Page 111 of The Hunt

Ev went quiet for another long moment as we slowly trudged through the underbrush. Then she cleared her throat. “That weird ritual we saw when we were kids—was it related to all of this?”

“Yeah. It was an initiation ritual for Wilders going into their senior year. I didn’t know it back then, but—”

“But then you ended up doing it yourself ten years later,” she said, cutting me off. “Just a few months ago, right? You helped to kill an innocent man to prove yourself worthy of The Wild Hunt?”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s how it works. Except he wasn’t innocent.”

“How can you do it?” She paused and swept her hand around, gesturing to the woods. “How can youmurderpeople for fun?”

A mirthless half-smile curved up my lips. “You really don’t have to listen to all the moralists who claim that killing is always wrong,” I said. “It’s not. Some people fucking deserve it.”

Ev opened her mouth, presumably to protest, but then she clamped it shut again, brows furrowing at the same time. “I guess that’s actually true,” she muttered. “If I ever manage to get my hands on the guy who brought me here, I won’t think twice about killing him.”

My smile widened slightly. She was going to love my surprise.

“While we’re on the subject of deserving death… you know those three that died in the smoke back there?” I said, cocking a brow.

“Yes. How could I forget?”

I lay a hand on her shoulder. “If it makes you feel any better, they weren’t good people. They definitely deserved it.”

Ev sighed and shook her head. “Honestly… that doesn’t make me feel any better. But thanks for trying.”

I smiled thinly. “It’s okay. I have something else that’ll make you feel a whole lot better.”

“What?”

“You’ll see.” I pointed to the right. “This way.”

We trudged in silence for the next few minutes. When we arrived at the edge of a clearing, Ev stopped in her tracks, eyeing the cabin on the edge. “Wait… I know this place. That’s where we—” She stopped abruptly and cleared her throat. “This is where the underground safe zone is. Orwas,before it closed.”

“That’s right.”

“Why did you bring me back here?”

“Be patient. I promise it’ll be worth it.” I gestured to the right again. “We have to go around the clearing. It’s got cameras in and around it. But if we go that way, we can avoid them.”

I led her around to the far side of the cabin, keeping a steady hand on her elbow. She didn’t resist, but I could feel the tension radiating off her in waves. When we turned the corner, her footsteps faltered, and she let out a sharp gasp.

JJ was exactly where I left him earlier—slumped against the wall, wrists bound behind his back, gagged with a strip of cloth I’d torn from his shirt. When he caught sight of us, he straightened, his eyes narrowing on me in a mix of fury and panic.

“What the hell?” Ev whispered. She looked up at me, wide-eyed, like she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. “You gotJake?”

“I know him as JJ,” I said. “Jake Kelly is my best friend. I always thought you were talking about him.”

Ev nodded slowly as understanding dawned on her. “The wrong guy,” she murmured.

“Yeah. I’m a fucking idiot.”

“So… you believe me now?”

“Yes,” I said gruffly. “I should’ve always believed you.”

“How did you figure it out?”

I ran her through everything that had happened over the last hour. As I spoke, Ev’s expression went from shock to fury, then to something softer, almost vulnerable. “Thank you,” she murmured. “I was honestly starting to wonder if I was losing my mind.”

“No.” I steeled my jaw and looked at JJ. “It was him all along. He wanted you dead.”

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