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M y eyes travel from the familiar, stark blue eyes to the parted rosy lips, and all air expels from my lungs as my words fill the silence between us. “No fucking way.”

My body warms, and my palms sweat as I realize that I’m not hallucinating, that this is real and she’s actually standing right in front of me.

Alora Briarwood.

I never thought she would step foot in the same town as me again. Not after she ran to the other side of the fucking world to escape me. But it doesn’t matter how far she runs; my claws will always be sunk into her.

She stays silent as we study each other, both of us in a frozen stupor at the fact that we’re mere feet away from one another again. My gaze wanders over her flowing blonde hair and down her body before meeting her confused and angry gaze.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a dog by her legs, and I’m not surprised. Of course, the prissy princess would have her dog here with her. I’m sure her daddy even paid extra to make sure it was allowed. I see the greed of the Briarwood family hasn’t lessened in our time apart.

The innocence in her eyes is the same as I remember, but as she blinks away her daze, I notice something new in her stare. A confidence that certainly wasn’t there before. Including how she carries herself. She isn’t cowering down in my presence like I’m used to. She’s standing tall and facing me head-on.

She must have forgotten who I was during our time apart. But that’s okay; I won’t hesitate to remind her and refresh her memory on exactly how unimportant she is.

Her mouth shakily closes before parting once more. “Get the fuck out of my room.” Her voice isn’t meek or shy; instead, it’s proud and demanding.

I think it’s the first time I’ve ever heard her swear, and I can’t help but chuckle at the sound of her innocent mouth cursing.

Her lips curl as she crosses her arms, disgust exuding from every cell in her body.

A haunting laugh vibrates from deep within me, waves of anger vibrating through the air.

Taking a step toward her, I bite down on my bottom lip and smile. “Well, that’s a rude way to greet an old friend.”

Scoffing, she widens her eyes and strides forward, jabbing her finger into my chest as an aroma of delicious vanilla and strawberries engulfs me. I breathe in deeply without thought, my mouth watering at how good she smells.

Her words whistle through her teeth, quiet but powerful. “Y-you are not my friend. Now get the hell out of my room.”

I laugh in her face as she struggles to meet my eye, her neck craning straight back. God, I forgot how short she was in comparison to me.

It would take such little effort to pick her up and move her away from me. I contemplate it, but I don’t want her to think I’m trying to make a move on her.

Besides, I want her to think she has the upper hand; it will be so much more entertaining when I rip the power away from her.

Her dog approaches, sniffing me cautiously, and I reach my hand out, letting her get a good whiff.

“Cute dog. I guess when you can afford to buy the school, they let you get away with anything.”

“Malik,” she growls.

I lean closer to her, her body stiffening from my nearness. Her breathing picks up like crazy, and her cheeks burn bright red.

“Yes, darling ?” I tease her, my voice melodic and smooth.

She falls for the sweetness, her eyes and posture softening at my tone. The fact that she thinks I could ever forget what her family had done to mine is laughable. I will never forgive her, and as long as she’s near me, I won’t let her forget it either.

Reaching my hand out, I grab her chin firmly with my fingers and jerk it up higher, showing her how easily I could bend her to my will if I wanted her. But I’ll never fuck a monster as seemingly sweet as her.

My voice starts out kind but by the time I finish, my tone twists into something cold and venomous. “Yell in my face again, and I’ll remind you just how malicious I can be.”

She gulps hard, but doesn’t move, and my chest blooms with satisfaction because I know she’s taking me seriously. Because I mean every. Single. Word.

Her eyes shift, anger igniting in her stare. “Get your hand off of me.”

The coolness and sharpness of her tone slithers down my spine, and I can’t hide my surprise at the boldness.

“Remember your place, Bug .”

Bug . Insignificant, little creature. A nickname to remind her how easily I can stomp her existence out with my shoe.

The use of her old nickname—the one I called her in high school—catches her off guard, and her fierceness wavers.

Dropping her chin from my grip, I hold my hands up in defeat. But we both know it was my choice to surrender. Her sassy tone did nothing to convince me.

“Get out.” Her voice cracks, and her eyes well up with tears, triggering images of her from years ago to flash through my mind.

But I have no sympathy for the girl who lives on a bed of money, luxury, and the bones of my dead brother.

It’s late. I want to be in my own room, not standing in hers, looking into the saddened eyes of the girl I hate the most in this world.

Leaning forward, I lower my face to hers. “Good night, Bug.”

She doesn’t say a word as I spin on my heel.

As I reach for the door handle, something shiny hanging on the back side of the door catches my eye, and I snatch it sneakily, stowing it in my pocket before leaving her room. This could most definitely come in handy later.

She deserves everything that I’ve done to her. And everything I will do now that she’s in my kingdom.

That new attitude of hers only provokes me more, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hot, seeing her standing up to me after all this time.

Her getting in my face to prove that she’s no longer the tiny bug on the bottom of my shoe—it’s cute. But she’s only just made it more dangerous for herself because I never back down from a challenge. This just got a whole hell of a lot more interesting.

She will cower and kneel before me once again—I’m sure of it.