Tempted By my Evil Lycan Stepbrother novel Chapter 5

Riley’s POV

I shot up from my seat, glaring at Ezra.

“Let go of me,” I snapped, yanking my wrist out of his grip.

He gave me a smug, wicked smile. “So I see you still managed to find a seat in the cafeteria. I’ve gotta admit, you’ve got skills.”

I took a deep breath. “Look, I don’t like this marriage between my mom and your dad either, but at least I’m mature enough to stay out of it. Why can’t you do the same thing and just ignore me? I swear I’ll stay out of your way.”

“How cute,” he chuckled.

He leaned in close and braced one hand on the table behind me so I was trapped between him and the table.

“But I already promised your mother I’d ruin your life. And I’m not the type to break a promise.”

I stiffened. He was too close. His perfect face was just inches from mine. I couldn’t breathe.

“What are you gonna do then, kill me?” I whispered.

He smirked. “Not quite. But I can make you wish you were dead.”

And just like that, he pulled back.

Then he grab my drink from the table and dump it right over Roy’s head.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” I yelled.

Ezra stared coldly at Roy, who was now soaked and shaking. “I already told the whole school Riley Monroe is my enemy. And here you still sat next to her. You wanna get banished too?”

Roy shivered in silence. He just stared at the ground as soda dripped off his hair.

I shoved Ezra hard. “You think you’re the king or something?!”

“Actually… yeah.” He smirked arrogantly.

His green eyes flicked over my shoulder to Roy, then narrowed. “You better learn this fucking lesson. Next time, it won’t just be a drink.”

And with that, he turned and walked away, followed by a swarm of students snickering and throwing smug looks my way. Freaking clowns.

“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” I hurried to hand Roy some napkins.

He took them silently, his head still down.

Right. Ezra had banned anyone from talking to me. So much for having a social life here.

“I get it. I’ll leave.”

I grabbed my tray, but Roy suddenly reached out and stopped me. “No… you don’t have to.”

“Aren’t you scared of Ezra?”

“I am… but I hate them more.” His voice was low, and I caught a flash of hatred in his eyes. “They’re all bullies. They’d pick on me with or without you here.”

I let out a breath and sat back down. “Thanks. I swear I’ll try not to drag you into any of this.”

God, I was starving. As I tore into my sandwich, Roy just kind of watched me, his expression curious.

“You… you look a lot like your mom,” he said.

“Thanks.” I took it as a compliment.

“What… what department are you in? Combat? Social sciences?”

“Healing,” I told him.

His face lit up. “Me too! You must be way behind on classes though, right? I could help you catch up. Like with homework and stuff.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him the classwork here was child’s play compared to the books at my grandma’s house. So I just smiled. “Thanks. Hey… do you happen to know where Ezra usually goes? Like, after school?”

His face immediately filled with horror. “Why? Are you planning revenge? Please don’t. He’s seriously scary.”

“Of course not. I just need to talk to him.”

As much as I didn’t want to, my mom had asked me to speak with him. And fine—maybe I owed her that much.

Roy gave me a “you’re insane” look, then whispered, “…The Shadow Forest. North side of campus. It’s dangerous, so only high-ranked Lycans hang out there. Ezra and his gang are always there.”

***

Afternoon classes were hell. But somehow, I got through them.

The moment school ended, I slipped out of campus and headed straight for that place Roy mentioned—Shadow Forest.

Right where the forest met the edge of school grounds, there was a huge warning sign “NO ENTRY.” Pretty clear just how dangerous this place was.

And honestly, the second I stepped across the invisible line, the entire atmosphere shifted. The sky seemed darker, and the breeze that ran through the trees turned icy cold.

The trees here were massive, their branches almost completely blocking out the light. Thick, twisted roots jutted out of the ground like claws.

I trudged forward through the underbrush, feeling like I’d wandered into some haunted movie set. The place was way bigger than I expected, and as far as I could tell… I was completely alone.

I had to find Ezra in this big forest. The worst part? I hadn’t shifted yet. I didn’t have a wolf to help me track anything.