“Come to our den tonight, if you can ditch that wolf.” Finley winks. He passes Una with a quick jaunt as he runs to catch up with his brothers.
“What did he say?” Una grabs my arm in a tight grip and narrows her eyes.
“Nothing much.” I watch the door they all just left, unsure of what I should do. Am I stupid enough to visit a full-blooded vampire den alone?
Chapter 5
I lost Una in the crowd as everyone ran to leave class. I have a free period, so I make my way to my dorm using the campus map. The main school is surrounded by playing fields, then woods, then dorms. Supernaturals are mixed, to prevent den fighting.
Its early afternoon, yet the sky is a dark grey, as if it might rain at any second. Time is different here. When I reach the forest, I regret my decision to go alone. The hair on my arms dance with each step I take. Not that anyone would run to save the mutt if I screamed, but seeing people somehow made it seem safer.
I push my fear aside and walk as fast as my legs can carry me. “You're stupid,” I say out loud. I come to a full stop as I catch a scent in the woods. I’m not alone anymore. I turn around slowly and scan the woods. I see nothing, but they can’t hide their scent from my hunter’s nose.
I look from one side of the forest to the other to try to isolate the scent. They weren’t alone. I was confident in my skills, but I wasn’t dumb. These were full-bloods. I couldn’t fight them with a group of hunters, let alone being just me. A branch in the woods behind me breaks, and I drop my books and run. Branches break on both sides of me, as they follow. I’m not able to see who they are or guess what they could be. The plants and trees in the forest mask their smell. I need to get out into the open again, where other students are.
I’m a fast runner, but they keep up. One clue. That helps me narrow down species. And it’s not good. They’re all killers. Speed over their predators. I should be close to coming out to where the dormitories are. I just need to make it past the forest. I can hear my heart as it pounds in my chest. My predator is getting closer.
I turn back, and there’s nothing there. The forest is quiet again. I stop to catch my breath. I must be close to the dorms, and they decided to back off. I wipe the beads of sweat off my forehead with my jacket sleeve. I was used to hunting, not being hunted.
I continue and see the opening where the dorms are. There’s someone waiting at the entrance. I approach cautiously, unsure if it’s one of the supernaturals who was chasing me. As I get closer, I see its Ivor. He’s holding my backpack that I had dropped.
“Not funny,” I call out to him as I approach, practically stomping my feet all the way. I should have known it would be a damn Stanton.
“Just making sure you were alone.” He smiles, as he holds up my backpack. I try to grab it, but he pulls it closer to him.
I stand there and don’t make any attempt to play his game. I hear some branches break off to the side of me but don’t turn to look. Ivor looks past me, and his smile broadens.
I catch three different scents in the air and know two of them - Hunter and Finley. There is another with them, but my gaze remains on Ivor.
“I told them not to scare you,” Finley calls from behind me.
I finally turn around and see that Arthur is with them. All the Stanton boys surround me, and I have no chance of getting away from them in one piece.
“I thought you were a hunter? Never knew you were a runner.” Arthur said, as he walks past me toward Ivor.
“I never said what I was.”
“You didn’t have to.” Arthur steps in front of me once he reaches Ivor.
I didn’t have a smart comeback and I didn’t want to admit that I felt uncomfortable amongst them all. A feeling I wasn’t used too.
“He didn’t mean to be rude.” Finley approaches my left side. It was clear he was the peacemaker in the family. “We just want to talk to you.” He places his hand on my arm in a gentle way.
I couldn’t hear his thoughts this time. I start to question if I ever did in the first place. Mind reading wasn’t something I had ever done. Maybe he wanted me to know what he was thinking.
“How did you do that? In the classroom?” Hunter asks, as he approaches my other side.
“Do what?” I play dumb. But now I’ll need an explanation. I couldn’t tell if he was mad or interested. His eyes were intense and his pupils large.
“You read his thoughts.” Hunter’s face was stone cold.
I guess they had pegged me wrong. But I wasn’t going to be any good to them, because I didn’t know what I was. “I didn’t do it. He did.” I point to Finley.
“I can only read my own den members, and only when they want me too,” Finley says. He holds up his hands, like I had just pointed a gun at him. “Try it again. Concentrate this time.” He reaches for my arm.
I look around to all the boys, who were waiting for me to take Finley’s hand. “Alright, but it won’t work.” I grab his hand and look into his eyes. It’s silent, except for the critters in the woods. I wiggle my shoulders, uncomfortable with all the attention being put on me.
“Did you hear my thoughts?” Finley asks. His breaths are slow and his
