I was dangerous. And this dog was absolutely not safe in my presence. Because sooner or later it would happen again, and I would destroy everything around me. It was only a matter of time before everything that had built up inside me would burst out again.

Chapter 48

Adrian

It got colder. Just the way I liked it.

The fresh evening air blew through my hair and messed it up in an unpleasant way.

Bastien had called me and he wasneverlate. I couldn’t shake off the feeling that something must be wrong.

I was standing alone on campus, and it was now 11 pm.

At this time of night, only hormone-driven couples or drunken idiots from theMidnightscame here.

Everything seemed empty today. It was abnormally quiet. A few hours ago, feral Copelands had been playing with their balls here and that annoying reporter girl had tried to interview Miles.

Her curiosity would eventually get her killed, as it often happened with reporters who stuck their noses too deeply into our family affairs.

I glanced over at the largest oak tree on campus, under which, of course, none of the dogs were hanging out at this hour.

“The Senseque are dangerous,” David had warned Miles, who was considering running for election in March just to piss them off. “You shouldn’t aggravate them in their territory.”

And while Miles, as usual, wouldn’t give a shit about David’s warning, David’s words bothered me, until now.

None of them knew thatIwas the most dangerous person on this campus.

A very familiar black BMW pulled into the campus parking lot, almost too slow to pass for one of us. But that was Bastien. Adapted to humans, like no one else, and yet one of our strongest.

He got out of the car and his crooked tie immediately caught my eye.

Untypical. Unprofessionalism was not one of his characteristics. Something was up, and I could literally smell it as the scent of cigarettes and rum wafted toward me.

Bastien didn’t drink rum.Never. He preferred scotch. And he didn’t smoke, either.

“Where the hell have you been?”

Bastien’s gray hairline shone in the moonlight. Still, he looked younger than he actually was.

He looked around as if someone was following him. Not a good sign.

“Tristan is here.”

The tension in my chest returned.

I hadn’t expectedthis.

I furrowed my forehead.

“He wanted to meet me to tell me something important.”

“And?” I asked, trying to sound visibly unimpressed by Tristan’s appearance.

Tristan was the traitor of the family. Ablack sheep, if you wanted to look at it that way.

Shortly after my transformation, he had left the family to join the dark side. And if he was here, theTenebris Ordercouldn’t be far away.

That filthy gang would ruin Nicolaj’s reputation in town. Because the damned Senseque wouldn’t see any difference between those fucking outcasts and us. They’d probably berubbing their hands together, just looking for a weak spot in the contract to get rid of us.