Grayson stiffened. “I shot it. Twice. It should have gone down.”
“Are you sure you even hit it?” Javi demanded.
“I hit it twice,” he bit out.
“Where is the blood then?” Javi shone his light on the sand.
“Fan out. Search the area. I want more guards on patrol around the campus. Now,” Tío commanded one of the guards.
They rushed to obey his order. Grayson turned to go with them.
“You.” Tío stopped him. “Return to campus.”
Grayson straightened. “Permission to scout the area? I can help.”
Javi scoffed. “Please.”
“Take Rose to the nurses office,” Tío commanded Javi.
He turned back to Grayson. “Go back to campus and report to the headmaster.”
“Yes, sir,” Grayson responded.
I watched him march away, a thank you on the tip of my tongue, but the words didn’t come. I moved my lips, trying to make any noise.
My eyes shot to my tío. He’d silenced me once more. Why? Punishment for trying to leave or worried I would spill all his secrets? Anger flared inside me.
“Come on.” Javi took my arm and led me toward the gatehouse.
I threw a final glare back at my tío before I let Javi lead me away. Pain blossomed on my stomach, making me moan.
“Do you want me to carry you?” Javi asked, concern in his voice.
I snorted. “Carry me all the way to the nurse’s office?”
“Yeah.”
“No. I can walk, Javi. Thanks.”
We fell quiet, our footsteps silent against the sand. Goosebumps covered my skin as the cold breeze swept over me. My mind raced. Why did it attack me? What was going on?
“What were you doing out?” Javi broke the silence.
He waved his ID card outside the gate and led me back to campus. I shuffled along the sidewalk, ignoring the pain shooting from my wound. The lamplights around campus helped illuminate our way. Ahead Grayson’s shadowy form grew farther and farther away.
“I was eating at Gloria’s,” I finally responded.
His eyes searched my face. “You were trying to run. Weren’t you?”
I flinched at the hurt in his voice.
“I can’t run. Not with the bracelet.” I looked away.
“You promised.”
“I know, but… I can’t live like this, Javi. Being controlled where I go and what I do.”
He scoffed. “This is the only place you’re safe, Rose.”
“Safe? I just got attacked!”
“Yeah, because you left campus.”
Anger curled in my chest. “What do you want me to say? You were right, Javi?”
His shoulders slumped. “No. I just… I didn’t think we’d make it to you in time.”
He fell silent. The emotion in his words startled me. He really cared.
I sighed. “You almost didn’t. Lucky Grayson was there.”
His lip curled. “What was he doing following you anyway?”
“He wasn’t following… he just happened to be there at the same time.” I shrugged.
Javi frowned. “I don’t trust him.”
I waved off his concern and sighed. “Why didn’t my pendant protect me? I thought it was supposed to ward off evil.”
“That’s a good question. It should have.” He gave me a funny look.
“What?”
He shook his head, “You… you haven’t tried to perform any magic, right? Like to weaken your bond with my dad or anything?”
My nose scrunched up. “Do we have to say bond? Sounds weird.”
His eyes narrowed. “Did you do something?”
“No! I didn’t even know I could…”
Something I’d have to look into later.
“Then I don’t know why the medallion didn’t shield you. So weird. There aren’t even that many shifters in Malibu. The werewolves run this territory, and they don’t usually let the other shifters run amok.”
I shuddered, remembering the monstrous face. Was that Papi’s last view? Manny’s transformed face? I pushed away the dark thoughts. I really hoped Gloria’s special tea worked that night.
By the time we made it to the nurse’s office, word had spread about the attack. The nurse and guard had to shoo away the nosy students. Shiloh was among them, but I gladly let her in. Her concern was genuine.
My tía arrived next, worry written all over her face. She supervised as the nurse rubbed something sticky and smelly on my wound and promised it wouldn’t scar. The scratch was bloody and looked gruesome to me, but she assured me it could have been much worse. My tía, Javi, and Shiloh kept me company, relaying the news from Tío that the perimeter was secured, and we were safe to return to our rooms. Javi convinced his mom that we would be fine and no, we didn’t want to go back to their house.
A part of me was disappointed Grayson didn’t check up on me, but I dismissed the thought quickly. He didn’t owe me anything. Sure, he saved me from the shifter, but that only meant he wasn’t a complete asshole. Not that he actually cared about me.
We said goodnight to Javi before turning in. Regardless of my attack and injury, I was still expected to attend classes and more training the next day. The idea of facing all the curious stares and answering all the questions made me want to fake sick, but I was sure the bracelet would do its dirty work and force me to continue playing my tío’s twisted game.
Dark shadows and monstrous faces plagued my dreams that night. Whatever was in Gloria’s tea clearly wasn’t strong enough to handle the hell my subconscious insisted on putting me through.
Something told me things were only going to get much worse.
16
I was grounded after that, only allowed off campus with Javi to escort me to and from his mansion. After nearly a week of endless classes and grueling training with Professor Cassiano, I’d grown used to the routine. Between struggling through the insane coursework and physical exertion, there was no time left to worry about the shifter. The curiosity of my attack ran its course, and I was back to being Javi’s cousin or the weird new girl.
Despite the passing time, I wasn’t anywhere closer to figuring out a way to break out of the bracelet or coming up with a plan of escape. Every clue I found just led me to a dead end. As much as
