by River Ramsey
“Absolutely,” he answered without hesitation. “Why not?”
“Well, the whole ring thing…”
He gave her a lopsided grin that stopped her heart dead in its tracks. “As a matter of fact, I was hoping we could talk about that.”
Her eyes widened in disbelief as he stepped closer. The bleeding had finally stopped, and Ella had almost forgotten about her injury when Bishop licked his finger and wiped the remaining blood off her face. For a second, she’d thought he was going to kiss her again, but now she was even more embarrassed.
“Not here, though,” he added pointedly. “Meet me outside the dorms tonight at eight?”
“A-alright. Yeah,” she stammered in disbelief. No matter how enticing his words were, she knew she was doomed to spend the rest of the day agonizing over all the ways she could have misinterpreted them. She might have gained a spine where Axel and Marissa were concerned, but it seemed like her weakness for Bishop was destined to linger.
Chapter 3
Ella
After a long day of class, Ella finally returned to her room to get ready for her date with Bishop. It didn’t take long before she realized figuring out what to wear was the least of her worries.
Every single item of clothing she possessed was strewn across the bedroom floor, or at least whatever scraps they’d been torn into. She could hardly recognize anything as a full piece of clothing. It looked like a giant cat had shredded everything in a fit of rage.
Considering just how many giant cats she had made enemies of, she wouldn’t have been remotely surprised if that was the case.
As she stood in the middle of the destruction, she realized the tears she usually would have spilled by now weren’t coming. In their place was a fire rising up higher and hotter than her rage ever had.
Before she fully knew what she was doing, she turned and stalked out of the room, letting the door bounce off the stop on the wall. She felt like someone else was piloting her body as she made her way toward Marissa’s room, but she could no more stop it than she could stop a roaring tornado.
Without even bothering to knock, she flung the door open and found Marissa at her bathroom vanity, talking to her roommate. The other woman shot up from her seat on the edge of her bed and cried, “Hey! What the fuck is she doing in here?”
Marissa turned, her eyes narrowing venomously as she looked Ella’s way. “Did you not learn your lesson already?”
Ella stood with her fists clenched, trying to remind herself that decking the most popular girl in school was not the way to ingratiate herself to the colony. If it hadn’t been for what Natalia and Sterling would think, she wouldn’t have cared.
“You were in my room,” she accused, her voice much steadier than she’d expected, given the fact that she was still trembling in anger.
The twisted smirk on Marissa’s face made it obvious she wasn’t even going to bother to deny it. “Oh, that,” she said, planting a hand on her hip. “You should thank me. I’d say it’s a vast improvement on your wardrobe.”
“You’re going to pay for it,” Ella said, taking a step closer until she had Marissa blocked in the doorway. Or maybe she was the one who was trapped. Time would tell. “All of it.”
“Is that so?” Marissa sneered, shoving hard against Ella’s chest. “And what makes you think anyone has to do a single damn thing you say?”
The flame in Ella’s gut exploded into an inferno and she saw the other queen’s eyes widen in shock the second before she lunged.
“You crazy bitch!” Marissa shrieked as Ella pushed her back against the bathroom sink. She wasted no time retaliating, shifting enough to let her nails lengthen into claws as she slashed Ella across the face.
The three stripes across Ella’s left cheek weren’t deep enough to scar, but the pain fueled the feral rage growing inside her. It was the same thing that had happened with Axel, and she almost felt like something else entirely had possessed her. She just couldn’t bring herself to care.
Ella was hardly even aware of the partial shift in her own fingertips. She’d had a hard enough time learning to hold her human form and never saw the point in trying to strengthen her ability in the other direction, but it came as naturally as anything. She dove at Marissa, digging her lengthened claws into the other woman’s shoulder.
Marissa let out a pained cry and her roommate came to intervene, grabbing Ella by her hair and yanking back. “You stupid bitch,” she seethed.
Ella turned on her immediately, and while she wasn’t fully aware of the face she was making, it had the effect of the other girl stumbling back, all the color draining from her face.
“Stay out of this,” Ella hissed, her voice more feline than human as she turned back to an equally stunned Marissa. The shock didn’t last long. Marissa rushed at her again and they went tumbling to the floor.
Ella was vaguely aware of the fact that the dorm room door had opened and a crowd had gathered to watch, but unlike the incident in the bathroom, none of them bothered ganging up on her.
Ella rolled as she hit the ground on her side and Marissa grabbed a fistful of her hair. She felt it being pulled out but managed to plant the tip of her shoe in the other queen’s stomach, pushing her off. Marissa grunted, struggling to get back on her knees. When her eyes met Ella’s, they were full of more spite than she had ever seen in them, but something else, too. If Ella didn’t know better, she’d almost think it was respect.
“You crazy bitch.”
“Funny, I was about to say the same to you,” Ella countered. Marissa took another swing at her and she blocked it, grabbing her wrist with swiftness she didn’t know she possessed. Marissa was taller and stronger, but Ella felt like some unseen force was rushing through her veins, giving her power and coordination. They rolled around on the floor, struggling for the upperhand, until Ella finally caught a break.
Seated on Marissa’s torso, she managed to wrap her clawed hands around the other girl’s throat. They were both panting, and Marissa’s eyes grew wide in disbelief as she realized she’d lost. And was now in the very same position she’d been so keen to exploit over Ella.
Ella had no doubt that Marissa would have drowned her if Axel hadn’t intervened. She might have lamented the punishment she received for it, but she wouldn’t have felt a shred of guilt. As Ella’s grip tightened and she heard the concerned murmurs of the other girls in the dorm like they were coming from somewhere far off, she realized just how easy it would be.
Her hands were trembling with the restraint it took. The desire to just crush her windpipe until she stopped breathing and could no longer lash out with her venomous tongue.
Whatever it was that had snapped inside of Ella seemed to snap back in that moment, and she felt as if she’d woken up from a dream. She loosened her grip on Marissa’s throat, just as the door to the lobby flew open.
“What on earth is going on here?” the dorm mother bellowed.
Ella jolted, looking up at the older queen as she pushed past the spectators and tore into the room.
“Ms. Doe!” she cried at the top of her lungs. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Ella scrambled off Marissa, but she knew the damage was done. She knew exactly what it looked like and doubted the other girls in the room would be quick to offer their testimony to clear her name.
“She started it,” Ella muttered in weak protest.
“Whatever happened between you two, that hardly justifies putting your hands around a classmate’s throat,” she scolded, grabbing Ella’s arm to pull her to her feet. “I shudder to think what would have happened if someone hadn’t called me.”
Ella looked at the crowd that had backed up into the lobby, wondering which one of them had snitched as Marissa got to her feet.
“Guess it’s just your lucky day,” Ella said with a bitter glance in Marissa’s direction. The other queen smirked.
Of course she would find a way to win, even when she lost.
As Ella sat in
the waiting room outside the Headmaster’s office, waiting for Marissa to get done telling her fabricated version of the story, she found herself mulling over everything that had just happened. The tattered clothes, the impromptu confrontation, and the first fight she’d actually won, even if it didn’t feel like it.
She couldn’t bring herself to regret it, either. Whatever the consequences were, it felt good to finally put Marissa in her place. To prove that she wasn’t just going to roll over and show her belly every time the other woman lashed out.
She looked down at her hands and her nails, which had returned to normal. Did that have something to do with whatever had come over her? She’d never even tried to partially shift before, and it seemed strange that it would be something she just did instinctively.
Her phone buzzed and the first pang of regret hit her, but not on Marissa’s behalf. When Bishop’s number popped up on the screen asking if she was ready, and the Headmaster still hadn’t come out with Marissa, she knew there was no way she was going to make their date.
I’m sorry, she texted back. Something happened and I’m kind of stuck in the Headmaster’s office.
He wrote back almost immediately. The Headmaster? Why? Are you alright?
The messages came in such rapid succession she couldn’t respond to one before another appeared. No one had ever expressed so much concern over her wellbeing, and while she was eager to put his fears to rest, it was...nice. To say the least.
I’m fine. I just got in trouble, she admitted, knowing he was bound to find out anyway. She was surprised he hadn’t already heard, given how quickly gossip traveled around the school.
You? he responded. Ella smiled at the string of question marks at the end.
Let’s just say Marissa and I are no longer on speaking terms.
That’s how things were before? Yikes.
Ella pursed her lips to smother a laugh when the Headmaster’s secretary gave her a judgmental look over her desk.
You know, if you didn’t want to go out with me, there were easier ways to turn me down, he texted.
Ella started typing rapidly. It’s not that! I wanted to go out, I swear. This was just a long time coming.
Relax, I’m just teasing. It’s fine, I’ll take you out another night.
Are you sure? Ella asked, biting her lip.
Absolutely. But on one condition.
What’s that?
I’ve never heard of anyone standing up to Queen Marissa and living to tell the tale. You have to tell me everything.
This time, Ella couldn’t hold back the laugh, but she ignored the secretary’s scolding glare. She was already the school pariah. How much worse could it get?
Chapter 4
Bishop
Bishop looked down at his phone, frowning at the last message on screen.
He’d never been stood up in his life, but it seemed there was a first time for everything.
“Why the long face?”
He cringed inwardly at the familiar voice. When he finally turned to face his brother, he was unsurprised that the older shifter hadn’t taken off the dark red robe they all wore over their suits and ties.
Eldric always had enjoyed the pomp and ceremony of the society. Bishop cared less for it, and saw it more as a necessity. Like attending a dinner party or pretending he could stand half the people in the colony.
“It’s nothing,” he said, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He could tell from the look Eldric was giving him that he didn’t buy it.
“She canceled, didn’t she?” he asked in a triumphant tone.
Bishop scowled at him. Across the room, past the few club members still lingering to chat after the ceremony, he caught sight of another he had to pretend to tolerate on a daily basis.
Sterling and Eldric had come up through school together, and the enmity between the former friends had made its way to Bishop’s relationship with his teacher. For the most part, they managed not to cross paths, but he couldn't help but notice the way the other man was watching him. He knew that sharp look in those cold eyes, and there was no doubt in his mind it had something to do with Ella.
“The date has been postponed,” he said, turning back to his brother. “It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
“We’ll see,” Eldric quipped. “You fail to get that ring, and I might have to step in.”
“I doubt she’s interested in being bred by an old man who can’t keep a queen for more than a few months,” Bishop shot back.
Eldric smirked, but the dangerous glint in his eyes made it clear the barb had hit its mark. “Mother seems awfully fond of this one. Not quite as fond as you, though.”
Bishop swallowed the growl building in his throat. Eldric was just trying to get under his skin, and he was good at it. Bishop had learned a long time ago not to give him what he wanted, or at least to put up the image of being unbothered.
“Is there a reason she shouldn’t be?” he challenged.
“Please. She’s a stray who’ll soon sit on the throne of Empress,” said Eldric. “Even you can’t pretend like it doesn’t bother you.”
“It doesn’t,” he answered without hesitation. He could feel his brother searching for a sign of deception, but he’d find none. As unconventional as Ella’s appointment was, as far as Bishop was concerned, it was fate. There was no room for him or anyone else to question the will or whim of the moon.
“Is that so?” Eldric sneered, still holding a half-empty wine glass. “Well, in any case, she’s a stray who belongs to the Hill pride. That puts you in direct competition with Axel.”
“Competition?” Bishop echoed dryly. “Perhaps that is how he sees it.”
The other shifter snorted. “You know, it’s strange. He’s absent from the monthly ceremony, and Ella cancels your date at the same time. I wonder if that’s really a coincidence?”
Bishop rolled his eyes, but the truth was, it wasn’t the first time the thought had crossed his mind. There was no denying the fact that Ella was smitten with Axel. He could see it in their every interaction, and in the pain in her eyes now that Axel was finally playing nice because she was Empress.
In a way, he could sympathize. Bishop knew better than anyone what it meant to be loved because of what you were, not who you were. It was that very camaraderie he planned to exploit in order to get closer to Ella, and he had long since learned to tamp down any guilt he might have felt over it.
She was special. She was different. But that didn’t mean the plan had changed.
“You just worry about your own affairs,” Bishop told his brother, patting him on the shoulder on his way past. He relished the glare of indifference in the other man’s eyes. “Leave the serious matters to me.”
All his life, Bishop had grown up in his brother’s shadow. Now that it was clear the future Empress had been born as his contemporary, that had changed.
Bishop had known Ella was his destiny from the moment their eyes had locked in that ceremony room. Hers were so wide and full of innocence. She was so unaware of the ruthless world lying just beneath the surface of the one she had always existed on the outside of.
It was almost a shame she couldn’t stay that way forever, but there was one thing of which he was absolutely certain. He wasn’t going to give her up. Not to his brother, not to Axel, not to anyone.
Chapter 5
Ella
After enduring a half-hour lecture from the Headmaster and finally managing to argue for her innocence in starting the physical half of their altercation, Ella managed to escape the office with a stern warning and kitchen duty for the next few lunch periods. She had learned Marissa was facing the same punishment, and the idea of the Queen Bee wearing a hairnet was almost worth the whole thing.
She was dreading her necessary return to the Hill residence much more. Marissa hadn’t left her a scrap of clothing that wasn’t already on her back, and even the skirt she was wearing had a new tear in it. She had no choice but to go back to her
old room and retrieve whatever clothing she had left in her closet. The Headmaster had told her she could pick up new uniforms from the office in the morning, so while she didn’t have much, she figured there would be at least a few pairs of sweats and shirts she could get by with on the weekends.
She was halfway down the hill leading away from the academy and determined to at least enjoy the fresh air and pleasant scenery when she heard the tires of a car crunching in the gravel on the road behind her. She stood aside waiting for it to pass, but when she realized the car had slowed down to keep pace with her, she turned back.
The moment she saw that flashy yellow sports car, she knew her day was about to get so much worse. She couldn’t help the scowl that naturally came across her face as the car pulled up beside her and the passenger side window rolled down.
“Need a ride?” Axel asked smugly, leaning over the center console.
Ella flipped him off and kept walking, determined to ignore him. His timing was impeccable. Maybe he had her lojacked or something to maximize his opportunities for harassment. She wouldn’t have put it past him.
Rather than driving off, he kept crawling alongside her. “You’re going home, aren’t you? I can give you a ride.”
She bristled at his words. She knew she would only be giving him what he wanted, but she couldn’t resist. “Now it’s our home, is it?” she challenged without slowing down or looking his way. “And here I thought I was just the live-in maid.”
“Come on, Ella. Don’t be like that,” he coaxed.
She’d heard him talk that way to Marissa, whenever he was trying to calm her down from what he felt was an unreasonable reaction. Ella was starting to wonder if Marissa had always been the way she was, or if Axel had driven her to the same madness she now felt in danger of succumbing to.
