Chapter 4

4

OLIVIER

" N on ," I protest, but the moment the word leaves my mouth, nothing more than a raspy snarl, I deflate. Fuck, he's right. I know what's about to happen, I've done it before. For the other participants the Wicked Chase was a novelty, a chance for fame and fortune. Despite our silence earlier, when we were being escorted through the castle gardens in our school uniform, wearing our dark masks, toward the forest and the Elder with his golden cane, the air was thick with excitement. They were excited. Guys I go to school with. Hell, guys who could be first years like myself, for all I know. But I don't have that same excuse. I've been here before.

I'm here again, and with every minute I pass in Alexandre's presence, I want more of him.

He has me drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Tonight he looks glorious, dangerous and handsome, in bronze and black, a personification of the name of the games—The Wicked Player. I let out a wry laugh, shaking my head. Yup, I seem to have lost my mind.

Nova whinnies and takes a step forward, and Alexandre leans forward and reaches out a gloved hand.

"Yes," he murmurs. Our eyes meet. His eyes flash devilishly, and I press my lips tightly together as I continue to stare him down, despite having to look up. Nova takes another step and her snout presses forward and against my collarbone, nuzzling my neck. She's sweet, catching me off guard. Hesitantly, I lift my hand and rub her flank. She nickers against my collar, causing goosebumps on my flesh. I like animals. God, the number of times me and my little sister begged our parents to let us have a pet. We never did.

"You are going to run for me and I will give you a head start. How much do you need, ten seconds? Then I'll come hunting you." His gloved fingers caress the horse's head, tracing its direction until they divert toward my chin. Pinching it tight, he forces my gaze back onto his. "Tonight will be different, I told you this. Tonight we'll both be fed, little wolf. First I'll hurt you, then I'll soothe your wounds. And then we'll join our brothers for the Initiations. How does that sound?"

"You're deranged," I pant. My dick has become rigid in my pants. "I have a boyfriend," I stammer. "I mean, had—I had a boyfriend. We're not exactly together but I still love him. We were together for a long time."

"Four years and nearly three weeks, yeah, I know." Alexandre cocks his head in a silent challenge at my surprised frown. "Oh, I know all about you, beautiful. And if you're sweet to me, I might even tell you all about me."

I take a step back, breaking contact with the horse and those tantalizing, silky fingers that are no good for my state of mind. "Fuck you, I don't want to know anything about you." Why does he have to look so good? "Maybe I've given you the wrong impression," I snarl. But I don't get time to finish my words.

"So far, you haven't given me an impression at all," Alexandre counters immediately. "You're too busy reading your life away. How many hours do you spend in that library anyway?"

I snort. "Who cares? I love reading, sue me."

Alexandre barks out an obscene laugh and tilts his head back to stare at the dark sky. I can't help but look at the way his long neck stretches, giving me the tiniest glimpse of creamy skin where the cloak doesn't cover him entirely. His Adam's apple, those delicate curves…my heart rattles in my ribcage. He's a sublime version of mankind, that's for sure. Dangerous and sexy, handsome with an impeccable balance of soft and hard features. Self-assured as hell. Those are all red flags. Those are all reasons to stay the fuck away from him.

"Nah, that's not it," he murmurs toward the heavens. "But you aren't living your fullest version of life either." Dragging his gaze back to mine, he adds, "And I fully intend to wrinkle out whatever's inside that pretty head of yours. After tonight, that is."

After tonight?

He ticks a gloved finger against his own temple. "I want to know exactly what goes on up there, beautiful."

What goes on up there?

My brain can't think, and my heart is sending me the wrong wave of emotions. Hope, excitement, a graceful promise to not being alone anymore in life, but to share it once more with someone who wants to allot his time with me.

Would he want to share his bed with me?

Theo, my mind sings. Where are you ? Just the memory of you is fine, is good enough to keep the illusion alive that I can hide from this guy, this Alexandre Arnault, who isn't just part of the elite, but who's also got his eyes, so like a predator's, set on me. Thick lashes, complemented by curvy, bushy brows frame those eyes. Dark and dangerous, seeing everything.

I run.

I take off so unexpectedly that my knees buckle and need to catch my weight on both wrists, before I can push myself back up and away from him. Two, three steps in and I pick up on a rhythm, trying—and failing—to ignore the raspy snigger that hunts me through the bushes.

"This is all a joke to them," I mutter, winding myself up in an encouragement to go faster, to seek more distance, and with that, perhaps even the way back to the castle. Would they let me out of the games before they're finished?

I wonder what time it is, but don't dare stop running right now. I'm still out in the open, once more on the lit-up trail in an attempt to find the right direction. I've never been in that part of the woods before where that piano stood, but then, I don't recognize this part either. The only thing I hear right here is my own breathing, ragged and a little out of breath. My head is pounding, ears buzzing and mind reeling.

This night is fucking with my thoughts. I go from being terrified to being aroused, my heart pumping blood south like crazy, and I'm sure I've never reacted like this to another person before. Not even with Theo.

Alexandre is fatal. And with him, so are those other three guys with their Venetian masks. And the Elder, as he calls himself, his face disguised with a mask that carries the shape of a crow. A dangerous group of ultra-rich and possibly bored people? Is that why they do this?

Following the new trail as it winds and turns through the woods, I can't help but notice that there are less and less torches out here. I must be leaving tonight's playground. Relief skates down my spine. I can't hear Alexandre and Nova. That must mean I'm closer to getting the hell out of here. But…where is my elation over that fact?

I can ignore it as much as I want, but Alexandre has been on my mind for weeks now. My skin prickles at the reminder of our first encounter, when I realized exactly what I'd gotten myself into. The pain he inflicted on me…that too, was a surprise. Much like our rendezvous at the library, followed by the invitation, the request to be back here, in the Wicked Chase. Him . His face, his features, his size, his words. All of it scares me, creating an inner turmoil I have never before experienced.

Yet, it's euphoric.

I want to know more about him. What twenty-something year old chooses another person and wants to make them theirs?

I halt by a tree and with one hand supported against the trunk, I bend forward and take in a few deep breaths. I'm sweating under my uniform, my body buzzing with anticipation. I'm tired, yet I feel more alive than I have felt in a long time.

He's coming for me.

I know he is, because he told me so. I trust that he will, which is completely ridiculous. Does that mean…that I trust him? A complete stranger who happens to have crossed my path by coincidence and decided that he wants me?

The answer is yes.

Yes, I trust him. Yes, I trust that he is coming for me. There! I can hear them now. The sound of Nova's hoofs on the trail.

Thud. Thud. Thud. In rhythm with my beating heart as I take in deep puffs of air before I turn around and start running. Turbulence spreads through my mind like wildfire.

The part of me that ran for the castle and for a way out of tonight's games just minutes earlier begins to recede, overtaken by the part of me that wants to know more. Be more. And then there's my body—desire licks my insides at the thought of Alexandre straddling Nova in search of me. We haven't gotten much further in our hunter-and-prey scenarios before. Next he will attack me with his bola . Fire off his stone balls and fucking hurt me. That's what happened the second time I participated. I fell to the ground, hurting, praying that it would stop there, afraid. Yeah, I was afraid. But since I've seen his face… And tonight he talked to me.

Alexandre lets out a high howl over the clopping sound of the horse's gallop.

Fuck, he's getting close.

A ball whooshes by me before it falls into the bushes with a soft thud.

" Putain ," I gasp, leaving the trail and using my hands to clear a path through the high shrubs. I'm utterly lost now. The vegetation has transformed. Less trees, less garrigues, but more cattail kind of perennial plants. It's like… " Merde! " I freeze when my foot sinks away into the water.

The lake.

Everyone has heard of the lake. Of the drowning of Damien Devallée. But that lake's pretty far from the castle, I'd always assumed. We're not allowed to swim in it, though I don't know if that's a direct consequence from the tragic event that took place. Vegetation is dense here, and just to stay on the safe side, I spin around as I take a few steps back, to where my soles are once more on solid ground. Facing the trail, I feel stuck, with the lake at my back and the horse now swiftly approaching. Running back into the forest is not an option now that Alexandre has nearly reached me, and so I start running alongside the water, hoping that I can find my way between the trees once more, and find shelter between the shrubs.

The horse stutters and whinnies as she accepts the chase, following me hot on my tail. I turn over my shoulder. A ragged breath blasts out of me.

They are closing in.

Anticipation burns my insides, fueling arousal and fear.

A ball whizzes by with dangerous speed. I shudder but I keep going.

Wait.

Another masked and cloaked figure comes into view. This isn't a participant.

Fuck .

Silver Mask.

He sits crouched down by the lake. He must have heard the horse. He rises to his feet, watching. I barely have time to register his sly smirk, before another ball passes me. Whoosh . Last time Alexandre didn't miss a single attack. That means?—

He's toying with me.

In his hands, Silver Mask is holding what seems to be a large fishing net, but I don't have time to question his actions. Not with those stone balls flying past my head, threatening to take me to levels of pain I've never gone to before. He's going to hurt me. And with only mere meters behind me, I need to use the forest with its winding routes, to my advantage. Ignoring the pain bursting from my waist, I inwardly howl in relief as I finally find my way back into the blanket of green and black shrubs and leaves, of branches and shadows, as I create more space between myself and the lake. When I pass the first layer of trees, I am hyperventilating. My legs are tired, knees wobbly when I take yet another turn.

Alexandre was right. Tonight is not a repeat of the previous games. It's like he wants me to suffer even more, and I can't understand why that makes me feel so alive. Terrified, yes. But also aroused, excited, nervous.

Another ball whooshes past me. It hits the nearest tree and I let out an exhausted yelp.

" Allez, petit loup ," Alexandre teases behind me. "Want to give up yet?"

"Fuck you," I snarl, but I sound out of breath and a little pathetic.

He barks out an obnoxious laugh. And then one of his balls hits me square in the back and I jolt from both the surprise and the pain. My knees buckle and I tumble forward, only by miracle managing to stay on my feet. Barely. Because I only vaguely register how Nova is no longer galloping, but has switched to a three-beat gait canter. Following me. Goading me. And yet I can't stop staggering, because for some twisted reason, I need this. Need the…

Whack .

A stone hits my back once more, yanking another pained cry out of me. I sway on my feet, sweat now dripping from my covered temples. I'm still wearing the dark mask all participants were given before the evening started, and it feels clammy. The only upside to having this mask— a comforting thought—is that he can't see all of me. I wouldn't want to see all of me now either. I'm definitely not ready to face the staggering truth that I'm drawn to this pain. The sting. Tears pool from the insides of my eye, staying there and forming pools of shame.

" Petit loup, " Alexandre rasps, followed by another stone hitting its mark, this time against my left calf, making it click and lock up. I fall forward, hitting the ground with a pained groan. Still I'm not ready to give up. I don't even remember why I am fighting him anymore. My skin bites where he hit me with his stones, and I'm exhausted from running from him. Exhilarated, too. And nervous.

Somewhere in the background I hear splashing sounds, followed by the shouts of someone who sounds absolutely mortified. Silver Mask . I should get up and help them out, but I can't find the energy to do so right now. Instead I move onto my hands and feet and crawl forward in a futile attempt to keep on going.

To continue this chase.

I hear Alexandre dismount from the horse, the creaking of the leather saddle, followed by a thump when his feet hit the ground. The weight of his footsteps make a thudding sound on the forest ground. I close my eyes, reaching for something. Anything to block out this moment as Alexandre approaches. I'm not here crawling through shrubs with my mask itching my overheated skin, my skin tender from the abuse he inflicted on me. I'm in the library with a good book. Alone. My heart slows down, a gentle beat familiar to me when I'm in sanctuary. But even thoughts about my quiet life aren't enough to fully remove me from the reality unfolding before my eyes right now. Alexandre isn't finished. My body trembles, anticipation and fear mixing in my blood into something heady. I know he has a lot more in store for me.