Page 48 of The Pretty Savage

I was worried about Arseniy and the insane quest to find his sister. A sister he didn't even know existed, until one of the soldiers that worked for his father admitted that years ago, his father had a mistress, a slave, during his time in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A woman that managed to escape to the United States, only to give birth to a little girl Arseniy had never met.

Needless to say, that information shook him to his core. What shook him even more was the fact that his father sent his assassins after the woman, who managed to kill every single one of them, until the last one landed her in jail, only for her to die from cancer a couple of years later.

But the little girl was lost and he had no idea where she had gone. Her mother didn't have any family, no one that could take the girl, and all of the records about her ever being in an orphanage were tightly sealed, as if someone didn't want us to find her.

"He thinks she's at the Academy," Dante murmured, haunted by his own past and the ghost of the sister he had lost thanks to this fucking life we all led. "I'm not so sure. The people at the Academy are from the families that send them here. If she never had any contact with our world, why would she be here?"

"I don't know." Jax shrugged. "But his informants told him she was here, but they couldn't tell him anything else. He has no idea if it's true or not, but he wants us to be on the lookout. He wants us to find her if we can. But I don't want to disappoint him," Jax added with a sigh. "He's spent so much time on this wild hunt, and I'm worried what will happen if he doesn't find her."

"He won't like it, that's for sure," Dante observed. "And I don't know if he'll ever be able to forgive himself if he finds out that she's…" he mumbled. "You know?"

"Dead?" I asked. "I know. He blames himself for not knowing about her earlier. It's been three years since he started looking for her, and so far nothing has come out of it. No new leads, nothing sufficient that would point him to her, and if this is going to help him, then we're going to look for her at the Academy. He's going to come here on January 5th, so maybe if we find her, he's going to be able to put this entire thing to rest and finally start focusing on other things."

"He's been obsessed with finding her," Dante murmured, toying around with his empty glass.

We didn't speak of it, we didn't have to say it out loud, but Arseniy was focusing on anything he could get his hands on but on his own problems. He thought that if he could find the girl, he'd finally have the family he always dreamed of. His mother ran away when he was just a child, only for her head to be brought back by one of his father's men, dropping it right at Arseniy's feet. His father used it as a teaching moment to show him that he could never have a normal life and to scare him enough that he would never even try to run away.

So he stayed, endured monstrosities by that man, until he was strong enough to destroy him.

"I don't know, guys," Jax spoke, looking up at the ceiling. "It's like chasing a ghost. Hell," he grunted, "what did he say her name was? Her birth name?"

"Azra," I mumbled. "Her birth name was Azra Bektic." And I hoped we'd be able to find her.

17

ADRIAN

I was beyond exhausted by the time we came back to the Academy, and after looking at my watch I realized it was already three in the morning. Dante decided to stay in town, hitting one of the clubs he frequently went to, but I had no desire for it. Not right now.

I had no idea if Jax only came with me because he could feel I was unraveling at the seams, but he refused Dante's offer to go to Pandämonium, a sex club on the outskirts of Wolfhöle. He thanked the driver as we exited from the car, right in front of the admin building where Jax decided to stay during his time at the Academy, refusing my offer to come to the cabin.

I stared up at the dark sky, or well, at least I tried to. The fog descended down on the mountain, making it hard to see the sky, or anything for that matter. The lights leading down the path toward the entrance of the main building were muffled, and the sound of owls hooting somewhere in the distance made it all seem much more ominous than it truly was.

I didn't forget that we had a killer somewhere in our midst, but my tired brain couldn't think about that either. I wanted to—no, needed to—go to sleep, but I knew it wouldn't come even if I went to my cabin immediately and laid down in my bed.

"Are you okay?" Jax asked as he stood next to me, his eyes on my profile. "You seemed irritated tonight."

"I know." I exhaled slowly. "I will probably need to apologize to Dante at some point, but today wasn't a good day."

Jax didn't say anything, but I could almost see the wheels turning in his head. "You know," he started. "There's a doctor in town. We could go and?—"

"No, Jax. I think I'll be able to go to sleep tonight. Maybe getting out of here was a good idea and considering how exhausted I am, I don't think it'll take me long to fall asleep." I was lying through my teeth and we both knew it. But he didn't comment on it. He didn't try to persuade me again to go and visit the doctor.

Instead, he took a step toward the building, turning slightly toward me. "If you need anything, just let me know."

"I will." I nodded.

There were no more words needed and when Jax's body was swallowed by the mist surrounding us as he walked toward the entrance, I turned around, starting to walk toward my cabin, only to stop not even five minutes after.

I hated myself for what I was about to do. I hated the fact that I couldn't stop thinking about the dark-haired vixen that took over my mind, but I couldn't fight it. I was too tired to fight it. Too tired to argue with myself, and instead of continuing toward my cabin, I turned left and started walking straight toward her building.

She was located on the opposite side of the campus, and the closer I came to her, the more my heart thundered, anticipating the vision of her. I hoped she was asleep, because there was no way I'd be able to explain this sudden urge to see her or to just be with her.

I already knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, but the vision of her was bound to calm the torment in my mind.

The visibility was atrocious as I walked across the campus, the urgency in my steps almost laughable, considering I was heading to the one person that probably didn't want to see me. Hell, I didn't want to see her either—at least the rational part of my brain didn't want to see her—but the rest… The rest of me craved her nearness, and instead of overthinking it right now, I decided to let it be. To let myself have this one secret, this one thing that would normally have me running for the hills.

I pushed my hands into the pockets of my coat, regretting the decision to not bring my hat and scarf when we left for town, but I could already see the building where her room was located, and the buildup of anticipation only increased.

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