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  Troublemaker

  Sophie Stern

  Copyright © 2020 by Sophie Stern

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Also by Sophie Stern

  Alien Chaos

  Destroyed

  Guarded

  Saved

  Alien Chaos: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Bundle

  Anchored

  Starboard

  Battleship

  All Aboard

  Abandon Ship

  Below Deck

  Crossing the Line

  Anchored: Books 1-3

  Anchored: Books 4-6

  Club Kitten Dancers

  Move

  Pose

  Climb

  Dragon Isle

  My Lord and Dragon

  The Dragon Fighter

  A Dragon's Bite

  Lost to the Dragon

  Beware of Dragons

  Cowboy Dragon

  Dark Heart of the Dragon

  Once Upon a Dragon

  Catching the Dragon

  Dragon Isle (Collection: Books 1-3)

  Dragon Isle (Collection: Books 4-6)

  Dragon Isle (Collection: Books 7-9)

  Good Boys and Millionaires

  Good Boys and Millionaires 1

  Good Boys and Millionaires 2

  Honeypot Babies

  The Polar Bear's Baby

  The Jaguar's Baby

  The Tiger's Baby

  Honeypot Darlings

  The Bear's Virgin Darling

  The Bear's Virgin Mate

  The Bear's Virgin Bride

  Office Gentlemen

  Ben From Accounting

  Polar Bears of the Air Force

  Staff Sergeant Polar Bear

  Master Sergeant Polar Bear

  Airman Polar Bear

  Senior Airman Polar Bear

  Red

  Red: Into the Dark

  Red: Through the Dark

  Red: Beyond the Dark

  Shifters at Law

  Wolf Case

  Bearly Legal

  Tiger Clause

  Sergeant Bear

  Dragon Law

  The Fablestone Clan

  Dragon's Oath

  Dragon's Breath

  Dragon's Darling

  Dragon's Whisper

  Dragon's Magic

  The Hidden Planet

  Vanquished

  Outlaw

  Conquered

  The Wolfe City Pack

  The Wolf's Darling

  The Wolf's Mate

  The Wolf's Bride

  Standalone

  Saucy Devil

  Billionaire on Top

  Jurassic Submissive

  The Editor

  Alien Beast

  Snow White and the Wolves

  Kissing the Billionaire

  Wild

  Alien Dragon

  The Royal Her

  Be My Tiger

  Alien Monster

  The Paralegal

  Roses in the Dark

  Honeypot Babies Omnibus Edition

  Honeypot Darlings: Omnibus Edition

  Red: The Complete Trilogy

  First Shift

  The Swan's Mate

  Eternity: A Vampire Romance

  The Feisty Librarian

  Polar Bears of the Air Force

  Wild Goose Chase

  Star Princess

  The Virgin and the Lumberjacks

  Resting Bear Face

  Seized by the Dragon

  Fablestone Clan: A Paranormal Dragon-Shifter Romance Collection

  Star Kissed

  Club Kitten Omnibus

  Troublemaker

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Also By Sophie Stern

  Troublemaker

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Epilogue

  Deleted Scenes

  Author

  Books

  Hybrid Academy

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  Further Reading: Abandon Ship

  Also By Sophie Stern

  “I feel light, even in my darkest hour.”

  -Tori Amos, Darkest Hour

  13 years ago, my mother made a deal with the devil.

  Only, she didn't tell me she made it.

  She said I was going to live with an aunt and an uncle. She said I'd be safe. She said this was the life she wanted for me.

  Now I'm 18, but the debt my mother owes is far from paid.

  There's only one person who's able to wipe the slate clean and erase my debt, but I have a problem because Harrison O'Conner isn't the type of person who's going to have a change of heart when he realizes what the terms of my mother's agreement were or where I really came from.

  Or what his father planned for me.

  Harrison's dad has raised me, groomed me, to be the perfect wife for him one day, but I don't want to marry Harrison. I don't want to be his trophy. I don't want anything to do with the O'Conner family legacy.

  Even if he is handsome.

  Even if he does take my breath away.

  Even if he is...

  A troublemaker.

  TROUBLEMAKER is the second book in the BULLIES OF CRESCENT ACADEMY series. This is a panty-dropping, page-turning series that's going to knock your socks off. This story includes sexual situations and graphic depictions of bullying and aggression. All characters are over 18. Not for the faint of heart.

  Prologue

  Adalee

  THIRTEEN YEARS AGO

  “You’re going to live with Uncle Frank,” Mama whispers. She touches my hair, pushing it back behind my ears. Then she reaches for my face and just...looks at me.

  Even at five-and-a-half, I know this isn’t something I want, and I know that it’s something that’s going to be bad for me.

  And why do I get the feeling that Mama knows it, too?

  I don’t have an Uncle Frank, and I don’t want to go live with that guy, anyway. I’m not interested in being around someone like that, someone like him.

  “No,” I say, shaking my head.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Mama says, but I shake my head again.

  “No!” This time I say the word more loudly, as though that’s going to matter, as though that’s going to be enough to stop the movements that have already been set in place. Something in my world is about to change, and I have a feeling it’s going to be bigger than I could possibly imagine.

  “Baby girl,” Mama says, and she reaches for me. She pulls me into her arms and hugs me. “It’s going to be okay,” she says again, and this time, I’m aware of the fact that Mama is lying to me. I know because she’s crying. Tears are pouring down her cheeks, and they’re covering me. I’m wet now from her tears, and this scares me. My heart beats faster, faster, and I shake my head.

  “No.”

  “It’s time,” Mama says.

  She reaches for a suitcase I didn’t see before. It’s mine. It’s the purple
one with the teddy bear sticker on the side. Everything I own could fit inside that suitcase. Why do I have a feeling it’s already in there?

  “No,” I say again.

  I feel like a broken record.

  I feel like I’m completely on repeat.

  I don’t want to go with Uncle Frank. I don’t want to leave my mother. She’s the only one I have, and leaving? That doesn’t sound like a good idea. That sounds...horrible.

  “Mama,” I whisper.

  “It’s time,” she says.

  Mama stands up and brushes off her skirt. She seems to steel herself, as though that’s going to change the way this thing is playing out. What did Mama do? Why is she sending me away? Why isn’t she coming with me?

  Even though she hasn’t expressly said it, I can tell from her tears and the way she’s hesitating that this is something that’s going to change my whole world.

  She’s not coming with me.

  Am I ever going to see her again?

  A man steps out from the shadows behind her, and I realize that this is the man. This is the man she’s giving me to.

  “Hello, Adalee,” he says in a flat, uninterested tone. “It’s time to go.”

  Chapter One

  Adalee

  Present Day

  “He’s cute, though,” Karen says, looking over at Harrison O’Conner.

  “Cute?” I shake my head. “Not the word I would use to describe him.”

  “You’re crazy,” Emilia says. She reaches for one of her French fries and takes a big bite. “He’s handsome as hell. What aren’t you seeing?”

  It’s more like, what am I not seeing?

  Harrison O’Conner is not exactly my definition of a nice guy. He’s tall, and if I’m being honest, he’s in pretty good shape. He’s fit and athletic, but he’s not someone I would look twice at in public. Part of that’s because Harrison and I grew up in the same house. Uncle Frank, also known to Harrison as dad, made sure that the two of us always knew exactly who I was: no one.

  I was no one to their family, and that was how I was raised.

  When I’m alone, and when I’m honest, then yeah, Harrison is pretty damn good-looking, but that’s not a secret I’m willing to share with anyone. Not even my best friends.

  I just shrug and shake my head.

  “Maybe I’m wrong,” I mutter. I don’t want to rock the boat, and I certainly don’t want my friends to know what I really think about Harrison. They don’t need to know that I’m actually scared of him. They don’t need to know that I’m afraid of what he could do to me.

  Harrison basically holds my life in his hands. All it would take is one word from him and his dad would pull his funding for my education. He’d pull everything, and I’d be out on the streets again, just like my mother was all of those years ago.

  “He might be cute,” Karen says. “But I bet he’s got a mean streak.” She’s observant. I’ll give her that. Most people wouldn’t see past his stylish haircut or his neat and tidy clothes. Most people look at Harrison and they think he’s an all-around incredible guy.

  In some ways, they’re right.

  Harrison is a great student and an incredible athlete, but he’s a huge asshole and he’ll do anything to get his way.

  “Are you going to eat those?” Emilia looks pointedly at my lunch plate. I don’t have to look down to know what she’s talking about. I rarely eat food at school. If I can help it, I never eat, but I can’t always help it. Sometimes the pain of hunger becomes too much to bear. Sometimes it’s just too much to handle.

  “You can have them,” I say, shoving my plate of green beans to her.

  Emilia just stares at the food and then looks back up at me.

  “I don’t want your fucking food,” she says. “Are you serious right now? You’re losing weight, Adalee. You eat.”

  She pushes the plate right back to me and her eyes narrow. I know that I’m going to have to eat something if I want to appease her, but the problem is that it’s becoming harder and harder to maintain my weight, and I know what happens if I don’t.

  Frank will have a fucking field day.

  None of my friends know that he requires me to weigh in daily and send him a picture of the scale.

  None of them know just how hard he rides me, even now.

  Even now that I no longer live with him and I’m “safely” at boarding school, he still has me under his thumb, and I have no idea how to escape from him.

  “I just haven’t felt hungry lately,” I lie flatly.

  It’s a total and utter lie.

  I am hungry.

  I’m always hungry.

  When I’m alone, the temptation to overeat consumes me. Some people might consider me to have an eating disorder, but it’s entirely forced by Frank. If it was my choice, I’d do nothing but eat.

  It’s not my choice, though.

  I have to do what he says.

  Emilia sees through my bullshit, but she doesn’t call me out. Thankfully, she just shakes her head, although I’m not sure if her disappointment is better.

  “Whatever,” she finally mutters, and I’m grateful when she and Karen start talking about upcoming end-of-the-semester exams. We have a bunch of tests next week before we go on Christmas break. I can’t decide whether I’m dreading the tests or the holiday break more. The tests are going to be difficult, and I have to get straight A’s on them.

  That’s another one of Frank’s rules, although after 15 years of this stuff, I’m starting to feel like I’m drowning.

  At least it’ll all be over soon.

  At least I’ll graduate in May and be done with school and the pressure and the insanity.

  Only, that’s not exactly true.

  Something tells me that none of this is going to be over as quickly as I want it to be, and something tells me that I’m not exactly going to get to pursue my dream of going to college.

  Frank has chosen me as a wife for Harrison. We all know it. We all know that Frank has a plan for how this thing is going to work. He’s spent our entire lives making it very clear that Harrison is going to take over the family business after university and that I’m supposed to be Harrison’s perfect little trophy wife.

  I hate this.

  I hate knowing that Frank has this perfect plan for what he wants from me.

  But I have a secret, and it’s something that makes me sick. It’s something that haunts me and that keeps me up at night.

  “Earth to Adalee,” Karen says. I look over sharply and see both her and Emilia staring at me.

  “Sorry,” I start to say, but Emilia interrupts before I can say anything else.

  “What is with you?” She snaps. “You’ve been weird all week, Adalee. You keep spacing out and you aren’t listening. I mean, are we that boring? Or is there something else you need to tell us?” She raises an eyebrow, as though that’s how she’s going to convince me to share my innermost secrets with her.

  Sadly, it won’t work.

  I’m really, really good at keeping secrets.

  Karen looks a little more concerned. She looks over at Harrison, who is laughing and talking with Dana Peters. Then Karen looks back at me.

  “Is it him?” She asks, whispering.

  “No,” I lie. “It’s not him. I’m sorry, ya’ll. I just...I’m just going through something. I’m sorry.”

  I grab my tray and scurry away from the table. Emilia opens her mouth to say something, but Karen places her hand on Emilia’s and shakes her head.

  “Let her go,” I hear her say, and for once, I’m grateful to be ignored. It’s just for a little while. Soon I’m going to be completely not ignored, and soon I’m never going to get to have privacy again.

  I dump my food, leave my plate and tray on top of one of the trash bins, and push the doors open to the cafeteria. Then I start walking quickly down the hallway. Tears threaten to overtake me, but I can’t do it. I can’t cry. Not here.

  Not now.

  Not over stupid H
arrison.

  I hate the way he looks at Dana Peters. We all know he wants to be with her, and if I had to guess, they’re definitely sleeping together. The only reason he doesn’t openly date her is because of his dad. We both know that Frank would have a fit if he knew Harrison was dating someone else. We also both know that Harrison thinks of me as an ugly, nerdy, stupid little sister.

  He’s never been attracted to me in his life.

  So why do I want him to be?

  I need to get back to my dorm room. I need to get back and drink some water and look over my books for my next class. If I can do that, then everything will be okay. If I can focus on studying for the next test, I’ll be fine. That’s what I need right now. I need to focus.

  Only, I’m focusing a little too much, because someone steps in front of me in the hallway and I almost run right into them. Luckily, I stop just in time and look up.

  “Sorry.” The word leaves my lips too soon. Before I realize who exactly is in front of me, I’m apologizing, and instantly, I wish I could take the words back.

  “Sorry? You’re sorry?”

  It’s Harrison, and he’s pissed. Dana isn’t with him, and for that, I’m grateful. I don’t know if I could handle having her watch while he puts me down again.

  What is it going to be this time, I wonder?

  Is he going to talk about my stringy hair?

  Is he going to point out my weird nose?

  Is he going to say that my eyes are too close together?

  I swallow hard but don’t say anything else.

  “Answer me,” he snaps.

  I look up at him, meeting his gaze. Harrison O’Conner is far too handsome for his own good. He’s got the chiseled jaw of his father, but the soft eyes of his mother. Most of the time, Harrison is wildly handsome, and I’m not an idiot. I know he can be sweet when he wants to be. Hell, there were plenty of times when he was nice to me as a kid. That was a long time ago, though.

  That was before Frank started playing us against each other and making our lives awkward and strange.

  That was before we hit middle school and our lives started going in different directions.

  Now, Harrison’s eyes aren’t soft.