Chapter 9

After a solid minute or two of Bri beating the shit out of him, I called her off in a bid not to escalate things.

“Yo, shortie. It's okay.”

With great resistance, Bri stopped. I could still see her jaw tighten and her fist open and close in a way I knew all too well.

She was mad. Enraged.

I'd only seen this side of her once before, when a group of incel boys thought it was funny to mock her hybrid origins in front of the entire campus.

The boys ended up in the emergency room over the course of a week.

Everybody knew it was Bri, but nobody had the guts to point it out.

“Jeez. You really pack quite a punch... for a girl,” Jax said, straightening his top and dusting an invisible trail of dirt from his clothes.

I could see him wince a little, but he hid it well.

“What the fuck do you want? Haven't you done enough?” I asked with every ounce of hate and bitterness I could muster.

“Chill, babes. I'm not here to fight.”

“Chill? Jax, I'm in a fucking hospital because of you. How, pray tell, am I supposed to chill?”

“I don't know. Breathe or something.”

He said it with barely any remorse for what he'd done.

I didn't know I could hate someone this much, but I felt even more hatred for him at that moment.

“Answer me. What do you want?”

“I just wanted to talk.”

“Talk about what exactly?”

“Everything, I guess.”

“You guess?”

Jax, you fucking rejected me. You made me look like a fool in front of the whole campus. You…”

I couldn't finish what I wanted to say because I was so angry. I could feel a heavy lump forming at the back of my throat.

“It's time to go, hotshot. You've done enough damage,” Bri said as she inserted herself between us.

“I just want to talk. I know I made a mistake, but I just wanna make things right.”

“You could never make things right.”

“Can I at least try? You know we'd be standing in front of the pack council tomorrow. We gotta come up with something to say.”

“Oh. So you're here to save your own ass.”

I laughed bitterly.

“You rejected me. That's all there is to the matter.”

“Don't act like you're so innocent. I mean, you gave it up so easily. You should've realized that you were being played.”

“What?”

I stared at him, dumbfounded by the audacity.

“You should've been smarter. I was gonna break things off long ago, but you kept clinging to me like some damn puppy. I mean, I'd already won the bet by getting your snobbish, uptight self to be my girlfriend. I could've left, but you just wouldn't let me go.”

“Jax, I fucking loved you!”

“Yes, and that was the problem. You could've just been smarter. And after you gave it up so easily, I couldn't be caught doing anything with a cheap pack slut. If I'd chosen you, that would've ruined my reputation.”

I didn't know how or when, but I was on top of Jax in a second, my nails and teeth slashing and biting every bit of exposed skin I could reach.

“You fucking pig. You fucking played me.”

I was crying harder now.

He pushed me off him like I was a rag doll and stood to his full height. Before I could say a word, he was already towering over me.

He grabbed my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes.

I saw something in them that sent chills down my spine.

“Don't you ever try that again. The next time you do, I promise to put you in your fucking place.”

From the corner of my vision, I could see Bri lying unconscious on the floor.

He saw me looking at her, and then he smirked.

“That you see is what happens to whores who don't know their place on the food chain. Puppies who think they're the big dog.”

I wanted to say so much, but everything about Jax in that moment kept my mouth shut.

All I could do was watch.

“Now, listen to me. At the trials, you're gonna fucking say nothing and accept your punishment. Besides, a rejected wolf is a fucking liability to the pack. You are a fucking liability.”

I could feel more tears flowing now.

“Pathetic. Am I clear?”

I nodded.

“Good. Now dry your eyes and be quiet.”

He let go of my chin.

He stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked away.

I immediately rushed over to Bri, who was lying still on the floor.

I turned her over and found a large bruise on her face.

I started screaming for help.

A nurse came running in.

“What happened?”

“Just get the doctor or something already.”

She ran out and returned with a doctor, two extra nurses, and a gurney.

They carried Bri out of the room, with one of the nurses staying behind to attend to me.

“Would she be okay?”

“Yes. Now, what happened?”

I didn't say anything. Instead, I cast my gaze downwards, refusing to meet her eyes.

She got the message.

She fixed my IV and walked away, muttering something about college kids under her breath.

I lay in bed awake for hours, the events of the past few days running through my head.

I could feel a certain darkness creeping in at the edge of my consciousness, but I tried my best to fight it back.

I don't know when I fell into a dreamless sleep.

When I woke up, I found the family driver waiting for me.

His expression was neutral.

“Good morning, Ms. I'm here to pick you up.”

“Good morning, Richard. Can we stop by my apartment so I can pick up my things? Also, I need to check up on Bri.”

“No worries, ma'am. There won't be any need for that. Your father demands I bring you in as soon as possible.”

“Okay. But can I at least see Bri?”

“Sure thing.”

When I got to Bri's ward, I found her still unconscious.

And I hated myself for dragging her into this.

I hated that she had to endure this because of me.

I held her hands and kissed them.

“I'm so sorry, shortie,” I said, fighting back tears.

I let go of her hands, making a decision never to pull her into any of my bullshit again.

I also left a note with the nurse on duty.

Then I walked out into the morning, semi-ready to meet my family again.

Especially my father.