Page 83 of His To Claim
“What can I say, Dragon Boy just doesn’t know you the way I do.” His smile widens, a cocky twinkle in his eye, and fuck if it doesn’t get me hot.
“Oh really, now I’m intrigued. Why do you say that?”
“He sees this damsel in need of saving. I see a warrior cloaked behind a coat of steel armor. A devil disguised as an angel. The real you.” His response, serious and unexpected, catches me off guard and for once in my life, I have no idea what to say.
Twenty-Eight
SCARLETT
He sees this damsel in need of saving. I see a warrior cloaked behind a coat of steel armor. A devil disguised as an angel. The real you.
I head over to the dining hall courtyard for lunch looking to meet up with Stella and Jade, Ace’s words still echoing loudly in my mind. He’s ruthless, cold, and calculating, yet at times he says things like this. Things so raw, full of emotion, and it makes me question if the way he acts, if how he behaves, is all just an act. A cloak of cruelty to fool those around him or if it truly is a mask whose sole purpose is to disguise his true nature. A devil with a golden halo or an angel with black, tar-soaked wings. My savior or my eternal damnation.
As I’m approaching, I see Jade and Stella already seated at the table we usually occupy at the farthest end of the courtyard, under a large red and yellow tree that hides us from outside eyes. I look around the large outdoor area, hoping to see any of the othersheading over, but they’re nowhere to be found. Instead, I slide onto the bench across from Jade throwing my bag on top of the table with a grunt and notice them both staring up at me questioningly.
“What?” I ask, turning behind me but not seeing anything out of the ordinary they could be glaring at.
“Did you do it?” Jade asks a little too eagerly, and now I know why she’s acting so odd.
“Do you see him around?” I reply snidely, a deep frown on my face as I dig in my bag for my box of cigarettes and lighter. Yes, I’m aware it’s against the academy rules to smoke on campus but after the altercation with Drake, and my confrontation with Ace, I need a smoke. Badly. I bring the cigarette to my lips and light it, blowing a cloud of smoke in their direction.
“Fuck. I didn’t think you’d actually do it,” she says as she sits back clearly shocked.
“What else was I supposed to do?” I snap, and Stella looks at me shrugging her shoulders. I tap the cig lightly against the tabletop causing a small pool of ash to form atop it.
“It’s for the best, Scarlett. I mean, I haven’t known Drake for long, but the Horsemen won’t back down. They’re ruthless, vengeful, dangerous even. Ace will stop at nothing. He’ll do everything in his power, fair or not, to make you his. That can mean real trouble for Drake,” Stella says, reaching her hand out to me.
I turn away not wanting to show any real emotions or how truly broken up I am about losing Drake. If I let my emotions get the best of me, I’m afraid there will be no turning back. This one hurt, much more than any of the other let downs and defeats I’ve endured. This was a part of me broken and torn to pieces. I feel pulled apart at the seams, a scrap of what ought to be my heart, bloody and beaten. I know it was the right thing to do, the only thing that needed to be done, but that doesn’t make it any easier.
“Have you seen him?” I ask, blowing out another cloud of smoke. I lift my eyes and see the students around us glaring in mydirection, straight at the lit cig in my mouth. I put it out, deciding I’ve had enough. The last thing I need is to be taken in by Agent Servite today.
“I have him in Chem, but he wasn’t in class,” replies Jade, looking around the courtyard. “Haven’t seen Kai or Jaxon either.”
“And Ruby?” I ask, and as if I had summoned the She-Dragon myself, she appears behind me fuming.
“You little bitch!” she shrieks, and I quickly stand to meet her piercing gaze.
“I knew it. I knew you’d screw him, and then screw him,” she says, laughing maniacally. Her green eyes would burn a hole through me if they could, I know she’s surely wishing for once I’d catch on fire. If looks could kill, I’d be a pile of fucking ashes at her feet.
“I warned him not to get involved with you. You’re a heartless, selfish bitch who doesn’t have a care in the world for anyone but herself. You’ve never had a real family, and you just waltzed into our home and inserted yourself in ours,” she shouts, not once blinking an eyelash.
I hold her gaze just the same but fuck she’s right. My pride however, greedy bitch that she is, doesn’t allow me to back down.
“I should have never accepted you, never thrown in the white towel. I hated you from the start and I should have gone with my gut instinct. They would have followed me, listened to me, and kept away from you. I knew you would ruin the one good thing we had. The closest thing we’d ever had to a family. It’s your fault we’re here, you’re to blame for my brother’s broken heart, his broken soul. You knew he was fucked up in more ways than one could even imagine and yet you tore him to pieces not caring what the consequences would be. You egotistical, self-centered whore!”
I can’t handle the pain and anger in her voice. I’m so close to cracking, to telling her it’s what needed to be done to protect him. To protect all of them but I know it would be useless to waste my breath. She’d. Ever believe me.
“You’re right, Ruby. I’m selfish, I am the worst brand of selfish. I willingly use people to make myself feel superior, valuable. And when I’m done with them, I toss them away without looking back. I guess it’s another way mommy dearest fucked me up. You best keep your brother away from me if you know what’s best for him.”
She reaches out to me, slapping me across the face. The sting of her palm against my skin burns, but the pain is nothing compared to the blaze raging inside of me, killing me for betraying Drake this way. For lying to Ruby and making her hate me more than she already did. But this is the only way to make sure they’re not harmed in all of this.
Selfish as I am, I won’t let my friends, my family burn for my sins.
On Thursday morningI wake up at dawn before everyone else, and head over to Astor House hoping to catch Drake before he heads out to class. It’s been three days since we ended things officially and I haven’t seen him or heard from him. I know I should leave him alone, let him heal and give him space. I should avoid him if I want him to believe that I meant all I said, but I can’t get the broken look he had on his face out of my mind.
I caused that. I made him feel unworthy. Unwanted. A man who has been by my side since the day we met. A boy with an insurmountable amount of childhood trauma and issues I can’t even comprehend. I need to make sure he’s okay, and since at the moment no one but Jade and Stella will speak to me, I need to see it for myself.
As I approach the steps of the house, I see Kai and Jaxon walking out of the building toward me. They are deep in conversation and as they both look up and see me, the wide grins on their faces suddenly turn into deep scowls. Fuck. They’re pissed.