Page 40 of Stray
A day ago--hell, even an hour ago--she would have backed up. It was an intimidation tactic, and it would have been successful, but not now. Instead, she took a step forward and relished the disbelief on his smug, perfect, ugly, beautiful face.
“You’re empty,” she answered, her voice quivering from all the years it had been trapped inside her throat. Now that it was free, she was too afraid of it to be afraid of him. “I should’ve known that day at your father’s funeral, it wasn’t just an act. It wasn’t just you trying to be cool and pretend like you don’t care about anyone but yourself. It was just you showing the world who you really are. There’s nothing inside of you that loves or hurts or feels, nothing that’s human.”
Heat flared within his gaze and for a split second, she was sure he was going to hit her. It was a day of firsts, and why should he be any exception? She wasn’t afraid of the physical force, even though she probably should have been. All she could feel was sadness as the final flicker of hope for him died in her chest like a smothered flame.
Instead, he grabbed her arm with equal force and pulled her against his chest, crushing his lips against hers. Ella’s body froze at first, but the moment she gave up fighting him, she realized she was returning it with equal passion. Equal hatred. The kiss was more of a blow than any first could have been, and she wanted to kill him as much as she wanted to continue it. When he pushed her back up against the wall, the breath rushed from her lungs and he claimed her lips again before she could catch it.
He hands closed around her wrists and pinned them to the wall on either side of her, leaving indentations that would be bruises by morning. Heat flared in her core, anger melding with far more dangerous emotions as her lips parted to receive his lashing tongue. The moment it dipped back into his mouth, she took his bottom lip between her teeth and bit hard enough to draw blood, hot and salty on her tongue.
An animalistic snarl tore from his throat and he pushed even harder into the wall as his knee slipped between her open thighs.
It was all happening too fast, the energy between them too frenetic to slow down. The momentum was carrying them both away, and while Ella knew the final destination could only be mutual destruction, she couldn’t bring herself to stop.
The door opened and the sight of the very male who’d first ignited her heat brought it to a grinding halt.
“Mr. Bryant,” she gasped, wrenching her wrists from Axel’s grasp. He turned to face the teacher who was still standing in the doorway in shock, but he still had Ella’s body trapped between his and the wall.
“Some students came and told me there was a fight going on,” Sterling said, his keen gaze darting from Ella’s to Axel’s, sizing the other male up in an instant. All softness in his demeanor disappeared, and while Ella wanted to tell him it wasn’t what it looked like, for reasons beyond her ability to understand, it was clear he already knew the truth. “Ella, are you alright? Did he hurt you?”
He was talking to her, but his gaze remained fixed on Axel. The electricity in the air was so charged now that the overhead lights dimmed and flickered.
They were going to shift, both of them, at any moment. She could feel it.
“Does it look like I’m hurting her?” Axel challenged with a self-satisfied smirk.
Ella managed to push him away, but she knew it was only because he’d allowed it. That infuriated her more than anything. She tucked a strand of damp hair behind her ear and caught enough of a glance in the mirror over the sink to know her mascara was running and she looked about as rough as she felt.
“I’m fine,” she said, hugging herself against the chill that was almost unbearable, now that she didn’t have the chaotic heat of Axel’s muscular body pressed against hers to warm it.
“You’re not fine,” Axel growled, turning back to her. “That bitch almost killed you.”
“Who?” Sterling demanded, his eyes narrowing. There was murder in them, but Ella wasn’t sure if she should be relieved it was no longer directed at Axel, or more afraid of the prospect of them being on the same side.
“No one,” Ella said before Axel could say another word. She gave him a filthy look, and hoped it spoke for itself. “It was just a stupid catfight. It’s handled.”
Axel was staring at her, indecisive. She could tell he was trying to decide whether to call her bluff.
Sterling frowned, as if he clearly didn’t believe her. “It doesn’t look handled,” he said, glancing over her disheveled appearance.
“I’m fine,” she insisted, wiping the smeared makeup off her cheek with a paper towel. “I just need to get back to the dorm so I can shower and change.”
“You need to go to the infirmary,” Axel argued.
Ella shot him another seething glare that actually seemed to take him off guard. “I’mfine.”
The last thing she needed was to become the reason Queen Marissa was expelled from school, and it was a pipe dream to think someone as well-connected as she was would ever face any real consequences for what she’d done. Her father would simply wave his magic money wand and all would be forgotten.
Except for Ella’s role in it. That, she’d be paying the price for indefinitely.
She walked past Sterling and Axel before either of them could stop her and hurried down the hall, ignoring every bewildered glance she received in the process. She was cold, wet and utterly humiliated, but what else was new?
This time, however, was different. She hadn’t been the one to start the war, and she wasn’t willing to let someone else fight it on her behalf, but she was done rolling over and playing dead.
If Axel and his mother and everyone else in the pride wanted to treat her like a mangy stray, then fine. She was done fighting it. She was done trying to prove them wrong.
It was time for them all to remember that even a housecat had claws.
The End.
