Chapter 5: Strip For Them

Riley’s POV

I shot up from my seat, glaring at Ezra.

“Let go of me,” I snapped, yanking my wrist out of his grip.

He gave me a smug, wicked smile. “So I see you still managed to find a seat in the cafeteria. I’ve gotta admit, you’ve got skills.”

I took a deep breath. “Look, I don’t like this marriage between my mom and your dad either, but at least I’m mature enough to stay out of it. Why can’t you do the same thing and just ignore me? I swear I’ll stay out of your way.”

“How cute,” he chuckled.

He leaned in close and braced one hand on the table behind me so I was trapped between him and the table.

“But I already promised your mother I’d ruin your life. And I’m not the type to break a promise.”

I stiffened. He was too close. His perfect face was just inches from mine. I couldn’t breathe.

“What are you gonna do then, kill me?” I whispered.

He smirked. “Not quite. But I can make you wish you were dead.”

And just like that, he pulled back.

Then he grab my drink from the table and dump it right over Roy’s head.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” I yelled.

Ezra stared coldly at Roy, who was now soaked and shaking. “I already told the whole school Riley Monroe is my enemy. And here you still sat next to her. You wanna get banished too?”

Roy shivered in silence. He just stared at the ground as soda dripped off his hair.

I shoved Ezra hard. “You think you’re the king or something?!”

“Actually… yeah.” He smirked arrogantly.

His green eyes flicked over my shoulder to Roy, then narrowed. “You better learn this fucking lesson. Next time, it won’t just be a drink.”

And with that, he turned and walked away, followed by a swarm of students snickering and throwing smug looks my way. Freaking clowns.

“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” I hurried to hand Roy some napkins.

He took them silently, his head still down.

Right. Ezra had banned anyone from talking to me. So much for having a social life here.

“I get it. I’ll leave.”

I grabbed my tray, but Roy suddenly reached out and stopped me. “No… you don’t have to.”

“Aren’t you scared of Ezra?”

“I am… but I hate them more.” His voice was low, and I caught a flash of hatred in his eyes. “They’re all bullies. They’d pick on me with or without you here.”

I let out a breath and sat back down. “Thanks. I swear I’ll try not to drag you into any of this.”

God, I was starving. As I tore into my sandwich, Roy just kind of watched me, his expression curious.

“You… you look a lot like your mom,” he said.

“Thanks.” I took it as a compliment.

“What… what department are you in? Combat? Social sciences?”

“Healing,” I told him.

His face lit up. “Me too! You must be way behind on classes though, right? I could help you catch up. Like with homework and stuff.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him the classwork here was child’s play compared to the books at my grandma’s house. So I just smiled. “Thanks. Hey… do you happen to know where Ezra usually goes? Like, after school?”

His face immediately filled with horror. “Why? Are you planning revenge? Please don’t. He’s seriously scary.”

“Of course not. I just need to talk to him.”

As much as I didn’t want to, my mom had asked me to speak with him. And fine—maybe I owed her that much.

Roy gave me a “you’re insane” look, then whispered, “…The Shadow Forest. North side of campus. It’s dangerous, so only high-ranked Lycans hang out there. Ezra and his gang are always there.”

***

Afternoon classes were hell. But somehow, I got through them.

The moment school ended, I slipped out of campus and headed straight for that place Roy mentioned—Shadow Forest.

Right where the forest met the edge of school grounds, there was a huge warning sign “NO ENTRY.” Pretty clear just how dangerous this place was.

And honestly, the second I stepped across the invisible line, the entire atmosphere shifted. The sky seemed darker, and the breeze that ran through the trees turned icy cold.

The trees here were massive, their branches almost completely blocking out the light. Thick, twisted roots jutted out of the ground like claws.

I trudged forward through the underbrush, feeling like I’d wandered into some haunted movie set. The place was way bigger than I expected, and as far as I could tell… I was completely alone.

I had to find Ezra in this big forest. The worst part? I hadn’t shifted yet. I didn’t have a wolf to help me track anything.

It got dark really fast. Soon, I couldn’t even tell which direction I was going anymore. Exhausted, I collapsed onto a tree root.

God, I was dying of thirst.

If I died of dehydration in this damn forest, I was 100% blaming my mom.

Suddenly, I heard something sprinting toward. FAST.

I whipped around, but before I could even get a look, something slammed into me. The next thing I knew, something had grabbed the collar of my shirt and started dragging me deeper into the shadows.

“WTF—Let go of me!” I screamed, kicking and fighting.

More noise. More snarling. And then I saw them—five, maybe six massive wolves.

The Lycans.

They growled and snapped at me, yanking on my clothes and dragging me forward like I was nothing more than a sack of meat.

“Fuck—what the hell is wrong with you people—ahh!”

Sharp rocks tore at my skin as they pulled me. I cried out from the pain, but they only ran faster.

I don’t know how long we kept going, but eventually I saw light—fires—and heard voices.

They threw me into the center of a massive clearing.

“Ezra, we found this girl in the forest!” someone called out.

I pushed myself up, shaking, and looked around.

The clearing was huge. Enormous bonfires burned at the edges. I saw groups of young Lycans—boys, girls, and wolves all mingling together.

And straight ahead of me was the mouth of a cave so massive it looked like a palace built into the earth. The firelight flickered across its walls, making the whole place glow like hell’s front porch.

Right in the center, there was a leather couch.

Sprawled across it was Ezra Ravenshire. And a ridiculously pretty girl tangled up with him.

Her arms were around his shoulders, her legs hooked over his hips. He was kissing her neck, his hand under her shirt, and she looked like she was absolutely loving it. Her fingers were buried in his hair as she arched into him.

This wasn’t the same girl from the classroom yesterday. He’d already hopped another girl.

“Ezra, should we tear her apart?” someone shouted.

From the shadows, more voices echoed.

“Rip her up…”

“Just an unshifted she-wolf…”

“Feed her to the dogs…”

Ezra finally looked up.

He shoved the curvy girl off him and grabbed a bottle of wine from the floor and strolled toward me.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he sneered said when he reached me. “Don’t tell me you’ve suddenly got a crush on me.”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Oh yeah?” he raised an eyebrow. “What about?”

I should probably get him into a better mood before talking to him. But there was no going back. I had to say it.

“I heard your coming-of-age ceremony is coming. And yeah, I know you said you’re not going. But it’s a huge milestone—something you should be spending with your family. So… I came to ask if you’d consider showing up.”

I got it all out in one breath.

Ezra stared at me. Then his face broke into a smirk.

He burst out laughing.

Not just him. Everyone did. The whole damn clearing echoed with laughter like I’d just told the funniest joke in the world.

My heart dropped.

“You ask me?” he seized my chin forcefully. “More like your damn mother ask me! Because she knows she’d never be Queen if the heir has a problem with her.”

“What difference does it make?” I winced from the pain.

“RIP HER! Throw her body to her whore mother!” some girls screamed at me. “Let them see who runs this place!”

“Enough.”

Ezra stared me down, his green eyes like ice. “I have a better idea.”

He shoved the bottle into my mouth, forcing me to drink. I choked as the spicy liquor poured down my throat.

“You’d do anything for your mother right? Well, let’s see if you’re willing to do this.”

He pointed to the group of young Lycans prowling near me.

“Strip for my group. Some of us want to see your slutty body.”