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“Not anymore,” I interrupted her calmly, my hands in the pockets of my black leather jacket, my gaze fixed straight ahead.

In the distance, students were crowding around the entrances of the huge auditorium, which was occasionally used as a ballroom or for other large events.

“And I thought you knew something,” Jenny sighed beside me, obviously frustrated that I couldn't give her the top news story that she would surely be breaking the law to obtain.

Of course, I could let her in on it and work with her. But that wasn't who I was. I was on my own and enjoyed the freedom of not having to depend on others. Besides, Jenny was an impulsive gossip. Sooner or later, she would make this information public and ruin everything.

So, I went one step further and played dumb.

“About what?”

Jenny raised both eyebrows and one corner of her mouth.

“The hacker attack... What else?” She laughed in disbelief. “It’s going to be the headline of the month.”

Of the month... How disappointing. Had my performance really been that miserable?

“What would this hacker have to do to make it the headline of the year?”

Jenny laughed. “Drama. A lot of drama.”

I nodded as a new wave of euphoria spread through my chest.

“But don't think I want to manifest anything.”

“Of course not, Jenny,” I teased. “How could I?”

Jenny looked at me sideways, and I knew immediately that she was looking for ways to benefit from me.

“You’re going to rejoin the security team now that you’re back, right?”

“If they need me, I’ll consider it.”

“They will need you,” Jenny said with conviction. “In any case, I need information. And you're a reliable source.”

The screen of her tablet went black, reminding me that I needed to expand my scope within Vanderwood in terms of technology. I needed extended access, not just from the security room. And I needed some kind of mini-computer in the form of a cell phone, but I would have to tinker with that for a while.

“Now excuse me,” Jenny said, quickening her pace. “The Blairville Daily should be here any minute.”

I watched the reporter girl walk away, observed the crowds of students who were now closer, and quickly decided on a small, narrow, already locked side entrance for which I happened to still have the master key.

Unnoticed, I slipped through the side passage into the enormous, venerable ballroom, stepped out of the shadows and mingled with the students, deliberately walking further behind, but staying at the side because I hated crowds like this.

What was this woman thinking? That she could fit nearly five thousand people in here? Three thousand at most. If that.

I didn't dare look at the stage because I was a coward, grateful I was standing here alone, that no one from the pack could connect through the pack link with me in a moment of weakness and realize something was very wrong with me.

The hall continued to fill up and I looked around, spotted Emely with that weird Russian guy and his men, further ahead Nash and the guys, and a few Quatura who – good for them – hadn't dared to get on my balls yet.

I spotted Shani, Jordan, and Luca, the three human members of the IT security team, talking to Alarik Copeland at the edge of the stage as if it were a matter of life and death, even though I hadn't even really started yet.

Alarik himself – wearing a dark brown three-piece suit – seemed collected, which I had already expected. It wasn't my intention to piss him off. On the contrary. I was playing into his hands. Hopefully he wouldn't put two and two together...

The loud commotion became more subdued, albeit more restless, as loud block heels sounded and students parted to make way for someone.

It was the moment I saw her face that something inside me turned to stone. Perhaps I was also being stoned from within, getting what I had tried to hold back over the last few years.

I knew her face from the internet. And from back then. Despite that, something inside me broke when I saw Rebecca again.