Page 60 of The Golden Receiver

I physically bit my tongue to stop myself from interrupting him. I wanted to ask questions, but it wasn’t the time. He was finally talking, and if I interrupted him, he might stop.

“I tried to run away. I did, but they grabbed me. They threw me to the ground, and when I got back up, one of them grabbed me from behind. Held me there while…” He stopped and shook his head. “It was—I’m fine. It’s over now. It doesn’t matter.”

“Who was it? Do you know? Were they humans? Monsters?” If they were monsters, it might be harder for him to know who it was. “Do you think it was personal or were you just in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

He didn’t say anything. Not for a whole minute. He kept his eyes fixed on that point across the room, and I wished I could read his mind. I wanted to know what was going on in that head of his, wanted to know if he was replaying the attack over and over again.

“It was Willis. Willis, Reyes, Hopkins, and two other guys. They spoke, and I recognized their voices.”

If I thought it would help my rage, I was wrong.

It came back hotter than it had been before. My blood was on fire as it coursed through my veins.

I moved Kieran’s head from my lap and climbed out of the bed.

“Evander?” he whispered.

I grabbed a shirt from the floor, not caring if it was clean or dirty. I just couldn’t leave the dorm in the pair of basketball shorts I’d woken up in. I didn’t bother with shoes before I left the room.

I heard Kieran behind me. I heard his voice, but I couldn’t make out the words.

“Where’s he going?” a voice asked as I passed through the living room.

Preston. Preston, who had helped last night. Preston, who deserved an answer.

“I’m going to give them a taste of their own medicine.”

“Them?” Preston asked. I could hear him moving around, but my hand was already on the door.

I left the room. I didn’t care. I had only one thought on my mind, and it was to find the assholes who had hurt Kieran. Find them and let them see what it was like to be attacked. I took off running down the stairs and out of the building.

The moment I got outside, I felt my body begin to change forms. My paws hit the ground, and I was off.

Chapter Nineteen

Kieran

“I’m going to give them a taste of their own medicine.”

The harsh words sounded wrong coming from Evander’s lips. His roommate looked confused and called out his name, but Evander didn’t answer. He just took off like a shot. I wanted to explain, but I couldn’t.

Because if Evander got in trouble because of me, I’d never forgive myself. I took off running after him, following him down the stairs. My body ached with every step, and I knew I was going to regret this later. I probably should’ve just stayed in bed, but Evander needed me. He needed me to keep him from making the kind of mistake he couldn’t come back from.

The kind that would get him kicked out of Creelin or worse.

By the time I got outside, he was heading away from Karloff Hall. He wasn’t human anymore. He was a giant wolf with golden fur, bounding down the path, barreling in between groups of people who screamed when they saw him coming. Overdramatic as fuck, but I didn’t really blame them. I might have had the same reaction if I saw something like that coming at me looking feral.

Feral.

Fuck.

I might not have given a shit about Willis or Reyes or any of that crowd, but I did care about Evander. I started to run after him.

He was fast, but I’d spent all semester training with him. I’d spent all semester running uneven trails and trying to keep up with him, even when he wasn’t holding back. That kind of speed built up, and the adrenaline of the moment was blocking the pain.

I followed him across campus, all the way to the practice facility. Then I saw them.

Willis and Reyes coming out of the building with shit-eating grins plastered on their faces. They didn’t look like they had a hint of remorse over what had happened the night before. For a moment, I thought about falling back. Letting Evander have his way with them. I thought about sitting back and just watching as they got a taste of their own medicine.