Page 48 of House of Pain
“I have better things to do.”
“Good girl.” Val smirked. “Loyalty to your House is what ensures the win.”
Someone crashed into Alecto’s shoulder, almost sending her to the ground if it weren’t for Val steadying her by her side.
“Whore,” Rebecca Moon from the Tigers sneered.
Alecto wasn’t sure what came over her in that moment, but her mind acted before she knew it.
Neither do they have it in them to be cruel or merciless.
Rebecca was about to turn away, but Alecto grabbed her by the throat, slamming her into the nearest wall. They were on one of the secluded paths between the buildings, the shortcut to the cafeteria from the auditorium.
“Say that again to my face,bitch,” Alecto sneered.
Rebecca lifted her hand to slap Alecto or push her away, but Val was there in a heartbeat, slamming her hand into the wall.Hard.
The girl winced, and Alecto strengthened her grip around her lean neck. Rebecca’s eyes widened with shock as she choked.
“Not so brave anymore, are we?” Alecto teased, her eyes roaming Rebecca’s face.
Alecto bet Rebecca didn’t think she would react this way. Rebecca probably thought she could bully Alecto like all the other witches on campus did, and she would take it silently.Most of the time, Alecto ignored the bullies, minding her own business and swallowing the insults because fighting back wasn’t worth it.
But not fucking today.
Val chuckled. There was a clicking sound. A blade appeared in Val’s hand and she lifted it to Rebecca’s face.
“Oh, she’s probably on the verge of pissing herself. Aren’t you, Becks?” Val teased, cocking her head to the side, a wide smile on her face.
“You’re fucking crazy,” Rebecca choked out, her free hand gripping Alecto’s wrist, digging her nails into her skin. “Let me go, or I’ll go to the Dean and—”
“And what?”
“You’re going to cry to the Dean about Alecto Black pushing you against the wall in a dark alley on your way to class, huh?” Val drawled. “You’re going to againstlegacy, and you think you’ll win?”
Rebecca’s eyes darted between Val and Alecto.
“Please—” she pleaded, but Val cut her off.
“Let’s say you do win in this case, and Miss Black gets into trouble for getting physical with another student,” Val mused. Alecto could barely hold the laugh back as Becks’s face grew ashen with fear. “You fuck with a member of our Inner Circle. Do you think the House of Snakes are not going to come after you? Oh, darling, it would be Genevieve 2.0.”
“And that was messy, wasn’t it?” Alecto pouted, shaking her head. “I don’t think you want to deal with all of that, Becks.”
“No, I don’t think you do,” Val agreed.
“I don’t—” Rebecca started.
“That’s right.” Val cut her off again, her eyes turning malicious. “Next time you come at Alecto, threatening, remember that I’m going to ruin you. How’s Helena doing?”
Rebecca’s body stilled, eyes growing wide. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
“Let me refresh your memory for you—Helena, the pretty blonde, gray eyes, tattoo of a butterfly above her pubic bone. Does that ring any bells, Becks?”
“I think it does,” Alecto chimed in, cracking a smile.
Alecto’s heart was racing, her breathing shallow. It was a feeling weirdly foreign and…addicting.
“Listen, I don’t know what you know or what you think you do. It’s not what it looks like,” Rebecca said, stumbling over her words.
