WILLA

The monster was gaining in on us.

The motorcycle tore through the deadly outer woods like a bullet fired through the air, engine roaring wildly under us.

My arms stayed locked tight around his waist, the helmet’s chin strap biting painfully into my jaw. Wind hammered against the visor, howling in my ears like a freaking banshee.

Trees blurred into dark, menacing walls on both sides, while roots and jagged rocks jolted the bike violently with every sharp twist of the uneven path.

A monstrous roar exploded behind us — deep, guttural, and far too close. The ground itself shook with the force of it, sending vibrations straight up through the tires and into my bones.

My heart slammed against my ribs. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of one of the hideous monsters, its long arms stretched out toward us.

Shit.

My throat tightened. I glanced back just as the guy swerved sharply, dodging a thick tree trunk.

"Can you go any faster?!" I yelled over the roar of the engine.

"I’m going as fast as I can!" he snapped, voice strained.

I glared at the back of his head like he was personally responsible for this nightmare. Even though I knew I was the one who had gotten us into this mess.

Still...

"What are you doing?!" I demanded as he suddenly slammed on the brakes.

I groaned as my helmet smacked into his due to the abruptness.

My eyes widened in panic. I twisted around, scanning the trees behind us. I couldn’t see the monster anymore. We had lost it. Or maybe it was hiding, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

But I didn’t even want to guess where it was or how it planned to attack. My immediate problem was him.

"Why are you stopping?!" I said, heart thumping.

He slid off the bike, shaking out his already tousled raven hair before running a hand through it.

I climbed down after him, legs shaky from the ride.

"Come on!" I fell into step beside him. "We’re supposed to keep running from those deadly monsters. Or are you trying to get us both killed?"

He kicked at a few clumps of dead grass on the ground, refusing to answer. His back was turned to me, gaze now fixed upward.

I looked up at the sky to see what could possibly be more important than answering me.

Nothing. Just the darkening sky, heavy with the promise of night — reminding me that we were still trapped in this cursed place and would be even more vulnerable once full darkness fell.

"Are you going to keep staring at the clouds or respond to me?!" I demanded.

"I’ve run out of gas," he said simply.

"Run out of gas," I murmured, my gaze shifting from him to the bike and back again. Only then did the full gravity of his words crash over me.

"You fucking ran out of gas?!" I shouted, ignoring the annoyed look that crossed his face. I should be the one furious, not him.

He knew what he was getting into. He should have been more prepared than this. He should have had enough fuel to last us. More than enough.

"How the hell do you expect us to get out of here now?!"

"Quit yelling," he glowered.

"Quit yelling?!" I stalked toward him, getting right in his face. He still wasn’t really looking at me. To be honest, his whole attitude was far more annoying than his actual words.

I clutched his wrist, tugging sharply to force his attention on me. That worked.

He narrowed his eyes and glared down at me. "What?" he grunted. "Do you have a solution to our problem?"

"No, you tell me," I retorted. I let go of his wrist and folded my arms tightly across my chest. "You’re the one who freaking dropped us in the middle of nowhere. You’re the one putting our lives in danger. You’re the one acting so nonchalant and absolutely infuriating that—"

"You’re the one," he cut me off, his voice calm and even. He continued staring at me with that irritatingly composed look. "You got us into this trouble in the first place. Maybe try using your brain and sense of navigation next time."

I flushed hot with embarrassment and anger.

He scoffed. "That is, if there’ll even be a next time for us. Because we’re pretty much doomed."

We were. Without even saying it out loud, it was painfully obvious. I groaned, pushing a hand through my hair in frustration. I walked back toward the nearest tree and leaned my back against its rough trunk, ignoring the way his gaze followed me.

"What are we going to do now?" I whispered to myself.

My brain felt completely empty. I couldn’t think of a single useful idea. I felt totally useless.

The idiot beside me wasn’t helping either.

Ugh. I hated being stuck like this.

The silence that wrapped around us was stifling. The only sounds were the soft chirping of birds and the rustle of leaves — things that should have felt peaceful and beautiful, but right now they only made the forest feel more oppressive.

The warmth of the setting sun filtered through the canopy, and a gentle wind swirled around us, carrying the earthy scent of moss and damp soil.

"Reinforcement should be here soon," his voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.

I didn’t answer. He continued anyway.

"Headmaster Alaric sent all the House Alphas on this mission."

He did? I frowned, finally looking at him.

"I gave him every bit of information while entering the forest, including the fact that you could be my mate."

My cheeks heated up instantly. I glowered at him.

"I didn’t tell him you were the one the pheromones were coming from because I didn’t know at the time," he added with a slight shrug.

I rolled my eyes. Like I wanted to know that.

But the boys coming here — Kol, Lance, and Eric... What if they were facing the same danger? Or worse?

Another brief stretch of silence passed before he spoke again.

"Mate, huh?" His lips turned down in a grimace.

I opened my mouth to tell him I wasn’t keen on being mates with him and that I was still confused about everything — when a sharp, stabbing pain suddenly pierced my side.

It was so intense it stole the breath from my lungs.

I gasped, clutching my stomach and doubling over. My eyes widened as my face nearly pressed into the dirt.

"What is—"

Another wave of burning pain shot through my gut, like I was being bathed in acid from the inside.

"Arrrhhg!" I screamed, tossing my head back. It smacked hard against the tree trunk, but I barely registered the fresh throb in the back of my skull.

The agony at my side was far worse — a burning, twisting fire that felt like it was ripping me apart from the inside.

"Are you alright?" the boy asked, crouching down beside me.

"No," I ground out through gritted teeth.

I definitely wasn’t. There was no point pretending or giving a smart-ass response, no matter how much I wanted to.

He pressed a cool, surprisingly soft palm to my forehead, a deep frown etched across his face as he studied me. "That’s normal."

"Well, I’m not!" I clenched my teeth harder, fighting back a whimper as another wave of pain surged through me.

"No, you’re not," he agreed, nodding. Then he straightened up, still staring at me, doing absolutely nothing.

Tears burned at the corners of my eyes as the pain intensified, spreading like liquid fire through my veins. My body shook with the effort of holding back a nerve-shattering sob that threatened to tear from my throat.

"This can’t be helped," he grumbled, turning and walking back toward the bike.

"Are you trying to leave me here?!" I shouted, panic clawing up my chest, sharp and suffocating.

He didn’t stop. He didn’t even acknowledge me.

My God.

Why had I thought he could ever be decent? He was a jerk through and through.

"How can you leave a comrade during a critical time like this?" I cried out desperately.

No response.

I grabbed the first thing my hand could reach. A small pebble and some dead gras, and hurled it at him with everything I had left.

The grass floated uselessly in the air and drifted to the ground. But the pebble flew true.

It smacked him right in the back of the head before bouncing off and falling into the dirt.

He stopped abruptly. Then turned, letting out a low, dangerous growl.

"What did you do tha—"

A deep, guttural rumble cut off his words. My eyes snapped up to the sky. At first I thought it was thunder. But when it sounded again.

I scanned the trees until my gaze locked on something moving behind him. Just a few feet away.

I shot to my feet, ignoring the burning pain in my side. "It found us!"