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My gaze slid to the crest on her chest.

What was that all about?

Unfortunately, I couldn't see Julie's reaction because she still had her back turned to me, and I couldn't help but stare at him.

For the first time, I felt like I could observe him undisturbed, even though the situation was extremely uncomfortable.

“Why does it smell like wolf in here?” Larissa suddenly asked, scanning the room.

Inevitably, I pressed myself harder against the wood behind me and prayed that this cabinet would hold my weight and not collapse the next second.

“Um... There was a group of Senseque in here just now,” Julie laughed so unnaturally again, and heat crept into my cheeks.

If this continued, I might as well leave the closet and say, “Hey, guys. It’s me. Did you miss me?”

Of course, I wouldn't do anything like that. I wasn't Miles.

“A group of Senseque,” Miles repeated, suspicion in his voice.

Why the hell did he have to be here?

Miles looked at Julie as if she had lost her mind. He didn't seem to believe her.

“A group of Senseque... Yes... Anyway...” Julie continued, now more confident.

Miles raised a brow and looked around the room too. His gaze slid over the cabinets.

I pressed my hand harder over my mouth because my body was on the verge of either bursting out laughing or groaning in frustration because I was as good as done for.

Miles couldn't see me here, not together with Julie. Preferably not at all.

“Didn't you say this place was abandoned?”

“Don't worry.” Julie pulled a key out of her pocket and hurried to the door, just to lock it and turn back to the group.

“Where did you get that key?” Bayla asked, slightly narrowing her eyes, and Julie stared at her.

“Are you sure you want to know?”

Had she stolen it from my uncle? Or from Harlow?

“No, we'd rather not,” Miles chuckled, and something in my stomach began to tingle in an unnatural way.

Once again, my body was not on my side, just like that evening.

Whatever it was that was going on inside me whenever he was around was an abnormal hormonal disease, the origin of which was just as unnatural as the feeling it left behind.

“Good. Then let's begin,” Bayla said, taking a brown leather pencil case and a black notebook out of her backpack.

She was the only one of them wearing the black skirt from the uniform over her black tights, along with black leather shoes and the blue slipover that Alarik had given me for her.

I knew she’d tried to get pants because she didn’t like skirts, but Harlow had banned them for girls, which was why I, too, was reluctant to trade in that damn impractical skirt for a pair of black pants.

Rebecca Harlow could go to hell, but until we’d gotten her out of Vanderwood, I wasn’t going to risk my spot at university like some reckless idiot. Like them.

Why were they meeting at all? Still, after everything that had happened at the winter ball. Especially since Julie talked about the prophecy, shouldn't she be staying away from the DeLoughreys?

Miles strode across the room with his hands clasped behind his back, looking around, even looking at old dusty pictures of... graduating classes?