Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

Nova

I wake early the next morning with a smile on my face, last night was… Shit, I have no words for how fucking amazing it was. Being able to touch him freely, look into his eyes and even kiss him brought things to a new level for me. I can now finally merge the two men I had feelings for into one and knowing I don’t have to give one of them up is a welcome relief. Vox wasn’t able to keep his hands off me all night. We heard Thomas and Nexus come in late last night. I thought Vox would take that as his cue to leave but instead he made it his mission to fuck me harder and see if I was able to remain silent or not. I lost the bet. I had a pillow stuffed in my face and his hand over the top with the music playing in the background just to drown out my cries.

I roll over and sigh, his side of the bed is empty.

I lay on my back and stare up at the ceiling, smiling. Those letters have given me a new sense of determination. I told Vox about the files and what they said last night, unfortunately they don’t prove Thomas was the one who killed their fathers, it just proves they didn’t die the way they were told. No longer will I have to wear that fucking collar! I climb out of bed and wince, I can still feel the ghost of him inside me and that has a smile tugging at my lips as I make my way to the bathroom and shower before getting ready for another day of hell at Haven Prep. I take one last glance at my reflection in the mirror and smile. I'm not stupid enough to think this thing with Vox will go anywhere but I’m gonna enjoy it while it lasts.

I wish I could pack my shit and leave this place behind, but knowing what I do about the Saints, I know without a doubt that Thomas and Nexus would do something to have me arrested or locked up in a mental ward if I tried to flee.

“Move your ass, piggy!” I hear Nexus call from outside my door. I close my eyes and pray for patience before snagging my bag off the ground by the door and leaving the safety of my room. I find Nexus and Thomas in the kitchen. I stand in the doorway glaring at the back of Thomas’ head. “Where’s your collar?” I flick my gaze to Nexus and harden my resolve as I hold his stare.

“Fuck you.” Thomas swings around to face me at my outburst.

“Choose your next words carefully. I will not tolerate disrespect, Nova.”

I balk at Thomas. “But your son can force me to wear a fucking collar and treat me like a dog?” I snap back.

“Not a dog, a pig,” the bastard in question adds.

“Nexus was just exercising his rights as a future king, you would be wise to learn to submit now or the rest of your life won’t be so much fun.” Fear begins to ripple through me, I fight to keep my composure. “Need I remind you what is at stake if you disobey?”

I blanch and clench my fists at my sides. “You don’t have my mother.”

An evil glint enters Thomas’ eyes. “Don’t I?”

The smug look on his face gives me pause but I put my trust into my long lost uncle and believe that he wouldn’t have sent that letter if he was lying. “Catch ya later,” I mutter as I turn to leave.

“Nova?” I keep my back to them as I answer Thomas.

“Yeah?”

“No more late night visitors, I don’t like the idea of my stepdaughter being seen as a whore who opens her legs to everyone.” My jaw unhinges and my breathing turns erratic, I force my feet to move and ignore the sound of Nexus’ laughter as I race out the front door. Vox wore his mask so I know even if they saw him on the cameras, or whatever, that his identity is safe for now but he can’t come back any more, it’s too risky.

I come to a sudden stop at the sight of Vox’s Challenger idling at the curb. I stand here stumped for a minute wondering why the hell he is here until he climbs out of the car and rests his forearms on the roof of his car, his sunglasses shielding his eyes from me so I can’t get read on what he’s thinking.

“Get in the car, witch,” he calls out. I fight back my smile and shake my head as I make my way toward him. I stop a few feet away from the car and eye him warily.

“Why?”

“Because you figured out there is nothing to worry about now and the fact you don’t have his fucking chain around your neck means you’re back to being mine to do with as I please.” His words shouldn’t send a delicious shiver down my spine but they do. I relent and climb in, this time when I check the backseat I find the three guys glaring at me but it's the sight of Vivian sitting on Hayze’s lap with the widest smile that has my heart swelling.

“Thank you,” I say to her, the kindness she has shown me means so much fucking more than she will ever know.

Her features soften. “You don’t have to thank me, Nova. I’m sure you would have done the same for me.”

I nod. “Never doubt that,” I say as I turn and face Vox who is staring at his sister, his jaw is locked and I can see the sight of her on his best friend's lap is not something he is okay with. I reach over and place my hand on his thigh drawing his gaze to me. “I can switch with her if you want?” I offer.

He lifts his glasses and the dark look in his eyes has my breath hitching. “You want me to kill them?”

I balk. “What?” I breathe out.

“You sit on one of their laps and I’m gonna kill them.” The guys just laugh but I can tell Vox is dead serious which just pisses me off.

“Oh, but it was okay for those assholes to torment me?”

He shrugs. “I wasn’t fucking you then.” My jaw unhinges as he winks, pulls his glasses down, then drives while I continue to sit here stewing.

“So, to be clear,” I look back to Vivian who is looking between me and Vox with a weird look on her face, “you're still sleeping with my brother even though you know he is the guy in the mask?” I choke on my spit while Vox just shakes his head.

“Stop telling her shit!” Vox snaps from beside me.

“Dude, you didn’t come home last night. When she called us and figured out you weren’t with any of us we didn’t have a choice!” Archer defends. Vox stabs a hand through his hair and mutters about his boys being fucking dicks.

Seeing Vox so wound up is funny so I decide to push his buttons a little bit more. “So, Viv, you know that he spent the night with me, does that piss you off?” Vivian ponders my words for a second before she answers.

“Surprisingly, no. Most girls just want to be my friend so they can bone my brother or one of these three, but you never used me or even had to try to get Vox’s attention.”

“Vivian!” Vox warns but she ignores him.

“From the moment you arrived at the bonfire with Nexus, Vox couldn’t stop staring at you. The four of us knew it was game over for you from that moment.” I can see from the corner of my eye that Vivi’s admission is making Vox uncomfortable. It brings a smile to my face, knowing he was just as affected by me as I was by him. I mean, the guy is a tattooed fucking God and fucks like the Devil.

“So, since you’re okay with him sleeping with one of your friends, I totally think he should return the favor and let you fuck—” I don’t get to finish that sentence. Vox pulls the car to the side of the road, then has his hand around my throat and my head pressed against the window as he gets right in my face. I can’t stop the smile from breaking free. I pull the glasses from his face and toss them to the side, the dark look in his eyes has me wanting to squeeze my thighs closed to dull the ache pulsing there.

“Fuck with me all you want, witch, but don’t play games with my sister,” he warns.

“Vox!” Vivian tries to intervene but she doesn’t need to.

“Aww, Voxy baby, was that a weak spot for you, babe? Did I strike a nerve talking about your sister screwing your friends?” His grip around my neck loosens so I press forward until my lips ghost over his but I never break eye contact. “It’s not nice when you get picked on by someone you’re fucking, is it?” The four in the backseat break out into fits of laughter. Voxy tries to remain stoic but the dark look in his eyes fades. He releases me and slumps back in his seat with a huff before pulling back onto the road as I laugh along with the others.

As we pull into the school parking lot I pull my phone out and shoot Waylen a text.

Me

I miss you *4221*

Ever since we were little 4221 became our thing, it’s our code word of sorts and I guess we never grew out of it. His reply comes through as Vox parks in his normal spot.

Waylen

Miss you too.

I frown down at the screen, he didn’t say it back.

Me

4221 *Eyes emoji*

Waylen

Yeah….

Me

You good?

Waylen

Yeah, why?

Me

Nothing, forget it I’ll fill you in later.

Waylen

Is it about the letters?

Me

No, I told you all I know but at least we know Mom is safe.

I told Waylen about the letters this morning after my shower. He was ecstatic but now suddenly he seems… I don’t know. He always says it back but this time he didn’t, and something in the pit of my gut says something is wrong. I climb out of the car and stand beside Vox’s car staring down at my phone until a shadow falls over me. I look up to see Vox standing there with a look of concern in his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” I nibble on my lip debating if I should tell him. “Is it about that pussy friend of yours?”

I glare at the asshole. “Waylen isn’t a pussy, you dick bag! But, yes,” I admit.

He grips my waist and forces me flush against his car as he crowds me. “What is it?”

“You know the tattoo I have?”

He rolls his eyes. “How could I forget seeing the bastard's name every time you're naked.”

I fight back my smirk at the hint of jealousy I hear in his tone. “Whenever one of us texts the other or says 4221, the answer is Always together .”

He scrunches his face up. “And?”

“He never said it back.”

“Has this happened before?”

I shake my head. “Never. I feel like I got my mom back but somehow I’ve lost Waylen and I hate that I can’t call him.”

“Why not?”

“He said it isn’t safe to Facetime in case someone overhears.”

“How much does he know?”

“Everything. I never hide anything from him.” I can see he isn’t happy with my answer but I won’t keep anything from Waylen.

“Incoming,” Ez calls out, both Vox and I turn our heads to see Nicole, Pamela and the rest of the cheer sluts heading toward us. I take a deep breath and push Vox back a step. He tries to hold me back but I shake my head.

“I got this.” He searches my gaze for a second before releasing me. The sinister look on Nicole’s face tells me she isn’t going to leave this alone and wants to continue to try and tear me down.

“You really are a slut!” she sneers. Hayze and Archer form a wall to keep her away but they don’t need to do that.

“Fuck off, Nicole,” Vivian hisses.

“No one asked you, bitch.” I feel Vox at my back and know he is about to let loose on this bitch but it's time I handled my business.

“I warned you,” I sneer as I push through Archer and Hayze. Nicole opens her mouth but I don’t give her a chance to utter a word, I cock my arm back and punch her right in her nose. She screams and falls back on her ass. Her sidekicks scream and shout but when Brandy tries to step toward me I let loose. I kick her right in the stomach she hunches over but I’m not done, I grip the back of hair and yank her head up to deliver a hit to her nose, loving the sound of her bones breaking beneath my fist.

Before I can do more, Vox is there ripping me off the bitch. “Witch!” he scolds as he throws me over his shoulder, then keeps his arm locked on the back of my thighs as he storms across the lot toward the gym.

“They had it coming!” I scream as I pound my fists on his back. I lift my head to see Archer, Ezekiel, Hayze and Vivian running after us with huge ass smiles on their faces.

“Shut up, witch,” he snaps, then smacks my ass causing me to yelp.

“The fuck, Vox?” I seethe.

“Her father is the fucking principal, you idiot.” I still in his hold, fuck. Vox shoves through the doors of the gym and heads straight for the locker room. Once inside, he drags me down his body then shoves me against the lockers. I expect him to fight more but to my surprise he grabs my face and then smashes his lips to mine, robbing me of air. I clutch his shirt in my hands and press up on to my tiptoes to get better access to his mouth. He grabs my leg and lifts it so it locks around his waist. I moan into his mouth when he grinds against me. I can feel how hard he is for me and I want nothing more than for him to sink his cock inside me.

A throat clearing has us pulling apart. I look toward the door to see the three guys and Vivian standing there. I shoot my friend a sheepish smile.

“Does me punching those bitches make up for you catching me making out with your brother?” The four guys laugh while Vivian blows out an exasperated breath and smiles. Vox steps away from me, keeping his back to the others as he tries to discreetly arrange himself to hide his boner.

“Yeah, it kind of does.” I beam at my friend and wag my brows.

“How the hell did you learn how to do that?” Archer asks.

I shrug. “Waylen taught me, he said every girl should know how to defend themselves,” I answer.

“Did he also teach you how not to get expelled from school?” I cringe and shake my head.

“I think he forgot about that one,” I mumble in answer to Vox’s question.

“We need a plan, if she gets expelled then Thomas is going to lose it,” Hayze says, but it’s too late the doors open behind us and there stands Nicole’s father—our principal.

“Miss Quinlin, my office, now!” I cringe.

“Yes, sir,” I mutter as I tuck tail and follow after the asshole. If I had known he was her father, I probably wouldn’t have done that—no, that’s a lie. I would definitely still have smacked the bitch.