TEN YEARS AGO...

ADRIEN’S POV

Orion turned his head toward me, and the moment his dark eyes landed on me—standing there, practically radiating hatred and glaring a hole through his skull—his face completely lit up.

Jesus fucking Christ.

It was a terrifying transformation. His eyes didn’t just soften— they sparked, igniting with a bright, manic, and intensely joyful kind of happiness.

The sight of my furious, glaring face seemed to breathe life right into him, as if my hatred was the most delightful thing he had ever encountered.

It’s honestly so fucking creepy.

Before I could even think about walking away, Orion was moving. He covered the distance between us with long, predatory strides, his dark coat billowing slightly behind him, his previous boredom utterly forgotten.

"Adrien! My darling!" he exclaimed.

The sheer enthusiasm in his voice was jarring. It didn’t belong on a fourteen-year-old boy in a serious hunting uniform. It belonged to a lunatic.

Well, in this case, the lunatic is the fourteen-year-old boy.

"Don’t come near me, Orion. I’m serious, stay the fuck away from me," I warned, my glare hardening as I took a defensive step back.

He ignored me entirely, stopping just two feet away, his face glowing with an erratic energy. He began to chatter excitedly, the words tumbling out of his mouth in a breathless rush that made my head spin.

"Did you wait here for me? Did you stand here hoping I’d see you? You’re such a hypocrite, Adrien! You want my attention, don’t you? When will you stop lying to yourself?" He doesn’t even pause to breathe.

"You’re not as dull as the rest of those idiots. Their hunting parties don’t interest me at all. But you—you don’t have a hunting party, and neither do I! Look at you, you’re practically smoking with anger. It’s destiny. We will become a party of two...just you and me."

I stared at him, my expression twisting into one of utter disgust. "Are you having a stroke? What the hell is wrong with you?"

Is something in the air?

"Nothing is wrong with me! I’m excellent. Splendid. Marvelous," he rambled, his hands gesturing wildly, completely unfazed by my hostility. In fact, the harder I glared, the wider his smile became. "I was waiting for them to leave. They’re like flies, Adrien. Just buzzing and taking up air. We should make our own path. Just the two of us."

The thought of it makes me wants to puke my guts out.

"I’m not joining your party," I snapped, my hand tightening violently on the strap of my rifle. "I’m going to walk into those woods, find a comfortable rock, and wait for this stupid day to end."

A rock far away from Al these fucking tall trees.

"Oh, don’t be so boring," Orion huffed, stepping closer, completely invading my personal space. His eyes danced with that erratic, dangerous light, entirely captivated by my resistance. "Why shoot at helpless deer? It’s a waste of gunpowder. And besides, I have a much better idea."

I narrowed my eyes, my voice dripping with venom. "I already hate whatever you’re about to say."

Orion leaned in, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, a wide, unhinged grin spreading across his face. "We should go into the deepest part of the woods, past the safety markers. And instead of shooting the animals... we should just shoot each other."

What did he just...?

I froze. I searched his face for any sign of a joke. There was none. He was entirely, deadpan serious, and he looked thoroughly thrilled by the prospect of mutual homicide. Or is that a double suicide?

"You are a literal psychopath," I whispered, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.

"Think about it!" he urged, his eyes locking onto mine, sparkling with genuine excitement. "The adrenaline! We can take turns. You hide first, I’ll hunt you. Then I’ll hide, and you can try to take me down. Doesn’t that sound infinitely better, duckling?"

Something inside me snapped. The sheer absurdity of him, the arrogance of his existence, and the terrifying realization that he could easily crush me under the weight of his family’s power if he ever truly wished to—it all boiled over.

I didn’t think. I acted on pure, unfiltered instinct. Like a cornered animal.

In one fluid motion, I unslung the silver-plated rifle from my shoulder. I brought it up, chambered a round, and pressed the cold steel barrel directly against the center of Orion’s chest, right over his heart.

"Why don’t I just kill you right now?" I demanded, my voice shaking with a volatile mix of anger and adrenaline. "Why wait to go into the woods? I could pull this trigger right here. I could end you right now, Orion. Nobody is looking."

The clearing was dead silent. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I held my breath, waiting for the panic to set in, waiting for him to realize he had pushed me too far.

Or for my rational brain to catch up with my actions.

Orion didn’t flinch. He didn’t step back.

Instead, he looked down at the barrel pressed against his chest, and then he looked back up at me.

The manic light in his eyes flared into something blinding. Suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed.

It wasn’t a quiet chuckle. It was a loud, booming sound that echoed in the forest surrounding us. It was a laugh of pure, unadulterated delight.

"Oh, Adrien," Orion gasped, his chest shaking against the muzzle of my gun as his laughter finally subsided into a wide grin. His eyes sparkled with genuine joy as he leaned even closer, the barrel digging into his coat. "You beautiful, dramatic creature. You can’t kill me."

Did he just call me beautiful?

"Try me," I hissed, my finger tightening on the trigger.

"No, I mean you literally can’t," Orion chuckled, his voice dripping with amusement as he patted the top of my rifle barrel like it was a toy. "Did you really think the academy would hand a bunch of volatile, spoiled fourteen-year-olds live ammunition before we even crossed the perimeter? The guns are filled with blanks, you idiot. The real ammo is with the instructors at the checkpoints."

My jaw dropped. The wind completely knocked out of my sails.

Orion laughed again, a bright, mocking sound, his eyes locked onto mine as he reveled in my shock. "One of these days, you’re going to have to back up your words, and no one is going to stop you and stand in your way, duckling."

He leans forward, eyes gleaming. "I hope you’ll be prepared then."

*****

I will be writing flashbacks in past tense from now on.

—TheLovePoet