Chapter 37
N ash
I couldn’t look away from Princess. Each gasp she made hurt a part of me that I didn’t know existed. A week ago, I had been trying to find a way to get her to leave my guys alone, but listening to her sobs had my fists clenched tight.
Part of me knew that something like this would happen.
I appreciated her sharp mouth and quick comebacks, but I feared for her.
This school was not filled with people who held morals and ethics in high regard, and Princess didn’t know when to back down or back away.
It wasn’t that I thought she deserved it, but more that I knew her take no shit demeanour would attract the wrong type of attention.
There was always someone waiting around the corner, looking to break your spirit if they could.
The reason they called me the King was because my soul was darker than anyone else’s.
It wasn’t a popularity contest here like at other schools.
It came down to who was willing to go to lengths that others didn’t have the stomach for, and Axel and anyone else who had been in on this was going to find out exactly what I would do.
I was sort of surprised that Axel would go this far.
He was mostly hot air, and other than a few guys, the rest of the football team only tolerated him.
But I’d been conditioned from the time that I could walk to expect that there were monsters with smiling faces.
So much so that what people did in this world rarely surprised me.
The arrogant look and humor on Axel’s face, as we passed had sent a cold dread through my body. He was pushing me, seeing how far I was willing to go. He was coming for my crown as much as he was trying to hurt Princess, and I knew before we opened the door what we would find.
As I watched Myles, I saw him in a new light.
He was gentle and caring and didn’t push too hard as he looked at the bruises on her face and comforted her with affectionate words.
She was in obvious pain as he helped her get her winter jacket on and zipped it up, but she’d stopped crying even though her body was trembling.
She wasn’t putting much weight on her right leg, and her knees were skinned and bleeding.
Myles kissed her forehead, and she nodded before he picked her up in his arms. Liam and Theo had stepped back to give her some space, but I couldn’t move away.
I was glued to the spot. Princess’s eyes found mine, and there was an anger in them that I didn’t understand, but it made me feel like this was somehow all my fault.
Guilt was not an emotion I had felt for years, but it nibbled at the perimeter of my mind now.
Our eyes were locked, and I swallowed the lump in my throat as a flash of what had happened the last time that I cared for someone danced across my vision.
The pain of that night had never left, and I still remembered the look on Mya’s face as she was dragged out of her home and shoved into the black SUV.
Ren broke first and tucked her face into Myles’s neck, and I looked down at my chest to the sharp pain that had formed behind my ribcage. I didn’t have feelings like this anymore, but there was an ache I couldn’t explain.
The walk to the dorm was quiet, and none of us said anything until we reached the library. “Myles, please put me down,” Princess said, her voice soft and hoarse.
“Ya need a break?”
“No, I want to walk.”
He set Ren on her feet, and she cringed and gripped Myles’s arm. “Are ya sure? I’m happy to carry ya.”
The way she wiped the fresh tears off her face and straightened her spine was impressive.
“I’m sure. Do I look okay?”
“Yer beautiful as always. But ya do have a bruise on yer face, and yer eye is swelling,” Myles said as his thumbs grazed her cheeks.
I envied the way Myles could turn this softer side on and off.
I wished I had some of that in me. All I had to offer was to tell her to walk it off, and then I would’ve been punched in the face.
I didn’t know how to deal with sadness or pain other than to meet it with my fist, and that wasn’t what Princess needed right now.
I glanced at my guys, and each of them wore the same expression. Their faces were dark, with a rage simmering just below the surface of the calm facade.
“Ya don’t have to do this,” Myles said, steadying Ren as she took a step.
“Yeah, I really do. Axel may have hurt me, but he’ll never steal my dignity.
” She coughed and held her side, but as she took a deep breath, I watched as she put her armor in place right before my eyes.
“He doesn’t get the satisfaction of watching me be carried inside.
I won’t give Axel, Vicky, or any of them anything to laugh at.
I need to walk through those doors,” she said.
This was why she intrigued me. Why, when I was in bed, I thought about her.
“Alright, but if it’s too much, ya tell me,” Myles said and held out his hand for her to take.
I ground my teeth as their fingers twined together.
A part of me wanted it to be me who she turned to, while the other half of me was appalled for thinking about her at all.
I needed to destroy whatever these feelings were that Axel had forced on me by hurting her.
The perfect place to start was by destroying him.
Her strides were short and slow, but the closer we got to the doors, the more naturally Princess walked.
Her head was held high, and I respected her resolve.
We didn’t have a single clue as to who her family was, but she held more determination and pride in her baby finger than Vicky did in her entire body.
Theo grabbed the door, and the noise of people talking was loud as we stepped inside.
Most everyone had left the foyer, but there were still people lingering.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Axel’s crew before I saw him leaning against the wall.
He wore a smug smile, and his eyes were focused on Ren as he ran his tongue over his bottom lip.
I watched Myles. There was a good chance he would charge Axel right now and kill him, but that would only get him killed.
“Hey, guys. Ever tasted a virgin? I’ve heard they’re pretty sweet,” Axel said, looking at his friends, but the comment was obviously directed at Ren.
I memorized the faces of anyone who laughed.
Myles tensed, his eyes ready to kill as his head turned toward Axel, but Princess’s hand tightened, and she whispered something I couldn’t hear.
Whatever it was, Myles stayed by her side, but the moment she let go would be another story.
I glanced at Liam, and he nodded. I looked at Theo and then Blake. They did the same as a silent understanding passed between us. We needed to keep Myles contained, and they were all in on whatever the plan was going forward. Before the sun rose tomorrow, Axel would meet his end.
M yles
Axel wouldn’t keep his big fucking mouth shut.
He didn’t have a decent bone in his entire body, and I was sure the rumors had already started.
What had happened would spread like wildfire.
The whispers and stares were already in full swing as we stepped inside.
Shit. She shouldn’t have to fucking go through this.
I tracked Axel’s movement, my body vibrating with the urge to kill him.
“Hey, guys. Ever tasted a virgin? I’ve heard they’re pretty sweet,” Axel called out.
My muscles tensed, and I glared, but he laughed.
That fucker was feeling way too brave inside the school walls, with his friends around him.
Hell had nothing on the fury that churned inside of me as it pushed me to scorch the earth.
I could already see him painted red with blood as he pleaded for forgiveness that he’d never get.
This world could do whatever it wanted to me, but not her.
“Please don’t leave me,” Snowflake whispered, her hand tightening on my hand like she could sense my thoughts. She was the only thing keeping me from breaking Axel in two right here in front of everyone, Curators be damned.
“I won’t. I promise,” I said. Ren’s face never changed as we stepped into the elevator and rode up to the top floor.
I wasn’t letting her go to her room with bitchface Vicky and instead led her to my room.
As soon as we stepped inside the door, whatever it had taken for her not to show the pain she was in cracked.
She whispered she was sorry as she tugged away and limped into the bathroom.
Laying my forehead against the wood, I gripped the frame and wanted to kick the door open as Ren softly sobbed inside.
Listening to her was killing me. I’d rather be run through by a thousand knives than hear my Snowflake cry.
There wasn’t a more helpless feeling than knowing I couldn’t do a thing. I’d failed her.
Spinning around, I growled as I marched for the door and the four guys blocking my way.
“Git out of me way,” I snarled and grabbed Nash by the front of his jacket, but he wouldn’t budge and didn’t raise his arms to defend himself.
“We will get him, but not yet,” Nash said, and I raised my fist. “Hitting me won’t make it better. I have a plan, but you need to trust me, and that means you need to calm down.”
I lowered my arm, but the anger was turning into pain, and I needed to get out of the room. “Fine, but I’ve got to go. I’m going to lose me mind,” I pleaded with Nash.
“You’re not going alone. We’ll all come with you. I'm not saying that I don’t trust you, but I don’t trust you right now,” Nash crossed his arms, and I wanted to clock him so hard.
“I can’t leave her all alone, not after what he did.”