Savage Royals

by Callie Rose

  Shit, the diner wasn’t even this fancy or smoothly run, and people paid to eat there.

  Then again, someone was paying for me to eat here too. Just because I didn’t get rung up after every meal didn’t mean the money wasn’t being spent.

  I wondered for the first time what tuition to this place cost. Jacqueline hadn’t mentioned it, and I’d been too shell-shocked from everything else to ask. It had to be a small fortune.

  There’d been no mention of me ever paying them back—and to be honest, there was no way I ever could—but the thought of someone spending that much money on me made me squirm. I hadn’t liked being the breadwinner in my family at sixteen, but at least when I was the one earning the money, I knew it was mine.

  I earned it, and that was that.

  No strings attached.

  This money? Every bit of hospitality my grandparents had shown me? Yeah, I got the sense there were massive strings attached to all of it.

  But those strings disappeared into dark corners, and I couldn’t see what was attached to the other end of them. It made me nervous and paranoid.

  I blew out a breath. Just take it, Tal. Take the gift, like that social worker said.

  The trays stacked on a rack near the door were polished metal rather than dingy orange plastic, and I grabbed one before getting into the food line. There was a lot to pick from, but I settled on something I knew well—a burger. It had some expensive-sounding ingredients I didn’t recognize, but I figured it would be safe enough. A burger is a burger, right?

  Once I had my food and a drink, my gaze scanned the large room, searching for Leah. I’d hoped we’d be able to sit together so I could avoid the worst part about starting at any school. Lunch. It was always a nightmare, especially coming in late like this. Everyone was already paired off. The groups were picked, the cliques were established, and I was on the outside looking in. I sighed when I didn’t find her upbeat, friendly face in the crowd.

  “Great,” I muttered.

  I was going to have to sit by myself. Normally, I wouldn’t mind much. I’d mostly eaten alone at Sand Valley High or ended up at a table with a bunch of theatre nerds who talked loudly over each other, each trying to be the wittiest. But either way, it was easy to fade into the background there. It was such a huge school, getting lost in the crowd was a simple trick.

  But there couldn’t have been more than a hundred and fifty people in this dining hall, and there were no tables hidden in dark corners here. Tossing my hair over my shoulder, I straightened my spine and made a beeline for an empty table near the door. I was too fucking hungry to stand around debating forever, and it wasn’t like standing up at the front of the room drew any less attention.

  I slid my tray down and sat, my mouth watering at the smells of whatever fancy mystery ingredients the chefs had added to the burger.

  But before I could pick it up, the skin at the back of my neck prickled like it had in US History. Four shadows loomed over me, and when I glanced back, my heart leapt into my throat.

  The boys from the car.

  All four of them were gathered in a straight line, almost shoulder to shoulder, like a wall of unreasonably sexy maleness. I only knew two of their names, but I’d had a chance to get a better look at three of them, and they were all even hotter on close inspection than they had been through the window of my grandmother’s car.

  The fourth boy had light brown hair and elegant features, and something about the way his uniform fit made him look like he’d been born in it. The others, Cole especially, seemed stuffed into their uniforms, as if the blazer and tie were uncomfortable and constricting, but this guy looked perfectly at home in his.

  I was staring again.

  It seemed to be a problem I had around these guys, one I couldn’t quite understand. I’d seen attractive men before, although I had to admit, I’d never seen any that’d taken my breath away quite like these four.

  But as I blinked, trying to regain my composure, I realized something else. None of them were smiling. Not even the blond one, who I could’ve sworn was flirting with me in class earlier. Their features couldn’t have been more different, but at the moment, they all wore identical scowls.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” the guy from the stairwell asked. Mason.

  I blinked at him. “I’m eating lunch.”

  He tilted his head. “Here? You can’t sit here.”

  “Oh.” Something hot and unpleasant twisted in my stomach, but I squashed it down, grabbing my tray and standing up. “Sorry. I didn’t know it was your table.”

  My face burned, but I tried to keep my expression even. Fuck. This was why I’d been hoping to find Leah. I’d never eaten lunch here before, how was I supposed to know which tables were whose? Not that anybody’s name was stamped on it. But I didn’t want to start trouble, so I shifted to another empty table and set my things down.

  “Did I say you could sit there?” he snapped.

  I jolted, my eyebrows shooting up as my heart rate jumped. “This… is your table too?”

  “Yeah, it is. So move.”

  The four of them hadn’t followed me. They’d simply turned in place to watch me, still shoulder to shoulder in a wall of muscle that was looking a lot less attractive by the second.

  What the actual fuck?

  With a jerky motion, I snatched up my things and pressed my lips into a straight line. My eyes darted around the room, searching for a place to sit, as conversations died around the dining hall. Even those who hadn’t heard the initial confrontation were watching now, drawn to my embarrassment like moths to flame. I heard whispers and a few titters, and my body went cold.

  What the fuck did I do to him? To any of them? Why are they acting like this?

  Mason was the only one who’d spoken, but none of his friends were stopping him. They stood right next to him, watching me with cool gazes.

  I saw another empty table across the room and moved toward it. But as I reached it, several other students stood up and blocked my path. My tray wobbled as I pulled up short, the sick feeling in my stomach growing. I spun around, blood rushing in my ears, but there were no other tables to try. A few people met my gaze and purposefully closed ranks, adjusting their seats to make it clear there were no open spots available.

  “I don’t think you get it,” Mason drawled. “There isn’t a single table in this cafeteria that’s meant for Idaho trash. Why don’t you turn around and go back to where you came from?”

  The blond one snickered, his dimples popping out.

  He was smiling at me now, just like he had in class, but there was a cruel twist to his lips that hadn’t been there before.

  For several long beats, the five of us just stared at each other. I’d crossed halfway across the room in my attempt to reach the new table, and now a large space separated us. But that almost made it worse. If we’d had this confrontation up close, nose to nose like we’d been in the stairwell, there might’ve been some chance of keeping it private.

  But here? Like this?

  Everyone in the dining hall was a part of this.

  Everyone was watching.

  These four guys, these four smug, rich assholes, had asked the entire room to pick a side—theirs or mine.

  And nobody had picked mine.

  My hands were wrapped so tightly around the edges of my tray that my knuckles actually ached. I wanted to dump the burger and water bottle on the floor and swing the tray as hard as I could at each of their faces. I wanted to knock those superior grins loose, and maybe a couple of teeth while I was at it.

  But I just clenched my jaw so hard my own teeth almost cracked and took a step back.

  “Fine. Enjoy your fucking lunch.”

  With that, I turned and walked out of the dining hall. A few catcalls followed me, breaking the silence that’d fallen over the room. My lungs burned, probably because I was barely breathing, and my face felt like it was on fire. I burst through the entry doors and sucked in air like I’d
been drowning. Then I dumped my food, tray and all, into a trash can and hurried down the steps.

  Adrenaline had flooded through my system—not that it’d done me any damn good—and now the combination of that energy spike and the lack of food made my legs feel shaky and weak.

  What just happened?

  I hadn’t done anything to those assholes. Nothing that should’ve prompted such harsh retaliation anyway. And how the hell did they know I was from Idaho? Had Leah told them? Or had rumors and whispers about me spread that fast on my first day?

  Wrapping my arms around my stomach, I headed toward a smaller class building on the opposite side of the quad—one of the outliers Leah had mentioned—and walked around to the side, out of view, before sinking down into a crouch, back pressed up against the wall. I sucked in air through my nostrils, tilting my head up and letting the sun warm my face.

  Tears stung the backs of my eyes, and I let out an angry noise, grimacing as I blinked them away. I hadn’t cried since I’d left Sand Valley, and even though I knew it was just the mountain of stress and strange new things trying to pull tears from me now, I refused to let them come.

  Not because of those fucking rich boys. I wouldn’t let them be the straw that broke me.

  Breathe, Tal. Just breathe. So the four hottest guys in school don’t like you. So what? You’ve put up with more shit in your lifetime than those rich assholes could ever dream of. Don’t let them fucking win.

  I stayed there for the rest of the lunch period, and even though my stomach still felt hollow, my legs didn’t shake anymore when I finally pressed to my feet.

  Pulling my schedule out of my bag, I gave it a very thorough once-over, making my best guesses at where the classrooms were so I wouldn’t have to ask anyone for directions. Then I made my way back out onto the quad, gripping my backpack straps tight and keeping my head high.

  I made it to my next class—Biology—without getting lost, but I was almost late again. And as soon as I stepped through the door, my heart sank. One of my tormentors, the one who wore his uniform so well, was sitting near the back, his posture a lot better than the blond guy’s had been. His gaze flicked toward me, and the cool expression melted off his face, replaced by a sneer.

  The teacher handed me a textbook and syllabus, and I took the only seat left available—right next the bronze-haired asshole.

  His name was Elijah, I learned. Not because he spoke to me, but because the girl behind him couldn’t stop flirting with him, whispering his name and leaning over her desk to try to get closer to him.

  He didn’t seem interested though, choosing instead to spend most of the class staring challengingly at me. He ignored her, and I ignored him, keeping my eyes fixed straight ahead, even though I could feel his gaze crawling over me.

  Every other class was just as bad. Mason was in my seventh period English Literature class, and he’d somehow managed to turn the whole class against me before I even arrived. The girl behind me wrote SLUT on my white blazer with sharpie, and when I yanked out of her reach, she just smirked, blowing on the marker like it was a smoking gun before capping it.

  In the hallways, more people stared at me, and the looks were no longer simply curious like they’d been in the morning. Now the expressions on their faces ranged from standoffish to mocking to openly hostile.

  Mason, Elijah, Cole, and whatever the fuck their Captain America looking friend was called had somehow turned the entire school against me in a single day.

  What the hell did I ever do to them?

  Chapter 5

  By the time eighth period rolled around, I was dying for the day to be over. I felt exhausted and strung out, my skin sore and muscles achy from being held tense and defensive all day.

  I found my Chemistry classroom in Johnson Hall, the building that made up the east side of the U, and went through the familiar drill of picking up my syllabus and textbook from the teacher. He also gave me two homework assignments to catch up on, making my stress level rise even higher.

  Clutching my books, I turned to survey the room, glad to see that none of the assholes from lunch were in this class. Leah sat in the back by the windows, but there weren’t any open seats near her, so I just nabbed the closest one to the door.

  I wanted to be ready to bolt as soon as class was over.

  As I sat, Leah flashed me a wide-eyed look, raising her eyebrows and leaning forward slightly. She was obviously trying to communicate something, but I had no clue what it was. I shook my head, and she grimaced, tapping her fingers on her desk in agitation. A new prickle of worry worked its way down my spine as I wondered what the hell she was so worked up about. But at least she was looking at me with something other than pure disdain. At this point, I’d take whatever shreds of good news I could get.

  Instead of desks, we had shared tables in this class, and as soon as I sat down, the girl beside me scooted her stool away, as if I were unclean or something.

  I gritted my teeth and ignored it, facing forward to listen to Mr. Young explain something that sounded like gibberish to me.

  Fuck. This was way more advanced than my previous chemistry class. I was going to have to study like a maniac to have a hope of passing. Not that I had any future ambitions of becoming a chemist, but I needed to do well in all my classes if I wanted to try to leverage my time here into getting a scholarship to a good school or something.

  When Mr. Young paused to shift topics, I glanced over at Leah one more time and found her chewing on her lower lip, her gaze bouncing between me and the girl who’d scooted away. As soon as class was over, she made a beeline for me, grabbing my elbow and tugging me off my stool before I’d even managed to gather up all my shit.

  I scrabbled to collect it all before I was unceremoniously hauled out the door, walking at a quick clip. A few kids turned to look at me like they’d been doing all day, and Leah glanced around before shoving open a stairwell door and pulling me in.

  As soon as we were inside, she let go of me, turning to face me.

  “What the hell did you do?” she hissed.

  “Me?” I blinked. “I haven’t done anything.”

  “Well, obviously you did something,” she said, keeping her voice low. “The Princes are pissed. Seriously, did you spill something on them? Insult one of their mothers? You need to figure it out quick and fix it.”

  I didn’t have to ask who the Princes were. I wasn’t that stupid, and it was clear from the way those four guys in the mess hall had carried themselves that they thought they were better than everyone else here—but most of all, me.

  Heat rose to my cheeks as a fresh wave of anger washed through me. “I didn’t do anything to them. I ran into those two guys, Mason and Cole, in the stairwell, but nothing happened. Then I tried to go to my classes and eat lunch, but apparently, I’m not allowed to do that in fucking peace.”

  Leah sighed, taking my elbow again and tugging me down the stairs. “The Princes are the four most popular and richest boys in the school. What they say goes around here. Not everyone may follow them, but we all know damn well not to cross them. And whatever you did, it pissed them all off. We’ve had transfer students before, and they’ve never gone after someone so quickly like this.”

  A hard lump settled in my stomach. I was still fucking starving, but I wasn’t sure I could eat right now if I tried. My entire stomach seemed to be filled with cement.

  “I didn’t do anything, Leah. I swear.”

  She glanced at me as she pulled the door open on the ground floor, reading my expression. Then she sighed. “Yeah, I believe you. But to be honest, it doesn’t really matter. Whether you know what you did or not, it doesn’t change the fact that they’ve got it out for you.”

  “What does that mean?” I murmured, avoiding meeting people’s gazes as we made our way toward the exit.

  “They’ve declared you trash.” She shook her head, her auburn bob swishing. “Worse than trash. Your social chances at this school are pretty much zero. No one
important is going to want to go anywhere near you.”

  I shifted my books to my other arm. I’d been loaded down with so many textbooks today that I couldn’t fit them all in my backpack, and I’d been too busy running from class to class—or hiding out during lunch—to make it to my locker.

  “So, what? Those four assholes are some kind of freaking gods?” I scoffed. “They’re just high schoolers like everyone else.”

  “Wrong,” Leah groaned. “Totally and completely wrong. The Princes are the elite of the school. They basically run this place—even the teachers are scared of them. They can get away with whatever they want because they’re from the four richest families in town.” She paused, then added, “Well, except for yours. You didn’t tell me your grandparents were the freaking Hildebrands.”

  I ignored that comment, and the look of slight awe that entered her eyes as she looked at me. They were my family by blood, but it barely counted as far as I was concerned. And it obviously hadn’t earned me the same respect the Princes commanded.

  “This is an actual thing? Everybody just does what they say, because they have money and power?”

  “Yes,” Leah pressed. “And it’s serious. The Princes are at the top of the food chain. They’re literally sharks. There are other factions under them, but those four control everything.”

  I groaned. How the hell did I even get mixed up with them? I didn’t think I’d stepped on anyone’s toes or done anything wrong.

  Then I remembered Mason’s words. Idaho trash. Somehow, they knew all about me—knew that even though my grandparents might have money, I was poor—and they were taking it out on me for some reason.

  What was the point? If I was so far below them, what did it matter?

  “How come you’re still talking to me then?” I asked Leah. “Aren’t you afraid I’m going to kill your social status too?”