Kai Parker

Morraine's Pov

My eyes slowly opened, and the first thing that hit me was the blinding yellow light of the room. I tried to push myself up, but my head wouldn't stop throbbing. I finally managed to sit upright, blinking through the haze.

Wait... where am I?

I tilted my head around, taking in the room. A makeup table, an empty bed across from mine, my familiar clothes tossed over a chair... I was back in my dorm.

I bolted off the mattress immediately. Oh my god!

I tried to think back past the splitting headache, but my thoughts were a jumbled mess. The last thing I remembered was being brutally attacked in the restroom. How the hell did I end up back here in bed?

I scrambled for my phone on the nightstand. The screen lit up: 7:00 AM.

What? How was it already a brand new day?

I dragged both hands through my hair, scratching at my scalp in pure confusion. I was sure I had been on that cold restroom floor just moments ago.

Creak!

The dorm door swung open and Brittany walked in, dressed in a skimpy party fit like she was just rolling back from the club.

"Hey!" I rushed over to stop her in her tracks.

She took one look at me and scoffed. "Uhh, you look like absolute shit."

"Yeah, whatever. How did I get here?" I pointed wildly back at the bed. "How did I get on my bed?"

She looked at me intently, taking two slow paces back while I eagerly waited for an answer.

"Are you okay?" she asked, eyeing me suspiciously. "I don't think you're alright in the head."

I rolled my eyes, my brain already short-circuiting from panic. "Please, just tell me. I really can't remember."

"What's there to tell?" she said, folding her arms over her chest. "You came back to the dorm yesterday evening, greeted me, and lay flat on your bed to sleep."

"Just that?" I cut in.

"Yeah. I went out after that, and I'm just coming back now."

"You mean... I walked back here on my own?" I stepped closer to her, desperate for logic.

"Yeah..."

Brittany paused, taking a step toward me. She suddenly reached out, grabbed my chin, and snapped my head sideways, inspecting my throat like she was looking for something specific.

"Well, no bite," she muttered under her breath. "I don't know what the fuck is wrong with you."

She pulled away, brushing past me to head over to her bed.

I started anxiously biting my thumbnail. "No, no, Brittany, something is wrong." I walked over and leaned across her vanity table as she sat down.

"Listen to me. The last thing I remember was being attacked in the restroom yesterday, and then boom...I wake up here supernaturally."

She grabbed a cotton pad and started casually wiping off her makeup. "So who attacked you?"

"I don't know! I couldn't see their face," I admitted.

"So... no witnesses, no proof. Sounds like you're just losing your mind."

"I swear to God I am not!" I yelled out, causing her to stop wiping her face and hit me with a sub zero glare.

"Are you yelling at me?" she asked softly.

My chest heaved. I knew I was being too loud, but I was just losing my mind "I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout. I just feel like I'm going crazy."

She gave a small nod. "That's what I thought."

"Brittany, please. Something isn't right."

She sighed, setting down the wipe. "Okay, fine. Apart from the restroom, did anything else suspicious happen?"

I paused, scanning through every detail of yesterday. "Wait... a girl came up to me and said Evelyn was calling me to the restroom. Yeah!" I pointed at her like I'd solved a puzzle.

Brittany rolled her eyes. "Girl, you should have started with that. Go ask Evelyn first. Simple."

Knock, knock!

A sharp knock sounded at the door. My nerves were so shot that I bolted straight over and yanked it open without checking who it was.

Standing in the hallway was my step sister, Cassy.

She was holding a fresh baked cake topped with glazed strawberries, a sickeningly sweet smile plastered on her face.

"Hey, sister," Cassy purred, her eyes glittering with malice. "Today marks exactly one month since your mom died. I thought we should celebrate...oh, no, I mean remember her demise, of course."

"Fuck... did I just hear that right?" Brittany’s voice boomed from behind me.

I stared at Cassy, a wave of hot, suffocating rage rushing up my chest. My hands curled into tight fists. This insolent bitch.

Before my brain could even process it, my hand flew out and slapped her square across the face. Her head snapped to the side, and I instantly lunged forward, grabbing her hair and dragging her into the hallway as the cake crashed messily onto the floor.

"Jeez! What is she doing?!"

Shouts instantly erupted down the corridor as we collided against the wall. Students began pouring out of their rooms, grabbing my arms and desperately trying to pull me off my menace of a step sister.

"Please help me! Someone help!" Cassy wailed, scrambling backward on the floor the second I was pinned back.

"Stop this nonsense at once!" a heavy, smooth voice boomed over the chaos.

The commotion in the hallway died down instantly, but it wasn't the heavy, terrifying silence that usually followed Daimon Ashford.

It was a sudden wave of frantic whispering.

"Wait... is that him?"

"Oh my god, he's back on campus?"

"Parker.." someone gasped nearby, the name spreading like wildfire down the crowded corridor.

The crowd of girls parted down the middle like a red carpet. Stepping into the hall wasn't a strict university official or a security guard.

It was a guy who looked like he was born from ancient royalty himself.

He had long, golden blonde hair falling casually around his neck, and a black unbuttoned shirt open wide enough to expose a sharp chest covered in dark, intricate tattoos. Every step he took oozed lazy confidence, a dangerous smirk playing at the corner of his lips as the girls around him practically swooned, leaning in just to get closer to his scent.

Kai Parker

He stopped right in front of us, his sharp, golden brown eyes slowly raking over the messy scene before locking directly onto mine.

"Judging by the fact that you're still fuming with wild rage, darling... I am guessing you started this. Am I right?" he purred, his voice smooth as silk and dripping with playful arrogance.

"No... no," Cassy chimed in, scrambling to her feet and cutting between us. Her voice instantly shifted into a soft, fragile cry. "Please don't blame my sister... you see, ever since her mother passed away, she's been having... episodes."

That word made my throat tighten, the air completely leaving my lungs.

But before I could even open my mouth to rip her apart, a hand reached out from behind me.

Brittany grabbed Cassy by the collar of her shirt and yanked her forward.

"I will show you what a real episode looks like," Brittany growled, bringing her palm across Cassy's face with a crack that echoed down the entire hall. "I fucking hate sly bitches!"

Cassy stumbled back, gasping in utter shock as her cheek flared bright red. The hallway went dead silent.

Kai didn't even flinch. Instead, the smirk on his face widened into a low, amused laugh. He didn't order anyone to stop. He just stood there, his golden eyes burning into mine with an intense, calculated curiosity that made my skin prickle.

"Well, well..." Kai murmured, taking a slow step toward me, completely ignoring the drama around us. "You certainly know how to make a morning interesting. I like that."