Dirty Little Secrets (Kings of Bolten 1)

Aubrey gave me a sympathetic look. “People here definitely suck. I completely understand.”

“It’s whatever.”

“Well, know that my feelings aren’t what hers are.”

I cast her a sidelong glance. She beamed at me, no indication that she wasn’t genuine on her face.

“Seriously, it’s whatever.” I turned onto Mason Trail and saw my dorm looming in the distance.

“You’re in Collins Hall?”

I grunted in response.

“Me too. I’ve had the same dorm every year I’ve been here.”

I didn’t say anything, opting to continue walking.

“You said you and Dominic aren’t friends. Dominic doesn’t talk to just anyone though. What happened?”

We entered the building, and I got into the elevator with Aubrey beside me.

“I literally ran into him. That’s all.”

“He’s a king.”

I lifted a brow at her. “A what?” I’d forgotten about the mention of kings here.

“A king. There are three here. Dominic De Santis, Vincent Valentino, and Levin Seeley. They rule this campus. Of course, they have their little squad they roll with, the people who want to be on their side.” She cleared her throat. “It’s a turf war, really. The kings fight with the lords all the time.”

“The lords?” I questioned, the desire to snort at how ridiculous it all sounded eating at me.

“Yeah, Hail Ivanov, Tate Riley, Drake Petrov, and Fallon Vasiliev. They have this rivalry going on. I guess their fathers do too. They’re into some dark stuff.” Her cheeks reddened at her words, and she clamped her mouth closed.

“So they’re the elite douchebags. Cool,” I muttered as the elevator dinged.

We both got off on my floor. I glanced at her, and she offered me a quick smile.

“My dorm is at the end of the hall.”

“What a coincidence.” I sighed. “So is mine.”

“Awesome!” She lit up, her grin widening.

We strolled quietly for a moment before I spoke, “So there are elite douchebags. How about elite bitches? Do those exist as a group here or does the term apply to pretty much all the females?”

Aubrey chuckled and shook her head. “Not everyone is that bad, but to answer your question, yeah, there are elite bitches. Stella Monroe is one. She and Hail have had this thing going on for ages, but word has it Hail got engaged to someone else over break. Everyone is dying to know who.”

I swallowed, irritated that news spread so fast.

“I’m surprised they haven’t introduced themselves to you yet. It seems to be their thing—sizing up fresh meat. I’m sure you’ll hear from them soon. They have a tendency to run newbies through the mill.”

“Like bullying them?” I asked dryly.

“I suppose you could call it that. More like initiation They were super quiet today about it though, which was strange. Usually, the kings and lords single out people to mess with. There was nothing today.”

“Hazing?” I frowned as I noted someone leaning against my door.

“Yeah. The sad part is the faculty doesn’t do shit about it. Stella and Vanessa St. Claire are the head bitches. Vanessa’s dad owns FXR, the software firm, and is worth millions, maybe more. Stella’s dad is into some shady business with the Ivanovs. Ivy Mathis and Blair Holden are their two snapping dogs. If they don’t approach you, don’t approach them.” She gave a shiver. “If evil bitch had a face, it’d be modeled after those girls. They’re awful.”