ASHER
"Hey."
I turned to find Scott approaching, still dabbing at his split lip with his sleeve. Up close, he looked way younger than I thought, and a bile rose in my chest, hating Reed even more for haunting someone this fragile.
"Thank you," Scott said quietly, "you didn't have to do that."
"Yeah, well…" I picked up my duffel bag, "It seemed like the right thing to do." I told him, and he smiled.
"It was also foolish," Scott glanced over his shoulder nervously, as if expecting Reed to reappear, "do you have any idea who Reed Jackson is?" he asked
"Apparently he owns the school," I answered dryly.
"He is not kidding about that. Reed's father is Alpha Thorne Jackson of the Shadow Born Pack, one of the most powerful Packs on the East Coast. Reed has been groomed since birth to be the perfect Alpha. Cold, ruthless, utterly dominant, and he hates being challenged," he said, filling me with information I didn't need.
"So I gathered."
Scot shook his head in disbelief, "he is going to make your life a living nightmare. He always does with anyone who stands up to him. I have been his… his favourite victim since freshman year, and now you have painted a target on your back too.
I studied the smaller Alpha, the fear in his eyes, the defeated slump of his shoulders. This was what happened when you let bullies win, when you spent your whole life being afraid of the one who made your life a living hell.
"Maybe it's time someone stood up to him properly," I said.
"You don't understand," Scott's voice dropped to an urgent whisper, "Reed Jackson doesn't lose, he doesn't back down, and he is the strongest Alpha in the school, or maybe the strongest I have ever met, and he is..." Scott trailed off, looking uncomfortable.
"He is what?" I asked, my interest piqued.
"Obsessivve. Once he decided to destroy you, he didn't stop. He makes it his personal mission," Scott met my eyes. "I am serious, you should apologise while you still can. Tell him you are new, you didn't understand the hierarchy, you were out of line-"
"I am not apologising to that psychopath," I said firmly.
"Then you are insane," Scott sighed, "Look, I appreciate what you did… I really do, but you should know what you are up against. Reed Jackson is the king of Stone Claw Academy, and he just declared war on you."
I glanced in the direction Reed had disappeared. Despite everything, the threat, the danger, the absolute certainty that I had just made a powerful enemy.
I couldn't shake the memory of those grey eyes, or the way my traitorous body had responded to Reed's proximity, or the terrifying suspicion that standing up Reed Jackson might have been both the bravest and stupidest thing I had ever done.
"Good," I said finally, shouldering my bag, "I was worried Stone Claw Academy would be boring."
Scott made a strangled sound that might have been a laugh or a sob, "You really are insane."
Perhaps I was, but I was done running, hiding, and being weak.
If Reed Jackson wanted a war, then I would give him one, even if it cost me my life.
Later that night, in my dorm room, I locked the door behind me and immediately pulled out the same case from my jacket pocket.
My hands were still shaking; they had been shaking on and off since the confrontation with Reed.
I extracted one of the previous vials and the syringe, measuring out the dose with practised precision. The drug was clear and odourless, but I knew from experience it would burn like acid going in.
Rolling up my sleeve, I found a vein and injected myself. The burn hit immediately, and I gritted my teeth against the pain, forcing myself to stay quiet. My roommate could be back any minute, and I couldn't risk being caught doing this.
As the drug flooded my system, I felt my Omega instincts being forcibly suppressed again. The softness, the urge to submit, the weakness, all of it locked away behind a chemical wall. My scent shifted, taking on the sharper edge of Alpha pheromones.
It would last maybe twelve hours if I were lucky. Then I needed another dose.
I disposed of the syringe carefully and hid the case in the false bottom of my duffel bag. Then I collapsed on my bed, staring up at the ceiling.
My entire body was still buzzing from the encounter with Reed. The way those grey eyes had pinned me in place. The raw power that had rolled off the massive Alpha in waves. The attraction that I absolutely could not afford to feel.
He's your enemy, I reminded myself firmly. A brutal, sadistic bully who gets off on tormenting people weaker than him but even as I thought it, my mind replayed the moment Reed had stepped into my space.
The heat of his body, the intensity of his gaze, and the way his voice had dropped when he had called my eyes beautiful, even while threatening to destroy me.
I groaned and pressed my palms against my eyes.
This was bad.
This was so fucking bad.
I had come to Stone Claw Academy to become strong enough to protect my mother and to stop running.
I couldn't afford distractions, I couldn't afford enemies, and I definitely couldn't afford to be attracted to the most dangerous Alpha in the entire school especially when the Alpha had just declared his intention to break me.
'You can handle this,' I told myself, 'You have survived worse, you just need to stay away from Reed Jackson, keep your head down and-'
A sharp knock on the door made me jump.
"Asher Graham?" Called an unfamiliar voice, "Headmaster wants to see you now."
My stomach dropped. I suddenly felt like I had been drenched in water.
I had been at Stone Claw Academy for less than four hours, and I was already being summoned to the Headmaster's office.
This was going to be a long four years.