A University of Betrayal (The Blairville Legacies #2)

Chapter 41

Emely

Suits Theme

Christopher Tyng

The weekend had been more than nerve-wracking. Nash had tried to talk to me a few times since the incident at the restaurant, but it wasn’t as easy as he had thought it would be. Did he seriously think he could just knock on my door and apologize for this drama? He should be grateful that I hadn’t told father about the matter with Mikhail.

But I also had no idea who had told my uncle, because he had come to see me in a good mood and tried to cheer me up, although his words had been more like a speech on love.

He wasn’t my father, and so I had rejected him too, perhaps a little too harshly.

And Tania? God , her dress and the jewelry I had tried to find downtown... I still hadn’t been able to confess it to her, simply because I didn’t want to upset her.

In other words, my home had turned into a tension zone overnight, and I was glad to finally be back on campus. So far, I hadn’t encountered an annoying Quatura that I could have shredded in the air to release stress.

Energized and ready to focus completely on my studies this week – as far as the waxing moon allowed, of course – I strode through the Faculty of Law.

As I hurriedly entered the lecture hall where my fellow students were already sitting, I snorted in annoyance. I was too late. The lecture had already started.

“Also, I want you to know that the internships at the law firm are not scheduled for the beginning of December, but for next semester, because I want to get a better idea of your academic performance before then.”

I sighed in frustration, as I had wanted to gain an insight into the practice as soon as possible, had even already submitted my application and just hoped that the professor would consider me worthy.

Right at that moment, the blonde woman, who must have been in her 50s, looked at me.

“You’re too late, Miss Copeland,” she sighed.

I actually really liked her for her objective yet friendly manner. So it bothered me all the more to be late for her lecture.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled ashamedly and looked around the crowded lecture hall for a seat, skillfully ignoring the staring students.

Thankfully, Mrs. Hudgington just nodded and continued with the topic of the lecture.

“As mentioned earlier, today we’ll be dealing with another round of legal gray areas within Canada as well as in the U.S., so you have a reference.”

My eyes continued to wander around the hall.

“Tss. Tss. Tss.”

I looked to the side, right next to me.

My eyes automatically narrowed as I caught sight of none other than Miles DeLoughrey, his legs stretched out and his feet crossed under the table, both hands in the pockets of his black suit trousers. With his eyebrows raised, he looked up and down at me.

“Would you please sit next to Mr. DeLoughrey, Miss Copeland?” Mrs. Hudgington suddenly said, and my mood immediately changed from energetic to annoyed.

Some of my fellow students laughed, including Vivienna, who – of course – also had to study law – how could it be otherwise? I wished that bitch would be put next to my brother in Economics.

“A little faster, please,” said my actual favorite professor and I wondered if she deserved a downgrade or an upgrade because the rest of the teaching staff treated me way too well because of my family connection with the director.

Again, a few laughed, and the smirk on Miles’ face made my blood boil.

Against my will, I approached the free outside seat and settled down.

You’re Loved & I’m Hated

Christopher Tyng

“The usually punctual Emely Copeland is late. That I would live to see that,” he whispered with amusement and made no move to take his stuff from my folding table, so I pushed it over to him and gave him a punishing look.

“At least I have a life, and I’m not always hanging around the lecture halls an hour beforehand.”

He just snorted and pulled the rest of his stuff toward himself with his oh-so-perfect Ruisangor hands. He looked far too manly for his age... and far too attractive, which he definitely didn’t deserve.

“I want you to pick up your exams now, before I forget later,” the slightly chubbier professor announced and unpacked a stack of papers, which made me even more nervous.

I had worked my ass off so hard for this first exam, and I needed a good start.

“Why so nervous, little wolf? Is there something you want to tell me?”

I looked at Miles, who had leaned back again, and took a deep breath. I would have to deal with his unnerving presence, no matter how much I wanted to tear him apart at that very moment.

“First of all, stop calling me that. And secondly, you’re the last person who cares about my private life.”

Naturally, he pulled the corners of his mouth up into an amused smile. Of course, what else?

“You know, Emely, you’re so stubborn that it’s actually fun to watch you react to the slightest teasing.”

It sounded like I was a game for him to play to distract himself from his boring Ruisangor life.

“And you’re so annoying that I’d love to tear you apart right here, right in front of my favorite professor,” I growled as quietly as I could and pulled out my folder and the pencil case in which I had neatly organized all my pens.

Miles reached for his iPad with amusement and I could literally feel his scrutinizing gaze on my pencil case.

“How old-fashioned.”

I leaned back as he did and looked at the thin iPad in front of him.

“How snobby.”

Miles just laughed and shook his head like I was a stupid kid, which sparked anger in me again.

Now that I was sitting leaning back just like him, I felt like something was connecting us, so I automatically sat up straight again and straightened my back.

And I felt him again. His gaze. This time, on me, as it traveled down my back.

A tingling sensation rushed through my stomach. I turned around. “You’re the most brazen person I’ve ever met.”

He looked me straight in the eye. His irises, warm brown tourmalines.

Since he was a Ruisangor, one had to be careful not to look too long into them. Who knew what his legacy gift was?

I caught myself doing so and took a concentrated breath. I couldn’t let him realize that he was unsettling me. I couldn’t let him unsettle me at all!

“And you’re the snappiest.”

And again. A smile. Everything about him suggested that he felt superior. His posture, the look, the words, even his fucking expensive perfume. I tried not to breathe it in, not again!

“You’re trying your hardest to be different from me,” he whispered sharply, his gaze becoming more serious, but without losing its hint of amusement.

“I am different from you!” I hissed and sent a prayer to the Esadowa spirits that he would finally take this as a signal to leave me alone. Not a chance.

“You think you’re different from me, but there are only a few laws and different DNA separating us. At the end of the day, you’re trying to be something you’ll never be, just like I did.”

I looked at him, confused.

What was he talking about?

“Vivienna Westcode.” She stood up proudly and strode forward to the professor, who handed her a piece of paper. “Very good. I am delighted with your excellent performance.”

Snorting, I rolled my eyes, and I could have sworn that this conceited cow had just given me her dirty fake smile.

Why wasn’t I allowed to punch her?

“Looks like two people really love each other,” Miles joked from diagonally behind me.

I was beginning to lose my patience.

“There’s no one I like better than you, Miles DeLoughrey,” I said sarcastically and immediately regretted it, because although it was ironic, Miles immediately jumped on it.

“Am I supposed to be flattered now, little wolf?”

I gave him my middle finger. “Dream on!”

“With pleasure.”

I could literally feel the grin he wore undeservedly on his face. It burned into my confidence.

“What do I have to do to get you to leave me alone?” I asked, turning to him as the professor called on more students.

The smile that curved his lips was devilish. “You’re making it hard for me to believe you really want this.” His dark eyes fixed on me. “After all, you are the one stalking me.”

I gasped in disbelief and watched as his gaze traveled down to my lips.

How could he be so shameless and turn the facts around? Just like that? What was his intention?

“Emely Copeland.”

I jerked my head around and looked at the woman with the white glasses and black business outfit. She looked at me encouragingly, and I rose to my feet. That nervousness ran through me again.

Please, let it be good, just let it be good.

When I got downstairs, I picked up my exam, and my heart leapt for joy when I saw the ninety-eight percent in the corner.

“You may be late, but you’re still one of my best students. Apparently, academic talent also runs in the family.”

I beamed at her, a little embarrassed, because I just couldn’t hide my joy.

As I turned around, I caught Vivienna’s condescending look before she whispered, “She’s favored everywhere” into her friend’s ear. I pushed all hatred aside and gave her my most triumphant smile.

Then I met Miles’ gaze.

Something inside me was longing to show him. I had worked hard, and my efforts had paid off. I was fighting for my goals. And he wasn’t going to get me down. There was frustration in his gaze, which peaked my smile.

“Milliam DeLoughrey,” Mrs. Hudgington said from beside me and I looked up at Miles in surprise, his jaw working, and I could have sworn he’d just snorted in annoyance.

Was Milliam his full first name?

Amused, as I rarely was, I strode up the steps of the lecture hall where Miles was rising to collect his exam.

“Good luck, Milliam ,” I quipped as he passed me.

He snorted again, and I was pleased with this small triumph. Not only was I academically superior, I also knew a detail about him that made him visibly uncomfortable.

Satisfied, I sat down and filed away the overview with the summary of my score. Could this day get any better?

“Congratulations to you, Mr. DeLoughrey. You are either a talented student or an extremely disciplined learner!”

My day couldn’t get any better.

In shock, I stared at Mrs. Hudgington, who was handing Miles the exam with the smile of a Cheshire cat.

“A bit of both,” he said with a wink and the woman slapped his shoulder, flattered and giggling, making my jaw drop. And right at that moment, Miles looked up at me, smirking triumphantly.

I couldn’t believe it, not even when he came up the stairs like His Majesty himself, a couple of girls staring at him longingly, but he had his eyes only on me, ready to triumph me into the ground.

I looked away, down at my folder.

He slid close behind me and I involuntarily inhaled his scent... and cursed myself. Once for doing it, once for him being better than me, and once again for not being able to hate his smell. Couldn’t he keep his distance? Did he have to get so close to me?

Suddenly I felt his warm breath very close to my ear, felt it stroking my neck.

“You’re making it really hard for me to leave you alone, Emely Copeland.” An overwhelmed sigh slipped out of my mouth and I felt him standing behind me. My body trembled with tension. “You’re a hell of a lot of fun to win against, believe me.” His breath was warmer than expected and gave me intense goosebumps. A Ruisangor, so close ... “And, yet, I haven’t even started.”

Then, finally, he broke away from my ear and sat down next to me as if nothing had ever happened, placing the exam results table on the table and giving me the rest.

One-hundred percent. Full score.

Miles DeLoughrey was better than me.

When was the last time someone had scored that high at Vanderwood Law School?

My skin was still tingling. The goosebumps covered my arms, my legs, even my stomach and chest... but mostly the back of my neck.

I couldn’t stay here.

In a hurry, I gathered my things and rose to my feet. Without another word, I disappeared from the lecture, his gaze noticeably on my back.

Once outside, I kicked a streetlight, which began to shake violently and a few students looked at me, startled, before I shouted “What?” at them and they hurried away.

Better for them.

I was pissed at that bastard... and confused... and even more pissed at myself.

Miles was fucking better than me. I couldn’t let that happen! I should have studied harder.

And then what he’d said. That wicked Ruisangor was playing with me.

Oh, no. Not with me!

He had messed with a Copeland. With the only Copeland woman on this planet. He would get that back. Because I could be anything, but never one of his idiotic little games.

No Good

KALEO

The day definitely couldn’t get any worse. It was a disaster. At lunchtime, my brother and the other guys had gathered to train with a few other Senseque. They might as well have gone to the Athletic Campus, but my brother – being who he was – loved to make a show of everything on the campus lawn.

“I heard you did really well on the law exam?” Hunter patted me on the shoulder in appreciation and smiled, impressed.

I felt like an impostor.

“Not good enough,” I replied, narrowing my eyes.

“Apparently better than the Westcode witch.”

And worse than Miles DeLoughrey. Miles. DeLoughrey!

Vivienna could go fuck herself. In another life, I would have been happy about that achievement. Now he was in my head.

“Something’s bothering you.”

I looked tensely into Hunter’s warm dark brown eyes. He could tell immediately when something was wrong. But he didn’t need to know exactly what it was, so I turned away, only in the wrong direction.

There, at his ridiculous sports car, leaned the last person I wanted to think about. Just seeing him triggered such anger in me. The way he stood there, talking to the other DeLoughreys and to Bayla’s best friend, who had recently become one of them.

Alarik had explained it to us, and it had only driven Father deeper into worry.

Barely focused on other things, my thoughts slipped back to Miles, who was talking about something that seemed to be worrying the other two men. Suddenly he looked straight at me and I quickly turned to Hunter.

“I’m bothered about where I’m going to get my lunch. My stomach is growling, and I go crazy if I don’t get something to eat. The rancid stuff from the canteen makes my stomach hurt.”

Hunter smiled, but then looked at me apologetically. “I’m sorry, Emely, but I promised your brother I’d train with him.”

Of course , my brother. He was now sitting a good thirty feet away on the stone bench next to Noah and Harry, while Cody handled the football in a bizarre way and almost hit a passer-by.

Of course, my brother looked at me, but there was no apology in his gaze.

I turned away from him in frustration, looking pleadingly at Hunter.

“You’re only doing this because he’s the next Alpha.”

The corners of Hunter’s mouth moved upwards. “No, I swear.” He raised his hands defensively. “Don’t think like that. I just owe him one.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, sure.”

“Hey guys, I hear you have an open position on your team?”

Blood In The Cut

K.Flay

I wheeled around. All my alarm bells started ringing.

The pack members immediately jumped up as if the devil himself had entered the circle. And it was true. Miles had dared to come to us. He was planning something. But what?

“You’re not part of the pack. You’re our enemy. And I advise you to leave, or else...” Nash began, stepping forward with aggression, but was interrupted by Miles.

“Or else what? Do I have to go to the rector and tell him that the football team is discriminating against students?”

How could he...

“Alarik would support us against someone like you. So don’t even try,” Hunter replied harshly.

“You may be able to hide behind your pack, but I’d be very interested to hear what Professor Harlow would say.”

Nash clenched his hands into fists.

“Is there trouble here?”

I startled slightly as Mica stepped up beside me, smiled at me, and then looked to the Ruisangor. His presence was enough for Mica to tense up and clench his hands into fists as well.

I had warned him that there were Ruisangors running around, and that we couldn’t hurt each other if we didn’t want to break the treaty.

“Obviously,” Nash growled at my date from the weekend, and I rolled my eyes. He really didn’t like him. Jesus.

Mica, on the other hand, looked at my brother for a while and finally surprised me with his own words. “I don’t think you should draw so much attention and let him play. Let him prove himself.”

Mica eyed Miles with an unreadable stare. Nash, on the other hand, glared at Mica so outraged that I could clearly feel the tension rising. And then there was Miles...

“Throwing, ten rounds. Let’s see what someone like you can do before we beat the shit out of you,” Noah declared with hostility.

It was a miracle he hadn’t gone after Miles yet.

“Why is he getting so close to you? Doesn’t he know that one bite is enough?” Mica asked quietly next to me.

My gaze drifted to his fists.

“This one is harmless. He just likes to provoke.”

My words didn’t seem to calm Mica down much. He seemed to be new to this situation and I also knew how things worked in Russia when a Ruisangor appeared near the pack.

The Russian pack had survived a bloody war against the Ruisangors in Europe and Russia only a decade ago, as I had learned at the last dinner with the Rolanows. Dimitrio had made his hatred clear. He would destroy them. All of them.

Miles followed Noah, albeit keeping a very large distance. Then Noah took the ball out of Cody’s hands, while everyone else in our group gave each other suspicious looks.

Not one of us was comfortable with this.

Miles thought he could make me white-knuckle by joining the team, just invading the pack without being part of it. If he only knew how much he actually succeeded.

Normally, Ruisangor did everything to avoid us. But he was a reckless idiot.

My brother would do anything to get him off the team. Not only was Miles one of our hated rivals, he was obviously endangering Nash’s position on campus and on the football team.

He skillfully caught the ball Noah threw to him, careful not to jump higher than the guys in the pack and… he actually managed to catch all the balls, even when Noah threw as hard as he could.

I realized I had too much anger inside me, that I was scraping my foot on the ground too hard in order to get rid of this concentrated amount of emotion.

“Who the fuck is this guy?” Mica growled unenthusiastically next to me as we watched Miles’ next athletic catch.

“A fool,” I snorted.

By now, Miles had also attracted the attention of some of the girls standing around, which wasn’t surprising considering he was a Legacy Ruisangor.

As he caught the ball again, our eyes met. A triumphant smile spread across his lips. The same exact smile he had worn during the lecture.

Idiot .

I crossed my arms tighter to show him that I was unimpressed by his attempts. All he did was catch a ball with his miserably handsome body. He might have been able to impress all those naive human girls with that, but definitely not me.

I realized he wasn’t trying to impress me. He wanted to see me suffer because he thought he was better. He thought he could get away with anything, have it all, after scoring two percent better than me. But there were limits. Even for the richest people in town.

As if Nash had read my mind, he took off his T-shirt and threw it on the grass.

“Prove to us that you can really be a part of the team without embarrassing us.” His guys laughed, but Nash narrowed his eyes. “Don’t think I don’t know what your intention is.”

I wanted to grin, because I knew they were about to teach him a massive lesson. Miles noticed my hint of levity. His jaw visibly tensed, making it appear even sharper than before.

Suddenly he grinned again.

“My pleasure, Copeland,” he laughed, glancing briefly at my brother, then at me, as if he were only talking to me.

My face stiffened.

I didn’t want him to see how unsettled he made me feel, especially when he unbuttoned his black shirt and took it off, revealing his very defined torso.

He wasn’t as tanned as my brother, or the others on the team, which unexpectedly had its own charm.

I was about to curse myself for this ridiculously na?ve thought when he turned to place the clothes on the edge of the field and I caught black ornaments of a tattoo on his back, but he was too quick, so I only saw the shoulders that were just as defined as the rest of his upper body.

My gaze moved on to the necklace of pale cool gold dangling around his neck, its black pendant also set in gold and adorned with a golden rose.

A black moonstone. Alarik had explained to me, Nash and Finn why the Ruisangors wore them.

“Let’s form proper teams!” Hunter, who had also taken off his shirt, shouted.

By now, the rest of the – non-female part of the – campus had realized that something was going on at the Copelands’ again.

The witches stood near me, but there was no sign of the other Ruisangors, except for Larissa.

“Teams…” Miles began to laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

Nash had now stepped closer to Miles than I preferred. It was one thing when there was conflict between us and the witches, and another when a Ruisangor and a Senseque faced each other. The latter had usually ended fatally in history.

The only thing that could calm me down was that Miles didn’t seem to intend to do anything serious in front of all these humans. He couldn’t be that stupid.

“Let me really prove to you that I’m better than you think I am by playing against four of you,” Miles demanded, and a heated murmur spread among the spectators.

Nash blinked at him with suspicion. And… he accepted the offer without protest?

It must have taken so much effort not to go for the intruder’s throat and, on top of that, to accept his offer.

Father always said you should never make a deal with a Ruisangor. They were dangerous and only looked for opportunities to extend their power.

However, I only saw two young men in front of me, both wanting to prove something to the other.

“Fine.”

You could clearly hear the hatred and suspicion in Nash’s voice.

“And I wouldn’t be mad at you if you let me pick two of the four people on your team.”

Miles really was an idiot.

“That would only be fair,” he emphasized loud and clear to all the people around him, who nodded in agreement.

For Fuck’s sake.

I was all the more surprised that Nash allowed that too.

“Fine,” he growled, turning to the guys and looking at Hunter, who just nodded knowingly and stepped forward. A cheer came from the crowd, as Hunter was very popular on campus.

“Hunter and I will begin.” He looked at Miles and paused for a moment before continuing. “Julian will pass you the ball.”

My eyes darted to the guy who had been standing on the invisible sideline.

Surprised, I looked at my brother, who hadn’t been on good terms with Julian for a long time, but even more surprised that Julian finally stepped into the ring without any discussion. He didn’t even blink when his and Nash’s eyes met. Had I missed something?

Confused, I raised an eyebrow when Julian finally met my gaze and... smiled?

“Who do you want to play against?” my brother continued.

I felt the back of my neck tense. Miles could pick out the weakest of the weaklings, even if everyone in the pack was performing remarkably well, but Tony, the indigenous kid with the stubbly hair from third semester, had always been a little weaker than the others, even if he didn’t look like it, and he was a few years older than Nash. So was the new Senseque, Marten. And Dexter wouldn’t stand a chance against him either.

Miles eyed the pack as if he were at a bazaar. The mockery in his amber eyes was hard to miss as he announced loudly, “Your Russian guest.”

Mica stepped forward, his fists still clenched.

And all my alarm bells rang.

He was definitely one of the Senseque who were particularly aggressive toward Ruisangors. He would kill Miles on his father’s orders. I was sure of it. Had he ever killed a Ruisangor?

A strange thought…

I looked at Mica scrutinizingly, not wanting him to get too involved, as I knew that Ruisangors were seen as an even more dangerous threat in Russia and were wiped out systematically. The only problem was that my brother had upset him when he had interrupted our dinner, which probably made Mica just as foggy. I had the feeling that none of the people involved saw Miles’ true intentions. They all had their own personal interests to follow.

And as far as Mica was concerned... Senseque were willing to do anything for their pack. We weren’t part of Mica’s pack, which had followed him and his father here from Russia and was now on campus with our guys. Mica was probably glad to get a chance to prove his strength to them, even though I could clearly sense his tension.

Only Julian seemed to be in the present, for whatever reason, and eyed Miles suspiciously.

I had to smile again. We had a date tonight . After all these years of distance.

The joy in my stomach at this fact masked all the other chaos, at least for the moment, until Miles snapped me back to the uncomfortable present.

“And your annoying sister.”

Missile

Dorothy

My smile disappeared for good as all eyes turned to me. My heart inevitably slid further down because I hated attention. There seemed to be only one thing I would hate even more from now on, and that was Miles DeLoughrey.

Another look of triumph settled on the devil’s face. I didn’t grant him that this time. He would realize first-hand that he had just made a huge mistake.

“Watch your mouth!” Nash growled.

“That’s not going to happen!” Mica shouted loudly, as if he could just decide that. A vein stood out at his temple.

What was wrong with them? If there was one thing I didn’t like, it was this silly fuss. I didn’t need anyone to defend me.

“Find yourself a strong man, not a girl.”

My jaw dropped. I hadn’t expected those words from Mica.

Not only did Nash turn to him, Julian also grimaced and shook his head.

I had to let those words sink in…

Was he serious?

“I’ve heard she’s an excellent athlete,” Miles drew my attention back to him. His eyes were on me. His smile had disappeared and all I could see was seriousness.

Anger rose up my throat. Only last week he had given me a moral lecture about the supposed conditions in my pack, and now he was standing there, experiencing the son of the Russian Alpha at his worst.

He had been right, but not in the way he thought, and the fact that everything was playing into his hands was a disaster.

“Her, or none,” Miles said insistently, with the greatest patience a Ruisangor could muster. And for whatever reason, it made me feel better.

“Find yourself an equal player.”

“I just don’t see anyone more my equal than her,” Miles interrupted Mica sharply, giving him a withering look, and the surprise in my chest grew a little more.

Miles hadn’t meant to defend me, of course not. He wanted to compete against me, to finish me off. Only he didn’t know that at that moment, he was strengthening me more than ever.

“I don’t see anything fair about you competing against a girl...”

“Agreed.” I couldn’t help but interrupt Mica’s testosterone overloaded rant and give him a cold look.

His words had been more than hurtful, and a lot had to happen to redeem himself.

“Right, let’s get started,” Nash said, giving me one last serious look as I heard “ Finish the bloodsucker” in my head before he tapped Hunter on the shoulder.

Just A Little Bit

Kids Of 88

My twin brother positioned himself opposite Miles. Julian moved a few meters behind Hunter and a few seconds later, the ball started to fly.

It flew to Miles, who caught it – what else? – before he started to run. In fact, I was expecting Hunter to knock him away, but Miles used his nature to swiftly move past him, finishing and winning the first round. He triumphantly pushed the ball to the ground and raised his arms in the air. The crowd began to celebrate him loudly, even though everyone had been cheering for Hunter beforehand.

Nash looked at Hunter with a raised eyebrow, while Hunter shrugged apologetically and walked over to me. “His speed isn’t what you need to watch out for...”

I couldn’t ask what he meant because the boys were already pulling him toward them, arguing loudly.

“Emely. Don’t do that.” I looked at Mikhail, who had appeared next to me. “He can hurt you.” He looked at me urgently, but all I could feel was disappointment and pride, so I turned my gaze to the field.

Miles was already in position, this time facing my aggressive brother, who had no hesitation in cheating and really ramming Miles to the ground. Secretly, I wished it on him. Someone had to show this arrogant donkey his limits. And Miles certainly wouldn’t stand a chance against Nash.

Marten shouted, “Go!” and Julian threw the ball.

Miles took it to the extreme by catching it from a distance with his bare hand and playfully tossing it back and forth between his hands without taking my brother’s challenging look seriously.

Then he rushed forward.

Why did my brother seem so restless? Was something wrong? It took Miles a little longer, but with a quick turn he dodged Nash, earning another loud cheer from the crowd who acknowledged his victory.

“Your brother isn’t playing strategically enough,” Mikhail murmured next to me, visibly tense, taking a deep breath, and I was grateful when he stepped onto the imaginary field because I didn’t know how to react to him at the moment.

Instead, I watched the Ruisangor with suspicion, who proudly turned in circles with his hands raised so that I had an open view of his back.

It was a tattoo. A beautiful black watercolor flower that trailed down Miles’ spine before splitting off into three differently located stems with accompanying blossoms of various size, capturing my interest for a moment. I looked at the plant curiously and at second glance I realized that the stem was surrounded by flames and covered in thorns, while the blossoms opened upwards slightly into several delicate lily flowers.

Miles turned back to me. He looked straight at me, and it was as if he was warning me. Only Mikhail left, then we would face each other.

And the fact that the two of them would now be so close to each other made me feel strangely nervous.

When both of them had finally positioned themselves, I noticed something that made me even more uneasy. Mica, like Nash, seemed nervous...

Miles’ weakness was – and I hoped this – that he didn’t know Mica and his background. Someone like Mikhail had been brought up to be anything but nervous .

Restlessness spread through me. And then I understood. How could I have been so naive?

Miles used his Legacy Ruisangor powers.

I had almost forgotten my anger at him. Now it was back. Even stronger than before. He was cheating in a bad way.

The ball flew through the air, Miles caught it and rushed forward unexpectedly fast this time and before Mica could force him to the ground, Miles jumped, pushed himself off the ground and... did a fucking flip over Mica?! He immediately rolled across the meadow behind Mica and continued running.

Cody next to me dropped his jaw.

“He... didn’t just do that, right?” I heard him say in amazement.

The crowd cheered deafeningly.

And indeed. Mica lost. Miles won.

When Mikhail got to his men, he was kicking a metal trash can, obviously furious, and one of his friends tried to calm him down while the others glared at Miles.

Nash and Hunter seemed preoccupied with themselves.

What on earth had Miles done to the three of them?

Miles threw the ball to Julian and was about to return to his position when I stepped onto the field and grabbed him by the wrist.

It was cool, his skin tighter than expected.

He seemed a little confused as he turned to me, staring first at my hand, then at me, and I took advantage of his moment of puzzlement to let him know as quietly as I could, “Whatever you did to them, do it to me, and you’ll get to know a new kind of pain.”

The people around us were too excited and too loud for anyone to hear us. And in the corner of my eye, I realized that Nash and Mica were still preoccupied with themselves and didn’t realize how close I was to Miles. Only the other guys in the pack were staring tensely at me.

Miles seemed to regain his composure, and his intense stare turned into a laugh of derision. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Contemptuously, I stepped closer.

“We both know you don’t play fair.”

“Don’t you talk to me about fair play.” He came even closer than expected, speaking even more quietly. “Or do you still believe that anything in this town works by the book?”

My breath hitched, and I couldn’t take my eyes off his. There were so many unspoken words. And so many contradictions. But I just felt powerless to formulate my feelings and thoughts into words.

“Position!” Marten shouted, and with reluctance I released my hand from Miles’ wrist.

I had warned him.

He turned his back to me and continued walking the one hundred feet until he was right across from me, far away, but unfortunately not far enough to ignore the smug look on his face.

Soon he wouldn’t be laughing anymore.

“Interesting tattoo, by the way!”

I didn’t know why those words of all things had slipped out of my mouth, but before I could curse myself for it, I noticed that Miles looked surprised for a moment. It seemed to take him away from his concentration.

“Go!”

Miles stumbled forward, running, but visibly hesitant, and was only a few feet away from me.

“So that’s what you Ruisangors are doing all day long,” I whispered, knowing he could hear despite the noise around us.

The confusion in his eyes confirmed that I was keeping him from manipulating me, at least I didn’t sense any inner nervousness as I chose my next words carefully.

“Burning lilies.”

Bullseye.

Miles tried to get past me, but I grabbed his muscular torso with my arm at just the right moment. With all my strength, I yanked him to the ground, landing on top of him with a crash.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This

Paloma Faith

The first thing I noticed was the astonished cheering of the students, which faded further and further into the background. The second thing was his cold, hard body and a heart that was beating unusually softly. The pupils in his chestnut brown eyes – streaked with bronze fibers – widened. Something I had never seen happen to another person and which caused a mesmerizing rush in my chest.

Tiny beads of sweat dotted his forehead, where a vein stood out particularly clearly on the side. His dark brown hair had come loose from the undercut man bun, probably because it was too short for it.

My eyes were caught by his again, as if he didn’t want me to look at him like that... while he himself scrutinized every detail of my face. Something unusually searching, far too intense burned in his eyes... burned into me.

And only now did I realize where my hand was lying. On his chest. It wasn’t as cool as the rest of his body and I could feel the many muscles beneath me, but I didn’t move my hand at all. I couldn’t. Why couldn’t I?

Then someone pulled me roughly up and back, shooting past me toward Miles but being pulled back by Noah, Hunter, and Cody.

“Stay away from us, or you’re dead!” Mikhail growled with a newfound aggression, tearing himself away from the guys and snorting before trying to lunge at Miles again, fist-bumping, but being stopped again by the others.

“Relax!” Nash said loudly. “Our fucking rules apply here!”

Someone turned me around so that I could no longer see Nash shouting at Mikhail, who rushed past him with a steely face.

“Are you okay?”

It was Julian who looked at me with concern.

“What on earth is going on here again?” we heard angrily behind us, and students turned around. “Why aren’t you in your lectures? The professors are already waiting for twenty minutes!”

It was the red-haired witch, Professor Rebecca Harlow.

I tried to focus on her, but my gaze inevitably drifted to Miles, who had straightened up and was already buttoning his shirt. He looked back at me too. And for the first time, I couldn’t interpret his expression at all.

“Attendance has recently become mandatory at our institution! So in with those who actually have seminars now!”

In the corner of my eye, I noticed the guys from the pack putting their white shirts and dark green sweaters back on, Mica’s men joining him and walking away, still with an angry look that made me thank Miles for not provoking him any further.

My gaze automatically wandered back to my rival. And his kept slipping back to mine.

Julian’s warm hand on my shoulder turned me to face him. “Hey, are you all right? Are you hurt?”

He looked genuinely concerned and forced me back to reality.

I shook my head slowly and his features relaxed a little.

“You showed that guy, Ems,” he said with his typical Julian grin.

Suddenly, Hunter joined us and patted me on the shoulders, just as he had done when we had greeted each other.

“I have to agree with him for once, even if the guy still made it into the team.”

Too dazed by what had just happened, I returned his smile only slightly and turned back to the man I had defeated, according to the others. I looked everywhere for the white shirt and black pants, the dark brown chin-length hair…

But Miles had disappeared.

“Come on, let’s go. Alarik is going to rip our heads off.”

I let myself be pulled along with Julian. Dazed. That was my current state.

A disorienting throb fought for dominance in my chest, and mild shock overtook me when I realized it was the memory of Miles’ heartbeat.

I blinked.

I had just finished Miles DeLoughrey. He hadn’t managed to manipulate me. It was my triumph. Damn, I should be happy.

Then, finally, a smile settled on my lips.

I had shown him . And the euphoria was so overwhelming that I already knew: This game really had only just begun.