Secrets and Seduction: A Dark Boarding School Romance (Preston Academy Book 1)

I didn’t know how long I had been kneeling next to her. It felt like hours before someone grabbed me by the shoulder and I jumped.

Towering over me was Mr. Preston, his hair disheveled as if he had sprinted here.

“She- she’s dead. I was just wandering around here and there she was,” I stammered, unable to think clearly.

Before he could say anything, I heard footsteps coming closer and closer towards us. Excited murmurs broke out.

“No one comes near,” the principal next to me shouted to the crowd. “What happened, girl?” she hissed as if it was my fault.

“I don’t know, I-I didn’t do that. You have to believe me.” I was shaking so violently that my teeth chattered. My limbs were numb, whether from shock or cold, I didn’t know.

She clicked her tongue and looked past me to my professor. “Take her to the nurse. When she comes to her senses, I’ll talk to her.”

Without another word, he pulled me up, but my legs gave way under my weight.

“For God’s sake, pull yourself together,” he snarled. I could hardly focus on his words. It was almost as if he was speaking to me from far away.

“I’ve never seen a dead body before,” I muttered absently, my eyes involuntarily on my classmate.

Annoyed, he exhaled slowly, grabbed me again and threw me over his shoulder. With effort, I tried to push away from him, but one of his arms pressed my thighs against his chest.

“Put me down, I’m calm, look, I’m calm.” His steely grip only tightened.

“Shut up and stop moving.” His voice allowed no buts.

I tried to fix my skirt so it couldn’t slide up any further, but he slapped my hand away and did it himself. At that moment, I cursed myself for asking Leilah to shorten it for me.

His shoulder pressed into my belly until it almost hurt, but I didn’t dare to say anything. The danger that radiated from him at that moment was deadly, and I didn’t want to draw his wrath on me—not any more than I already had.

He carried me all the way back to the boarding school, and I almost threw up because of the uneven ground and his quick steps. The icy air gave way to a comforting warmth.

The most seductive of scents spread around me, and I had trouble breathing. I didn’t know if it was because of Mr. Preston or the shock, and yet I sucked in the aroma, not wanting to waste any of it.

He picked up his pace, and I became all too aware of his hand that had slid dangerously far up to fix my skirt. His skin was hot in contrast to mine, and I hated myself for the fact that my heart started beating faster.

Before I could do anything stupid, we halted.

“We’re here,” he said as he put me down. In front of us was a white double door, elegant and surely as old as this entire building. I’d been here on my first day.

Mr. Preston knocked, didn’t wait for an answer, and entered. I followed him but tripped because of my numb legs and slammed into his back. “Watch your step,” he hissed, and I rolled my eyes.

An elderly lady came up to us. She had tied her gray hair into a bun and her white nurse’s dress was a little too big for her.

“Oh, Alexander, I just got the message. Come here, my dear, I’m sure you must be completely terrified.” She took me by the hand and led me to the examination couch. Everything here was rather sparsely cobbled together. The cupboards were filled with jars of different colored liquids and medicines.

Apparently, they preferred to invest their money in paintings and busts instead of keeping the medical equipment up to date. Well, we were just a bunch of criminals, anyway.

“You can go now. Avery and I will be fine.” Mr. Preston looked at the nurse, his eyes narrowed. She planted her hands on her hips and didn’t buckle under his piercing gaze.

“I’ll stay here and wait for you to examine Ms. James.” He lowered himself into one of the chairs and watched her every move until even I was uncomfortable.

From here on, it was just a series of standardized questions. She took my blood pressure and temperature and wrapped me in a scratchy blanket.

Finally, she gave me something for my throbbing headache and left the room.

“You don’t have to wait for me. I’m sure you’re tired. It’s been a long day,” I reassured him.

Mr. Preston clicked his tongue.

“Just keep your mouth shut and warm up. We can leave soon.”

I had no strength to argue with him. Right now, a thousand questions were running through my mind, and I doubted I could find a plausible answer to even one of them.

God, I could probably never erase the sight of that body from my memory. I had talked to her just today when she was looking so sick in class, and now she was dead. Who could have done this? Was there a murderer at large? I mean, in this school, it wasn’t even that far-fetched.

Determined, I stripped the blanket off me and stood up. I felt much better—physically at least —and if I had to spend another minute in this room, I would go crazy.

“We’re leaving now,” I stated matter-of-factly and walked past Mr. Preston, out into the hallway. I heard his footsteps behind me and was secretly glad I didn’t have to go back to my room alone.

‘What kind of monster kills a young, defenseless girl?’ I muttered more to myself as I wrapped my arms around my center.

The trembling had stopped, but the coldness in my heart remained. Olivia…

She was a few years younger than me, hadn’t even lived, could never fall in love, grow old. Her parents would be devastated, well, if she had any. Seeing the corpse of a beloved person, I couldn’t live with that.

I wiped over my cheeks discretely.

“Sometimes the monsters are closer to you than you think.”

My gaze shot to him, puzzled by his morbid expression.

“You think we live on a happy farm here and pet ponies all day? There’s danger lurking around every corner. Never forget that. It could cost you your throat.”

I didn’t know what to do with his cryptic words. Of course, we were at an institution for criminal juveniles, but to think that people got murdered here?

“Do you really believe it was one of the students?” He shrugged, but I could see through this facade of indifference, could sense that he was only maintaining it for the sake of my sanity.

“I’m not in a position to make allegations. My aunt will take care of that.”

I brushed my hair out of my face and nodded.

“You think I’m going to get in trouble?” My professor shook his head, and I almost exhaled in relief.

“You’ve already paid the price for your stupid walk today. No one is going to fault you for anything. I’ll make sure of it.”

I couldn’t help but stare at him for a bit too long, really looking at him. His face seemed even more striking in the candlelight, cheekbones and jaw more prominent. When he turned his gaze on me and raised an eyebrow, I looked away.

Fortunately, the door to my room was already in sight. I could hardly wait to wash the dirt and the disgusting feeling off me and then fall asleep and forget everything—at least for a few hours.

But no matter how much I slept, I couldn’t push the strange feeling away that something wasn’t right here.

“What?” he asked, annoyed. “Your expression gives you away.”

I sighed.

“I can’t shake the feeling that something weird is going on here.”

“Like what?” We had arrived, and I looked right and left, making sure no prying ears were listening. They were probably all still downstairs, gawking at Olivia’s lifeless body.

“Do you ever sense some kind of danger coming from people? When I touched her today, it felt…wrong. My whole body was screaming at me to run away.”

I could not believe it was possible, but he became paler than he already was.

“What are you saying?” He took a step closer.

“I think you heard me perfectly fine the first time. Are you trying to make me look like some crazy person?”

Mr. Preston just shook his head and massaged his temples. Perhaps I shouldn’t have spoken so openly after all.

“Just go to sleep. My aunt will talk to you tomorrow. But I wouldn’t recommend revealing your theory in front of her. Believe me, it’s better that way.” What was that supposed to mean?

Without warning, he grabbed me by both upper arms and forced me to look at him. His face was so close to mine that I could feel his breath on my skin.

“And no more nighttime walks. Do you hear me?” I nodded, taken aback by his sudden closeness.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

With this reassurance, he let go of me and disappeared into the darkness without another word.

With dripping hair and a towel wrapped around me, I stepped back into the bedroom. Leilah was not there as usual, and I would have spent all my non-existent money on the fact that her legs were wrapped around Caleb’s waist at this very moment.

Good for her. At least one of us had fun.

My tablet vibrated, and I curiously looked at the display, not expecting any message.

UNKNOWN:

Are you alright? A. P.

This question had truly caught me off guard, and I had to compose myself for a moment.

AVERY JAMES:

I’ll be fine. It was just a lot today.

I waited for his next message, eager to hear what else he had to say.

UNKNOWN:

You can take tomorrow off. I will talk to your other professors.

I raised an eyebrow, certainly wouldn’t have expected such a nice gesture from him.

AVERY JAMES:

Are you tired of me already?

Okay, that message was a little risky, but screw it. He had texted me first, and he didn’t have to reply.

A few minutes passed, and I had lost hope for a new message when my tablet vibrated again.

UNKNOWN:

Not yet.

An unknown feeling spread through my chest. I knew neither where it came from nor what it meant.

AVERY JAMES:

Then I’ll see you tomorrow at the same time.

Why was I so stupid and turned down a day off? Had this evening shaken me up more than I wanted to admit?

UNKNOWN:

Good night, Avery.

And since it didn’t matter anymore, I typed a response that I might regret tomorrow.

AVERY JAMES:

Good night, Alexander.

I threw the tablet on the bed as if it had burned me. As quickly as the high had come, I landed back in reality. The whole evening had been one hell of a horror movie, and I really needed a lot of sleep. Only tomorrow I would be able to truly realize what had happened, and I had to prepare myself for the inevitable paranoia.

The nightmare came as soon as I closed my eyes. I was lying in my own blood, surrounded by people whose faces were so familiar, but still unrecognizable. They looked down at me with a certain hatred and hunger that I had never seen in humans.

Panicked, I tried to get up, but invisible chains held me to the ground. The full moon shone above me, and I prayed I wouldn’t have to die tonight.

But a voice deep inside me whispered that today was the day. Then the monsters lunged for me.