WILLA

I have another mate?!

Not three now, but four.

How the hell was that even possible?

Worse, I didn’t know who this boy was. I had never seen him anywhere around the academy, or even outside it.

He clutched my hand, snapping me out of my daze, and yanked me forward. I tried to pull back, but he started running toward the back of the danger sign, heading into a clearing I hadn’t noticed before.

The wind whipped across my face. Twigs and branches scratched my skin as we tore deeper into the forest, toward only the Goddess knew where.

We didn’t stop until we reached a black motorcycle parked in a small clearing. I gasped and yanked my hand free, my chest heaving.

"What the fuck is going on?" I demanded, eyes fixed on the motorcycle. It looked ridiculously familiar.

420 RR.

I could swear I had seen it before, but I couldn’t pinpoint where.

I stared at the boy, waiting for him to say something. Instead, he walked over to the motorcycle, grabbed the black helmet from the handlebar, and started toward me.

Again, I stared at the helmet. Black. Just like the motorcycle and the rest of his clothes — except for the white Jordans.

Ripped skinny jeans. Black face mask. The motorcycle. The bridge...

My eyes flickered upward, narrowing on his face.

I took a step back. "You’re the jerk who hit me a few days ago," I said.

The boy stopped walking. His brows drew together in confusion.

"Stop pretending!" I snapped.

His eyes darted around the forest before fixing on me again.

"You tried to kill me!" My voice rose with anger.

The nerve of him, appearing in this place!

He hadn’t even apologized for either time he’d been a complete jerk.

"And were you stalking me?"

His confusion deepened. "Stalking you?"

"Yes," I hissed, glowering at him. "If you weren’t, how the hell would you know I was in the forest? You stalked me to the bridge and now..."

My God.

I shoved my hands into my hair in frustration. I didn’t care about the skeleton anymore, or the fact that I’d hit my head so hard I probably had a concussion and was imagining things. Standing in front of this jerk was far more annoying.

"Like I said, I felt you were in danger and I came," he continued, stepping closer until he was only inches away. "And voila, here I am."

I didn’t believe him for a second.

"I know this situation isn’t ideal for either of us right now," he went on. "Finding out you’re my mate... trust me, I want to sit down and talk about it, even go to the Headmaster, but..." He shoved the helmet into my hands. "We need to get the hell out of here."

I shoved it right back. "Thanks, but no thanks."

I turned away. "I’d rather stay in this forbidden place than go anywhere with you."

He scoffed, gripping my hand and tugging me back before I could take another step. I gasped, staggering into him. One of his strong arms wrapped around my waist to steady me.

His chest pressed firmly against my back. He leaned in close, his hot breath brushing my neck.

I inhaled sharply, eyes fluttering shut as an unwanted sensation spread through me. My whole body tingled, like I had touched a live wire.

I swallowed hard, holding my breath, refusing to breathe in his scent.

"You want me to apologize for hitting you?" he grunted.

My eyes flew open. He knew exactly why I was mad at him.

"Maybe you should think again, Elyse," he added, his voice suddenly cold — a far cry from the warmth and concern he’d shown earlier.

He spun me around but didn’t let go. He towered over my smaller frame, so I had to tilt my head up to meet his eyes. They glinted dangerously.

"We’re even until you apologize to me," he said.

"W-what did I do?" I murmured.

"Are we pretending now?" he snarled, glaring down at me.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. If I knew what I had done, why would I pretend?

"Fine." He released me and stepped back, raking one hand into his pocket. "I’ll pretend hitting you and telling you to kill yourself never happened either."

My hands clenched at my sides. I gulped back the rude retort burning in my throat.

Elyse’s life was even harder than I thought. Normal enemies, ex-lovers, and now worse ones. I wished her life came with a manual so I could navigate it more easily.

And it wasn’t as if Verah had told me everything. She had only shared things about the academy — the only details I thought were important until now.

"Shit!" he growled under his breath. "It found us!"

I turned sharply, eyes scanning the area. All I saw was green foliage, but the prickling sensation at the back of my neck told me something was definitely there.

He didn’t offer me the helmet gently this time. He closed the distance, shoved it onto my head, and pulled the strap tight.

No gentleness whatsoever.

I winced at the rough handling. Instead of an apology, he grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the monstrous-looking motorcycle.

"Hop on!" he ordered, starting the engine. It roared to life. "And hold on tight!"

I had never ridden a motorcycle before, especially not one as expensive-looking as this. The one time I tried to get into a luxury car with Rachel — one of her friends insisted I ride with them to school — she shoved me aside and lied that I had a bad cough.

Besides, I didn’t trust his riding skills at all. If he could hit me with his bike, what would stop him from crashing into a tree in a forest full of them?

"Why are you stalling?!"

I jumped, staring at him through the helmet.

"Get on!" he ordered.

I wanted to argue about his skills, but a loud, guttural roar behind us made the words die in my throat.

A sudden wave of icy air swept around me. The hair on the nape of my neck stood on end. Goosebumps spread across my skin, visible even through my blazer.

The forest floor trembled beneath my feet, sending jolts up my legs.

Don’t turn, Willa. Don’t fucking turn.

I knew what it was even before my body betrayed me and I looked.

The monster. Ugly fucking looking humongous creatures.

It wasn’t just one. It wasn’t two. More kept appearing out of nowhere, multiplying by the second as the ground shook harder.

I stared in terror as they emerged from the trees.

I thought I was hallucinating again until I heard the boy’s voice in my head.

"Shit!"

"Get on the fucking bike!" he screamed, clasping my hand and yanking me backward.

To be honest, I don’t even know how I got on. Or how I managed to push past the fear that he was going to drive like shit and get us both killed.

I just wrapped my arms around him tightly, holding on for dear life, forgetting my annoyance with him, while silently praying to anyone who might listen to spare us.

—

ERIC POV

"Any progress?" Kol asked as soon as I stepped out of the tenth classroom.

"No," I shook my head.

"I couldn’t find anything either," he said, frowning. "But the students I managed to speak to said Lance and Elliott were here earlier searching for her."

"But that bitch said nothing," I grunted, glaring at the wall.

It would have made the search so much easier. Now it felt like we had wasted our time looking for someone who wasn’t even in the classrooms.

"What do we do?" Kol murmured.

I peeled my gaze from the smooth wall to look at him. This was the first time he had asked me for input. Kol was like me — we both preferred to handle things on our own without asking for help.

But in this situation, we were helpless. We needed to share whatever information we had.

"I don’t think she’s stupid enough to leave the academy during a high-level threat," I said.

"Perhaps she didn’t receive the alert in time?" Kol reasoned, then shook his head. "No. I’m sure Headmaster Alaric connected everyone—"

"Except I didn’t," Headmaster Alaric’s voice suddenly cut through our discussion. The mind link was opened.

"What do you mean?" Eric and I asked at the same time.

We exchanged a glance, waiting for him to continue.

"I realised something was wrong," Headmaster Alaric said.

"Something was wrong?" Eric snickered. "Could you be any more vague than that?"

"Did you know she was missing or not?" I asked, not bothering to beat around the bush.

"At first, no," he stated. "Not until a few minutes ago when I received intel from Dash."

"Dash?" I grunted.

What the hell did he have to do with this?

"We’re talking about Elyse here, not that idiot," Eric stated.

"I’m afraid he’s quite important to this discussion," Headmaster Alaric replied, "because they are together."

"Together?" Eric and I said at the same time, then immediately glared at each other.

"That’s right," Headmaster Alaric said, pausing only briefly before adding,

"They are in the Forest of Death."