up and swipe that curl off his face, to touch his smooth skin, feel his cheek move beneath my fingers, to cut myself on his cheekbones. A familiar longing pooled in my stomach, an ache that I’d never been able to sate before, and now never would.
I’d never seen a boy that perfect.
Trey’s fingers brushed me again. My breath froze in my mouth as his hand lingered on my elbow. To anyone looking at us from a distance, it would appear as though he was helping me, steadying me up the steep steps. The touch on my skin was white-hot, lighting up parts of my body that hadn’t felt anything since Dante… since before the fire. How can this boy with such cruel eyes have this effect on me?
When he caught me looking, Trey’s perfect lips curled back into a sneer. His fingers tightened on my arm, squeezing my skin. Tighter, tighter, until he was cutting off circulation. I yelped in protest.
“You don’t belong here,” he murmured, his perfect lips forming hateful words. “You should leave now.”
He said it so casually, like he was chatting about the weather, and that self-satisfied smirk never left his face. My stomach twisted, the air driving from my lungs as though he’d punched me.
“No thanks,” I said brightly, pretending that I misunderstood him. “I’m good.”
“We don’t want you, and we’re used to getting what we want. We’re going to eat you alive, new meat.” Trey flashed me a smile that was all teeth and violence. The venom in his eyes frightened me. This is not a guy to mess with.
Too bad he seemed to already have it out for me, and I hadn’t even got inside the school yet. My plan to keep my head down and stay invisible fizzled before my eyes. Already I could see how the school year was going to play out. We don’t want you here. Trey spoke for the entire student body. He was a King in this school. It was written in his smile, dripping from the menace in his words.
I’d pissed him off. Just by existing. Just by setting foot on the hallowed grounds of his kingdom. Well, fuck you, Trey Bloomberg. I could handle a year of insults and loneliness if I got my diploma at the end of it. My life was already hell on earth – if Trey Bloomberg thought he could break me, he’d have to try a lot harder.
I wrenched my arm away from us. “Don’t touch me.” Behind us, Courtney giggled.
“Yeah, Trey. You should know not to handle garbage. She’s a gutter-trash whore who’s probably fucked so many guys that your dick wouldn’t even touch the sides.”
The comment stung. I thought of my sweet mother, all candy smiles and sticky skin as she stripped off her sweat-soaked lace g-string and six-inch heels after her shift and pulled on the cloud-pink pajamas I found for her in a thrift store. A hard lump rose in my throat. I shoved the image aside. Not now.
Wait until you get to your room, until you’re alone, then you can break down.
“I guess we’re not going to be braiding each other’s hair,” I muttered to Courtney.
“I wouldn’t touch that rat’s nest on your head if someone hid a Faberge egg inside,” Courtney sneered. “I bet it’s got real eggs in it, though. Insect eggs, laid by the gross things crawling around in there.”
Instinctively, my hand flew up to my face, to touch the dreadlock that always fell over my eye, to tuck it behind my ear – a gesture that Dante would so often do when he noticed my loss in my eyes, which was all the time because I liked them unruly. Ever since the fire, I’d been touching my own hair more and more, seeking the comfort of the familiar weight of a hand moving the dreadlocks. But it wasn’t the same. It would never be the same.
Courtney wrinkled her face in disgust, while Trey continued to smirk at me. The force of his loathing sank my stomach to my knees. He didn’t even know me, but it didn’t matter.
At the top of the stairs, the headmistress turned and frowned at me. “Don’t dawdle,” she snapped. “The school doesn’t bite.”
“She’s wrong,” Trey whispered. “Are you ready to find out just how bad we bite?”
The lump of hard, bitterness burned at the back of my throat. They were right. I didn’t belong here. I was the poor gutter-trash girl from the wrong side of the tracks, and they were royalty. They were the monarchs. They’re going to make my life miserable, and there’s nothing I can do.
Read Shunned now
Read the Amazon top-20 book readers are calling “The greatest mindfuck of 2019.”
I should have kept my mouth shut.
I should have let them win.
Now the kings of the school are out for my blood,
... and they’re not the only ones.
The fire took everything.
My parents. My best friend. My life.
Now I have a second chance.
I only have to endure one year at this prestigious academy for rich snobs.
One year of being the charity case no one wanted.
One year of taunts and insults and bullying. Then I’m free.
But I didn’t count on Trey, Ayaz, and Quinn.
Arrogant, privileged, dangerous.
Drop-dead gorgeous.
They want me gone.
They want me to suffer.
They’re determined to make my nightmares real.
Tough luck, bully boys – I won’t hide away.
I’m not afraid.
But maybe… I should be.
HP Lovecraft meets Cruel Intentions in book 1 of this dark paranormal reverse harem bully romance. Warning: Not for the faint of heart – this story of three broken bad boys and the girl who stood her ground contains dark themes, crazed cultists, books bound in human skin, high-school drama, swoon-worthy sex, and potential triggers.
START READING NOW
Other Books By Steffanie Holmes
This list is in recommended reading order, although each couple’s story can be enjoyed as a standalone.
Nevermore Bookshop Mysteries
A Dead and Stormy Night – READ NOW
Of Mice and Murder – READ NOW
Pride and Premeditation – READ NOW
How Heathcliff Stole Christmas – READ NOW
Memoirs of a Garroter – READ NOW
Prose and Cons – READ NOW
A Novel Way to Die – READ NOW
Kings of Miskatonic Prep
Shunned – READ NOW
Initiated – READ NOW
Possessed – READ NOW
Ignited – READ NOW
Stonehurst Prep
My Stolen Life – READ NOW
My Secret Heart – READ NOW
My Broken Crown – READ NOW
Manderley Academy
Ghosted – READ NOW
Haunted – READ NOW
Spirited – READ NOW
Briarwood Witches
The Castle of Earth and Embers – READ NOW
The Castle of Fire and Fable – READ NOW
The Castle of Water and Woe – READ NOW
The Castle of Wind and Whispers – READ NOW
The Castle of Spirit and Sorrow – READ NOW
Crookshollow Gothic Romance
Art of Cunning (Alex & Ryan) - READ NOW FOR FREE
Art of the Hunt (Alex & Ryan) - READ NOW
Art of Temptation (Alex & Ryan) - READ NOW
The Man in Black (Elinor & Eric) - READ NOW
Watcher (Belinda & Cole) - READ NOW
Reaper (Belinda & Cole) - READ NOW
Wolves of Crookshollow
Digging the Wolf (Anna & Luke) - READ NOW
Writing the Wolf (Rosa & Caleb) - READ NOW
Inking the Wolf (Bianca & Robbie) - READ NOW
Wedding the Wolf (Willow & Irvine) - READ NOW
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About the Author
Steffanie Holmes is the USA Today bestselling author of the paranormal, gothic, dark, and fantastical. Her books feature clever, witty heroines, wild shifters, cunning witches and alpha males who always get what they want.
Legally-blind since birth, Steffanie received the 2017 Attitude Award for Artistic Achievement. She was also a finalist for a 2018 Women of Influence award.
Steff is the creator of Rage Against the Manuscript – a resource of free content, book, and courses to help writers tell their story, find their readers, and build a badass writing career.
Steffanie lives in New Zealand with her husband, a horde of cantankerous cats, and their medieval sword collection.
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