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The wounds on my back screamed from the pressure of Ryder’s weight pinned against me. With every second that passed, I felt the skin of my lashings splitting more and more, once again demolishing the progress I had made on healing.

“When I saygive upin a fight next time,” Ryder hissed, his snarled words spitting into my face, “you give up. Got it?”

I should have backed down. Should have dipped my chin, squirmed back against his grasp, and said whatever he wanted me to say.

But I’d had a long day. I was tired. And he needed to get the fuck away from me.

I didn’t have time to think before I spit directly in his face.

“I think I got it,” I replied, rage dripping like venom from my words. Any hope I had at withholding my temper was long gone, along with my ability to give a shit.

Lanson and Ashlani both quit fighting, staring at me with their mouths hanging open.

Ryder took one hand and wiped my spit from his chin, slowly and dramatically, before backhanding me across the face.

It barely stung.

I was too busy feeling my own satisfaction. In fact, I couldn’t even control the bubbled laughter that slipped from my lips.

I laughed and laughed and laughed.

When Ryder raised his hand a second time, Ashlani screamed. Lanson struggled again against the other fae, cursing at them in a voice I could barely hear over the blood pumping through my veins. I flinched, waiting for the blow to land.

But it never did.

I blinked my eyes open to find Ryder’s face morph with panic. “What the—”

He moved—was thrown, rather—off of me with a potent force and a flash of feathers. It took me a full second to realize what in all hells was happening.

Wolf was there, gripping Ryder’s arm and slamming him against the wall.

Ryder fell, but Wolf didn’t stop. He picked him up with a thick hand around the throat and pounded him so hard into the stone wall, the bricks crumbled around him.

The other fae froze, too. All of us, Ashlani and Lanson included, stood in awe.

And we all watched in horror as Wolf leaned down and whispered in Ryder’s ear.

It was too quiet to hear, but the look on Ryder’s face said it all.

Wolf was in charge here. Not Ryder.

After a moment, Wolf let Ryder go, watching him and his friends scamper down the hallway as if fleeing from a fire.

Interesting.

Wolf smiled at himself, which was not surprising at all. Cocky bastard.

“Go,” I said to Lanson and Ashlani. “I’ll meet you in the dining hall. I just need a second.”

Lanson eyed me warily before turning his gaze to Wolf. I wasn’t sure why, though. What was he going to do? Fight him? Stand up to him? After what we just saw,nobodycould stand up to Wolf. The other students had avoided him since they first laid eyes on him, but now?

They would run in the other direction.

Part of me envied the fear he instilled in others, but I would never admit that to him. It would be nice to have others respect you at first glance instead of underestimating you time and time again.

“What in the hells was that?” I demanded once we were alone.

Wolf rubbed his fists in front of him. “I was looking for athank you, but I suppose that will be fine.”