security searching your house for it?” he pressed.

  Her eyes widened. “Dean Ames, this is ridiculous! We’re not here for me. We’re here because Bell didn’t acquire enough pledges.”

  “A simple yes or no will suffice.”

  Laney glared at her. “No. I will not allow you to ransack my home because some twit faked evidence against me.”

  Dean Ames narrowed his eyes. “Then I will bring you to the Code of Conduct board. I am confident when they’re done with you, we will be searching your home.”

  She jumped out of her chair, sending it flying behind her. “You can’t do this!”

  He grinned—not a nice one, either.
It was filled with intent, and purpose. If she hadn’t dealt with her father’s anger on several occasions, Bell would fear the dean meant to cause harm to Laney. “Oh, but I can and I will.” He stood and braced his hands on the table, getting into Laney’s face. His eyes changed to an eerie golden color. “Sit down, Miss River.”

  She squealed in outrage. “My daddy will have your job!”

  He shrugged, easing into his chair. “He can try, but I am sure the postal service and the city would love to know how you forged documents and used the postal service to assist your fallacy. Anything else, Miss Dryer?”

  Bell couldn’t believe what she saw. Rooted in her spot, she stared at Laney and Mr. Ames, unable to speak. She shook her head. “N-no, sir.”

  “Perfect. Moving on to your pledges. You submitted an idea, using another college’s model. While I don’t appreciate another school’s methods introduced into our school, this time, I believe it is appropriate to take a look at it.”

  “Victor Lorenz approached me, Dean Ames, with a fantastic idea. I had noticed for a few days we attracted a certain sect of students—”

  “Losers more like it,” Reagan snorted.

  The dean tapped his gavel on the table. “Quiet. Reagan. There is no talking during these hearings unless you are called upon to speak. If I have to tell you again, I will have you removed from this room. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Go on, Bell.”

  “Anyway. Maybe we are losers. I don’t know, and I don’t care. But I opened my house to all those who need a place to call home, and it feels pretty damn good.” She covered her mouth. “Sorry, sir.”

  He chuckled. “It’s all right. Continue.”

  “So, when Victor came to me with his idea, I immediately liked it. Hayden, my vice president, was present also at the meeting, and she, too, agreed.”

  “Hayden?” He glanced at her cousin. “Is this true?”

  “Yes, sir. Bell and I both noticed how we’d become a beacon of sorts for students. It made sense to us right away, when he explained the co-op house.”

  “We thought if we could change our policies and allow a place to stay for male and female students who didn’t feel welcome in other houses, we’d be making an impact on student relations. Just think, Dean Ames, a house where a loner and a shy person could live and become friends. A place where a gay student could come and be himself or herself. We want to be known as a bastion of hope to all those who feel like they don’t matter. Some may call us misfits in a derogatory way. However, we wear the name with honor because we don’t want to fit into society’s crazy molds.”

  He scrubbed his chin with his fingers while studying their proposal. “You understand your house isn’t big enough for this type of venture, correct?”

  “Yes. We hoped, with some fund-raising and a little ingenuity, we could either add on to our present house or move to a bigger location. Some of our members would have to stay in their dorms until it is possible for us to accommodate them.” She hated the idea of them not all being together, but, sometimes, you had to do what you had to do.

  He nodded. “There’s three acres of land available near your current residence. If you’d like to use it, you must do the following. Submit a proposal for the site and a set of blueprints for the remodeling of your house or a new one. The third and fourth year architectural students are at your disposal, so is the blueprint printer. Plus, I would need a budget and a completion time frame. You’ll have three weeks to turn it in.”

  “You can’t do that!” Laney shouted. “That’s my land for my house.”

  “I can and I just did, Miss River.”

  Bell couldn’t believe what she’d heard. “Wait, so you’re saying yes?”

  “I’m saying yes with the contingency that you build a bigger house.”

  Her vision went fuzzy and her blood whooshed in her ears. She won. Her heart pounded as excitement and nervous energy mixed together. “Holy cow.” She covered her mouth and giggled. “I will have the proposal to you in the allotted time. I already know a good construction company.” She couldn’t wait to tell her father and her mates.

  “If there’s nothing else?” Dean Ames glanced around the room. “Excellent. This meeting is adjourned.” He smacked the gavel against the table’s wooden surface. “Congratulations, Miss Dryer, and good work.”

  She shook his hand. “Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down.”

  Finally. No more being worried sick. No more three a.m. anxiety attacks of what she’d do next. No more having to fight with Laney. For the first time since the semester began, the weight of the world lifted from her shoulders.

  The doors opened moments later, and Jackson and Christoph entered the room. She broke through the group of girls surrounding her and launched herself into their arms—awkwardly, of course.

  “We won!” She kissed both men. “It’s all over.”

  “We heard. Congratulations, kitten.”

  “Way to put Laney in her place, blondie.” Jackson grinned.

  “We should celebrate.” Hayden joined them. “Pool party at your place.”

  She laughed. “Sure, but not today. I feel like celebrating with my mates.” She glanced up at her men. “Take me home, boys.”

  Christoph chuckled. “Your wish is our command.”

  “I love you both.” She pressed her palm to their chests. “Forever.”

  “We love you, too, blondie.” Jackson reached down and tipped her chin up. “Forever.”

  Sign up for the Decadent Publishing Newsletter here http://eepurl.com/SQ75f and never miss stories like:

  Chapter One

  Hayden Raferty sat at her desk and stared at the unopened letter from her father. The forced cheerfulness of his inquiries grew tiresome, the questions always the same. Had she made new friends? Seen any familiar faces? Did she like her professors? Blah, blah, blah. What would happen if she wrote return to sender on the envelope? The irrational need to please her family stopped her from doing so. Besides, she knew who they were asking about, and she wouldn’t give him the time of day.

  Curiosity got the better of her, and she opened it.

  Pictures of her cousins tumbled out of the accompanying note, landing on the desk in front of her. Their happy faces stared back at her with such wide-eyed hope. Excited for the next stage of their lives. And, they should be. This summer, they would join her and Bodhi at Turnskin University, aptly named since most of the students were of the shifter variety.

  Her uncle had made sure they followed in the family footsteps. A legacy is what he called it when Bodhi and she set foot on campus. She couldn’t complain. Being different was the norm. She didn’t have to hide as she did in the human world. Living in Window Rock, Arizona crimped the desire to shift at will and run. Thankfully, her pack flowed seamlessly within the township, and her family owned a large parcel of land on the outskirts.

  Still, she found herself a little shell-shocked by the freedom of being out in the mountains of Colorado. If she decided to shift, throw her backpack over her back, and trot to class, she could. Of course, she didn’t.

  Her roommate last year had been a dragon. Hayden wished her cousins could’ve met Dani before she graduated and went home. They’d have gotten a kick out of her antics. She smiled, remembering one of her friend’s stunts as though it happened yesterday. In an apparent attempt at shock and awe, Dani went winged beast in the quad and got tangled in the ropes tethering the upcoming football game banners, sending her crashing into patio tables situated around the area. Her aerobatics effectively squelched any need Hayden had to go au naturel.

  After placing the photos into the edges of her mirror, she came back to the letter waiting for her. And now you’re putting off the inevitable. No doubt they’d ask about Nico again, and, honestly, she didn’t have an answer for them. Hayden opened the letter, and, instead of her father’s bold script, Blake’s chicken scratch jumped out at her. She s
miled. When she met her father, he had already mated both Blake and Loraine. Long story short, her aunt Holly had found Hayden. She had been a baby at the time and, as with Bodhi, been taken from her birth mother.

  Turned out they were twins like her uncles, Kalkin and Caden. No one knew about her until the day Holly’s car broke down in Window Rock and she asked the sheriff, her Uncle Kalkin, for help. At first, it shocked her how much she resembled her family then, seeing her twin brother for the first time, she lost it. But, her dad…the man had been inconsolable. He held both of them for hours and didn’t want them out of his sight for nothing. For a while, she expected Holly to leave, but, thankfully, she’d mated her Uncle Mackenzie.

  She traced Blake’s handwriting. She loved her father and his mates desperately—as much as she loved Holly—even if they did enjoy playing matchmaker with her. The letter started out as per normal. Window Rock is growing, blah, blah, blah. We miss you and Bodhi. We hope you’re doing well. Yada, yada, yada. When her gaze lit on the next sentence, she squealed—a noise she hadn’t made since she’d been a kid.

  We have good news to share this time, and that is why I am writing you. Your father is sitting with Loraine at the doctor’s office. We’re having a baby.

  Hayden jumped in a small circle while giggling and shaking the letter. She and Bodhi were going to have a sibling. She settled herself and continued reading.

  The baby will be born in the middle of spring. We hope you can come home for break and meet the new addition to the family. We miss you. We love you. Call home when you get this.

  When she finished reading the letter, she placed it in the notebook marked 2016 and slipped it back in its spot. She kept every letter and birthday card her family sent her. She kept the pictures and newspaper clippings Loraine sent her when her uncles solved high-profile cases. And, whenever she got homesick, she opened up the folders and read everything, including the questions only smothering parents—who were naturally curious about her time away—asked. And maybe they wanted to know if she’d seen him.