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Chapter 90
~Spring’s POV~
Sadly, it ended, but instead of stepping back to my corner, I surprised them all by moving straight to Kael.
"You don’t need to—" he began shyly as the others cheered, but I silenced him with my lips.
Kael’s kiss was teasing at first, tasting like laughter and warmth. Then he stilled, and pulled closer, letting my body press against his as sothing sharper blood under his calm, possessiveness and want.
"You’re beautiful," he murmured against my lips, brushing my jaw with the back of his fingers. "You’re going to ruin us."
I laughed a little, breath caught. "I’ll be happy to, mate."
Then I moved on to Jace.
"You knew I’d get mine," he whispered before I could speak, and unlike the others, he kissed .
Harder than the others. Not because he wanted to claim , but because he wanted to make feel and rember him. It was fire, reckless, and chaotic, the way Jade thrilled inside and the way my body responded.
It was all Jace.
When I moved back, I exhaled as my eyes glistened for a mont, and finally, I turned to Storm, this ti standing.
He hadn’t moved a muscle once. His jaw was tight, and I could tell he wasn’t so pleased or okay with sharing .
"I want you to know," I whispered, "you an a lot to , Storm. I know it’s only been a short while since we’ve—"
"I know," he interrupted softly. "You an a lot to , too. You don’t have to explain. Even though I want to snatch you from the world, I know I can’t just yet. I’ll have to fight four other n for you... unless I learn to share."
My breath caught as he stood and stepped forward.
"That doesn’t an I’m giving up on making you mine."
Then he kissed . Storm’s kiss wasn’t wild or desperate. It was fierce and controlled. He kissed like he held back a storm in his chest. Like if he let go for one second, I’d be swallowed whole.
And maybe I wanted to be.
By the ti he pulled away, I was trembling and almost lost my footing, but he caught quickly before guiding to sit on the cloth close to him.
This ti, my head rested against his chest as I sat between his legs.
Storm glanced at his watch. "We’ve got an hour left."
"Left of what?" I asked.
"To drop you off at ho so that you can prep for your assessnt."
I groaned and dropped my head. "Ugh. School. Right."
Tyrion leaned over, blocking out the sun. "Think of the bright side... after that... Storm gets you alone."
I tilted my head to the side to get a clear view of his face. Storm didn’t look away. "I intend to keep that promise."
"Well," I murmured, brushing a leaf from my lap, "at least I know I’m in high demand."
Kael chuckled. "Imagine the billboard lighting up with your face. Spring Kaine. Most wanted girl in Noxshade."
Jace nudged . "You okay, really?"
I looked around at them—Storm, Jace, Kael, Tyrion—and smiled softly.
"I’m okay," I whispered. "More than okay."
And this ti, it was the absolute truth.
"Alright. So what should we do next?" Tyrion asked, looking at all of us.
"Well..."
"How about we go swimming?" Jace asked.
"How about we all wolf out?"
"No," Storm interjected before I had the chance to finish. As if his protectiveness wasn’t enough, he wrapped his arms around .
"Why?"
"You want to rip your clothes in front of them?"
My cheeks flushed when I realized where his protectiveness was coming from, and I simply smiled.
"Then swimming it is," I finalised, and he simply leaned in, sniffing my hair.
"Okay with ."
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~Rose’s POV~
"You should have seen my birthday party. Ruined."
The sharp heels of my boots echoed on the tiled floor as I paced the living room, phone clutched so tightly in my hand that my fingers had started to ache.
My teeth gnashed... my jaw locked tight. I was seething.
Spring. Spring, Spring, Spring.
Everywhere I turned, it was her na on everyone’s lips—like she’d walked on water and turned stone into gold.
They adored her as if she hadn’t appeared from nowhere in their lives and stole everything that should have been mine. Their love, devotion, adoration, money... everything.
My lips twisted as I pressed the phone closer to my ear.
"She’s untouchable now," I hissed when my mom did not answer . "The maids, my damn brothers, even my mother and father. I’ve tried everything. Nothing works. She always finds a way to crawl out looking shinier than before."
A soft sound ca through the line, almost soothing like a lullaby laced with knives.
"Oh, my sweet girl," ca my mum’s voice, but I knew better. I could sense the eerie tone in her voice. "Then it’s ti to take the throne from the little peasant."
I paused mid-step, staring out the tall glass windows of the villa’s sitting room.
"She’s stronger now," I admitted bitterly. "And worse... she’s protected. Rhys, Kaius, and Eryx—those fools would die for her. And I heard she now has four guys chasing after her in her school." I swallowed hard. "They would burn cities for her, so I’m told."
"All n are predictable," Mum said, the venom wrapped in honey. "Power makes them sentintal. But we don’t need to break her through strength, Rose. We break her through sha."
I fell silent as she added, "If we can’t humble her emotionally, we humiliate her publicly. Sha is a longer blade, and far more permanent."
My throat tightened. "How?"
"We ruin her image. Her reputation. Her na," she stated coldly. "We show Noxshade that she doesn’t belong. That she was always a fraud. And we make the Kaines choose—her or their honour."
I stood still. "You want to—"
"Do what you should’ve done years ago," Anastasia snapped. "Expose her. Fabricate whatever you must. Get the academy to turn on her. Create whispers. Build tension. A scandal. A betrayal. Enough sha and suspicion, and even her brothers will start to question what they’ve brought into their ho."
I felt the smile begin to curl on my lips again.
"She will not finish this sester," Anastasia said smoothly. "Mark . This is the end of her fairy tale. And the beginning of our empire.. Make Spring Kaine a public whore."
I swallowed as she ended the call abruptly, and I lowered the phone slowly.
Ti for you to go down.
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