Alexander
“Hey, Alexander, hold up,” Rizzo shouts from across the courtyard.
I’ve been in the library for a couple of hours since Nat left, contemplating what the fuck is going on with me. The time alone was welcome and necessary.
What is it with Rizzo and always appearing when I don’t want to see anyone?
“What do you want, Rizzo?”
He catches up to me and shrugs. “Just seen you leave the library. Visiting Gurin?” he asks, eyebrow raising.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
He smirks. “Nothing much. Did you enjoy hunting the other day?”
My stomach churns slightly as the way he’s talking makes me think he might actually know I’m fucking her.
“Cut the shit and be straight with me.”
He chuckles. “You were giving it to her good. Me and Azira stumbled on the two of you fucking like animals.” He holds up a hand for me to high-five.
I grind my teeth and ignore him. The fact he saw any part of Natalya even remotely undressed makes me uneasy.
“You shouldn’t spy on people you creep.”
He laughs then. “You shouldn’t fuck out in the open if you don’t want to be seen.”
Rizzo has a point. It was reckless and dangerous, even if I believed no one had entered the forest in the same area.
“So, I was right then. You like her, don’t you?” he asks, looking at me seriously then. “Aleks always reckoned you did, but Nik won’t have any of it.”
I glare at him. “Are you telling me you fuckers are talking about it behind my back?”
“Yeah, so what?”
I sigh heavily, knowing there’s no point lying about it now that Rizzo knows the truth. “Yeah.” I shrug. “But she’s not going to forgive me for the shit I’ve done.”
His brow furrows. “She looked pretty forgiving while you fucked her against a tree.”
I snarl at him. “Don’t talk about that ever again.”
He holds his hands up. “I’m just saying, she looked like a girl who was enjoying herself.”
I know that Nat enjoys the sex, but that’s not the point. The question is, can she put aside all our bad blood and history between us and consider a real relationship?
As I don’t want to be without her. It’s one of the scariest things I’ve ever admitted to myself, but it’s so fucking true. All along, I think Eva was right. That’s why I was so desperate to find something to hold over her this year. Desperate to cling onto the power I have over her so she can’t slip away from me.
“Keep it to yourself, Bianchi.” I give him a stern glare. “I don’t want rumors spreading.”
He looks offended. “Do I strike you as the kind of guy to spread fucking rumors?” He shakes his head. “I’d say Azira is more likely.”
“Azira wouldn’t dare because it would hurt Nat.”
Rizzo nods. “So, what’s your plan?”
I shrug. “No idea.”
As we round the corner into the main corridor of the academy, I bump into Finn Murphy.
“Watch where you’re going,” I say, glaring down at him.
He’s short, just under six feet tall. “Morales, exactly who I was looking for.” He smirks at me.
“What the fuck do you want, Murphy?”
He smirks, eyes darting between me and Rizzo. “I hear you have some rather interesting information about the Gurin family.”
It feels like all the blood drains from my body as I stare down at the Irish snake. “What the fuck are you talking about?” I can hear the worry in my own voice.
If Finn knows the truth about Natalya’s true name, then she is fucked. He has no allegiance to her and there’s no way he’d keep that information to himself, not without a very large reward.
He glances between Rizzo and me. “Are you sure you want me to mention it in front of Bianchi?”
“Carry on. I’ll meet you back at the dorms.”
Rizzo’s fists clench as he glances between me and Finn. After a few moments, he nods. “See you later.”
Finn smirks at me and it makes me want to punch it right off his face. “You should be more careful about where you keep your information, Alexander.”
“Information?” I ask.
He nods. “Yeah, I got in your room and found the file on Natalya.” He flashes the folder at me and I launch myself at him, trying to snatch it out of his hand.
Finn dodges me, shaking his head. “I’ll give it back to you, for a price.”
I clench my jaw, knowing that even if he gives it back to me, her secret is out. “What do you want?”
“Name me king of the academy and step the fuck down.”
I roll my eyes. “Are you fucking serious?”
“Yeah, it’s what I want for my silence.”
This kid is pathetic. He could shake me down for money or much more, but he just wants to rule an academy that won’t mean shit in a few months’ time when we graduate.
“And if I announce that, you will never tell anyone about Nat’s family?”
He tilts his head slightly. “I didn’t say never.”
I launch myself at him then, grabbing him by the collar and shoving him against the wall of the corridor. “Listen to me, you son of a bitch. If you even utter a word to anyone, I’ll rip your fucking beating heart right out of your chest.”
Finn pales then, eyes widening as I wrap my hand around his throat and squeeze.
“Perhaps I’ll take your fucking tongue as insurance to make sure you can’t fucking speak to anyone.”
He struggles to breathe, face turning pale as he fights against me.
“What reason should I allow you to fucking live when you are blackmailing me?” The rage starts to bleed into my veins, overwhelming me as I continue to choke the air from his lungs. My vision is red as I strangle him, wanting nothing more than to eradicate the threat. I know I should stop, but he’s threatening the one thing that matters to me. Nat would blame me if this got out and she would be in danger.