Page 190 of The Blairville Legacies

I looked deep into his eyes.

Mine were probably already in the first stage of transformation.

I jumped up abruptly.

“I wish every day that this beast inside me wasn’t a part of me!”

My voice trembled. My heart slowly tightened.

“Every damn day I wish it had taken me!Me! Not her!” The trembling of my body turned into a tear running down my bloodied cheek.

I looked at Alarik. He looked at the ground.

I couldn’t take it anymore. It was too much. I had to go running,somewhere. I wanted to get as far away as possible. Somewhere north, where it was colder, quieter, where I was alone with myself and my thoughts, far away fromanyoneI could hurt inany way.

I hurried to the door.

“Julian...”

I paused and looked at Alarik, who was looking at me with a pained expression.

“What you did out there earlier...” He looked at me sympathetically. “I wouldn’t have done it any differently.”

Chapter 44

Emely

Noah’s hand pressed against mine and he moaned softly. I looked deep into his dull blue eyes, but he couldn’t hold my gaze. Sweat trickled down his forehead. The one vein protruding from his temple pulsed violently.

The corners of my mouth moved upwards with confidence. Then I pushed his hand down onto the log and shot upwards.

“Damn it!” Noah groaned in frustration and pounded his fist on the log.

The guys around us started cheering loudly and a few people on campus glanced over at us, but I had learned early on to ignore the looks from the girls here.

I smelled their jealousy over the fact that I was often the center of attention for the most desirable guys on the football team – without even wanting to be – and their distaste for my challenging side.

I might dress like a girl, I might have long hair and feminine features, but growing up as the only girl among my brother’s friends had definitely left its mark.

It was in my nature. And even if I didn’t take my shirt off or – unlike most of the pack – wasn’t often on the verge of getting into a fight, I liked to join in the games.

“Someday, Emely...” Noah warned me with an acted somberness and I laughed.

There were only two men who had beaten me at this game so far. One was running around campus with a witch like he was her bodyguard, and the other was spending his semester abroad in the United States.

I was jolted out of my thoughts, which had been about to wallow in old memories. It was the loudspeakers on the far too classy-looking campus lanterns.

Someone cleared his throat, and I knew immediately that it was my absent-minded uncle who seemed to be having trouble with the microphone. But his throat-clearing was enough to make everyone on campus pause, probably because he’d just torn Nash and Julian apart half an hour ago.

I still cursed them both for their recklessness.

“Dear students of Vanderwood. It’s that time again. Three years are almost up, which means the next presidential elections for theStudent Council Committeeare coming up next March.”

The elections. Something that only existed at Vanderwood in this form.

“Any student at Vanderwood University who is nominated by at least eighty students and wants to actively participate in shaping campus life, in addition to the general student challenges, can participate.”

I snorted.