Chapter Three

Maureen

"K eep up, Blackwell," Libra calls back to me.

This bitch.

I'm usually the bossy friend, not the other way around. And now here I am traipsing through the night, following a girl I've just met, in black stiletto heels and a short red dress that belongs to her . I can barely breathe in the form-fitting fabric and my feet are already aching. She had taken one look at the clothes I'd brought and announced she was taking me shopping next weekend. Ironic since I'm here at Tenebrose to study costume design.

I do have other clothes. Flashier pieces that I purposefully didn't bring. I don't want that kind of attention anymore. Fuck, I don't even want to go to this party. Well, technically I do want to go. But I decided before I moved here to not be that girl again. My stomach knots just thinking about all those drunken nights. Too many to count and mostly a blur. Besides, after what happened at the last party I went to…

My stomach lurches as the image of his contorted face flashes in my mind. My chest heaves. I look down at my hands and for a moment, I can still see the knife in my palm, the blood between my fingers. "Fuck." Just breathe, Maur .

"O.M.G," she spells out. "Pick up the pace. I wanna get there before those heathens drink all the expensive shit."

I can feel my cheeks heating. If I knock her out and hide her body in the woods, will anyone miss her? "Sorry, I didn't train to sprint in stiletto heels. How much farther?"

Libra hisses. "Nocturnus House is just up the road. Trust me, it's worth it. Wait till you see these guys."

"A frat house?" I groan and come to a dead stop. "Hell, no. Not my scene."

Libra whips around and throws me a glare that sends a ripple of chills across my skin. "Nocturnus is not a fraternity. And if I were you, I wouldn't call it that again unless you want to lose your tongue."

I shift my weight just as my left heel begins to sink into the soft dirt. "Well, what the fuck are they then? An astronomy club?"

"Very funny," she snaps. She looks me up and down, and I can't tell if she's admiring her own clothes on me or if she's finally starting to regret dragging me along. "You're really pretty, you know that?"

I swallow hard, unsure as to where she's going with this. "Thanks… I think."

It's fascinating to watch Libra's face change from scorn to delight in a matter of seconds. She runs the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip as she continues her assessment of me. "Nocturnus likes pretty girls. Especially new ones."

I snicker. "I don't really fucking care if they like me."

Her face falls, and she grabs my arm hard. "You better fucking care, Blackwell. Earning their favor guarantees your safety."

The memory of my best friend and I running through the woods while we were being chased by two psychos flashes in my mind. I rip my arm away from Libra and back up. "I can keep myself safe."

We glare at each other, daring the other to break first. Libra lets out a deep sigh, her features softening again. "Chill. It was just a metaphor. For fuck's sake, you need to lighten up. Come on, let's go."

Part of me wants to kick off these heels and stomp back to The Nest. I don't like or trust this girl one bit. But it's late and dark as fuck, and I remember Miss Florian's warning about straying off the path. Without my map or my bearings, I would for sure get lost out here.

I sigh as I walk past her. "Fine. But you need to find me a ride or a pair of slippers later. I'm not doing this again in these heels."

Libra giggles. "Deal." She slips her arm around mine like we're besties. "Now, when we get inside, I'll introduce you to all of them. I kind of have a thing going with Riot, so he's off limits. Not that I'm worried. You are so not his type. But you should go for Atlas. He's tall and blond with the body of a god."

I fight the urge to roll my eyes as I cringe at every word that leaves her surgically enhanced lips. "If Atlas is so amazing, why don't you go for him, then? Or is Riot just that much more smokin' hot?" I literally couldn't care less.

"Oh, Atlas is my cousin. We're close but not that close." She laughs.

Great. So Libra is rich, popular, and related to some super shady frat boy whom I'm not allowed to call a frat boy. The very thing I didn't want anything to do with this year—dangerous fuckboys. And here I am letting this bitch walk me straight into their den.

As we pass a creepy graveyard, besides wondering why a prestigious academy has one , I realize that we are headed toward the unmarked location on the map. The one that Miss Florian refused to speak about.

Through the trees, I spot it. Nocturnus House. A chill sweeps up my spine. Calling it a house is an understatement. This is a proper mansion. The lights glow from every window, staking it's claim to the space like a beacon in these dark shadowy woods.

As we get closer, I notice the paint is decaying on half the structure where other parts look freshly coated. The stairs leading up to the door are lined with flickering candles and fairy lights. With iron railings, twisting like branches, and black rose bushes as high as my chest, it's beautiful and horrific at the same time.

I'm drawn to its melancholy. The Catherine and Heathcliff of it all. The earthiness of the fresh soil it sits in, attempting to mask the putrid stench of rotting graves from just down the road. The cloyingly sweet traces of something I can't place, a scent that threatens to consume my every thought and desire. Like a two-way mirror with death watching me from the other side.

I grab my chest and stumble back. "What is this place?" I whisper.

Libra flashes me a grin. "The house that belongs to the night. Just like them."

I shake my head. "No, but what is that scent? It hurts to breathe."

"I keep forgetting you're not from around here." Libra laughs. "It's hemlock. You'll get used to it."

Poison? Fuck me. "They're growing hemlock? What the fuck for?"

Libra laughs again as she lets her blonde hair down from its tight bun. "Look, I know you grew up in Wickford Hollow, but I find it hard to believe that your parents didn't tell you anything about this place. But I love how you're totally owning this new girl na?ve vibe."

My stomach twists in knots. Fuck. I might have made a horrible mistake coming here. And not just to Nocturnus House. But to Tenebrose. And I definitely never should have taken my mother's name. I regret not ever asking her questions about our family history.

If Bailey was here she'd tell me to be the fiery Maureen she knows and loves. And that's exactly what I'm going to need to do to survive this place.

I let out a deep breath and force the flirtiest smile I can muster. "A girl's gotta have some secrets. Am I right?" I make a mental note to research everything I can find on Ever Graves and Raven's Gate later.

Libra wraps her arm back around mine. "A lady never kills and tells. Come on, let's go get shitfaced."

If she only knew .

I follow Libra through the packed house, impressed by her prowess. As I watch her slither in and out of different groups, greeting various friends with air kisses on each cheek and giggling at all the right moments, I realize she's me . She's popular, admired, envied. I can see the way they look at her. They either want to fuck her or be her. Or both. Libra's the Raven's Gate version of me. Well, the old me, anyway.

After twenty minutes of being introduced to countless stunning girls and hot as fuck guys—all of whom I won't remember their names after tonight—we finally make our way over to the bar. Before I can open my mouth, Libra orders a whiskey for herself and a gin and tonic for me.

I wrinkle my nose as the fumes from the drink hit my nostrils. "I hate gin."

Libra raises an eyebrow. "But it's your family's legacy."

I nearly choke on my first sip. "Come again?"

She snatches the bottle from behind the bar and shoves it in my face.

My stomach sinks. Splashed across the label is my last fucking name. Well, my mother's last name. I know her family's rich, but I had no clue that they are famous as well. Fuck.

I shrug, trying my best to recover from my obvious blunder. "Yeah, whatever. It doesn't mean I have to like it."

Libra freezes for a minute before bursting into laughter. "Yeah, fuck our families and their empires. I'm starting to like you, Blackwell."

I breathe a sigh of relief into my glass. It's too late now to come clean about not knowing them. It's not like I'm lying. Not completely. Just omitting some details. Okay, a lot of details.

A skinny blonde wearing glow-in-the-dark body paint roller skates past us, carrying a tray of jello shots. As I reach for one, Libra smacks my hand.

"What the fuck?" I bark.

"Only basic bitches drink jello shots, Maureen," she drawls. "Look around you. These people look up to us. This is Nocturnus House, and here… we are at the top of the fucking food chain. So you need to act like it."

A twinge of guilt wrenches in my gut. What would Bailey think of me hanging out with this bitch?

"Don't you mean you're almost at the top of the food chain?" a sexy voice chides from behind us.

I spin around and my breath catches in my throat. With pale blond hair and those same blue-green eyes, he looks like the male version of Libra. And his body… fuck . He's at least six foot four and even through his black buttoned-up shirt, I can see the curves of his muscles.

She rolls her eyes. "Maureen, this is my cousin, Atlas. He lives here."

He winks and takes my hand, bringing it to his lips. His breath is hot, tickling the nerves on my fingers. "I bet you taste like sin."

I quiver as he places a gentle kiss on the top of my hand. His lips are thick and so fucking soft. I imagine what they'd feel like on other parts of me.

He chuckles, and I realize that my mouth is open. My cheeks flush. Fuck. I snatch my hand away. "I don't taste like anything."

Libra rolls her eyes. "My new roommate's been here for five seconds and you're already trying to fuck her? Give Blackwell some space, Atlas."

His body shifts back, his jaw muscles flexing as he narrows his eyes at his cousin, and then back to me. "Now I know you taste like sin."

"Excuse me?" His entire vibe changed the second she said my last name.

Atlas sighs and shoots Libra another tense look. She shrugs and puffs out a nervous chuckle. "What?"

He shakes his head. "I'm gonna go warn Riot and Valentin."

"Warn them about what?" I snap. Someone better start telling me what the hell is going on here.

"I'd like to know as well." His voice is deep and smooth. The kind of voice you want to read you a naughty bedtime story. As he steps out of the shadows, I inhale a sharp breath. His eyes widen as they meet mine. There's something about him…

All of a sudden Libra goes from loud and confident to shy and demure. "Riot, this is my new roommate, Maureen… Blackwell."

His blue eyes turn cold as ice. "Don't fucking play with me, Libra."

She swallows hard. "I'm not," she whispers.

Fuck, he's gorgeous. And terrifying. His jet-black hair is cropped short on the sides and long on top. He moves toward me and glares down. "If I had known then…" He points at Libra without breaking eye contact with me. "You've got some nerve bringing her here."

I can feel all the heat rush to my cheeks. The fucking audacity of this asshole. What the fuck did I do to deserve that comment? I grab hold of his arm as he turns to walk away. "Well, that was fucking rude. You don't even know me."

Riot flexes his arm, letting me know how strong he is. He glares down at my hand as if it were a snake biting him. "Listen, slut. You don't know me ." He squeezes my wrist with his free hand, pinching it hard between his fingers as he pries it off his arm. "You don't know what I'm capable of."

My stomach twists in knots as he presses his lips to my ear and whispers, "You ever touch me again, I will fucking destroy you ."

As he releases me from his grasp, another figure emerges next to Atlas and a wave of sheer terror crawls up my spine. The beautiful asshole from this morning. Valentin . Fuck. Jessamine's warning, he's dangerous, they all are , echoes in my head.

He looks me up and down, licking his lips as he drinks in the sight of my slinky dress and stiletto heels. But when his dark eyes finally meet mine they harden. If looks could maim and murder, I'd be a pile of rotting flesh and bones.

"Why is the freshman here with Libra?" he snarls.

What the actual fuck is wrong with these people?

Atlas snickers. "She's Libra's new roommate. Maureen. Blackwell ."

Valentin clenches his jaw. "I knew you were gonna be a problem."

It's getting harder to breathe as the three of them glare at me. They look like a pack of feral wolves. My knees wobble as I take a shaky step back. "Look, I don't know what you think I did, but I swear I don't want any trouble."

Riot snakes a hand around Libra's throat. "There will be consequences for bringing her here."

She lowers her eyes and nods. In the few hours that I've spent with this girl, it's clear she's an alpha female. Not the kind of chick who gets pushed around. Until now.

"Hey, let her go," I snarl. I might not like the bitch, but I'm not going to stand around and let her get choked out.

Riot releases her and charges me, backing me up against a wall. "Get the fuck out of my house or there will be consequences for you too, Firecracker."

As I catch a faint whiff of coffee and tobacco, butterflies shoot through my stomach. I gaze deep into his electric blue eyes, and a fuzzy memory resurfaces. "Fuck… it's you ," I squeak out.

"Get. Out." Riot slams his hand against the wall right next to my head.

The unfounded hatred he has for me mixes with a look of lust and desire. He presses in closer, our chests touching. His body caging me while his mouth yells at me to leave.

"You were wearing a mask, but I know it's you… You called me Firecracker that night too."

Riot pinches a strand of my hair between his fingers. "You know what I remember from that night? Hmm? All that disgusting cum." I fight the tears that well in my eyes as shame washes over me.

He winds my hair tight around his finger and yanks down, pulling my head. "It was all over your chest… your lips… fucking dripping down your thighs. I took pity on a drunk slut in a bathroom. That's all that was. All it will ever be."

Atlas and Valentin stand on either side of me now. "This is her?" Atlas asks.

"This is nobody," Riot growls.

"Fuck you," I snap back.

He pounds the wall again and grunts. "How fucking dare you."

Libra curses under her breath as she tugs on my hand. "Come on, let's go before they kill us both."

The three of them barely let me squeeze out of the little circle of hell they'd surrounded me in, but I manage to slip through.

I know I'm playing with fire, but I can't help but keep my eyes on Riot as Libra drags me away.

It was only my first day at Tenebrose and my dream of being here is already turning into a nightmare. I had felt so safe with him that night in the bathroom. The night he zipped me up after those frat boys had defiled me.

But Riot's no fucking savior. No. He's just like every other asshole. I want nothing to do with him or his douchebag friends. I came here to get away from my trauma, not create more.

Our walk back to the dorms is much quieter than the walk over. I'm grateful for that. All I want to do is crawl into my bed and forget this night ever happened.

But as the wind picks up speed, the shadows seem to be closing in. And I can't shake the feeling that this thing with Riot isn't over. It's just beginning.