The woman from Spine Ridge University.
Sunny Reed.
Daughter of Nathan Reed and Lana Rivera. Niece of Dean Rivera.
She’s the woman I found in the woods covered in blood.
I took her to the emergency room, and now she’s here in a balaclava rummaging through my office.
Stalking me.
Her eyes suddenly narrow.
She’s out for blood.
Pure, unadulterated rage takes over as she growls out loud and swipes her leg sideways, knocking me off-balance with her boot, before she rips the knife out of the drywall and slams it into my jacket, pinning me to the desk.
“Hey!” I bark as she bolts toward the window.
I rip my jacket to shreds to release myself, but the second I take one step, she’s already jumped right onto the small balcony and flitters down with a rope, which detaches halfway to the ground.
I stick my head out the window just as she falls onto her back and groans. Her eyes find mine in the dark, unwavering, filled with hatred and … longing.
I swallow back the lump in my throat, my cock throbbing as hard as my heart.
She swiftly crawls off the ground and runs out of the alley.
“Shit,” I mutter to myself, and I slam my hands onto the window before I spin around and bolt out of my office door. I race down the hallway and down the stairs, marching out the door so I can look around.
But she’s nowhere to be seen.
A few leaves gently drift across the street as the chilly wind takes over, and I’m left with an overwhelming sense of calm.
The calm before the storm that I’m about to unleash.
CHAPTER 26
Xavier
“So how has school been?”my mother asks, awkwardly staring at me while sipping from her cup of coffee.
“I can’t complain,” I reply.
“I love it at Spine Ridge,” Melody, my half sister, says. “It’s so grand, and I can explore so much.” She giggles.
“Someone’s happy they finally get to join the big boys,” my half brother Silas says.
“I’ve been waiting so long,” Melody replies.
“I still don’t think it was the greatest idea,” her dad, Alistair, says, and he rubs her back. “But I’m glad you’re happy, Mel.”
“She’ll survive,” Silas muses as he leans back in his seat.
“Have you killed any more people these past few days?” Silas’s dad, Felix, suddenly asks, and I nearly choke on my coffee.
Silas’s eyes instantly connect with mine. “No. Not for a few months, actually.”
“Wow, I’m impressed.” Aspen snorts.
