Claire Holt Young Novels & Stories

Noah stammered, his scent souring with fear. “I invited her,” Chloe interrupted. Her crimson lipstick looked like fresh blood, and she had wrapped a matching silk ribbon into a perfect bow over the silver-blade scar on her wrist. At nearly six feet tall, she looked every bit the high-born Kinton heir. “Chloe, leave her out of our pack politics,” Noah hissed, trying to grab my hand. “Is this the Ryder Global mess hall, Noah? The meat looks exquisite,” I said, stepping back so his fingers missed my skin.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE… (Claire the original) Raul and his friends head out bright and early following the bus the teenagers used arrived in for their bonfire party. Claire had invited Kal who also invited his friends and they all rolled out into Claire’s house. Claire is a rich orphan whose parents left her a great amount of money in her savings, good enough to care for her needs until she’s done with college. Claire lived all by herself with no chaperons to watch her. She is a nineteen-year-old lady whose twentieth birthday was coming soon. She had invited Raul and his friends.

I was weeding the garden when I heard a car pull up. She was maybe eighteen, nineteen. Dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. Nervous energy radiating off her. She carried a large envelope and a portfolio case. "Can I help you?" I asked, standing up and brushing dirt from my jeans. "Ms. Nott? I'm Claire. Claire Patterson. I'm..." She took a breath. "I'm Jessica Patterson's granddaughter." The name hit me like ice water. Jessica. Dead for years but still capable of reaching out from the grave.

She quickly runs towards the room next to her, then asks the head. “How may I be of help to you, my lady?” she asked, while looking at the floor. The headmaster of the orphanage’s name is Baroness Christie Blair of the Blair Family. She’s married to the Baron of Blair, who’s close to the 3rd son of the late Emperor, Emperor Julius. “Did you really clean this room?!” she asked Clementine. “I did, lady Christie,” she replied. “Clean this room again, and if I saw another speck of dust in here, you will receive another punishment, understand?” the Baroness shouted as she threw the rag on Clementine’s face, then left the room.

Alice said, “Claire, you should talk less and eat more.” Claire frowned. “Mrs. Klein, did you think I did it on purpose?” Everyone at the table knew what Claire was thinking. Her hostility was obvious. Seeing that everyone was silent, Claire said, “That’s really not what I meant.” She looked at Danielle and said, “Ms. Wendell, as you know, Hugo is now a manager in a shopping mall. Many girls covet him, so I’m used to being wary about others. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier.”

Point to be noted: "His father is the owner of this university." Entering the classroom, I, as usual, took my favourite seat, which is beside the window and started arranging my stuff. Well, I am Claire Benett, a 20-year-old girl with average looks but blessed with a brilliant mind. I am a prodigy, btw, but still come second in the class because obviously the university topper is Adrian. He doesn't own the rank one; it's gifted to him by the Dean, and I am helpless to defend my title.

He asked, “And you? What about you? Where do you work?” Matt was still at it, trying to drag Claire down, explaining that Alric was the man on the news with the governor, but she was so fired up that she had momentarily become deaf. With Alric’s sudden interest in her, Claire clarified, “Me?” Her tone quickly adjusted to a more timid one. “Well, I am an actress, and in fact, I am about to star in one of the biggest films in the industry! The movie is called The Zombie Lives.” “Ah,” Alric remarked, his expression utterly dull. “Zombie, a role so fitting.”

She frowned, as if she didn’t believe with what I said. “F-ck. It looks like you’re right. I looked at the CCTV. I got the night we had the encounter with Young’s men, and the other CCTV angle before you blew up their car,” said Claire, holding her chin and looking at me. “Someone really wants to kill you. Damn it. Your cousins need to know!” Claire stood up, but I pulled her back down.

Claire…my half-sister, the one who confessed everything to me months ago, who described in vivid detail how Uncle Daniel bent her over his desk while his wife hosted book club downstairs… now claiming victimhood? Claire mets my eyes—pleading. “I didn’t know he was filming at first,” she whispered. “Then… I did. And I kept going. Because I liked it. The risk. The power. But when Victoria found out tonight… when she saw the videos, she flipped. Said I seduced him. Said I ruined her marriage. Now she’s telling the police I was underage when it started. I wasn’t. I was twenty-two. But she’s lying. And they’re believing her.”

Maybe next time. Underneath Mom’s name was a short biography. ~ Claire Hastings, a healer from the Bloodrose pack, daughter of alumni, Alpha Stewart. She is a top student of the Healer’s Division, and known for her dedication to her craft. Claire is a proud member of the first elite team this school has ever put together with, James Rochwall (C), Claire Hastings, Greg Loren, Jane East, Elyx Lythoria———~ I squinted my eyes, trying to read the two remaining names—but they were crossed out. That was strange.