His Erasthai

Adversary

“Jagger, watch out! Above you!”

Immediately, Jagger dodged as soon as he heard Nick’s warning. It was just a falling, overripe fruit.

“How long do we have to wait here?!” Jagger asked, unable to hide his annoyance.

“Until Dylan says so,” Nick answered simply, leaning his back against the tree trunk.

“You know what? I hate this s**t! We’re here to find those morons.” Jagger was still impatient.

“Apparently, that’s not what happened.”

“Son of a—! I’ll be out of here soon. I have no patience for waiting. I can’t stand sitting around for more than five minutes doing nothing! I’d rather be in Mrs. Peregrine’s class than stay out here.”

“Keep it cool, dude. I’m sure Dylan knows what he’s doing.”

But Jagger just sneered. “I bet he doesn’t. He can’t even beat Killan no matter what he does. He needs us—or a dozen of us!”

Nick shook his head while grinning. “You still don’t get it, do you? Of course Dylan wouldn’t do something reckless in front of Killan.”

However, their conversation was interrupted by a loud bang nearby. Moments later, they saw Dylan and Killan coming out.

“Oh, s**t! What happened?!” Nick and Jagger rushed over and quickly helped Dylan stand.

“Get your friend out of here!” Killan growled, his voice authoritative and threatening—clearly warning them not to cross him again.

Killan then turned and went back inside.

Jagger shot a death glare at Nick as the three of them hurriedly walked away from the house.

“Now, tell me again how I don’t know him?” Jagger said to Nick, who just cleared his throat, realizing he’d spoken too soon.

“I guess you’re right. But couldn’t Killan be a little nicer?” Nick asked.

“Dude, Killan was already nice to us earlier. He could’ve thrown us out in a second. Dylan’s lucky he didn’t get seriously hurt. What did he think? That he could interrogate Killan alone? Hah! Pathetic.”

“In case you forgot, I’m still here, you piece of s**t!” Dylan barked, but flinched as he felt pain in his left rib. He sat down on a wooden chair a few meters away from the gate. Nick and Jagger had no choice but to sit on either side of him.

“Tell us what exactly happened. Did Killan give you those bruises?”

“No—I did these to myself.”

“You what?!”

The two stared at him in shock.

“I provoked him.”

“Wait, what??” Jagger was the most surprised.

“Didn’t you say you were just going to find out Fred and Spencer’s exact location?” Nick asked.

“Yeah—but he said he didn’t know. I thought he was lying, so I kept pushing. He snapped. I didn’t expect him to actually attack me.”

Jagger scoffed. “I told you not to go alone. He’s got anger issues. You need backup when you deal with him.”

“I can handle him, Jagger. He just wasn’t having a good day.”

“Not having a good day, my ass! You should’ve brought us with you. I know you, Dylan. You love pushing his buttons when you get the chance.”

“And then what? You think you could’ve taken him?”

“No—but at least Nick and I could’ve stopped him from beating you up.”

Jagger grinned as he teased Dylan, poking his sore left rib.

“Fucker!”

Nick laughed while watching the two bicker like an old couple.

“Enough of that. We need to hurry and get back to class. I don’t want Mrs. Peregrine looking for us. Not again,”Nick said as he stood up and helped Dylan to his feet.

The last time Mrs. Peregrine had gone looking for him, he’d been caught doing some unorthodox activities in the forest with his girls. That had also been the day Killan fought the alpha and beta of the Forsaken Pack—known as the Descendants. It was Killan’s first real battle since he took the Olympus throne. That same day, Killan’s mate was killed.

While Killan and the others had been risking their lives, Nick had been having a threesome. When Mrs. Peregrine found him, she lost it. She suspended him for a month and sentenced him to two weeks of brutal training with only four hours of rest per day.

Since then, he vowed never to fool around in the forest again—or give Mrs. Peregrine a reason to look for him.

“I can handle myself, Nick.”

Dylan refused help and chose to bear the pain every time he moved.

“Oh—okay.” Nick motioned for Dylan to go ahead and walk first.

“Are you sure you don’t need our help?” Jagger asked a few moments later.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“Alright. Suit yourself, man.”

They continued walking to their second-to-last class. It was already seven in the evening, and classes would end at nine. That’s why curfew was set at eleven.

“Good evening, Mrs. Peregrine.”

Nick greeted their 45-year-old professor as they entered her classroom.

“What a surprise! Usually, the three of you are the last to arrive. And so late!”

“People change too, Mrs. Peregrine,” Nick replied with a wink as he headed to his chair, followed by Jagger. Dylan trudged behind. Thankfully, his bruises were already starting to heal.

“And you, Dylan? Where do you think you’re going?”

Mrs. Peregrine stopped him in his tracks.

“Is there a problem?”

“Go to the infirmary. Get those wounds checked,” she said. She was used to seeing Dylan show up looking like he’d just been in a fight, but there wasn’t much she could do—Dylan came from a higher-ranking family.

“I’m fine.”

Mrs. Peregrine didn’t push the matter. She knew it was pointless; Dylan never listened.

“Class will start in ten minutes. If you have any assignments you forgot to complete, do them now. And stay quiet!”

A few moments passed, and suddenly the door burst open.

All eyes turned to the woman who just entered—it was none other than Samantha.

“Good evening. Are you in this class?” Mrs. Peregrine asked.

“Hi. Uhm, yes. I believe this is Mrs. Leslie Peregrine’s class.”

“Yes, you’re right. Find an empty seat quickly—we’re about to start.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

As soon as Samantha sat down, Dylan called out to her.

“Fancy seeing you here, Sam.”

“Oh! Uhm, yeah. And you’re Dylan, right?”

“Yep. The one and only.”

“Dude, who’s she?” Nick asked, pulling his chair closer to Dylan.

“Sam, this is my friend Nick, and that guy behind you is Jagger.”

Samantha greeted them politely and tried to focus on her own business. However, Dylan and Nick weren’t making that easy.

“Dude! Let the woman sit in peace,” Jagger said.

“Alright! Class is starting. Turn your books to page 33,” Mrs. Peregrine instructed.

Samantha did her best to focus on the lesson, but the strange feeling of being watched wouldn't go away. Since the moment she entered the classroom, the feeling had only grown stronger.

“Are you okay?” Dylan noticed her discomfort.

“Yes. Thanks.”

Samantha didn’t want any attention. She had spent her life being ignored while people whispered about her behind her back. Madison once told her she was just a rug—something people walked all over and crushed without a second thought.