I don’t know what the hell is happening around me. One minute we’re lost in a maze of hallways, trying to find the exit, the next, Tiran was laying into me. In the midst of the madness, I heard Elodie scream, but by the time I had managed to get the fangy fucker off me, she was gone.
Kael has taken her to safety.That’s what we knew, that’s what was promised, yet now he stands before me alone.
Kael, my friend, my brother from another mother, is no longer the man I knew. I can see it in his bleak eyes, the depths that usually gleam like emeralds are now so dark they resemble the pits of the forest when the twilight hour strikes.
He rolls his shoulders back as he clears his throat, trying to strengthen himself before he speaks again, but it seems those words aren’t just hurting me; they’re clawing at him, too, because it takes him almost a minute to speak them again.
“She’s with Jude.”
My wolf whines, vibrating my chest as my fingers flex at my sides, my palms instantly clammy with distress. Peering at Thorne, he doesn’t say a word, although his spine is stiff, his shoulders are bunched high, and the way he rocks back on his heels says he’s not as unaffected as he wants to appear.
“Who the fuck is Jude?” Ocean blurts from my right, her shrill voice matching the distress rattling around inside of me.
“This dickwad’s brother,” I grunt, disdain coating my tongue as I point an accusing finger at the ruthless vampire who stands before me. Once a friend, now skirting the line of foe.
“Why is she with him, and why the hell do you look so mad about it?” she pushes, her gaze darting between the three of us like there isn’t total mayhem unraveling around us.
“I don’t think this is a conversation for here,” Thorne murmurs, finally making his presence known, and I scoff, irritation flooding my body as I shake my head.
He’s not wrong. Whatever the hell is going on doesn’t need to be heard by the rest of campus right now, but fuck, waiting for an explanation feels like a bad idea too.
Torn, my hands ball into fists at my sides as I take a deep breath. It only makes my pulse quicken, but the worry over someone listening in wins out, and I grunt with a nod as I take a step back.
“You motherfuckers better get back to our room in ten seconds flat. Don’t make me go feral.” It’s a warning and a promise.
To my surprise, they both nod in agreement, hightailing it from the carnage around us as The Institute Game continues, an alarm echoing in the air, repeatedly encouraging everyone to return to their buildings.
“Are you going to dart off as well so everything is said and done by the time I get there?” Ocean asks, turning to me with apointed look, and I shake my head, making her eyebrow quirk higher.
I nod for her to follow, and she immediately falls into step at my side. We’re not going as fast as my wolf would like or could make happen, but our pace is a beat below running, which will have to do. I don’t say a word until we’ve weaved through the sea of students and found our way onto the direct path that leads toward Institute Thirteen.
“Elodie would be furious if anything happens to you while she isn’t here,” I state, keeping my gaze fixed dead ahead, but I sense the surprise in her stare as she glances at the side of my face.
“Why does that matter to you?” she asks, her voice soft as the wind picks up a little, and I shrug.
“Becauseshematters to me.”
Her hum is so quiet the breeze could wisp it away, but it quickly turns into a dry chuckle, and I spy her shaking her head from the corner of my eye. Before I can ask what’s so amusing, she offers an explanation. “Anyone would thinkI’mthe new supernatural the way she protects me.”
I consider the first time we all bore witness to what Elodie could do. It wasn’t far from here. I can see the spot ahead as if it were happening again now. Tiran had charged at Ocean, and without thinking, Elodie stepped in his path, slamming her hands against his chest with a fierceness I’ve only ever felt, but never seen.
Everything from then untangled lightning fast, but if that were all you knew of Elodie and Ocean, you would believe Ocean’s statement to be true. On the other hand, there have been countless times Ocean’s had Elodie’s back, and between them, I’m sure there will be more to come.
“The way you support her as a friend is undeniable, Ocean.”
She nods, brushing her hair back off her face. “Should I be worried about this Jude guy?”
I turn to her for the first time as the entrance to Institute Thirteen draws closer. She sees it in my eyes before she even hears me speak. I can tell by the way she gulps and twists her hands together nervously.
“We all should be worried,” I grumble, not offering any more until we get upstairs and behind closed doors.
My pace increases as we hurry inside, taking the steps two at a time until we reach the fourth floor. As my dorm room door comes into reach, I consider whether Kael and Thorne have made it back yet, but my uncertainty is quickly answered, when I swing it open to find the pair of them awaiting our arrival.
Quickly waving Ocean inside, I close the door behind me before turning my glare at Kael.
“Start talking. Now,” I bite, eyeing him as he sits on the edge of the sofa, which has now been folded away, evaporating the memory of Elodie tangled in the sheets between us last night.
“She’s with Jude. I don’t know what else you want me to say,” he murmurs, and I scoff.
