Eros Dionte

Something about the way he had said it, the grim urgency in his voice, the seriousness in his eyes, it made something in my brain tick off. The part of my brain that was desperate to know what happened to my brother went off, and I couldn't help but ask.

"Who... who are these princes?"

He gave a small smile, but his eyes held pain, and I could see that he hated them. Maybe not hate, but...

"You do know their families. I think they were called the powerful four on the outside."

My eyes widened. Everyone knew the powerful four. The families that held the reigns of the packs and made the rules for everyone else. They also produced some of the strongest, most capable wolves, and it made it even harder to overthrow them or even attempt to rebel.

"A descendant from each of those families lives in these walls, and soon enough, you will see them. Just make sure to steer clear. One or two of them might be friendly, and they might not even mean any harm, but their wolves are powerful like that, and the weaker you are, the higher chance you have of being sniffed to death by one of them."

I swallowed hard, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. The Carpenter family, the Sanders' family, the Stone family, and the Dionte Family. They were the powerful four.

Eros. The man with the necklace. Could he be part of these people? Could that be why the official had been so keen on protecting him?

"How do I know them?" I asked, looking up to Knox.

"They are mostly together. They have private gyms, dinings, and libraries, but sometimes they get bored and attend the duelling classes. I am just saying this so you know, but don't ever accept a duel with any of them."

I bit down on my lips. He still wasn't answering my questions. I needed their names. I needed to know who these people are.

"The son of the Stone family, Alpha Kyran Stone," he started, and my ears immediately perked. "The Carpenter family's son, Alpha Karl Carpenter. The son of the Sanders' family, Alpha Eugene Sanders."

My brows furrowed. What of the Dionte family? I have so far not heard a name that had anything to do with that necklace. Maybe he just wasn't part of them? Maybe he was a regular student?

I swallowed. The Dionte family was much stronger than the other three, for reasons unknown to anyone. They wielded so much power that it was unfair, but it's not like a lowly omega like me who could barely prevent her only brother's untimely death would be able to do anything about a family like that.

"I am sure you are wondering about the last of them," Knox said, and I turned to him. He was looking down at his limp left hand, his brows drawn.

For the first time since he started talking to me, he looked extremely angry, like he could kill someone.

"The Dionte family son?"

He didn't reply, but I saw just how much darker his gaze got as he watched his hand.

"Did he do that to you?" I asked, my voice low and cautious.

He swallowed, then looked up to me. His eyes were filled with angry tears, and he broke into his customary smile.

"You are the observant one, huh?"

I gave a small shrug. "Well. I am just trying to make sure I survive."

He gave a small chuckle. "It is the best way to live in here. By surviving. You know, I actually like you. There is something..." He trailed off, his eyes sizing me up.

I swallowed hard and moved a little further away. It was way too early for me to be causing suspicions. I haven't even gotten a place to stay yet.

"You have some sort of comfortable energy around you. Why would you come in here?"

To find Eros. To find out what really happened to my brother. All of it was at the tip of my tongue, but I could never say it if I wanted to get there.

"I guess it looked fun."

He laughed. "I guess it looks like that from the outside. Well, I am off. I would have loved to have you as my roommate, but we don't have a slot. I will try to ask around for you, however. They are more likely to give it to me than to you."

"Why are you helping me?"

"You seem different," he said with a small shrug. "And you remind me of someone else with your rather feminine features."

My eyes widened. Could he be talking about...

"I think his name was Valerian?" Knox continued, ripping my heart out with one careless sentence. "He was just like you. I almost threw my roommate out for him but someone else took him in. It was the first of its kind, that act of kindness. I don't know why he did that, but since Valerian ended up dead... I wish I had kept him as my roommate instead."

I was trying my best not to cry, hearing someone else talk about my brother's death like it was nothing. My heart broke all over again, and I felt like dying.

"Are you okay?" Knox suddenly asked, and I quickly wiped away the stubborn tears, my hands shaky. I forced a small smile as I looked up to him, my chest heaving hard.

"I... who is this kind person who took him in? I might be able to convince him to take me in, too."

All humour left Knox's eyes, and I almost took a step away from him just from how dangerous he looked. "I doubt he would," he said, his voice thick with hatred as he pulled out his left hand again. "The same person who took Valerian in... is the same person who did this to my hand, simply because I refused a duel, knowing what he could do."

"What?"

"Eros," he said, his voice low. "Eros Dionte, the worst monster of them all."