Page 84 of Savage Sacrifice
“You did?”
“They made you cry,” he repeats, like that makes it all make sense. “But they did give me this to give to you,” he adds, stuffing his hand into his backpack to retrieve a sealed cream envelope.
I gulp at the sight of it, making no effort to reach for it. “You’ve had this the whole time?”
“Well, I wasn’t going to cause you any unnecessary pain, but now it looks like you’re ready for it,” he explains, offering it to me. We both stare at it for a moment before I gulp past the fear thrumming through my veins and take it from his grasp. “Are you going to open it?” he asks when I continue to stare at it.
“Yes,” I breathe, when really, the truth is,I don’t know.
“I’m sure it’s hard,” he sympathizes, and I offer him another tight smile.
“I’m scared of what it’s going to say,” I murmur, but that’s just another lie.I’m scared I can’t open it in front of you in case there’s something supernatural written that you can’t know.
Clapping his hands together, he nudges my mug in my direction before reaching for his own. “Well, the ball is in your court now, Polaris,” he declares, nodding for me to take my mug, and I do, tapping the porcelain against his.
“Yeah, it looks like it is.”
29
TATUM
Returning to campus means leaving a part of my heart and soul in Florida with the girl who is my everything. I can’t stand it. The second my feet touched campus ground once more, I vowed to bring this to an end as soon as possible. Which is why I’m sitting outside the wolf dorm at three o’clock in the morning.
My gaze drifts to my bedroom window, the pull of exhaustion begging me to rise to my feet and finally get some rest, but I can’t go back on the promise I made to myself and I silently made to Polaris. It doesn’t matter if she knows it or not; I do, and that’s enough.
I’ve been watching Bryony like a hawk, just as we agreed. The others insist I’m taking it too far, well, apart from Blaze, who was with me until an hour ago, but I don’t think it’s far enough. If it were up to me, I would have her locked in the alpha office so we could grill her, but Minnie insisted that I not act so feral.
The woman in question is inside the wolf building right now, presumably asleep in Minnie’s room, but my gut has me hiding under the night sky, watching, waiting, claiming the shadows while I lurk like a creeper.
It’s been three days since we left the farmhouse and came home. Without Polaris. Three days, and Bryony hasn’t steppeda foot out of line. It’s the same process, I’m lacking sleep, but if there’s something off and she’s as straight as an arrow in the daytime, then something has to give eventually.
I crack my neck from side to side, rising to my feet to lean against the large tree behind me. Maybe I should have called time on my stakeout when Blaze did, but something is off, and my determination to find out what it is overrules everything else.
My bedroom window calls to me once again, but I shake it off when the creak of door hinges cuts through the night air. I freeze, fighting against the instinctive urge to take a step back. I don’t want to make a single noise, regardless of the cause of the sound.
Lo and behold, though, when I cast my gaze toward the sound of the noise, it’s the front door of the wolf dorm, and the person awake and sneaking out at this time? Bryony.
My jaw falls slack with surprise. I was certain I was making it all up in my head, but why on Earth would she be sneaking out at this time of night? Or morning, if we’re being specific?
I sweep my tongue over my bottom lip, watching as she wraps a coat around her shoulders, shielding herself from the chill as she takes the winding path away from the wolf building. She doesn’t look angry or like she’s been crying, which tells me that Minnie is okay and likely doesn’t even know she left. I hope, at least.
Regardless, I keep to the shadows, walking along the treeline as I follow after her.
She’s skittish, looking over her shoulder a time or two before she slips down the sandy path that heads to the witches’ dorm.
Maybe she’s just going back for the night.
Maybe I really am being ridiculous.
Maybe I should get the sleep I need.
Wiping a hand down my face, I stay on her tail, following my gut as I keep to the dark corners, watching as she approachesthe witches’ building. I’m ready to leave, but instead of slipping through the double doors as I expect, she makes her way around the side of the property. The hiding spots are limited around this side, but it’s clear she’s heading downstairs, not up, and if Blaze’s facts about the vampire’s basement are true, then I don’t get the best feeling from the witches’ one either.
I quickly pull out my cell phone, tapping out a message to the group chat. I double-check it’s the one without Polaris before I hit send. I don’t want her worrying about any of this until it’s necessary.
Tatum:Bryony is out. Following. I’ll keep you up to date.
Before I can think betterof it, I hurry across the grounds toward the door that remains open and find a set of stone steps leading down.
