Kings of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #1) - Caroline Peckham ,Susanne Valenti Page 0,16

word fledgling was passing behind hands and under people’s breaths and I guessed that was aimed at me.

I could feel the Night Keepers still giving me their attention and my spine prickled from all the eyes on me. They were picking me apart, hunting for weaknesses and I suddenly realised I needed to prove I wasn’t the type to be messed with. I hadn’t come here to fall under the rule of some preppy assholes. I wanted to make a few friends and glide through this year pressure free. But right now, the pressure on me was mounting and I knew I had to do something about it.

A whistle caught my ear and I frowned as I looked at Blake who was staring right at me.

Did he just whistle for me like a dog?

He jerked his head to beckon me over and my brows jumped up.

“Oh my god, Blake Bowman just summoned you,” a girl Mila had introduced as Pearl hissed from across the table, using a sheet of her inky black hair to cover her face as she spoke. She looked crazy excited, like I’d just been handed an invite to Prince Charming’s ball. But no one summoned me. It was rude, not to mention arrogant as hell.

I waved my toast at Blake to show him I was busy eating then took another bite out of it. A ripple of tension passed through the Night Keepers. It was almost imperceptible, but their gazes sharpened just enough to let me know I’d offended them.

Blake pushed his tongue into his cheek, leaning back in his seat so the front two legs must have been off the ground. He cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered, “Tatum Rivers, come over here!”

Blood rushed into my cheeks and I glanced at Mila who was staring over at the three guys with her lips parted. “You’d better go.” She turned quickly, prodding me in the side.

“Hey,” I hissed, but she continued prodding until I moved. Damn her.

I pushed back out of my seat and lifted my toast to my lips, finishing it in two angry bites before making a beeline straight for these so called Night Keepers.

The entire hall of students were giving me their attention, all conversation abandoned. I felt like I was walking up to the chopping block.

Heat slid down my spine and spread everywhere as the pressure cooker I was apparently in reached boiling point. The three guys before me eyed me like I was a sacrifice being offered up at their altar. And it sure as shit felt like that as I approached.

I lifted my chin, masking my expression so they couldn’t get a read on my fear. My dad had taken me out to the woods in northern Virginia every summer since I was thirteen. He’d leave me in a cabin for three days with no food or water and I had to fend for myself. Last year, a black bear had come up behind me while I’d been out foraging for berries. I could still remember the icy cold clutch of fear the moment I’d first seen it. But Dad had taught me how to react in just that situation. I had to harness my fear, conceal it, make sure the animal didn’t get any scent of it on the wind. Contrary to popular belief, unless a bear attacks, you aren’t supposed to play dead. When encountering them in the woods, the key is being calm, collected and totally in control. So I employed that tactic now as I approached the table. Sure, I wouldn’t have approached a bear in the wild, I would have been backing the hell away. But these boys were a different breed. A dangerous breed. The kind you had to make see you as an equal if you wanted to walk away alive.

I switched my focus to Blake as I reached the table and relaxed a little at the grin on his face.

I rested one hand on the back of the chair opposite him, giving him my undivided attention.

“Hey golden boy, you called?” I took a stick of spearmint gum from my pocket, unfolding it from the wrapper and placing it into my mouth. His eyes watched the movement with undisguised heat in his gaze.

“Hey, Tate.” He threw a glance at Saint and my gaze travelled with his, landing on Lord Cold Eyes and assessing his reaction.

My heart was pounding a mile a minute and I wasn’t even sure why. They were just