Chapter 35

Saturday morning, the Chefs cook us a special breakfast. Steven, Neil and I eat it while Mia snacks on her usually baby slop. Then, Neil rushes us to get into the car. Once again, a limo is waiting for us in the garage.

I jump in with Mia and make sure to strap her into her car seat. Steven gets in next with Neil and they both press a button that brings them a glass of champagne. I allow myself to indulge in one as well, feeling pretty good about being in the company of the two more pleasant brothers.

The liquid is crisp and bubbly against my lips. It’s the most exquisite thing I’ve ever tasted. I try and hide how amazed I am by clearing my throat and asking about Neil and Steven.

“How come neither of you play rugby?”

Steven snorts so badly, he sounds like a pig. Neil laughs at him. He immediately blushes red and clears his throat before he actually speaks.

“I’m the one who didn’t get the athletic ability,” Steven says. He shrugs. “I’m not too upset about it. I enjoy the politics of being an alpha more than the brute force stuff.”

“Me as well,” Neil chimes in. He cocks his head. “Though I’m assuming you knew that from the Court induction.”

I nod and take another sip of my glass. It’s just as good as the first sip. I look back at Steven.

“Thank you for the offer of help on Bio,” I say. “Turns out the cell cycle’s one of the only things I do understand.”

Steven laughs lightly. “Well, the offer still stands,” he says. “How’s the rest of your classes?”

“Eugh,” I sigh. “Chemistry is kicking my ass. Physics is brutal and robotics is like physics but worse. I’m quite good at English but the politics class is lost on me.”

“How different is Moonriver from Greendale High?” Neil asks.

I scoff. “Very,” I say. “We barely had the correct stuff for the base classes. We certainly didn’t have specialties like robotics or politics. Everything I know is stuff I taught myself. Our teachers were shit.”

Both brothers hum. I can see the cogs turning in their heads. Steven looks back at me and licks his lips before asking another question.

“What about the rest of your life in Greendale?” he says. “Certainly it was interesting.”

My lip twitches. Of course it fucking was. Greendale is one of the most dangerous places in this territory. Nothing about Greendale was uninteresting. Every day was a fit of survival just to make it to class at all.

But these boys have never known struggle like I have. Any time it’s been mentioned before, they’ve laughed at me. Now, they’ve gotten to know me a bit and don’t seem so malicious. However, I don’t want to take any chances.

“Uneventful,” I say as casually as possible.

Neil raises an eyebrow at me. “Uneventful enough that you needed a knife?”

My jaw unhinges.

My knife.

I knew one of them took it. Neil was the one I was least suspicious about. I continue to stare at him. I wonder if I should demand it back. Maybe I should just change the topic completely. Instead, Neil settles back in his seat. He lifts his glass to his lips then speaks.

“I’ll drop it back in your room tomorrow,” he says. “As long as you promise not to use it.”

I slam my mouth shut. This was not the response I expected. I try and tread cautiously on my next words. I could blow up any chance I get at having my knife again.

“It’s for protection,” I say. I try and nonchalantly sip my champagne. “As long as I’m protected, I won’t need it.”

“We have people for that,” Steven says.

“Some of us can’t afford people for that,” I say. My voice sounds more sad than angry. “Knives are the only protection we have.”

The brothers are silent after that comment. They’re quiet the rest of the ride to Openbridge. When we arrive, they help Mia and me out of the car and then help me get Mia into the carrier that Archer had on yesterday.

I wonder if his sweat is what I’m smelling in the air, musky and enticing. I curse myself for even thinking such a thought. I blame it on the champagne that went right to my head.

Neil and Steven leave me to go sit in the Hayes box. I’m about to go with them when I see Debbie in the crowd. I tell the boys I’m going to sit with her and they both nod before heading off. Debbie waves wildly at me as she sees me and Mia weave through the crowd to her.

“Chloe!” she shouts. She waves gently at Mia. “And this must be Miss Mia!”

Mia squeals in excitement. Debbie laughs at her. I take in my surroundings and realize the whole stadium is buzzing. It’s alive with music and cheers of all sorts. There’s several posters that condemn the Openbridge Hounds. Others cheer on various players. I see more than a few with Beau’s name on them.

“This is insane!” I say to Debbie.

She shifts me so that I’m looking at the field. She points out a scrum in the middle of the field.

“First whistle’s about to go off!” she yells. “It’s game on!”

I squint to get a closer look at the scrum. There’s someone in white and black stripes who I assume is the referee standing outside a huge pile of players. Moonriver is in their signature purple and yellow colors. Openbridge is a bright red with while accents. The scrum is a giant mess of colors and different bodies.

One I can make out without even seeing the name on the back of the jersey. His wavy brown hair is pushed back off his face. His biceps ripple in the same way they did the night I saw him shirtless. It’s undoubtably Archer.

Standing close to him is a near carbon copy that I know is Beau. His hair is pushed back with a headband and his shorts are slightly shorter than everyone else’s, exposing a bit more thigh. I fight then urge to roll my eyes because of course.

The referee blows the whistle and the men all collide on one another. I yelp and Debbie laughs at me. The crowd goes absolutely insane as all the men link arms and scramble. Then, a ball goes up high into the air. As if he was going to pull the stars out of the sky, Archer launches himself into the air.

His jersey rides up, exposing a sliver of milky flesh right above the line of his shorts. The sight makes my stomach do a cartwheel. I swallow thickly.

This may be more interesting than I expect it to be.