me! You don’t understand how much I want this. If I knew you were doing everything to win your competition, I wouldn’t stand in your way!”
“I’m not standing in your way,” I pleaded. “I’m trying to help you.”
“Then let me be the best Juliet I can be, and leave me alone!”
Odette slipped past me and ran out. My heart dropped. I knew what was wrong with her, but I didn’t want to admit it.
Yet the reality was staring me in the face. Odette had an eating disorder. She needed to get better, because losing this part wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to her.
The alternative was too scary to consider. At the same time, who would I tell? I didn’t know her parents. I could tell a teacher, but Odette was of age. No one could force her to get help unless she wanted it.
Theo. I could tell Theo. I grabbed my bag and hurried through the hallway. I saw many alicorn boys in the crowded hallways, but none of them were Odette’s mate.
I gave up and went to the library. Maybe Delmare would know where he was. She always kept tabs on everybody.
Kiara wasn’t there yet when I arrived. Delmare had taken a square table by the window, between a few shelves that were isolated from the rest of the library.
I slipped into the seat beside her and threw my bag on the table. “Have you seen Theo around?” I asked. “It’s an emergency.”
Delmare didn’t hear me. Her head swiveled this way and that... as if looking for something. Or someone.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
But I had my question answered as a figure slipped out of the shadows. Andrik— the ugly dragon shifter that always hung around Elijah— lurched out from one of the shelves. Delmare’s face became disgusted as he came into view.
To my outrage, Andrik placed his brutish hands on Delmare’s shoulders and began giving her a massage. I wanted to break his fingers.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Andrik lulled. “Where have you been hiding?”
Delmare cringed away. “I will seriously punch you in the dick if you don’t back off.”
Maeve was at a table nearby. She was watching Delmare carefully, in case she had to get a teacher. Maeve was kind of a loner, but she was loyal to her friends— and she’d caught on that Andrik was a total creep.
Andrik squeezed Delmare’s shoulders, and it looked like it hurt. Delmare winced, and he said, “That’s only a teaser, baby. You know I like it rough.”
“Hey, asshole,” I snapped. “Leave us the fuck alone.”
Andrik ignored me. He leaned down to whisper in Delmare’s ear. I watched goosebumps travel up her arms as he said, “Come on. Let’s go somewhere more private.”
The nerve of this prick. I stood up from my chair. It fell backward with a clatter as I shoved Andrik, releasing his hold on Delmare. “I’m not afraid to get physical,” I threatened.
“You wanna join in on the fun?” Andrik chuckled, and a bit of smoke puffed out of his nostrils. “Dragons are bigger than wolvens, if you’re wondering.”
Like I’d ever have a threesome with this sick bastard. I rounded on Andrik. “If you don’t leave us alone right the fuck now, I will claw out your eyeballs and throw them back at you while I laugh.”
Andrik blinked. He hadn’t expected such an insane response. I planted myself between him and Delmare as I growled, “If you don’t want to end up blind, go. Before I rip your artery out of your throat and eat it for breakfast.”
I was shouting at this point. People from the aisle ways were starting to stare. Andrik looked around the room before he took a few steps back. “Crazy bitch,” he muttered under his breath, and stomped off.
I picked my chair back up and took my seat again, though I was still shaking with fury. Maeve hid a smile behind the book she had open and went back to reading.
Delmare seemed relieved. “Thanks, Emma. I’ve tried to ward him off before, but not like that.”
“You have to act crazy. It throws them off if you get aggressive and make a scene,” I said. Growing up in Detroit, my mom had taught me to get loud if someone was threatening me. Predators didn’t like people who weren’t easy targets.
“I’ve threatened. But he just keeps coming back,” Delmare hissed. “You should stay out of it. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Andrik’s not going to touch me.” He thought I was nuts, and I had