**CHAPTER FORTY-SIX.**
Amanda’s eyes narrowed as she took a step closer, her arms crossed, lips twisted into a smug grin that was infuriating. “The mask has finally worn off, right? You think you're special just because you’re with him now, don’t you?” she sneered. “Well, newsflash, you’re just the new flavour in town. Draken wouldn't stick with you. He’ll get bored of you, just like he did with me and every other girl.”
I could feel my patience wearing thin, but I refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing me lose my cool. Not when I was still grieving Karina. Instead, I took a deep breath and stood my ground. “Is that supposed to make me feel bad? Insecure? Angry? Tell me, what sort of emotion are you wishing to get from me? Because if that’s all you want, then I'm afraid to tell you that you’re wasting both of our time.”
Her expression faltered for a second, but she quickly recovered, stepping even closer until her face was only inches away from mine. “You’re going to regret getting involved with him,” she hissed. “He will use you and dump you in the next two weeks. Two weeks is the grace I'm giving. In all—”
“Just save it,” I cut her off. “I'm not interested. I have classes to be at right now.”
“What happened at the party the other night, you remember?” She was trying to intimidate me.
I arched an eyebrow, refusing to be intimidated. “Is this the part where you tell me some dark secret you think you know about me? Save it, Amanda. I believe I know myself better than I know you.”
Her eyes glinted with something dangerous, and she leaned in closer, her voice barely a whisper now. “Are you even human, Eline? Normal people’s eyes don’t just turn black like that. I'm not dumb.”
“Maybe you are,” I shot back immediately, refusing to falter. “Maybe you weren't seeing well. Or maybe it was the poor lightning in the bathroom that made it seem like that.”
“And the fangs and claws? How would you explain that?” She pressed on, leaning in even closer as she whispered. The hallway was scantily crowded, but no one was really paying attention to us. “Or what about the animalistic growl that *I* heard? Oh, Eline, I'm not stupid. I know something isn't right with you. After all, I once used to be with Draken Gallagher.”
“And what could you mean by that?” I asked, curious by the statement.
Amanda smirked, shrugging. “What do you think? You think a *normal* human can be as handsome and athletic as Draken Gallagher or even his friends are? I know their secrets and I can ruin his life right now if I want.”
I frowned, wondering if Amanda knew anything about Draken and his friends being werewolves. It wasn't possible that she knew, right? “And what exactly do you have that's capable of *ruining the* Draken Gallagher life?”
The air between us crackled with tension, but before I could respond, I heard a familiar voice behind me. “Is there a problem here?”
I turned to see Brianna standing at the end of the hallway, her eyes locked onto Amanda. The intensity in her gaze made my heart break a bit as I remembered the event that went down that night. I hadn't seen her since the night she stormed out of Topper’s apartment in Tribeca. And standing before us, she didn't look like her usual self — she wasn’t even smiling. Even more, it was surprising to see her even though she was a senior in my major.
Amanda's confidence wavered visibly, but she quickly put on a usual act. “If it isn't Brianna Alricap, our darling student council president. There's no problem at all,” she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder with a fake laugh. “Just giving little miss snorter here some advice.”
Brianna looked uninterested. “I doubt Eline needs your advice, Amanda, so why don't you leave her alone? This isn't highschool where you can reign as some mean queen, this is a university.”
Amanda shot me one last venomous look before brushing past me. “We’ll see about this. Don't think I'm leaving you,” she muttered as she walked away.
I sighed, feeling the tension slowly drain from my body. Brianna stepped closer, concern flickering in her eyes. “Are you okay?” She asked.
“Yeah,” I muttered, forcing a small smile. I was still feeling the guilt from the other night, even though I wasn't the one who cheated on her. “Just Amanda being Amanda.”
She didn’t look convinced. “You don’t have to deal with her alone, you know. If she bothers you again, let me know.”
“I can handle it,” I said, though I appreciated her concern. “Besides, she’s just trying to get under my skin. I’m not going to let her.”
Brianna hands found mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I know, but I heard her say something about,” she looked around to see if anyone was listening, when she realized no one was, she moved closer and lowered her voice. “I had her say something about fangs and claws. Does she know?”
I shook my head. “No. She doesn't. But she did say she isn't stupid, and she once used to date Draken or something.”
“You think she knows something?”
“Amanda?” I scoffed. “If she did, I doubt the whole world wouldn't know about the existence of shifters by now.”
“Great,” she said, taking a step back from me.
We just stood there in the hallway, neither of us saying anything until I decided to clear the air about everything that happened the other night. “I'm sorry, Brianna.”
“For?”
“I don't know. Hiding the fact that Drake and…your boyfriend —”
“We aren't dating anymore,” she clarified, giving me a lip tight smile.
“Oh.”
“Besides, it's not your place to be sorry, Eline. It's fine,” she responded.
I smiled. “Thank you.”
She only gave me a nod in response before leaving.
I took a deep breath and willed myself to think of this new week as a new start in my life, while also trying too hard not to think about everything Amanda had said, as I began to make my way to my first class.