MasukPOV: ACEThe fake-haired bastard was still kissing her cheek when the last thread of my goddamn sanity snapped right in half.I didn't think. I didn't care about the scouts, the board members watching from the glass boxes, or the fact that my father’s lethal warning was still echoing in the back of my skull. I skidded across the ice, my blades throwing a sheet of white crystals against the base of the stands as I tore the gate open and hurled myself up the wooden stairs.I grabbed Bluey by the collar of his pristine jersey, ripping his large frame completely away from Vine, and landed a brutal, bone-crushing punch right across his jaw.The crowded arena let out a collective, deafening "Ooooohh!" as the force of the blow sent him crashing down against the wooden benches.I didn't stop. The red mist took over completely. I lunged after him, my knees pinning his chest into the wood as I kept punching, raining down blow after blow into his face. My knuckles split against his skin, the h
POV: VINEAce had been trying to talk to any part of me all fucking day.Every single time I turned a corner in the humanities wing, or walked past the library stalls, his towering frame would materialize out of the shadows. He looked…. horrible—his hair a chaotic mess, his clothes wrinkled, and those dark amber eyes wide with a desperate, bloodshot panic that practically screamed for my attention. He kept reaching for my arm, his mouth opening to launch into whatever pathetic excuse his father had ordered him to make.I ignored him. Validly so. I treated him like a piece of goddamn furniture, walking right past his heavy Alpha aura without so much as a blink. It was completely useless trying to think hard about all the nonsense anyway. I wasn't about to drown myself in the toxic whiplash of his life anymore. So instead of rotting over a guy who belonged to someone else now, I forced my brain to focus entirely on the people around me."I mean, seriously, Vine, I think I completely m
POV: VINEI spent the entire fucking night crying.The second the front door of Ace’s house had clicked shut behind him last night, I had gathered my ruined dress, pulled on my sneakers, and walked all the way back to my place in the freezing dark. My face was stained with mascara, and my chest felt like it had been scooped out with a dull blade. By the time my head hit my own pillow, the dam had broken completely. I wept until my throat was raw, mourning the stupid, fragile hope I had allowed myself to hold onto in that bed.It was morning now, and the harsh, unforgiving sunlight was filtering through my blinds, hitting my burning, swollen eyelids. I was curled up into a tight ball under the heavy duvet, staring blankly at the wall, fully intending to spend the rest of the godgoddamn day rotting right there. I didn't want to see the Vipers, I didn't want to see the pack, and I sure as hell didn't want to go anywhere near Silverclaw Academy.KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.A heavy, rhythmic po
POV: ACE"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking hell... No way...."The frantic curses ripped from my throat as the speakerphone cut to a sharp, dead dial tone. The heavy silence that dropped over the bedroom was fucking suffocating, instantly crushing the warm, quiet afterglow that had been lingering in the air seconds ago. The heat on my skin turned into ice. I hurriedly scrambled out of the bed, the mattress shifting violently as I frantically started gathering my clothes from the dark floorboards, shoving my legs into my jeans with trembling hands."Where the hell are you going?"Vine’s voice was quiet, sounding incredibly small and fractured from the center of the tangled sheets.I paused, my chest heaving as I buttoned my jeans, my leather jacket clutched tightly in my fist. I sat on the edge of the mattress, the leather creaking loudly in the quiet room as I desperately reached out to hold her hand, my fingers wrapping around her small wrist. I needed her to look at me. I needed her to se
POV: VINEWhen we finally made it to his bedroom, he laid me down on the bed with surprising gentleness, his eyes locked on mine as he stripped off his shirt. My breath caught at the sight of him—all hard muscle and ink, the tattoos covering his chest and arms like a roadmap of his past.I reached for him, my fingers tracing the lines of his abs before moving to the button of his jeans. He watched me with hooded eyes as I freed him, his cock already hard and straining. My mouth watered at the sight."Come here," I whispered, and he obeyed, settling between my thighs as his fingers hooked into my thong and dragged it down my legs.The first touch of his fingers against my core made me gasp. I was already soaking wet, my body aching for him in a way that felt almost painful. He groaned at the discovery, his thumb circling my clit with maddening precision."So fucking wet for me," he murmured against my ear, his voice rough with need. "Always so ready.""Only for you," I breathed, my hip
POV: VINEI didn't tell Clyde the truth.When I walked back into the suffocating heat of the frat house, I found her laughing near the stage, looking so completely full of life that the words died straight in my throat. I couldn't bring myself to break her heart right there under the neon lights. Instead, I just squeezed her shoulder, told her I was exhausted and heading home early, and went out to find Ace.I found him standing in the shadows of the gravel lot, the orange cherry of a cigarette glowing between his fingers. I frowned, the sharp scent of tobacco cutting through the crisp night air."You smoke now?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest as I stepped into the dim light.Ace shrugged, a slow, heavy movement of his shoulders as he took another drag, his dark eyes fixed on the tree line. "I've got a lot of shit on my mind, Vine. Stuff I'd rather burn out than take to heart."I let out a soft sigh, stepping closer until the heat radiating from his leather jacket reached my
VineI followed him out of the studio like a homeless puppy, my legs still struggling to find balance. I was beginning to get grossed out by how sticky I felt. Walking in front of me, he didn't bother looking back at me. He just kept walking in silence, his hands tucked in his pockets, acting like
VineI didn't even flinch when he got in my face. I was past the point of being scared. Something inside me had just turned into hot, bubbling acid. I stood up from that stool, not even caring that I was half-dressed and vulnerable. "What does it look like I'm doing?" I snapped. My voice was loud
VineI scrambled into the first dark space I could find. It was a narrow closet that reeked of dust, but then again....it was literally the only hiding place I could find. I held my breath until my lungs felt like they were going to pop any minute from now. My heart was a drum against my ribs, anx
Vine"We want you to stop covering up for her." A lady from the red house spoke and I turned to them.Then a guy in navy blue mask pointed at me and reinforced."She fought at a an alumni legacy meeting, do you know what that means?"







