Chapter 4

“Hello again, Doll.” He whispered into her ear. Revolted by his closeness and that awful nickname, Zira opened her mouth to tell him off but his hand clamped down hard over her mouth. She pushed against him but the man was built like a brick wall.

“You know I was just curious before but after seeing how those two dumb asses were looking at you I have to see for myself. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure my father gives you a good deal on your tuition.” The smile on his face was pure evil. Zira thrashed against him but it only made him chuckle. He pressed his body flush against hers and she couldn’t help but tremble. Her eyes darted in every direction looking for an escape.

The hardness she felt press against her made her eyes widen. As his grip on her mouth tightened Zira bit down on his hand as hard as she could. He yanked his hand away from her just long enough for her to scream. It was a full scream. Just a short burst came out before he slammed his hand around her neck gagging her into silence.

The next thing she knew she was falling to her knees with her hands going to her aching throat. Her heart lept when she looked up and saw the twins standing between her and Keiran. The pounding of her heartbeat in her ears blocked out all sound. She didn’t even realize Kady was beside her until she felt her hands on her shoulder pulling her to her feet.

“Ok, relax. We were just having some fun.” Keiran’s slimy voice slithered through her ear. As she made eye contact with him he had the nerve to wink at her. “We wouldn’t want to make a scene, would we?” the pointed statement sent a chill through her. She knew exactly what he was implying. If his dad could help with her tuition he could also get her kicked out. Or at the very least lose her job. Cole’s hand shot up toward his throat and Zira panicked.

“Stop! Just…let him go.” She said through gritted teeth. “He’s not worth it.” Everyone looked at her in disbelief except Keiran. His shit-eating grin grew wider and Zira couldn’t help but feel like she made a huge mistake. He was looking for an angle and she gave it to him.

“You’re worth it,” Luca said as he shoved Keiran to the side making him stumble into a bookshelf. Zira’s heart jumped to her throat as she watched the towering shelf wobble for a second before it settled back into its place.

“You should pick better friends. Hanging out with them is going to make you lose your job.” Keiran straightened his clothes and gave her one last smirk as he walked away leaving her frozen in place.

“Are you okay?” Kady’s soft voice broke the silence.

“So you’re dating Keiran?” Luca’s voice sounded more accusing than questioning.

“Isn’t he with Erin?” Cole added his accusations in as well.

“No, it can’t be like that. Look.” Taylor rushed forward and tried to grab Zira’s wrist. That was the last straw.

“Enough!” she swatted his hand away and stepped away. “It’s none of your business if I decided to fuck the whole campus. I gotta get back to work.” She stormed away from them moving through the maze of shelves. She intentionally took a different route leading away from the main When someone reached out and touched her she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” Zira leaned against a shelf and held her hand over her heart.

“God, Aubrey. It’s fine. Just a shitty day.” Shitty day was an understatement. The most frustrating part was that she actually believed things would be better there. She bet everything on it and now it felt like it was falling apart. Aubrey nodded and gave an apologetic smile as Zira began to leave.

“Hey wait. This is going to seem random but I couldn’t help but notice who you hang out with.” She gestured in the direction Zira was walking away from.

“What about them?” Zira sighed. Aubrey was nice, a lot nicer than most people in town. Like Zira, Aubrey was new in town and working in the library as part of her work-study scholarship.

“They’re locals aren’t they?” she bit her lip. The question made Zira narrow her eyes. There was no need to ask. It was obvious just by looking at them. All of the locals had this intimidating aura to them.

“Yeah, why?” Aubrey fidgetted with her hair.

“Does it kind of feel like you stepped in the middle of a family feud?” Zira’s eyes widened.

“With the weird looks and the open hate from complete strangers?” Aubrey giggled.

“Exactly! I thought I was going crazy at first. I wasn’t even as close to anyone as you are with them.” She looped her arm through Zira’s and they walked toward the stairs. “Honestly, it had me so stressed I was ready to pack up.” This time Zira nodded.

“I have to admit I’m a little relieved to hear it’s not just me. I sort of feel like I’ve got one foot out the door already.” Saying it out loud to someone she knew understood lifted a weight off of her chest. Keiran was still a problem she would have to figure out but knowing she wasn’t the only one with similar problems gave her hope that there might be a solution.

“There’s a party tonight! You should come. It’s a party for us outsiders so no awkward stares. No guys being creepier than usual.”

“No uncalled-for hatefulness?” Zira finished for her. Aubrey laughed.

“Exactly.” They made it to the bottom of the stair and headed toward the elevator. When it opened Zira pulled her book kart out.

“Hey, do you know anything about these?’ she held up the pages of book requests she wasn’t able to find. Aubrey took them and looked over them for a few seconds.

“You shouldn’t have gotten these. They’re all in the restricted section.” Zira frowned. None of the titles seemed like they should be restricted. They were all about politics, wolf pack hierarchy, and lunar phases.

“Who even has access to the restricted section?” Aubrey scoffed at the question.

“Anyone local apparently.” Of course, that was the case. They made their way back to the office.

“Text me about the party. I’m probably going to leave here early.” She unloaded the books from the cart and started to label them.

“Is everything alright?” Aubrey leaned against the desk beside her.

“I guess. Just need to figure out my sleeping situation. You couldn’t pay me to go back to my apartment.” Just thinking about what could be waiting for her made her shake.

“Oh, that’s right. You’re roomies with Erin. I didn’t know anyone’s luck could be so bad.” Zira glared at her for a second before processing another book. She wasn’t wrong. “Just crash with me. One of my roommates is back home for a while. Her mom is sick. I’ll text her to double-check but I’m sure she won’t mind if you use her room.” Zira’s eyes lit up and it took everything she had not to tackle Aubrey and kiss her.

“You’re a life saver!” she grinned back at me.

“I know. We nonlocals gotta stick together. I’ll text you in a bit and let you know what she says. Even if she says no there’s a perfectly good futon with your name on it.” She pushed away from the desk and headed to her own cubicle. Time flew by despite Harper sitting in the cubicle beside her kicking the wall every few seconds.

When her air pods finally died she pulled her phone out of her back pocket. Instant regret filled her. She had so many missed messages and phone calls. The most recent ones were from Kady. She wasn’t trying to make Zira feel guilty but that was the end result. She was just trying to check on her but Zira wished she would just stop.

“Don’t forget you promised to go out with me tonight!” ugh! Zira did forget. She shot a text to Aubrey asking if she wanted to stop by the other party first. Zira didn’t think she could handle it alone.

“Of course! It’ll help us appreciate the other party better lol.” She replied. Zira couldn’t help but laugh. Why hadn’t hung out with Aubrey more in the past? She went back to scrolling through the messages and her heart sank. More from the unknown number. Without opening them she blocked the number and deleted them.

There was no reason to let them ruin whatever peace she was trying to achieve there. No sooner than she hit the block button her phone rang. Zira jumped nearly throwing the phone across her desk. Unknown number. She rejected the call and slid it back into the pocket of her dress. That was it. She may have taken a vow of sobriety but she could really use a drink.