Page 77 of Knot What She Seems
Despite the attack, the grounds are preternaturally silent. The majority of the guards are rushing around like chickens with their heads cut off, unsure of what to do or how to help. I can’t help but think how easy it would be for a Noth to sneak inside while everyone’s distracted…
Determination fuels my movements, and I begin to walk faster, swatting away skeletal branches that dare to impede my progress.
To the right, Eros Academy stands tall and daunting, the brick facade beginning to crumble with age. Movement in one of the windows briefly captures my attention, and I turn, startled to see a familiar silhouette standing in a lit hallway, his back to me.
Colter.
What is he doing in the dorms? Why is he just standing there? Isn’t he supposed to be walking the grounds? Whose dorm is on that particular floor? I rack my brain and come to the only reasonable answer—Teddie. Our fearsome, terrifying packmate is guarding the crown prince’s door.
Is it because of who he is…or who he’s related to?
Or is there some other reason that I can’t think of currently, with my thoughts so out of sorts?
I frown but do nothing more than shoot Colter one last passing glance.
Finally, I reach the wall that separates Eros from Darling.
With a muttered curse, I begin the painstaking task of climbing it, my feet struggling to find footholds. I’m a pretty big dude, and “agility” and “gracefulness” aren’t usually terms used to describe me. I breathe out a sigh of relief when I finally reach the top and am able to straddle it, one thigh on either side. Below me, the thorny hedge beckons.
“The things I do for love,” I grumble as I fling myself over the side, landing in the greenery below. Pain ripples through me as a hundred thorns embed themselves in my skin.
But I simply give the hedge my middle finger, jump to my feet, and attempt to clean myself off the best I can. I’m pretty sure I look like I lost a fight with a rabid worm in the dirt.
Wait. Can worms even be rabid?
Focus, Kylian.
I move from shadow to shadow, constantly scanning my surroundings. Once again, I think of how easy it would be for an enemy to infiltrate Darling. There are no guards manning the doors. No security. Nothing.
I’ll have to rectify that situation, and soon.
I stay close to the building and shuffle forward until an achingly familiar scent tickles my senses. I crane my neck back and stare at a window on an upper floor. The heat in my belly morphs into a blistering inferno. A flush spreads through me like wildfire.
My mate.
That’s my mate’s room.
For a moment, I debate my next move.
My omega has made it clear time and time again that she wants nothing to do with us. I want to respect that, I do, but every instinct in my body demands I rush to her. Hold her close. Coddle her.
I just need to see that she’s okay…
I note the tree closest to Brylee’s window. That would work.
Without thinking too hard about what I’m about to do—no surprise, considering I’m an “act first, apologize later” type of person—I pull myself up the tree, cursing when one of the branches begins to crackle ominously beneath my weight.
“You better not break, or so help me…” I threaten the branch, glaring at it.
It settles.
“That’s what I thought, bitch.” I narrow my eyes on it once more, daring it to cross me, but it remains steady.
Slowly, I crawl across the branch, stopping when I’m only a foot away from Brylee’s closed window. The curtains are drawn shut, prohibiting me from setting eyes on my pretty obsession.
“Just one peek,” I whisper to myself. “That doesn’t make you a creeper.”
I reach for the window and am moderately surprised when it opens easily. Yes, that makes my job easier, but it also sends ripples of trepidation down my spine.
