Page 6 of Lured By Shadows

Before I could blink, the bike surged forward, the sudden motion snapping me out of it.

I let out a startled sound and grabbed onto his shirt as my heart jumped into my throat. My grip tightened instinctively, my body reacting before my thoughts could catch up.

Perhaps that had been intentional, a way to remind me to stay still or keep my hands where they belonged.

Instead, it only pressed me closer to him.

My arms tightened around his waist as the bike cut through the slick streets. The engine vibrated beneath us in a steady pulse while the wind rushed past, cold and biting. It slipped beneath my jacket and trailed along my spine, sending a shiver through me that tangled with everything else I was feeling.

Every movement registered through the contact between us. Each lean into a turn pulled me with him, each adjustment reminding me how effortlessly he handled the bike and how easily it responded to him. The electric sensation from earlier still lingered. If anything, it had deepened, threading through the cold air and speed until it settled somewhere warm and unsettling in my chest.

The ride was short, but it stretched strangely, making every second feel longer. By the time the bike rolled to a stop, I felt slightly breathless.

The building rose from the damp stone as though it had always been there, untouched by time. The architecture stretched across the campus in layered sections, the main structure towering at the center while smaller buildings branched around it. Some looked worn with age; others newly restored. Darkened walls met clean stone seamlessly, blending into something quietly impressive.

Tall flèches pierced the sky at every corner, their silhouettes cutting through the lingering fog. Stained glass windows caught the faint morning light, each one reflecting muted bursts of color against the gray. The entire place carried a quiet weight steeped in history and legacy, the sort that pressed expectations onto you whether you wanted them or not.

I slid off the bike with unsteady legs, my hands still tingling from the ride. Lifting my gaze toward the towering entrance, I let out a slow, uneven breath.

How the hell did I end up here?

A few months ago, I was back home dealing with the usual grind of Wiggle and trying to figure out what came next. Now I was standing in front of something that looked as though it belonged in a movie about secrets and old money. And somehow, my entire life had flipped upside down because of strings pulled by people I didn’t even know, all tied back to Ma’s new job.

From what she told me, the family she worked for had arranged my place here at one of the most prestigious universities in the country, and I hadn’t even applied. They had simply made it happen, the way people with real power handled things.

Still, it said something about Ma, didn’t it? That she was worth that level of influence. Worth enough for them to go out of their way for me. It made me pause and really see her for a second, all the strength she had built through years of late nights and hard choices. I didn’t always think about those things until moments like this forced them back into focus.

Even so, standing there with the damp air settling around me, the whole situation felt a little off. The uneasy knot in my stomach twisted tighter as I thought about who these people were and why they were so willing to help in a way that felt almost too perfect to trust.

Too late to question it now with the gates right in front of me and everything already in motion, but that didn’t stop the what-ifs from slipping into my thoughts in creeping waves.

I exhaled and pushed it aside. There was no point spiraling over things that hadn’t happened yet, not when so much was still unfolding. Ma was fine back at the house, settling into her new role. I was fine standing here on my own, even if it didn’t entirely feel that way yet. And the university hadn’t turned out to be some cult compound straight out of a nightmare, so that counted for something.

My focus shifted as Culver cut the engine; the sudden quiet was almost jarring after the steady vibration that had lingered through my body during the ride.

I pulled the helmet off and instantly winced as my hair sprang out in every possible direction, leaving me looking like a drowned poodle on her first day of school. There went any chance of looking mysterious and unattainable. The absurdity of it almost made me laugh.

I ran my fingers through it, trying to fix the mess with no real success while the strands stuck out stubbornly. The helmet felt strange in my hands, almost personal.

Still, I’d made it through the ride, the rain, and the stranger who could’ve turned into a problem but hadn’t. So far, I hadn’t been kidnapped, stabbed, or shoved into the back of a van. Honestly, that felt like a solid start.

I heard the click of the kickstand and turned back to him, a little surprised by how much lighter I felt.

“Thanks for the ride,” I said with a grin. “I seriously thought you were gonna kidnap me, but it looks like that ain’t in the cards today.”

I held the helmet out to him, my hands open as though I were offering some sort of truce after everything that had gone through my head. He took it slowly before setting it back on the bike with the same quiet care that seemed to follow him.

His expression shifted in a way I hadn’t expected, confusion softening into a small, crooked smile that looked almost unfamiliar on him. It eased the harsher edges of his face just enough to make him seem less like something pulled from the darkness.

“You have a rather peculiar way of expressing gratitude,” he said, his voice carrying the same careful formality.

Well, excuse me for not having proper kidnapping etiquette.

I smiled wider. “Well, you can’t be too careful these days. I was raised not to hitch rides with strangers, y’know.”

Even as I said it, my brows drew together.

Wait a minute.