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Faster than I could barely comprehend, Alexei turned. His blue eyes radiated with uncertainty, but he moved quick. One second, there was nothing. The next, his lips were on mine pushing and demanding.

It was like how I felt after Kai’s haka. It was as if I was suspended, realizing too late that I needed to react.

I pushed back, returning the kiss.

I was going all-in with this. Alexei liked me. Now, I just needed to sort out my emotions for him.

He didn’t waste time after that. His hand came up to my neck to hold me in place as his lips parted. His tongue darted forward, pressing into mine, enticing it to play. My head was like a hazy fog as I took all of it in. He kissed me thoroughly until all rational thought was gone. It wasn’t Alexei my best friend anymore, this was someone completely different.

He pulled away, and I sucked in a breath before meeting his eyes.

Thoughts swirled.

The air was thick between us.

“You’re so in trouble,” I said, my voice so breathy I didn’t even recognize it.

Alexei’s brows furrowed.

“Papa Nic threatened you. I guess you can say goodbye to your balls now.”

A creeping smirk pulled my lips apart. Alexei may not have found that funny, but I certainly did.

Chapter Ten

I awoke the next morning in my bed—alone. I turned quickly, looking down at the air mattress where Alexei had slept.

There was nothing there. No sign that he had even stayed in my room last night even though he had.

With my thoughts a whirling mess, I sat up and brushed my hair out of my face. That kiss was something else. I bit my lip just thinking about it.

My phone buzzed on the desk. I reached out and grabbed it, turning it over so I could see the screen. It was Papa Stephan. Answering and putting it to my ear, I knew automatically that something was wrong.

“Izzy?”

“Yeah?” My heart leapt to my throat.

His words came out in a rush of vowels and consonants that I had to decipher through the growing fear. “Are you in the dorm?”

“Yes.”

“Stay there.”

I pulled the sheets off me and stood. “What’s going on?”

“Just stay there. One of us will come get you.”

The connection cut off before I could argue with him. I threw the phone down on the bed and went to the closet, pulling out my bag to put on some clothes, throwing my shirt over my head in a mad rush. I then ran to the bathroom to grab my hair tie and quickly wound my tangled hair up into a topknot before throwing my stuff in a bag and waiting by the door. I opened it just enough to stick my head out to see if anyone was around and if they were in as much of a panic as Papa Stephan was.

No one was around. Not one single person.

I shut the door again and almost immediately after I stepped back, it opened. I jumped, maneuvering into a defensive position only to find Papa Connor in front of me. “What’s going on?” I blurted out.

He looked relieved to see me and then pulled me close. He let out a breath and shook his head. “We don’t really know.” He stepped away, his eyes set in confusion as if he was still trying to make sense of something. “There are tracks, animal tracks, just beyond the perimeter wall.”

“Okay…?”

“Huge animal tracks, Izzy. Like nothing we’ve ever seen before. Bigger than bears, bigger than…” He shrugged his shoulders. “…big. They’re just large. No one knows what they are. The Fort is on lockdown. We also still can’t seem to find the guy who posed as a guard. It seems unlikely these two things aren’t related.”