Page 39 of Vengeful Queen
Saturday morning, I receive a text from Alpha.
Kurt: If you receive this text, you’re in.
Four in the morning is an ungodly hour, but we’ve got to get up, and by five, we’re heading down the walkway into Alpha house. After the ceremony, the new brothers of Alpha are led into the basement, which has been returned to its usual state. The L-shaped couch is back, along with the cases of beer and the Xbox on the monitor.
Kurt shakes my hand as if he hasn’t been an ass since the day we met. For the weekend, I let it go as we break bread and drink as much, or as little, as we want. Asher would break Kurt’s head, but I have a more civilized way of bringing him down.
The three of us head out to the porch while the noise level of the celebration increases. Rain or snow, we prefer to sit out here together, on the edge of belonging. Alpha means a lot to us despite Kurt, but our bond means more. I smile as Jaxon huddles in his flannel-lined jean jacket.
“It’s spring,” I laugh.
“It’s freaking upstate New York,” he replies, holding his hands under his armpits. “Charlotte had her big day. When’s yours?”
I give him a sharp look. “Not here. We’ll talk later.” I look at the fraternity pin in the leather jewel box. I’m an Alpha, and as an Alpha, I’m obligated to throw out the trash. Kurt’s laughter reaches us outside.
Asher steps out onto the porch and grimaces as he mutters asshole under his breath. He sits beside Hudson on the two-seater. He’s unaware of the cold and stretches out his legs as if he’s going to trip someone. Asher flips open the jewel box, studies the pin for a second, and then shoves it into the pocket in his leather jacket.
“Excited to be in Alpha?” Jaxon teases.
He shrugs. “So I can torture some clueless freshmen next year? Answer is no. So I can maybe stay in school? Then yes.” Asher is back in tutoring again. The guy is smart, but his smarts come from the street, not textbooks.
“Hang in there, man,” I tell him. “We’re almost at the end.”
“We should tell her about the game and come clean,” he says.
“No, it’s a bad idea,” I reply. “We’re brothers now, and that shit stays in the house. Besides, she’ll never believe anything Kurt says.”
Lying to Charlotte doesn’t rest well with Asher, but he won’t say anything unless we all agree to it. I doubt Jaxon will tell her that sleeping with her was supposed to get us into Alpha. I decide against it. We didn’t know her back then, and besides, she’s done with secrets.
***
The Oak has become a weird alternative living room. We eat and hang out downstairs in the bar and then go upstairs to sleep and relax. Charlotte never complains. Asher moves in first, and then Jaxon, and eventually me. We only go to the dorms in between classes to hang out. Today, we sit in the booth without Charlotte as we put my plan out there into the universe.
I sit facing the door in our booth, typing out an anon message on my phone. “No Hill Day for Alpha. KA has scared off the sisters. No one wants to bring home an STD in their gift bag. User/throwaway triple X.”
I post it to the frat sub and within an hour, it has blown up. Descriptions of how KA abuses and intimidates fill the post. My anon account is flooded with messages. There are too many to read.
“Raping, pillaging, and burning down the village went out in the Middle Ages. How does KA get away with it now? # trust fund prick.”
I check the thread two hours later, and it’s gone, removed by the mods, but it’s already mentioned in two other posts. VPN is a good friend as I log in using a different account. I write a post as if I’m KA. “I can’t control my dick around women, and I force my frat brothers to join in. I am the asshole? User/frat XXX boy.” I include details of the panty raid on Gamma without naming names. One scandal will be forgotten, but how many do I need to post to get some traction? The replies are more damning than the first, and in two hours, it’s taken down.
“You think that’s enough?” Asher asks.
“We dug a deep hole,” I reply. “He’s not getting out of it.”
Hudson smirks. “Step two—go back to the house and let it brew. I have a feeling he’ll take himself out.”
CHAPTER 19
Charlotte
The guys are off being Alphas or something. I try not to act jealous, but I resent the time they spend at the frat with Kurt. I wonder if they drink together and laugh at his jokes. I sigh, remembering the shitty things I said to Asher about being social. After Monarch, I can never be a snob again.
I knock on Wren’s door, but instead of finding her, Tracy is in her room. Prisha’s things have been replaced with boho chic. A vintage poster of mushrooms hangs on the wall over the bed, covered in an old-fashioned quilt in earth tones. A spider plant hangs in a macrame holder in the window. It contrasts with Wren’s clean and bright aesthetic, but the room is warmer, with cozy touches.
Tracey remains on the bed while I sit at the desk. I didn’t know Prisha well, but I sense the sadness now that she’s gone.
“We thought you had moved out for good.” She glances over at me, barely moving an inch.