Page 13 of Coveted

Death?

She’s just getting caught up in the moment, right? The situation can’t be that serious.

It feels serious though, like Lucan will tear me apart if he catches me.

As a single unit, we fly past a faculty member and plunge into the forest.

The air changes under the cover of the whispering trees, cooler and darker. Our sneakers hammer the ground as we run deeper. Branches claw at my sleeves and dead foliage crunches underfoot.

Campus lights fade until only the faint glow of dusk filters through the canopy.

I pray Lucan and his friends don’t catch us in here. They could do anything to us and no one would see. The professors don’t get paid enough to tramp through the forest to pry apart freshmen girls and the rabid sons of billionaires.

This afternoon, I worried about fitting in at Darkbloom. Now I’m worried about surviving the first night unscathed.

“They’re coming,” says Clara.

“Stay together,” hisses Juliette.

A feral shout erupts in the trees to our left, just out of sight.

There’s another masculine yell to our right, nearer.

They’re closing in and the sadistic assholes want us to know it. Toying with us before they devour us.

But we’re moving fast, at least halfway to the flagpole and safety.

My pulse pounds in my ears, loud enough to drown out everything else. It takes all my concentration to keep up with my roommates while dodging roots and tree branches.

For a second, I think we might actually make it.

But then a large figure bursts out of the dark and grabs Clara around the waist, pulling her down. She screams as she and her captor crash together into the leaves. A glimpse of shaved skull tells me it’s Madox.

“Got you, babygirl!” he yells, then howls like an animal.

A man who could only be Reeve, with his shock of platinum hair, lunges from the opposite side.

I dodge, but he’s not after me. He sweeps Juliette off her feet. She fights and curses while he effortlessly puts her on the muddy ground.

“Motherfucker!” she shouts. “I’ll fucking kill you!”

“The flagpole, Sadie, run!” calls Clara.

Adrenaline floods my body and I push faster. I need to get away clean.

It’s different for my roommates. Juliette and Clara know these guys, and Lucan isn’t the one chasing them.

That creep won’t let me off with an order as simple as jumping in the lake if he catches me. I just know it.

The girls’ voices vanish behind me in a mess of shouting and breathless laughter.

I run, my blood fizzing with fear.

But the forest is so quiet now, like it’s just me. Did I lose him already? Maybe I’ll actually make it.

I cautiously slow, listening.

There’s nothing. No footsteps, no voices.