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“ S o my name has been called?”

“Yes.”

“Yours too?” He checks again for the hundredth time, and it takes everything in me not to lose my cool with him. I’m already a bundle of fucking stress. Dealing with his confusion isn’t at the top of my to-do list, but I’m holding it together.

“Yes.”

“ And Polaris.” I sigh, my stomach churning so hard it almost knocks me over.

“That's what I said,” I grunt, wiping a hand down my face, trying to hide my emotions more than anything.

“Are you worried?” he asks, and I finally glance at him.

“No, Ben. I’m not worried.”

He sits at the foot of my bed, elbows braced on his knees as he frowns at me. “Are you sure?”

“I should have left you down in the basement,” I grumble, turning away from him before I actually consider doing it, and he snickers, but it lacks the humor I think he was expecting.

“I’m thankful that you didn’t,” he states, clearing his throat, and I cut my gaze to him, eyes narrowed.

“Then shut up.”

My outburst only makes the grin on his face spread wider. Fucker. “I’m still struggling to understand what Polaris sees in you.”

I turn to him fully, giving him my entire attention. I have to when he makes a statement like that. “How’s that?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. She always kept everyone at arm’s length at Florentine’s. She also hated anyone with a bad attitude. You scream asshole with every fiber of your being. She never would have paid you any attention back there.”

“Are you saying I have a bad attitude?” I grunt, gaping at him, and he snickers again.

“The worst.”

I roll my eyes at him, but I know he’s not wrong. But so fucking what? There’s a reason I have a bad attitude, at least I own it. “She seemed to pay Terence attention at Florentine’s.” I hate the words as soon as I say them, especially when his grin spreads from ear to ear.

“Nah. She entertained him, for sure. Maybe explored a little, but when he wanted something he couldn’t have, he lost interest and showed his true colors. She’s always known her worth.”

Amen to that.

Her worth.

Fuck.

Even when she’s confused, lost, surviving a world she doesn’t understand, she still knows her value. It may not always be clear to her when she does, but I’ve never seen her drop her morals. Not once. And I’ve been watching.

Ben clears his throat and I peer at him from the corner of my eye. “Do you think Sian thinks of me?”

I grimace, hating the truth, but he deserves to understand.

“She’s still hunting for Terence, so I’d say not.

” His smile vanishes, and I feel bad for him, but he’s delusional when it comes to that girl because she sure as shit didn’t worry over him when she chose him has her fucking feeding bank.

But that reminds me, there’s something else he should know. “Also, her name was called too.”

“Wait, what?” He darts up off the bed, eyes wide as he shakes his head, perplexed. “No, what if she’s my…”

“Are you forgetting what she did to you?” I growl back, exhausted by his unwavering love for this girl, but there’s a part of me that gets it because if Polaris were to do that to me? I’d still be hers and she’d still be mine.

“No, I’m just stuck on clinging to the past. It’s all I fucking understand, remember?” he grunts, and before I can snap back at him a knock sounds from the door, silencing both of us.

Uncertainty dances in his eyes as I mouth one word to him.

“Hide.”

I give him five seconds to disappear into the makeshift space we’ve created in the floorboards before I turn my attention to the door.

I’ve barely turned the knob when it’s forcefully swung open from the other side.

I glare at the fucker that comes into view, sauntering into my room like he owns it.

It’s hilarious, really.

Most people on campus think I’m an asshole. They’re not wrong, but they know nothing. Especially the other factions. They don’t have to deal with this motherfucker.

“Finch,” I grunt, but he ignores me, shouldering me as he moves farther into my room, searching for Ben.

He doesn’t say it, and I don’t acknowledge it, I just remain frozen in place, waiting for him to realize he’s not winning here today. Not this time at least.

Finch is the secret puppet master of the vampire dorm.

Fuck. It’s more than that, as the right hand man for the devil who walks the Earth, he reigns over more than just the dorms. He just focuses here more because the younger you are, the longer you’re in his pocket.

Yet he’s still nothing in comparison to his boss; The Crow.

Sometimes I consider if it’s worth losing to the blood kin curse so I no longer have to live in a world where they both exist, but the thought of not seeing Polaris ever again makes it a stupid idea. One I won’t follow through on. Not unless she’s my…

No.

Saying it places it in the hands of the universe, and I refuse to do that.

I saw the fear and panic in her eyes when our names were called for the next assembly.

Not just my name alongside hers, but her friends’ too.

No matter what, the chances of life being the same after this week is impossible.

She doesn’t realize that yet, that’s the part my compulsion focused on the most, the anxiety, the impending doom of wondering ‘what if.’ She deserves more than that this week.

I just hope I manage to be a part of it too before it’s all over.

I’m trying my fucking hardest to make sure I don’t draw any more unnecessary attention her way.

Finch clears his throat, rocking back on his heels as he slips his hands into his pants pockets, staring me down. “There’s a vessel missing,” he grunts, and I cock a brow at him.

“Okay?”

“I don’t see him here,” he states, and I roll my eyes.

“I could have told you that.”

He runs his tongue over his teeth, making it look as though he’s containing his rage, but we both know by now that this is all just part of his show. He wants me to think I’ve got him where I want him, but that’s never the case.

Ever.

“The Crow is aware you aren’t fulfilling your end of the deal,” he states, changing the subject when he doesn’t get what he wants out of me, and my chest tightens.

Of course this is his angle.

I wish it wasn’t.

Maybe if I offered him Ben he would change the subject, but we both know that would never be the case. He loves making problems. Nothing is ever simple. I honestly don’t remember a time when it was.

“That’s nothing to do with you,” I mutter, and he sneers at me, making my gut clench. It’s like he wanted me to say that.

He’s in my face in the next breath, toe to toe as he seems to make himself taller so he can glare down his nose at me. “You’ve got seventy-two hours.”

He’s gone before I can object, the doorframe rattling from the force of slamming the door behind him. My nostrils flare, anger getting the better of me. If I stay here, Ben will have questions, and I’m not answering any of them. Not when I know I need to face this issue head on.

Seventy-two hours. That fucker knows it’s still before the assembly is due to be called. Which means I could be dead before my time is set to come.

Swinging the door open, I close it behind me with a lot more care than Finch did, making sure to lock it, despite the urgency I feel to get the fuck out of here.

My boots pound with every step I take, the sound vibrating through the corridor and down the stairs as I head for the exit.

The late afternoon sun does nothing to ease the tension coiling through my body.

It grows worse knowing I have to turn to them, to tell them what’s really going on.

Otherwise, this is all going to shit whether I like it or not.

Trudging toward the wolf dorm, bile weighs heavy on my stomach. The last people in the world I want to help me are the ones I must turn to.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I roll my shoulders back, cracking my neck from side to side as I take the wood chip path down to the building.

There are a few wolves in animal form running around the grass to my left, but they don’t stop me from entering the building.

Thank God. The last thing I need is the blood of another wolf on my hands.

Letting the door swing closed behind me, I storm to the left, knowing exactly where I’m heading, but to my disappointment, when I enter the Alpha’s office, the door ricocheting off the wall, I find only one wolf present.

My chest heaves with every breath I take, and he darts to his feet, nostrils flaring as he takes me in.

“We need to talk,” I snap, and he gives me a pointed look.

“We knock around here,” he grunts, stuffing his hands in his pockets, and I shrug.

“Does it look like I have time for knocking?”

His tongue runs along his bottom lip as I imagine him assessing every way he can put an end to me, but to my surprise, he nods at the chair closest to me.

“Take a seat.” I shake my head, too tense for that, and he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose with defeat.

“Do my words mean nothing around here?” he mutters under his breath.

It seems like he’s talking to himself more than anything, so I ignore the question and focus on the situation at hand.

“Where are your friends?”

“Why?” he retorts immediately, and I raise my eyebrows at him.

“I’m not repeating myself and it’s important that everyone is present.”

“Polaris isn’t here,” he states, a smug look curling his mouth, and I sigh.

“I’m aware. It’s probably for the best,” I rumble, irritation getting the better of me, and Lincoln must sense it because he doesn’t say another word. Instead, he grabs his cell phone off his desk and taps out a quick message. Not even thirty seconds pass before Asher and Tatum join us.

They both glance at me, eyebrows drawn, but neither say a word.

“Wylder?” I grunt, and Asher sighs.

“Watching the girls.”

I already knew that, but I don’t want them to see how much I fucking know. I walk through the shadows and hold secrets close to my chest for a reason.

“Good.”

“Why are you here?” Tatum asks, scrubbing at his chin, and I purse my lips as I think.

Now that I’m here, I don’t know where to begin.

Fuck.

Before I can overthink it, I decide to blurt it out.

“I have a deal with The Crow.”

“What the fuck?” Asher grunts, jaw slack as he stares at me with wide eyes.

“Fun, right?” I say through clenched teeth, and he shakes his head while Lincoln burns holes in the side of my face from glaring at me so hard.

“I don’t think the word fun has ever been in the same sentence as The Crow before,” Tatum mutters, and I scoff. That’s true. Well, until now.

“Why are you telling us?” Lincoln asks, and I nod. It took him longer to ask than I expected.

“I have seventy-two hours to follow through. Otherwise… well, we all know what happens.”

“You’re going to need to wind it back to the beginning for me,” Asher states, his voice even, but it’s not from a sense of calm, more tension.

“You don’t want to know what it is?” I ask, the surprise clear in my voice, and he nods.

“I do, but tell me how first.” It’s not a question, it’s an insistence. With him being the nephew of the man I’m discussing, I’m not surprised.

“I don’t know what you know about Finch,” I start, and Asher scoffs.

“Apart from the fact he’s an asshole?”

I snicker. “He’s definitely that, but he’s also a vampire.” I stuff my hands in my pockets, curling my fists as I try to remain as calm as possible. I’d rather not step back in time, but if it’s going to help us move forward, then I’ll do what is necessary. Especially if it protects Polaris.

“The fuck? I hadn’t considered that. I assumed he was a wolf too,” Asher states, and I shake my head.

“He runs the vampire dorms.”

“Explain,” Lincoln cuts in, and I finally take the seat across from him.

My emotions are running high, but the three of them are only making it worse.

Thankfully, once I take a seat, so do they.

“He runs the vampire faction as a whole, overseeing all deals made with The Crow, but he spends most of his time here, working the dorms, because fresh, young blood doesn’t know any better. ”

“No one says no to a deal.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you know which vampires have deals?” Lincoln asks, and I huff, shaking my head as I turn my stare to him.

“No one says no, Alpha. Consider those numbers,” I murmur, and Tatum curses under his breath. To make it a little more real, I offer them a truth. “That's why I had to kill the wolf. Declan? Yeah. When I refused, he sent the wolf crazy until I had to do it.”

“What did you gain out of it?” Lincoln asks, and I shake my finger at him.

Asher sighs, drawing my attention to him instead. “Okay, what is your deal now?”

I take a deep breath, looking at each of them. It would be better if Wylder were here, but beggars can’t be choosers right now.

“I have seventy-two hours to kill the one who mated with Polaris.”

The words leave my pulse thundering in my ears, but I can’t say anything, I’m fucking bound to her.

I knew sharing would come eventually, I’m almost half surprised it hasn’t happened before now.

I just know there wasn’t a mating mark on her body the night of the fight.

So that means it happened recently. My order only came in yesterday.

I’ve been avoiding my Amica Mea and these fucking wolves ever since.

“Mated?” Lincoln murmurs, frowning at me. “No one?—”

“It’s me,” Tatum blurts, eyes laser focused on me.

I nod in understanding, and when I don’t make a move toward him, it becomes apparent that I’m not interested in following through on the deal.

“How do we make that not happen?” Lincoln asks, but his gaze is fixed on Tatum.

I rise from my seat. “Think about it, get back to me,” I state, and the three of them gape at me as I saunter toward the door. Before I leave, I glance back over my shoulder.

“Where are the girls, anyway?” I ask, already aware, but intrigued by the why more than anything.

Tatum shakes his head, clearly confused by the whole situation, but he still manages to answer me. “New York. Something about period cramps and sushi, I checked out after that,” he admits, and my pulse races for an entirely different reason now.

I’m gone before another word can be said. There are more pressing matters. Because she’s mine.