Chapter 5

The next morning, I woke up feeling strangely light, a feeling I hadn’t experienced in weeks. For the first time since I arrived in this town, there was a quiet excitement humming beneath my skin, the kind that made the air itself feel different. I dressed quickly in a simple T-shirt and jeans before heading downstairs.

Dad was already standing at the kitchen counter with his usual mug of coffee, while Anna moved around the kitchen preparing breakfast like she always did.

“Dad,” I said, trying not to sound too eager, “could I drive one of your cars to school today?”

I threw a quick glance at Anna because I knew exactly what she was going to suggest next—that I should just ride with Alec. Not today. Definitely not after what I’d done.

Dad looked up from his mug for a moment, studying me like he was trying to figure out what had suddenly put me in such a good mood.

“I’ll get the key upstairs,” he said before standing up and walking away with his cup.

By the time he came back down, I was almost done with my breakfast. He placed the key on the counter in front of me.

“Be careful,” he said. “If there’s any problem, call me.”

I nodded quickly. “Sure. Thanks, Dad. Bye, Anna.”

I grabbed my bag and headed for the door while Dad continued watching me, probably wondering what had me acting so cheerful this morning.

If only he knew.

The school parking lot was already packed by the time I arrived. Students moved everywhere, laughing, talking, rushing to class. I parked the car and stepped out, slinging my bag over my shoulder before heading toward the main building.

“Jenna!”

I turned just in time to see Liza waving wildly from across the quad before running toward me, her ponytail bouncing behind her.

“Uhhh, you have a car!” she said excitedly the moment she reached me.

“Nah,” I shrugged. “It’s my dad’s.”

“Well it’s still yours for now,” she laughed.

We started walking toward the building together when a thought crossed my mind.

“Hey, do you know Alec or Roman?” I asked casually. “My stepmom said they go here but I’ve never seen them on campus.”

Liza stopped walking so abruptly that I had to stop too.

“You know Alec and Roman?” she asked slowly.

I raised an eyebrow. “Alec is my stepbrother.”

Her mouth dropped open.

“Girl, you are something else,” she said, staring at me like I had just announced I lived with a celebrity. “Do you even know who Alec and Roman are?”

I shrugged.

“They’re basically the kings of this school,” she said. “Alec is the president of Greed MC, and trust me, he’s the best rider in this town. People literally gather just to watch them race. It’s kind of a big deal around here.”

She frowned slightly.

“But they haven’t had a race in like two months… which is weird. I wonder why.”

I simply nodded, letting the information settle in my head. If he really was the president of some motorcycle club, that definitely explained his unhealthy obsession with bikes.

~~

The morning passed in a blur of mundane lectures and what nots. I was halfway through my English literature class, when the door burst open.

Silence fell over the room. All eyes, including mine, swiveled to the doorway. Alec stood there like a storm cloud in human form.

His usually neat hair was completely disheveled, falling around his face in wild strands. His clothes looked worse, his sleeve was ripped, and his eyes, usually a dark, unreadable slate, blazed with intense fury.

He scanned the room, his gaze locking onto mine. Flickering with pure, unadulterated rage. He strode towards my desk.

Alec reached my desk before I could even process what was happening. His hand shot out and wrapped around my arm with bruising force as he pulled me out of my chair.

The legs of the chair screeched loudly against the floor as my books scattered across the desk.

“Hey!” I protested, trying to pull away. “Let go of me!”

He didn’t respond. He just dragged me out of the classroom while the entire room watched in stunned silence.

He pulled me along the hallway, my arm burning where his fingers dug into my skin. Students stopped mid-conversation to stare at us as we passed, clearly sensing something was wrong.

He didn’t stop until we reached an empty room at a quiet corner. The room was kinda dim and small, like a storage room and it made my heart race faster than normal.

“What are you doing?” I panicked as he pushed me in and clicked the door shut. Then he spun around and shoved me back. My back slammed against the wall, the impact knocking the air out of my lungs as pain shot through my spine.

“What the fuck is your problem?” I snapped, pushing myself upright, my hand instinctively going to my back.

He turned on me instantly, his entire body vibrating with anger.

“No, what the fuck is YOur problem? What did you do to my bike?” he demanded, his voice low with barely controlled rage.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, forcing my face to remain calm even though my heart was pounding.

“You know what I’m talking about, you psychopath!” he yelled, his voice echoing in the confined space. He gripped my shoulders, his fingers digging in. “You almost killed me! Look at my fucking body!” He released me, stepping back, and ripped open his shirt.

It was dark but I could still map out the angry red scrapes and bruises on his chest and arm bleeding slightly.

“And where exactly is your evidence that I did that?” I asked coolly.

Before I could react, his hand shot out and wrapped around my throat, slamming me back against the wall again. My breath caught instantly.

Air struggled to reach my lungs, panic scratching at the edges of my chest, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing it.

Instead, I reached up and grabbed his hair.

And pulled.

Hard.

His head jerked slightly, a sharp curse slipping past his lips, but instead of letting go, his grip tightened even more.

My eyes watered, and my chest felt like it was burning as I forced in what little air I could through my mouth, but I didn’t stop.

If he thought I was going down easily, he was actually insane. I still pulled harder. If I was going to suffocate, at least he was losing some hair in the process.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Just tension, pain and breathing that wasn’t quite working.

Then suddenly, he let go stepping back with a frustrated hiss, one hand going to his head where I had pulled.

“You’re a fucking bitch,” he muttered.

I bent forward slightly, dragging in air like I had just been underwater, my chest rising and falling as I forced my breathing back to normal.

A laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it.

“You know you don’t scare me, Mr big bad wolf. If you try to hurt me, I will return the energy”

Something snapped inside of him as he stepped closer again, caging me against the wall with his large body. I could see the red in his eyes, he wanted nothing but to hurt me tenfold, it’s written all over his face.

“You clearly have a death wish,” he said quietly, his voice controlled in a way that felt like the calm before something worse. “You don’t want to mess with me, Jenna. I can destroy you. Completely. You won’t even see it coming.”

A slow smile spread across my lips.

“Interesting,” I said softly, tilting my head as I looked up at him. “So when do we start?”

For the first time, he actually looked caught off guard. Did he think that would scare me?.

Then his hand came up, gripping my jaw, forcing my face slightly to the side before his thumb pressed against my lips. My breath hitched as his thumb slid between my lips, his eyes dropping to watch the movement like it meant something more than it did. Then I saw his mouth twitch into a small smirk.

“You’re more fucked up than I thought,” he murmured.

His hand didn’t stop there and I didn’t stop him. I was crazy, I was out of my mind for not stopping him. Instead, my mind blazed with curiosity, as Alec’s hand moved slowly from my jaw, down the side of my neck, across my collarbone, then lower. My body reacted before my brain could catch up.

Every nerve ending felt like it had been switched on at once, heat pooling low in my stomach in a way I absolutely refused to acknowledge.

“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice quieter now, betraying more than I wanted it to.