Chapter 4 SECRETS

SORAYA

If someone had told me that I would be caught dead at a party before my twentieth birthday, I would have laughed at the joke. But here I was, at a mask party of all things — one filled with werewolves and witches. How ironic.

The welcoming mask party, Adele had called it.

The mask I wore was a blue one that I had gotten from Adele. I looked around with a bored expression as the party went on in full force, my drink hanging loosely in my hands. People lounged around the open area and around the pool. I could hear the music playing loudly. It made me feel like the only person on earth. There were people everywhere, but no one paid attention to me at all — even Adele was out of sight too. I made my way to a quieter part.

"You look lost, like you could use a companion."

I turned around to see who had just spoken — the voice didn’t sound familiar — and I saw the guy leaning against a pillar and looking back at me. He was wearing a black mask over his face, although his blue eyes were striking under the moonlight.

I stood straight, my shoulders stiff. "And who might you be?"

"Knowing who I am takes the fun away. What’s the purpose of the mask if you ask who I am? It is for anonymity, is it not?"

"Ha," I scoffed. "Fair point."

"So, witch or werewolf? I cannot seem to get a correct whiff of your scent here."

"Seems like your powers are not strong enough, mystery guy," I said flatly, rolling my eyes.

"Ah, right." He laughed awkwardly.

"Do you want me to get you a drink? I see yours is almost finished." His eyes narrowed down to my almost-empty cup and I grinned.

"Sure, why not?"

It was a strategic move to get him out of my lair. I needed space to think, and I was already regretting coming to this stupid mask welcoming party. Once the mystery guy was out of sight, I turned around and made my way to another pillar that stood farther away from the one I’d been at before, yet still overlooked the expanse of the party.

"Soraya Karter?"

Every muscle in my body went rigid. It had only been a day, and yet I would recognize the rough pitch of Prince Daryl’s voice anywhere. I whirled around to look at him, trying not to think about how he looked in just a casual T-shirt and a pair of joggers, not sporting a mask like every other student at the party — but he had on a pair of black gloves, just like I’d noticed when he came for me. I wondered why he wore them.

"I’m wearing a mask. How do you know it’s me?"

"You are hard to miss. I would know you anywhere." He spoke in whispers — if I hadn’t listened carefully, I might not have heard him, but I did, and his words confused me.

"What do you want?"

"And why do you think I want something from you, Raya?"

My lips trembled at the nickname. No one had called me that since I left my father, and I hated being reminded of my life before now. "Soraya is my name. I would appreciate if you stick to that," I warned vehemently.

Prince Daryl chuckled. "Why are you on edge around me? You speak like you have some hidden hatred towards me," he said, now stepping closer, invading my space so that I could feel his warm breath even on my face.

I gripped my cup tightly, thankful that there was a mask on my face because I could already feel my skin heating up at his sudden closeness.

"Look around you — at least seventy percent of people hold a hidden hatred towards you. They just don’t show it," I retorted defensively.

"I am their Prince. Why would they hate me?"

I scoffed. "Are you dumb? Or are you just pretending to be? Because I hope for sure it’s the latter, or I would wonder how you’ve managed to survive six months in this school — and also fear for when someone gets the boldness to strike you to death."

"No one would try to kill me in this school," he said with so much confidence that it made me chuckle.

"How innocent of you to think so, Ender," I stated.

He kept his gaze on me — one that heated through me from the inside. What the hell was wrong with me?

"Do you want to?"

"What?"

"You speak about people wanting to kill me like you want to. So do you want to kill me, Soraya Karter?"

Yes, I did.

The music wafted through the pillars, reaching us, soft and almost haunting in a way. "And if I want to? Would you kill me before then?" I answered his question, my eyes now twinkling with a mischievousness so vile.

"Would I kill you?" he inquired.

"Yes," I challenged, "would you?"

He reached down and traced my jawline. I shivered at the contact until his gloved hands reached for my neck, and he suddenly pressed down tightly, causing me to start choking. I hadn’t expected that.

His golden-brown orbs glowed dangerously.

I reached for his hand on my neck and held onto it, trying to push it off. He lowered himself. "I figured there is something shady about you, but you better back off because you do not want to see my other side, Soraya Karter," he threatened, his fingers pressing more tightly to my neck.

I glowered at him, my grip on his hand tightening. "I see you are not as stupid as I thought you were, Prince Daryl Ender," I managed to sputter out.

"So my hunch was right — you are here for me."

"Unfortunately, you cannot prove that."

He growled, low and menacing. "Do not test me, Soraya."

"I won’t until I have to," I answered and finally wrenched his loosened grip from my neck. "You should be careful, Your Highness — not everyone wants you alive."

---

DARYL

I hated that I was right about her all along. I had been so carried away by seeing the human girl again that I wished my theory about her was wrong. I had to applaud her though, because she was the first person in all of Fenrir to verbally admit to wanting to end me — and that intrigued me.

As I made my way to my first class that morning, I mentally prepared myself to meet with my newfound enemy — Soraya Karter — as she was admitted into the Academy as a second-year student, which I also was.

"Prince Daryl!" I was snapped out of my thoughts by someone calling my name. I paused to wait for my friends as they approached me. Axel and Dolly were werewolves just like me, and although when I had first arrived they had avoided me like the plague — since they were Fenrir Pack members — it only took two weeks before they finally warmed up to me.

The Fenrir Pack still very much hated the Monarch, but at least they tried to be subtle about it. My mind drifted back to Soraya — that one hated me, and I had seen it as clear as day in her gaze and her words last night.

"Hey, good morning! I heard you have met the new girl. They say she is a witch," Axel commented when they got to my front.

"The Dorm Mistress asked for me to accompany her. That is all I know," I answered Axel, lying through my teeth as we began to walk together to class, passing by chatty students in the hallway. I intentionally kept quiet about my run-in with her at the party — I would deal with that myself.

"I do not like her," Dolly spoke up.

Axel scoffed. "Do you ever like anyone?"

Dolly glared at Axel, who immediately raised his hands in surrender. "She seems fake. There is something amiss about her," she concluded.

So Dolly had caught on.

"Maybe you are jealous because she is prettier than you are?"

"How about you keep your mouth shut before I shut it for you, Axel," Dolly hissed. I had never understood the love-hate relationship between those two and did not even want to understand it now. I had a lot on my mind to worry about them — especially now that Dolly seemed to have picked up on Soraya’s plight. Dolly had always been an intuitive one.

We entered class and went to our seat behind the room.

"I see that Alpha Prince Daryl has decided to grace us with his presence this morning."

If there was anyone I hated apart from my stepbrother Enzo, it was the son of the Alpha of the Fenrir Pack — Ethan Farrow. That one was a thorn in my flesh, and I couldn’t count how many times I’d tried not to bash the bastard’s face against the wall. Every other member of Fenrir’s pack never once threw their hatred at my face, although I knew the time would come when they would. Ethan Farrow danced upon that notion with pride, and he never hid his distaste for the monarch at all.

"Not today, Ethan," Elle — Ethan’s sister — spoke up from her seat, glaring at her brother. Where Ethan hated me, his sister Elle was the direct opposite. She had a crazy, unhealthy obsession with me — one that made her so territorial even to other ladies on campus.

I only tolerated her — barely — and I had never returned her advances.

"Shut up, Elle. You always want to find a chance to kiss his ass, always!"

I sighed. I was not ready for this today.

"At least that is much better than you trying to intimidate someone who is higher ranked than you are!" she shot back.

"Can you both cut it out? This is a class, not a space for your family problems."

She spoke so calmly, so gently, yet firm enough for everyone to hear and turn to heed her entrance. She exuded such command of the room for someone who was supposed to be just a human — or witch, as she claimed.

"And who the hell are you?" Elle snapped.

Soraya smirked and went for Elle’s seat, placing her hands on the desk. "Soraya Karter is my name and I am new here. I hope we get along..." She looked down at Elle’s name tag and then back at her face, and with a wink she added, "Elle Farrow."

My heart probably skipped a bit at the smug look on Soraya’s face. Was it wrong to be attracted to her more because of her attitude?

It was wrong — totally wrong — because the girl had secrets that I needed to find out, like why she seemed to be after my head on a platter. But then again, I was always a sucker for doing things the wrong way.

I smirked.