Page 45 of Savage Hope

Rapid footsteps thunder along the ground, matching the beat of my heart, and my gaze spins to the approaching runner to find him heaving with every breath as he looms over Veronica’s dead body on the ground.

“Oh, shit,” he blurts, hands planted on his hips as he gapes with wide eyes.

“‘Oh, shit’ what, Asher?” Wylder grunts as he shakes his head, his arms limp at his sides and his chin falling flat against his chest.

“They were fighting,” he rasps, pointing somewhere over his shoulder. “They were fighting, and he's dead. And now she…”

“Make sense, Asher. Make fucking sense,” Lincoln growls, and the new arrival sighs, letting the weight of his words sink in before he shares them with the group.

“Dean is dead. Dean is dead, and now she's dead…because of her blood kin curse.”

Veronica is dead.

Dead because of her blood.

Dean died first, and she wound up dead because she's cursed by blood that wields such pain she had no chance to fight it.

I feel like a fraud sitting here, Bryony at my side as we stare at Professor Whitmore taking center stage in the Grand Hall.

Gone is the party, the fun, and the liquor, along with the excitement and buzz everyone was riding moments ago, and in its place sits confusion, disaster, and tragedy. Gone is the mingling of the quads. Gone is the carefree atmosphere, and gone is a bubble of bliss that I had the slightest taste of before catastrophe struck.

Instead, I find myself consumed by desperation, dread, and a whole lot of separation. The witches are with the witches, wolves with wolves, vampires with vampires, and humans with humans.

I've heard the rumors already. I heard Asher speak them for myself in the black of night at the scene of the crime, but as I sit here, nestled in my luxurious seat, a deep bronze, just like everything else the witches touch, I hear the murmurs that swirl around the hall.

Dean was fighting with a wolf. Dean, the guy who was giving me the creeps not too long ago, is dead, and in dying, he took Veronica with him. For sure, he gave me ultimate sleazeball vibes, or as Bryony put it, cunt vibes, but the uncomfortable feeling that nestled in my gut didn’t mean his death is something I would have wished for.

Professor Whitmore doesn't mention any of that, though, and he definitely doesn't mention what will happen to the wolf who did this. Instead, he stands solemn on the stage, spine straight as disappointment flashes in his eyes.

“I’m truly sorry we are gathered here tonight. The circumstances aren't at all what any of us would ever imagine. A tragedy has occurred on our very grounds. We have lost two lives tonight. The weight of the blood kin curse is prominent as we take every breath. This is not something I ever wish for my students to see. It's not somethingIever want to experience myself, either. But alas, a curse is a curse. Pain is pain, and death is death. Life is a gift. One we must cherish more than those who don’t suffer under the harrowing control of the blood kin curse.”

My mind swirls, his words a vortex in my thoughts as I repeatedly recall Veronica’s lifeless face on the ground. It’s an undeniable realness, to the blood curse, the pain, and the weight behind it. We’re not here for any reason other than survival. It'sdisastrous. A travesty waiting to happen. Well, I guess it already has.

Whispers ripple around the room and it’s clear both the wolves and vampires are in a state of unrest. Both have lost one of their own, apparently at the hands of a wolf, but the finer details on the matter have yet to be revealed.

Unable to deny myself, I turn toward the wolves. My eyes find Lincoln through the sea of people now dividing us. The girl from earlier is right at his side, head on his shoulder as he drapes his arm around her, stroking his fingers languidly over her skin in comfort. She wipes at her cheeks and I quickly turn back around. It’s impossible to ignore the feeling that I’m imposing on a vulnerable moment that has nothing to do with me. Right on cue, my face heats with embarrassment.

I try to fight the disappointment that takes hold inside of me, but I remind myself that it’s for the best. After tonight's example of what this curse can do, I can't allow myself to be distracted, not by a single thing.

Professor Whitmore clears his throat as if he knows he has lost the room, pulling my attention back to him. “We will be investigating the entire situation, but for now, our priority is securing the remaining wolves on-site as the full moon is due to reach its peak. So, for all of my other quadrants, please return to your dorms, where you must stay for the rest of the night. Wolves, follow me.”

At his order, the Grand Hall becomes a flurry of bodies, and I’m left seated in shock, with Bryony anchoring me in place.

“We should go,” she says after a few moments, and I nod, yet my feet don't move. Neither do hers.

Tearing my gaze from the now-empty stage, Bryony captures my attention, shaking her head in disbelief as she tucks a loose blonde curl behind her ear.

“I can't believe I saw it with my own eyes,” she murmurs, sadness creeping into her gaze as she looks back at me.

I nod, my tongue swooping over my bottom lip, but it does nothing to hydrate my parched skin. “It was the most horrifying thing I've ever seen,” I admit, and she nods in agreement. Her bottom lip wobbles just enough for me to notice before she manages to swallow it down.

“How are we supposed to survive that?” she asks, the question as much for her as it is for me. It leaves a gaping hole in my chest as the same thought consumes me, but I don't have an answer. I don't have anything to offer, but the way she's looking at me communicates loud and clear that she needs something.

“I don't know, Bryony. I wish I did, but nothing can prepare us for that.”

She clears her throat as she stands, gently shaking her head in a meek attempt to rid her mind of fear. She turns to me and offers me her hand, but the longer I stare at it, the more flustered she grows. Before I can react, she snatches my hand, squeezing tight as she stares deep into my eyes.

“No matter what, Polaris, we have to survive.”

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