Chapter 12 Nasty

Chapter 12 Nasty

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ARDEN

At first, her face showed a look of surprise. It seemed she didn’t believe it was me. But then, her eyes showed utter disdain the moment she realized it was indeed me standing in front of her. It broke my heart a bit because she had been my best friend.

I had trusted her with all of my heart, ranted about my family, gushed about Jaxon, but behind the scenes, she was the one satisfying bhim /bwith his body,

I snapped out of my thoughts when she spoke.

ess person.

“You made it in?” she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest and looking at me like I was a worthless

“Yes,” I answered.

ing to the side. “Their standards must be worsening,” she muttered.

bShe /bscoffed, turning

“If you bhave /banything to say, then say it straight to my face,” I said, ring at her.

“Oh, sorry,” she chuckled. “I just didn’t want to hurt your already fragile feelings. After all, I captured Jaxon’s heart when he’s your mate. Do you know that he’s the one who came onto me? I didn’t even force him, but he desperately begged on his

knees.

Every word felt like a stab to the heart, but bI /bknew she wanted a reaction, so I kept a straight face

i“/iHave y

you seen him?” she asked, and I could sense the insecurity in her voice, though bshe /btried hard to mask it.

“No.” I answered. “I don’t have any ns to.”

“Good,” she said with a smile. At least we were on the same page. “Don’t even think of showing yourself to him. He will not go bback /bto you”

“The reason why he even engaged in a rtionship with you in the first ce was because of pity, Same with our friendship.” she spat. Just because you’ve been epted into Elite does bnot /bmean bthat /byou’re one of us.”

“Don’t worry,” I calmly paid, stepping back. “I bdon’t /bbhave /bany ns of bassociating /bmyself with the likes bof /byou.”

I could tell that bmy /bwords had struck ba /bbnerve /bby the way her eye twitched. It bwas /bban /bhonest reaction from her body–a habit I’ve picked up from being friends with her for years. Come to bthink /bof it, her eyes balways /btwitched whenever sheplimented me.

That should have been a red g, but I held desperately bonto /bbour /bfriendship because, bquite /bbfrankly/b, it was the only one I had bShe /bsmirked “bYou /bbetter keep your word. Don’t even think of choosing Jaxon bat /bbthe /bIvory Solstice.”

“I get it. I muttered, taking another bstep /bback. “He’s all yours, bSienna/b.”

From the look bon /bher face, I bknew /bbshe /bbwasn’t /bconvinced. I didn’t want to partake in the bconversation /bbanymore /band thankfully, Tessa came right on time

“Hey, our next bss /bbis /babout to start,” she bsaid/b. Then, she bturned /bto Sienna, who still had that bcocky /blook on bher /bface.

“Would you look at that?” Sienna chuckled, looking at the btwo /bof us “I guess, birds of a feather do fluck together.”

Tessa frowned slightly. “Pardou

Sima sighed and shook her head. “Well, losers will always attract blosers/b. I hate that Elite baims /bto be inclusive sometimes, but hey. I admire that they help the less fortunate

Tessa’s frown deepened, and die was about to speak but Tessa bbeat /bher to it.

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Chapter 12 Nasty

b#/bb5 /bFree Coins

“Goodbye. Arden. Keep your word, alright?” she said in a cheery btone/b, like she waspletely erasing her bad attitude. She waved at the two of us before bstrutting /baway, finally making me breathe.

Tessa’s frown remained, and she looked at me with binquiry/b. “Who was that?”

“Don’t even ask,” I said, massaging my aching head. Her perfume had left me with a stuffy nose even though our contact was

short.

“She seems.. nice,” she sarcastically bsaid/b, making me chuckle.

“Yeah, she’s the greatest, but she’s definitely one I want to avoid. Let’s hope we don’t run into her anymore.”

“You’re right about thatb,/b” Tessa smiled. “Anyway, let’s go. We still need to get changed for Sports and Combat.”

I nodded and followed after her, heading to the gym for ourst ss.

It seemed we had spoken too soon. Tessa and I were just discussing how to avoid Sienna, yet here she was, right in our very own Sports and Combat ss. She was getting dressed in skimpy shorts and a crop top–a clear vition of the academy’s dress code.

But if there was one thing I knew in this school, it was that the rich and powerful were exempt from such rules. Being the daughter of one of the Betas in the West, Sienna was definitely given preferential treatment.

She nced at us with smirks, chatting with a clique of friends who seemed as influential as she was, before heading into the bgym/b. I shook my head and mmed the locker shut, joining the rest of the ss.

The boys began to arrive. My heart sank when I spotted a bfamiliar /bface at the back. We had not just one, but two sses together? Talk about bad luck.

The girls around me started bwhispering/b. “bCade /bis bin /bthis ss. It’s already my favorite.”

“I want to get physical with him in a different way,” the others giggled.

I nced over at Sienna and noticed her tucking her hair bbehind /bher ear, a look of innocence and seduction flitting across her eyes. Cade scanned the room until his gazended on mine. For a moment, his eyes bstayed /bon me, but it was gone bin /bban /b

Tessa nudged my shoulder. “Did he just look at you? I’m bsensing /bsome romance blooming.”

I scoffed and bshook /bmy head. “bAs /bif, 1 muttered. “He’s so full of himself.”

“He’s hot, bthough/bb. /bbYou /bbhave /bto admit it.”

I nced at him once, and bhis /bside profile appeared bas /bif it had been sculpted by the Moon Goddess bherself/b. I didn’t say banything /band focused my gaze to the front while Tessa continued to tease me.

Just then, a very burly man, the human embodiment of a wolf, entered the gym. The broom /btell silent as he stood before us,

his presencemanding attention.

“Afternoon,” he greeted briefly “Tmn Isaiah Thompson, and I will be your teacher for Sports and bCombat/bb./b”

“Tim not a fan of diddling around. bThis /bbsubject /bwon’t bfocus /bon theory but action. We’ll head straight to the practical tests, band /b

your first day, we’re going to start with a round of dodgeball

Excited murmurs rang through the gymb, /band the guys nced at each other, squaring their shoulders to size up opponents

their

However, Mr. Thompson continued, a smirk ying on bhis /blips, “this is no ordinary dodgeball. We have ban /bequal number of men and bwomen /bin this ss. This is King Dodgeball, where the men must protect the bwomen/b. The men will attack. It bwon’t /bmatter if they get hit: the second a woman’s body is grazed, you’re out.”

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Chapter 12 Nasty

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“Now,” he nced at the entire ss, smirking, “I’m sure you have people you’refortable with around here, but I’ll be bchoosing /byour partners.”

I looked around and saw the others‘ eyes glued on Cade, but I was hoping for someonepletely different. Anyone besides Cade would be nice.

“You,” Mr. Thompson said, snapping me out of my thoughts. I pointed at myself, wide–eyed. He smirked and nodded. “Yes.”

you.

Then he pointed at the person I dreaded the most.

“Partner up with Cahanb. /b