Page 15

CHAPTER 15

Malakai

I know she’s there before I even see her.

There’s a shift in the air, something electric and sharp, like a brewing storm. And when I walk out of class, there she is—arms crossed, jaw clenched, fucking seething .

I smirk. Perfect.

“You’ve got company,” Jameson mutters under his breath, noticing her too.

Nate chuckles. “Looks like she wants to kill you.”

“She can try.” I wave them off, not breaking eye contact with Raven. “Go. I’ll handle it.”

Jameson snorts but heads off, and Nate gives me one last knowing look before following.

Raven doesn’t wait for me to say a damn thing. She’s already storming toward me, her heels clicking against the pavement like a war drum.

I lean back against the brick wall, arms crossed, watching her approach like she’s a show made just for me.

“You’re up early, Lamb.” My voice is lazy, amused. “Couldn’t stay away?”

Her glare could cut glass. Fuck, she’s hot when she’s mad.

“You think this is funny?” she snaps.

“A little.”

Her nostrils flare, her fists curling. God, I want to see what she looks like when she completely loses it.

“ You sent him that picture ?”

I tilt my head, dragging my eyes over her like I’m still remembering exactly what she looked like wrapped around me. Because I am.

“You looked good in it,” I murmur.

Her face burns, but it’s not just anger. She fucking knows what I’m talking about. Knows exactly what I mean.

“You used me to hurt Alex,” she bites out.

“Did I?” I let my smirk widen. “I didn’t force you into my bed, Raven.”

Her hands tremble. She’s so fucking angry .

Good.

Let her feel it. Let her drown in it.

“You manipulative, arrogant, self-absorbed piece of shit.”

I chuckle, dragging my tongue over my bottom lip. “Tell me how you really feel.”

She shoves me.

It’s not much, just a burst of frustration, but I catch her wrist before she can pull back. She gasps as I tug her closer, just enough that she has to tip her head back to look at me.

I lower my voice. “Careful, Lamb. You’re still mine until the ritual is over.”

Her lips part, her breath hitching for half a second before she rips herself away. “I’m not yours. I never was.”

I arch a brow. “That’s cute. You should’ve told your body that last night.”

Her slap is damn fast .

It stings, the crack echoing through the courtyard, but all it does is make me grin.

She’s still breathing hard, eyes blazing, fuming .

“That all you got?” I murmur, stepping even closer.

She doesn’t back down.

Fuck.

I might actually enjoy this a little too much.

She folds her arms across her chest, but it’s defensive now, like she’s trying to hold herself together. “You planned this,” she says, voice shaking. “You used me to get to him. You don’t care about me at all.”

Something flickers inside me.

Not guilt. I don’t do guilt.

But she’s wrong.

I lean in slightly, lowering my voice. “Oh, Lamb. That’s where you’re wrong.”

She flinches, but she doesn’t look away. “Don’t act like last night meant anything when you?—”

“When what?” I cut her off. “I made sure Alex saw exactly what he lost?”

Her throat bobs.

I press in. “I’m teaching him a lesson.”

She shakes her head. “Alex didn’t lose me. I wasn’t his to lose.”

“Doesn’t matter,” I murmur. “He thinks he did.”

She takes a slow breath like she’s trying to not lose it. “Why do you hate him so much?”

That gets me.

The laugh that comes out isn’t even a real laugh. It’s dark, hollow, something sharp twisting in my gut.

“Because Alex Callahan isn’t the fucking saint you think he is.”

That stops her.

Just for a second.

“Don’t,” she warns. “I know what you’re trying to do—you're making this about him so you don’t have to own up to what you did.”

I let out another low chuckle, but this one has an edge to it. “You really think I need to dodge your little lecture?”

She glares. “You’re deflecting.”

“I’m telling you , princess, that your boy isn’t as golden as you think.”

“Oh, and you are?”

“Never said I was.”

Her jaw clenches, and I can feel the fight in her, the need to believe she’s right.

She’s not.

Not about him.

Not about any of this.

And the worst fucking part?

She’s about to find out.

Raven keeps coming at me, her voice sharp, her words laced with anger that’s just as much at herself as it is at me. She doesn’t even fucking realize it.

“You think you’re untouchable, don’t you?” she spits. “That you can fuck with people’s lives just because it amuses you.”

I roll my shoulders, letting her vent, but something inside me tightens. She has no idea who she’s talking to. No idea what’s underneath all of this.

“You don’t know shit , Raven,” I say, voice lowering.

Her chin lifts. “I know enough.”

I take a step closer, and for the first time since she started this little tantrum, I see the tiniest flicker of hesitation in her eyes.

"You think this is just some petty fucking rivalry?" I murmur. "You think I just woke up one day and decided to ruin Alex for fun?"

She crosses her arms, but her voice isn’t as steady now. "You tell me."

I exhale sharply, looking away, flexing my hands like it might stop the itch crawling up my spine.

"I hate him," I say, and fuck, it comes out raw, heavier than I meant it to.

Raven studies me, frowning slightly, like she knows there’s something I’m not saying.

"Why?" she asks.

I clench my jaw.

Because we share the same fucking blood.

Because every time I look at him, I see the life I wasn’t allowed to have.

Because everything Alex Callahan has, everything he’s ever been given, was stolen from me .

But I don’t say any of that.

Instead, I smirk, shoving my hands into my pockets. "Wouldn’t you like to know?"

Her eyes narrow. "It’s about his dad, isn’t it?"

I tilt my head, watching her. " Drop it , Lamb."

Her lips press together. "What did Alex do to you?"

I chuckle, but there’s no humor in it. "He existed."

Raven looks shaken now, her confidence cracked. Good .

But she recovers fast.

Her eyes harden, the fire returning, and I know she’s back to convincing herself I’m just the villain in her little story.

"You used me," she accuses again, like she’s trying to make herself believe it even more than she’s trying to make me admit it.

"You let me," I counter.

Her breath catches. I grin.

"I hate you," she mutters.

I chuckle. "Nah. You wish you did."

Her whole body tenses, and I love it.

She shoves past me, her shoulder barely knocking into mine, but before she gets too far, she turns back.

"Stay the fuck away from me, Malakai."

I smirk, leaning in slightly. "You’ll come back, Lamb."

Her glare could level cities, but she storms off without another word.

I stand there, watching her go, rolling my shoulders, my smirk fading slightly.

Because here’s the thing.

She will come back.

And when she does, she won’t have a choice anymore.