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Why did I do that?

He reaches down and helps me up, looking me straight in the eyes. “I think you’re ready,” is all he says, and then he walks back toward camp with ease.

Ready? Ready for what?

I watch him walk away, moving like Maison. Is that the sole reason for my attraction to him? From the outside, he’s Maison, but he’s so different.

Maison is sweet, gentle, and warm. Micah’s withdrawn, moody, and cocky beyond belief—everything I despise in a guy. And yet, when he looks at me, my insides explode. His touch still gives me the same jolt as that first lunchroom encounter when I saw him for the first time.

At the fire, he tested me, and I didn’t pull away; instead, I stayed there because I liked it. He attempted to do more, and I freaked out. He was into me, but I didn’t see it because of Maison. I hated Micah when I really didn’t know him, either.

I trust him now and crave the moments he comes alive with me. So badly, I want to see that part of him again, but I know he won’t, because I told him not to and because of Maison. I misjudged Micah entirely. He’s a good one, and now I desperately want to know more.

“Everyone needs to be involved,” Micah informs the group congregated around the fire for supper. “It’s prime hunting season, and it’s pathetic we haven’t caught anything. We need to put our shit aside and harvest a buck. Everyone has to go.”

I’ve spent the last ten minutes listening to the group snarl at each other about this hunting trip—mainly Micah and Ezra, while the others watch and listen. I trailed in behind Micah a bit ago, hoping no one noticed we were together. I immediately found Maison, sliding my fingers over his thigh as I sat next to him. He grabbed my hand, interlocked his fingers with mine, and pulled me closer while a tidal wave of guilt washed over me.

“We may need to split up,” James says, with Serena right beside him. James sometimes seems like the only rational one out of our group, definitely the most level-headed. Ever since Maison’s clear loyalty to me, Serena’s kept her distance from us both, and the longing stares between her and James don’t go unnoticed. If it weren’t for the fact she’s best friends with Naomi, I could almost imagine us becoming friends. Jade is next to Thomas, the two of them also inseparable since Nigel’s temper tantrum. Clear alliances are forming, and a major shift is in the air.

Ezra grimaces as Naomi sits on his lap and jerks his head toward me, the fire casting a retched shadow across her face. For a pretty girl, I’ve never seen anyone so ugly.

“I am not hunting with her,” Naomi says. “I don’t trust your little girlfriend. It’s dangerous, and she’s already stolen from us once, which you did very little about, Micah.”

I can’t help but smirk at her. Not only did Micah not get mad at me for stealing food, but he let me eat those beans I was salivating over—he actually fed them to me. My eyes draw to Micah, who I noticed has not been doing a great job of ignoring me as he usually does. “Fine, I’ll take London with me. I’ll take Thomas and Jade, too.”

Maison wraps a protective arm around me. “No. No way, London is not leaving my side, bro. I don’t think it’s too safe having the girls come with us. I got hurt the first time we attempted this.”

Butchering a deer with his bare hands, he means.

Micah cocks his head and merely throws a log into the fire. “The girls need to learn to hunt and obviously, I assumed you were coming with me, too. The rest of you can split off however you want, but that’s my group; London and Maison are with me.”

I suppress the tingle in my stomach from Micah, claiming me like that. Jade, I notice, is also beaming. Micah has that way about him, and I’m finally understanding why Naomi is so smitten with him.

“Suit yourself,” Ezra snipes. “As long as I get Naomi; she’s better, anyway.”

Micah shakes his head. “London’s better. She’s quieter, less intimidating. That’s what makes a good hunter.”

Naomi visibly bristles at his dig and glares at me. She’s not uttered a single word to me since she hurt me, and I’m thinking she’s regretting what’s she did now that Micah is icing her out, too. Getting out of this camp and making a kill sounds much better than sitting here. The group Micah chose is perfect, and I don’t want to leave them… either of them.

Ezra lets out a huff. “What the fuck do you know, Micah? You grew up a rich kid, just like me.”

“You’re not rich anymore, are you?” Micah snarls. “I know a hell of a lot more than you.”

Ezra jumps up, tossing poor Naomi onto the ground. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Micah is unflinching when Ezra gets right in his face. “You know exactly what I mean.”

I sway slightly, knowing exactly what he’s talking about. Maison squeezes me, noticing my clear reaction, and narrows his brows. He doesn’t know the extent of what I know, and I wonder how much he knows. Obviously, the three of them know something.

Ezra’s jaw squares and he stands up to Micah, looking like he wants to rip him apart. “Leave my parents out of it, man.”

Maison sits up straight. “None of that matters right now, Micah. Let’s focus on getting through this and leaving whatever shit we have at home there.”

Naomi sits, wide-eyed, looking up at her boyfriend. “What are they talking about, Ezra? What happened to your parents?”

Micah and Ezra stand toe to toe, nearly identical in height and weight. Micah has a slight edge, though. He’s older, and more skilled at everything. Ezra would lose if it came down to a fistfight.

He shakes his head and softens his eyes at her, clearly uncomfortable at the turn of conversations. “Nothing, it doesn’t matter, babe. Micah’s dad’s just a fucking asshole. But we’re all used to the Matei family getting away with murder.”