Page 49 of Kiss the Villain

And that’s coming from someone who considers most students absurd beyond redemption.

I caught a glimpse of them lining up, being all giddy about getting chased through the woods by some other kids who get off on violence.

“Two o’clock,” Jethro speaks through the earpiece.

My steps are silent as I glide behind a tree. Jethro got me access as a staff member, and ever since then, I’ve had him in my ear, directing me through the forest.

I’m dressed in a black suit and a bunny mask, which all guards and staff are wearing tonight.

My hand rests on my tie before I loosen it. Preferably, I would’ve thrown it off, but I don’t want to stand out.

A couple of students run by as a guy wearing a red-stitch neon mask chases them with a bat.

It’s the less interesting Carson.

Jethro gave me all their identities since he saw them when they put on their masks.

But he didn’t have to tell me my prey was the one wearing the green mask. I knew it as soon as I saw the five of them standing on the second-floor balcony.

The little monster has the most erect posture out of the five, and it’s due to the bow slung across his shoulder.

He’s an archer.

Ahunter.

Probably the only thing that doesn’t contradict with the rest of his image.

But I lost sight of him soon after the initiation started since everyone was running around like headless chickens in a zombie B-movie.

“Where is he?” I ask in the earpiece.

“Five o’clock,” Jethro says. “He has company.”

“Yulian?”

“No. A girl.”

Hmm.

I walk in that direction, stopping when Jethro points at approaching danger.

The sharp, earthy scent of pine needles and damp soil fills my lungs, and I crane my neck on either side. Why the fuck is this tie so tight?

The ground shifts beneath my shoes, uneven, each step sinking slightly into the mossy earth. The trees’ branches creak in the wind, their low whisper interrupted by the distant screams of students.

Sunset is settling in, its colors throttled to death by the thick clouds. The light is dim, the fading sun filtering through the tangled branches, casting long shadows that stretch and twist.

The cold creeps in, biting at my skin, but it’s not the chill I’m focused on—it’s the faintest hint of something familiar in the air.

Something that flexes my muscles and sends a rush of endorphins all the way to my cock.

Finally, I arrive at an open patch of land surrounded by tall trees and bushes. A small twitch lifts my lips.

Here we go.

I remain behind a big bush as I watch a tall man dressed all in black save for his neon green mask standing by a large tree, holding an arch with an arrow at his side. He’s right across from me. Only a few feet away.

“Keep clear,” Jethro says. “Don’t get close, Kayden. I mean it. He can have you ambushed in a fraction of a second. They have a button that calls security to their exact GPS coordinates.”

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