“The fuck is your problem, Dredyn?”Jasper signs, regaining his footing enough to shove at my arm. He’s not the type to back down, best friend or not. A few students nearby scatter from their tables, sensing the explosion about to happen.
I barely register Jasper’s words. My blood is roaring. All I can see is his hand, the hand that was just on the back of Mara’s chair, now coming up to push me away—touching me—when only moments ago he was touching her. My grip on his collar tightens.
“You think this is funny?” I snarl through clenched teeth, face inches from his. “Flirting with what’s mine?”
Jasper’s blue eyes widen in shock, then harden into anger.“What the hell are you talking about?”He twists in my hold and tries to pry my fist off his shirt, but I hold firm. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mara beside us, her face pale and eyes huge. She steps forward, one hand half-raised like she wants to intervene but doesn’t know how.
“Dredyn—” Mara begins, her voice high with alarm, but I can’t look at her. My gaze is locked on Jasper, on the betrayal I want to see in his face.
He plants both hands on my chest and shoves.“Have you lost your damn mind? We’re just studying, man! Back off.”
I stumble back half a step, my grip loosening. “Studying,” I repeat. “That what they call making eyes and giggling like a fucking couple now?”
Mara darts in, putting herself between us with both hands out. “Stop it! Both of you, stop!” She looks from me to Jasper, panic flashing in her blue eyes. “Dredyn, let himgo?—”
Jasper’s eyes flick to Mara and it ignites me all over again. I lunge forward, slamming Jasper back against the table. Books and papers go flying to the floor. Mara yelps and jumps back to avoid an avalanche of notebooks falling on her.
Jasper reacts instantly, swinging a fist that clips my jaw. Pain blooms hot on my face, but it barely registers through the adrenaline. Library be damned, I roar a curse and answer with a right hook, my knuckles crunching against Jasper’s cheekbone. The satisfying crack and his grunt of pain should have been enough to end it. Normally, one punch from me puts a guy on his ass.
But Jasper’s not some random opponent; he’s been my sparring partner for years. He recovers and tackles me around the waist, driving me backward into a bookshelf.
The back of my shoulders hit wood and glass, rattling the entire case. I hear the dull thump of heavy books toppling off a shelf above us. A few volumes rain down, one smashing onto the floor by Mara’s feet with a thud. She screams and scrambles away, further out of the danger zone.
Jasper’s fist collides with my ribs, knocking the breath out of me in anoof. The brief flicker of remorse is swallowed by red rage once more. I snarl and drive my knee up into Jasper’s gut. He doubles over with a choking sound. Grabbing the front of his jacket again, I twist and slam him down onto the table.
We’re the center of a full-blown spectacle now—students peering from behind shelves, a librarian shouting something about security from the front desk. None of it matters. All I see is Jasper struggling beneath me, and the faint smudge of blood now trickling from his split lip. My best friend, and I want to beat his ass until he never even thinks about touching Mara again.
Jasper, dazed but defiant, grabs a heavy hardcover book from the table and swings it wildly at my head. The corner of it smacks against my temple; stars explode in my vision. With a feral growl, I wrench the book from his hand and fling it aside, then land a hard elbow to his jaw. He hits the table again, harder this time, and slumps off it onto the floor.
I pounce, tackling him to the ground. My knee presses into his chest as I cock back my fist. Jasper’s eyes are unfocused, a thin stream of blood from his nose now streaking across his cheek. He still manages to glare up at me, chest heaving, anger and hurt all over his face.
From somewhere, I hear Mara scream my name: “Dredyn, stop!” Her voice cracks.
Stop? I can’t. I won’t. This is justice. This is right. He crossed a line, he touched what’s mine. He has to pay. My fist crashes down toward his face?—
Suddenly, strong arms lock around my biceps from behind, yanking me backward. I’m hauled off Jasper with a force almost equal to my own. I struggle with a snarl, blindly ready to swing at whoever’s pulling me away until a familiar voice grunts in my ear, “Ease up, boss. Ease up!”
It’s Beck. And that’s Knox on my other side, grabbing my left arm. I catch a glimpse of Rook and CJ too, shoving aside onlookers as they muscle in. The cavalry—my OCK brothers.Damn it.They must’ve heard the commotion and come running before campus security could.
“Get the hell off me!” I snap, wrenching against Beck’s hold. He grimaces, using both arms to restrain my right. Beck’s a big guy—one of the only people on campus who can match my weightlifting PRs—but even he’s struggling to keep a grip as I thrash. Knox braces an arm against my chest, trying to push me back.
Jasper coughs, spitting blood onto the polished wood floor. His lip is split wide, and a bruise is already darkening along his cheek and jaw. Seeing the damage I’ve done to my friend should maybe make me feel something—shame, regret. And maybe somewhere, buried under all the adrenaline, those feelings are there. But they’re drowned out by the still-burning jealousy.
“Calm down, Dre,” Knox hisses.
I jerk my gaze from Jasper to her. Mara’s a few feet away, near an overturned chair, chest heaving, blue eyes wide withhorror. She drops to Jasper’s side; one of her hands skims his shoulder.
“You okay?” she whispers.
Jasper spits blood onto the floor and gives a weak nod.
When she finally turns her gaze on me, it’s not fear anymore, it’s fury. “You’re a lunatic. Stay the hell away from me.”
She shoves her notebook into her bag. Beck steps in fast, blocking part of my line of sight like he’s shielding her. “Come on, Mara. Let’s get you out of here,” he mutters, guiding her toward the doors.
“Mara!” I roar, surging forward. Rook wasn’t expecting it; I rip free of his grip, Knox stumbling aside as I lunge. But by the time I break from their hold, Mara has already disappeared through the doors with Beck.
A heavy hand claps down on my shoulder—Rook. “We gotta get out of here, man. Security’s coming.” His words barely register; my eyes are still on that door. Where did she go? Is she crying? Is she?—
