Conquer: A Kingdoms of Sin Novella Read online

  Her gaze finds mine and she doesn’t smile. She’s not happy about this arrangement either. She turns quickly and drops to sit in the front seat of the classroom.

  “You must be Kathryn Sagento,” Professor Akia says and everyone is still staring at the new girl in school.

  My future wife.

  The future queen of Farrow.

  I glance around and I don’t like the way Judd and Victros are watching her. Judd must feel my eyes on him, because he turns and flashes me a fake smile before I look away.

  “Yes. I’m Kathryn.” She tips her chin up and nods.

  “Well, I reviewed your test scores and I have a feeling you’re going to give a few people a run for their money when it comes to getting the highest test scores in this class.”

  She winces a little before giving him a slight nod.

  “Great,” Provence says under her breath as Mr. Akia turns to write on the whiteboard. “Smart and annoying as hell. Lucky us.”

  Sarafina, Constance, and a few other people in the class chuckle, and Provence looks over at me and wriggles her brows. I look away. I’m always a little put off when her inner mean girl is on display.

  Kathryn glares at Provence over her shoulder, and to everyone’s surprise, Melody stands up and moves forward to sit beside Kathryn. I hear her introduce herself and Provence snarls something at the two girls, but I can’t make out what she says.

  Professor Akia begins our lecture and Kathryn pulls out a notebook and never stops writing for the next ninety minutes. The girl must flip the page a dozen times as she continues to write. I hardly jot down a half page of notes, as most of this stuff is in the book. When the bell rings, I push to my feet. I need to get this initial meeting over with and I prefer to do it without an audience. I wait for most of the class to file out the door.

  “Kathryn,” I call out and Provence looks back and glares at me.

  “I’ll meet you out in the hallway, baby,” she says and I’m annoyed. She’s never called me that. We don’t have that kind of relationship.

  At all.

  “I’ll see you later,” I hiss and I wait for Kathryn to turn around after she piles her notebook and pens in her backpack.

  She stands up straight and faces me. “Hello.”

  “Welcome to Kings Passage,” I say, because even if we’re both not happy about our upcoming wedding, we can still be decent to one another.

  “It’s been really great. Your girlfriend made me feel super welcome. Great way to meet up with my future fiancé after all these years,” she hisses and I cross my arms over my chest.

  “She’s not my girlfriend. But I also wasn’t expecting this wedding to take place so soon, nor for you to arrive here at Kings Passage now.” It’s the truth. May as well start this off by being honest.

  Her eyes widen and she tucks her hair behind her ears and squares her shoulders enough for me to get distracted. “Oh, I see. Well, it’s not exactly a dream situation for me either. I’ve had to leave my family while we’re still grieving the death of my father,” she says, and anger radiates from her body. “But I’m so sorry if my father’s death has messed up your booty calls, Neil. So how about this? You stay in your lane and I’ll stay in mine. I’m not here to fight anyone for you. They can have you.”

  Her anger catches me off guard.

  “Kathryn, that’s not what I meant. I’m sorry about your father. Truly, I am. But I was just saying that I wasn’t expecting our wedding to happen in a few months. I thought we had more time than that. I’m sure you’re just as surprised as me.”

  She points her finger at me and pokes it hard into my chest. “Don’t worry. This little arrangement is just a formality. Just keep your evil girlfriend or hookup or whoever she is, far away from me. See you in a few months, Safrin.”

  She storms out of the classroom and I stand there with my mouth hanging open.

  Well, that went about as poorly as it could have.

  I tried to offer her an olive branch and she wants nothing to do with me.

  Fine by me.

  This arrangement can be as difficult as she wants to make it.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Kathryn

  My first two weeks at Kings Passage are fairly miserable aside from the fact that I’ve been granted one reprieve.

  Melody Howard.

  Her mother is a longtime housekeeper for the Forbrush family, and they sponsored a scholarship for her to attend school here.

  She’s been my saving grace.

  I’ve barely looked at my so-called fiancé since the day I arrived here. Thankfully, we only have one class together, and he has been easy to avoid. I thought I caught him staring at me two days ago in class, but he looked away as soon as I looked up. I eat all of my meals with Melody and steer clear of Neil and his friends. Provence and her pack of minions have gone out of their way to be cruel. Sarafina spilled a plate of spaghetti on me last week when she was walking through the dining hall. There was shaving cream all over our dormitory door, and in PE class, someone poured red paint all over my clothes in my locker.

  Good times.

  “Ladies,” Judd says as he slides into the chair beside me. “How are we doing?”

  Melody has already told me that he’s a complete slimeball. She actually made me feel better because she said Neil Safrin is a nice guy. Apparently he stuck up for her once when Provence and her sidekicks had focused their attention on Melody. Unfortunately, he’s done nothing to help me out. I’m sure he’s heard about the pranks they’ve been doing to me, yet he hasn’t said a word to me nor asked them to stop.

  Scratch that.

  He tried to speak to me twice and I didn’t acknowledge him. He doesn’t deserve my attention. It’s his girlfriend who’s torturing me after all. Why would I give him the time of day?

  “Hi,” Judd says as he leans over our table, and I nod because something about the way he watches me gives me the creeps. He acknowledges Melody, but his eyes don’t leave me.

  “So, Kathryn, that fiancé of yours doesn’t seem to pay you much attention. And you’re not hitched just yet. How about you come over and watch a movie tonight in my room?” He wriggles his brows and I try not to show my irritation. It would be nice if everyone at this school didn’t hate me, but this kind of attention is the last thing I need.

  “I’m all set, but thanks.”

  Melody’s eyes are twice as large when she looks up at me, and I can feel the stress radiating from her across the table.

  “How about you back the fuck off,” a deep voice says, and I glance up to see Neil Safrin standing there glaring at Judd.

  “Safrin. Relax. I figured you’d be fine with it, seeing as Provence seems to have her claws pretty deep in you.”

  “You have three seconds and then I’m going to drag your ass outside and finish this conversation,” Neil growls, and Melody and I exchange another look.

  “Dude,” Judd says.

  “Two.” Neil crosses his arms over his chest and his jaw clenches.

  Judd puts his hands up. “Relax. I was just leaving.”

  Titus is standing there watching and they both walk off laughing.

  “Stay the fuck away from him, Kathryn.” Neil leans over the table and gets in my face.

  “You don’t get to tell me what to do.” I shove my chair back and it screeches against the tile floor as I move to my feet. I storm through the dining area and push the double doors open, making my way into the long corridor that leads to the dorms.

  “Hey,” Neil shouts from behind me, and I’m surprised he’s following me. “I know you hear me.”

  I whip around to see his blue-grey eyes full of fire. He’s angry? I’ve been the target since the day I arrived, while he sits pretty as the king of the school. How dare he twist this.

  “What do you want?”

  His hair is longer in the front and shorter on the sides. He could give the lead singer of a boy band a run for his money with his potent good looks. He’s tall and lean, with broad shoulders. Lucky for me, it doesn’t matter how good-looking he is. He’s a jerk and I’m immune to his charms.

  He moves into my space. Backing me up against the wall. Crowding me.

  I can’t breathe. The air lodges in my throat as I look at him.

  “Stay away from those guys, Kathryn,” he says and his warm breath tickles my cheek.

  Are his lips always this pouty-perfect? His jaw is covered in just the right amount of scruff, and I fight the urge to reach up and touch his face.

  I am not that girl.

  “Why do you care?” I want my words to have a bite, or at the least, an edge to them, but I sound weak and I want to kick myself for it.

  “You’re my future wife.”

  I roll my eyes, my hands finding his chest to push him back…but I don’t. I just keep them there feeling his muscles beneath my fingertips. I’m cursing my secluded mountain-life existence now, wishing I knew what I was doing. I’ve never even kissed a boy, but the way he’s looking at me makes me feel like he might kiss me. Or is that just me wishing he would?

  I shake my head, hoping to pull myself out of this crazy trance he has me in.

  “I’m your future wife? You have a girlfriend. And if what Titus has said in passing is true, it sounds like she’s not your only girlfriend. So you aren’t in a position to demand anything of me.”

  “Why the fuck are you listening to him? He’s trouble.”

  I pull myself together and finally shove him back.

  “No, Neil. You’re trouble.”

  I storm away from him and this time, he doesn’t chase me.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Neil

  “It’s over. I told you that before she even arrived. I don’t know what kind of shit you think you’r
e pulling, but it’s not working, Provence.”

  “You’re blaming everything on me? I can’t help it if people don’t like her,” she says, pushing her body up against mine.

  It doesn’t work. Hell, it wasn’t working before my future wife showed up. But now that I’ve seen Kathryn Sargento…I haven’t been able to look at any other girl the same. It’s more than just an agreement. There’s something about her. The way she holds her own against me. The way she refuses to bow down to Provence and her friends no matter what evil shit they pull.

  The fact that she’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen is secondary to how impressive her fucking backbone is.

  She’s as stubborn as all shit, and if that isn’t queen material, I don’t know what is.

  I grit my teeth and finish what I started. “I did my homework, Provence. Your friends are not that loyal to you after all. Stay the fuck away from Kathryn, and stay the fuck away from me.”

  “Fuck you, Neil. I want nothing to do with you.”

  I nod. “Glad to see we’re on the same page.”

  I close the door even though she’s still standing there.

  “It’s about time you kicked that one to the curb,” Armon says.

  “She’s hot, but she’s so evil it doesn’t even matter. I’m glad you called her out for the shit she’s been pulling on Kathryn,” Citrine adds. We share a three-bedroom wing on the upper level of the west wing, and these guys are more like brothers to me.

  “I don’t like the way Judd, Victros, and Titus are hanging all over her,” I say.

  “Ahhhh…sounds like someone’s jealous.” Armon laughs.

  “I’m not jealous. Just protective. I am marrying her in a few months.”

  “Might be nice if she’s actually speaking to you,” Citrine says over his laughter.

  I flip him the bird and make my way to the door. “I’m going to try to talk to her. Avoiding one another is ridiculous. We need to put this shit behind us.”

  “Says the guy who was pissed that he had to get married until he saw her,” Armon says, ducking when I snap a towel at him.

  “I’ll be back.” It’s weighing on me. We need to get past this.

  I make the trek down the long corridor over to the girls’ wing. It’s quiet tonight, several study sessions going on in the community study rooms in preparation for the exams at the end of the week.

  Melody is walking my way. “Hey, Neil. Are you looking for Kathryn?”

  “Yeah. Is she in your room?”

  “Yep. I was just heading out to study and she’s calling her mom real quick before meeting me down there,” she says as she smiles and then keeps walking.

  As I approach her door, it’s cracked open. I pause when I hear my name.

  “He’s allowed his girlfriend and her friends to be so hateful to me. He’s not who we thought he was.” Her voice cracks, but she quickly pulls it together. “I want someone who has my back. I want someone who understands that I just lost my father and that I miss my family. Neil Safrin is not that guy.”

  My chest squeezes and I feel bad for eavesdropping, but I need to fix this.

  Now.

  I knock on the door. She pulls the door all the way open and startles when she sees me.

  “I’ll call you later, Mom. I need to go.” She ends the call and studies me. “What are you doing here? Did you come to laugh about your girlfriend putting a dead rat in my locker today?”

  I don’t hide my surprise. I hadn’t heard about this. “What? I didn’t know she did that. Listen, Kathryn, Provence and I are long done. Hell, we never were anything serious at all, but the way she’s behaved since you’ve arrived—I want nothing to do with her.”

  She crosses her arms over her chest. “Does she know that?”

  “Yes. I didn’t know how badly she’d been treating you. I just found out about most of it over the past two days. I’m sorry. You deserve better.”

  Her gaze narrows. “I do. But why now? What made you suddenly care?”

  “Well, our fathers were best friends, and that’s why this union is even happening, right?”

  “Right.”

  “I’m sorry for how I acted when you first arrived. I should have told you how sorry I am about you losing your father. He was a good man.”

  “The best,” she says, studying me. She doesn’t trust me and as much as it stings, I get it.

  “Listen, I’d like to start over. I will have your back moving forward, you have my word.”

  Her lips turn up in the corners and she tries to cover it with her hand, but I pull it away. When my hand wraps around her wrist, there’s a zip of something that moves between us. I don’t know what it is—but it’s something I’ve never felt.

  “So what are you saying? You want to be friends?” She laughs, and it’s the first time I’ve ever heard her laugh.

  It just might be my new favorite sound.

  “Sure. It’s a start.”

  She tucks her long hair behind her ear and bites down on her bottom lip, and that’s all it takes for my dick to go hard.

  I shove down the guilt. It’s taken me far too long to be decent to my future wife and now I’m thinking with my dick?

  First things first…I need her to stop hating me.

  “Deal. I expect you’ll make sure there are no dead animals placed in my locker moving forward?” she asks with a chuckle.

  “I can’t stop her from pulling her shit, but I can make her life very uncomfortable when she does. We’re on the same team, Kathryn.”

  She stares at me like she wants to believe me, but I know I’ve given her no reason to trust me yet.

  I’ll protect her at all costs moving forward.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Kathryn

  The days are blurring together, but I’m thankful that I’m finding my footing at Kings Passage. It’s been a month since I arrived and it’s amazing what a difference it has made now that Neil and I are friends. He sits by me in class, and I swear every time I’m walking the halls and glance behind me, I see Neil, Armon, or Citrine not far behind.

  Yes, Provence still hisses at me every time I see her, but there have not been any stunts since Neil agreed to have my back. We hang out together often now, and it’s made me much less homesick. We study, we watch movies, and we eat together—always with Melody, Armon, and Citrine.

  It’s nice not to feel so alone.

  I take notes the entire time in biology class, just like I always do.

  “You know this is all in the book, you don’t need to take so many notes,” Neil whispers, and he leans so close his lips graze my ear.

  “Writing it down helps me remember.” I raise a brow and force myself not to react when I turn to look at him.

  Neil Safrin is beautiful in all the ways. The face. The body. The intoxicating eyes. He’s proven to be protective when he wants to be and a good friend to those in his inner circle.

  I’m just not certain I’m there yet. Trust does not come easy for me.

  “I see. Well, I could use a little help tonight before the quiz tomorrow. You want to get takeout and eat in my room and study?”

  My stomach dips at his words.

  “Sure. Should I ask Melody to join us?”

  “How about if it’s just you and me tonight?” He studies me for a long minute and clears his throat. “It’s hard for me to focus if everyone’s there.”

  “Okay. That sounds good.” I push to my feet when the bell rings and walk out beside Neil.

  “Well, aren’t you two cozy? It’s so sweet,” Provence says with so much venom that my entire body stiffens.

  “Back off, Provence,” Neil hisses, and he moves closer, placing half of his body in front of me.

  I step to the side, because as much as I’m glad that he cares, I will not bow down to girls like Provence.

  “It’s time you drop this vendetta against me. It’s not working.” I square my shoulders.

  “We’ll see about that, Kathryn. Watch your back.” She storms down the hall.