Page 116 of Alluring Darkness

“You’re okay,” he presses out. And I swear I can feel his heart pounding against his ribs and all the way into my own chest as he holds me tightly. “You’re okay. You’re okay.” Then he draws back and locks wild eyes on me. “Are you okay?”

I draw my fingers down his cheek as I smile up at him. “Yes.”

I’m sure my body will be aching all over tomorrow, but right now I feel fucking invincible. Like I could breathe fire or toss a mountain across a chasm. It’s probably because of all the adrenaline pumping through me, but I love the feeling nonetheless.

An insane laugh bubbles from my throat, and I wiggle my eyebrows at Eli. “Good shot.”

Eli lets out a whooshing breath and shakes his head at me. “Fuck, that plan was insane.”

Before I can reply, Connor appears next to me. His gray eyes search my face. They don’t possess the same wild intensity as Eli’s, but I can still read the emotions swirling in them clear as day.

“Are you really okay?” he asks.

“Yes.” I flash both of them a grin. Then I narrow my eyes as I turn towards the woman still kneeling by the wall. She has hunched forward a little after those shots were fired. “And I’m going to feel even better after I killher.”

Shelley whips her head around.

Smug satisfaction blows through my soul when I notice the fear in her eyes as she looks at me.

Eli lets out a dark chuckle and sweeps his hand towards Shelley. “Knock yourself out.”

“No, wait!” Panic flashes across her face as she scrambles around so that she’s facing us instead. Still on her knees, she holds up her hands while the six of us stalk forward and form a semi-circle before her, cornering her against the wall. “Look, things got out of hand and—”

“Shut up,” I snap as I come to a halt in front of her. “You put a gun to my brother’s head.”

Eli and Connor flank me, with Kaden on Connor’s other side and Rico and Jace on Eli’s.

“Do you have any idea what I do to people who threaten my family?” I demand.

Shelley opens and closes her mouth a couple of times, but no sound makes it out. Her desperate eyes flick back and forth across all six of us.

With a cruel smile on my lips, I pull out a small vial from one of my pockets. “When you swallow this, you’re going towishthat you had died from the first poison I gave you.” With my eyes locked on her panicked ones, I jerk my chin. “Hold her.”

“No, wait!” she blurts out. “Please, I’m begging you. I can help. I can tell the instructors what happened here. That you killed him in self-defense.”

“Give me one reason to care.”

“Killing someone is strictly against the rules. You’ll get expelled for it.”

“Again, why should I care about that?” I take a step towards her.

Panic crackles across her features again, and she drops down, pressing her forehead to the ground. “Please, please, I’m begging you.”

“She has a point,” Connor says.

Stopping my advance, I glance at him and arch an eyebrow in silent question.

He shrugs. “The Hunters will be fine because they’re, well… them. But you and I play by different rules. If we can’t convince the university that this was in fact self-defense, we will likely be expelled.”

The words hang in the air between us, filling in the parts that Connor doesn’t speak out loud. If he gets expelled for this, he won’t be able to restore our family name.

I blow out a breath.

“Fine.” I slide the vial of poison back into my pocket and drag a hand through my hair. “You get to live so that you can tell everyone that this was self-defense.”

Shelley snaps her head up. Relief floods her eyes as she nods frantically. “I will. I will.”

“Good.” I flash her such a savage smile that she actually flinches.

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