Page 106 of Alluring Darkness

While holding my gaze, he pointedly pulls against the ropes and raises his eyebrows at me.

“Did you really have to?” he says, voice full of exasperation. “Again?”

A smirk pulls at my lips. I tied him to a tree during last year’s tournament as well. And then I conveniently neglected to tell our instructors where I had left him. He was stuck there until morning the next day.

Another wicked grin blows across my mouth. Good times.

“If you didn’t want to get tied up again, you shouldn’t have gotten in my way,” I say.

“I didn’t even see you! I didn’t know you were here.”

Pulling one of my guns again, I close the distance between us.

The other people on his team, all first-years or second-years, tense and exchange worried looks.

I place the gun underneath Gregory’s chin and tilt his head back so that he meets my gaze now that I’m looming over him. “How is that any of my problem?”

He swallows and then opens his mouth as if to say something. But he apparently can’t figure out what, because he just closes it again. I chuckle.

“Tell you what…” Removing the gun, I take a step back. “If you beg me for it, I will actually tell the instructors where you are this time.”

Before he can reply, Kaden abruptly stands up and says, “Done.”

“Alright then, let’s go,” Jace replies. “I wanna take out some other teams too before we get to the target.”

Rico huffs out an amused breath, but shrugs. “He’s got a point.”

“Well, looks like you’re out of time,” I tell Gregory. “Have fun here tonight.”

Alarm flashes in his eyes, and he yanks desperately at the ropes again. “No, wait! Please, tell the instructors where I am.”

My brothers fall in beside me as we start back towards where we left Raina.

“Please!” Gregory calls after us. “I’m begging you! Hunter!”

Ignoring his pathetic pleas, I just stride back through the trees and to the spot where Raina is waiting for us. Except, when we get there, it’s empty.

Irritation flickers through me. I clearly told her to wait. Why can she never do as she’s fucking told?

“Where the fuck is Raina?” Jace says as he comes to a halt next to me.

“I don’t…” I trail off as I scan the ground where she was standing last time I saw her.

My blood turns to ice in my veins.

There are tracks there. Ones that don’t belong to her. Or to us.

A dull ringing echoes inside my head.

Someone took her.

“Eli,” Kaden says, his voice having dropped to a low and wary tone.

“I see it,” I reply.

Jace squints at the ground. “Are those tracks?”

“How the hell could an entire group get this close to us without us realizing it?” Rico says.

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