Page 26 of Wicked Knight

It is crazy. What’s crazier is that in my head, I sound like I believe I can really pull this off. The truth is, I know that everything I do next will be like walking through a minefield. I have to be careful.

Especially with my father being here. He’s already at the Lord Chancellor’s cottage, so it’s no wonder I feel like I’m being watched.

He may not be physically doing the watching, but his men are here. They can do it for him, like they have been for years.

Regardless, I know Mackenzie and I have to talk soon. Just like I promised.

When that time comes, I know I have to make some kind of choice. The choice should be sensible, not selfish nor greedy.

I just don’t know how I’m supposed to choose sensible when sensible feels like selfish and greedy, and all I want to do is keep her.

The bike growls as I pull up in the parking lot of Erebus House, home of the Sigma Kappas and the Ivanov Elite.

I kill the engine, and the silence returns, until my boots hit the gravel, breaking it once more.

Above me, the moon hangs full and brilliant, casting its light over the ivy-laden walls of the fraternity house. Like many of the gothic-style buildings around, it looks like an old English manor, something you’d find on the campus at Hogwarts.

I take a moment to reacquaint myself with my surroundings.

At times like these, we get the reminder that Raventhorn University is no ordinary college.

Like Raventhorn Academy, the university was specially set up for the heirs of the Knights, the Bratva, and their allies.

The students here are arranged by the groups they fall into, but the Knight heirs reign, taking up the majority of the grounds in the same way they’ll be dominant over everyone else for the rest of their lives.

No matter what I become or how far football takes me, I’ll be a Knight first. A man trained to secure power, wealth, and control even if I have to kill for it.

I drag in a deep breath, pulling the crisp air into my lungs.

It’s time to start. Time to dive in headfirst to start my sophomore year.

This should feel like a new chance for a new start, with a new set of rules to make life better than it was before.

Maybe it will be like that. Except I’m doing myself no favors by starting off on shaky grounds by chasing a girl who’s off-limits to me.

My problems is, I don’t like people telling me what to do, and I don’t like that wordoff-limits. That’s why I’m in this mess.

I pull off my helmet, hook it on my bike, and make my way toward the fraternity house.

The music hits me the moment I’m at the door, the bass thundering like it’s trying to shake the whole damn building apart.

I walk inside, right into the chaos, noise, and heat of the students who’ve gathered to party the night away. Erebus House is known for its wild, over-the-top parties, especially the welcome back ones at the start of every semester. And pretty much every weekend. There’s always a party here.

Bodies are pressed close. Some naked, some clothed. Some fucking, some not.

Voices shout over the music to be heard while others shout to drown out the music.

I walk past it, deciding to look for the guys. They’ll be expecting me to find them.

I’m the last to arrive.

I spent the day fixing up my bike. It helped to detox my mind from the time spent with my father.

I find my friends in the game room.

Thorne and Caspian are at the head, talking it up and telling some crazy tale.

Alek and Logan are arm wrestling at the table nearby, and Kade is clearing the pool table.