Chapter 11

“Cute as this reunion is,” I say brusquely, before Zie opens his fat mouth and ruins things. “I have shit to do. So let’s get explaining. What. Is. The. Hunting. Grounds?”

“A legend,” Kaiden mutters under his breath.

“A game,” Axel replies.

“Okay, and what does this ‘game’ entail?”

“Hunting.”

“Hunting…?” I prompt, sighing in frustration. It’s like trying to get blood out of a stone. Axel also sighs like I’m the one being difficult.

“The chosen contenders enter The Hunting Grounds to hunt and fight one another for a chance to win a prize.”

“I see. When you say hunt…” I try again when no one is forthcoming. Axel’s sigh mirrors my own.

“Complete challenges. Tasks. That sort of thing,” he begrudgingly admits.

“Fight,” Zie adds.

“To the death,” Kaiden finishes.

I laugh but no one else does. Axel and Kaiden simply stare at me. Even McKenzie meets my eye with a grim but significant look. Wait, they have to be joking, right?

“We’re not joking,” Kaiden clarifies.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoff. “I think if murders were taking place on campus, the country might have heard about it by now.”

“Wrong.” Axel’s baritone is abrupt.

“Huh?”

“You’re wrong,” he repeats. “Firstly, The Hunting Grounds only take place once every thirty years, and the whole event has become the thing of legends. There are whispers, but very few people actually know the truth. Most of the people taking part don’t realise the true extent of it.”

“Oh and you do, do you?”

“Yes.”

“And I’m to believe that because…?”

“Because we’re organising this one.”

My jaw drops at that little bombshell, though if I actually stop to think about it, I’m not surprised. Axel is a control freak. Power hungry and ruthless. If he came to a university that holds a once in a lifetime event, of course he’d want in on it. Hell, he probably only came to this uni because he’d be here when the stupid game fell.

“B-but you’re saying that, what, people are going to die?” Axel nods. “What the fuck? Why?”

“I told you—”

“But what’s the point?”

This causes him to pause. He exchanges a significant look with Kaiden, who looks impressed, and McKenzie, who looks miserable. No one answers my question.

Like, what the actual fuck? Do people really agree to this shit? Why? What on earth could possibly be in it for them? Or like me, are they thrown in without any choice? This feels like some Hunger Games stuff of nightmares dystopian level shit. And if they do choose to willingly take part…what the actual fuck again?

While I’m having this mental freak out, no one says a word.

“So, where do me and this stupid tattoo fit into everything then?” I sigh, forcing myself to calm the fuck down. May as well find out what sort of shit show he’s signed me up for. I can work on getting out of it later. A part of me doesn’t believe what he’s saying anyway. I feel like this is some sort of hazing joke so I’ll just go along with it for now.

“You’re the prize.”

“Excuse me?” My eyebrows hit my hairline. I must have misheard that one. Apparently my brain is on a guided tour of dystopian horrors today because that sounds an awful lot less like the Hunger Games and awful lot more like something else. Like, Handmaid’s Tale, something else.

“You heard.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” This time Axel sighs like I’m getting on his last nerve, when really it’s the other way around.

“The participants hunt The Doe, fighting each other and taking out the competition along the way. Last man standing wins The Doe.”

“I don’t understand what you mean by ‘wins The Doe’...what the hell does that mean?” He stands and stares down at me like I’m stupid until the penny drops. “How can you win a person? In what way?” I gasp.

He gives me a cold grin that makes me shudder. I don’t like the glint in his eyes. I really don’t like the way he’s starting to stalk towards me either.

“I’m no one”s prize,” I whisper, but my voice is low with anger, not weakness. “And I didn’t ask to be part of this.”

“But you are a part of this and you can’t back out now.”

“Fuck you.” I consider his words for a moment. “Does The Doe get to fight back?” I ask, raising my chin defiantly. I’m not about to be hunted and claimed in some archaic Neanderthal bullshit display of masculine power. Kaiden barely hides his smirk and even the corner of Zie’s mouth is twitching slightly.

“Goddamnit, Odile!” Axel explodes, raking his hands through his dark locks. “Why can’t you just do as you’re told and make this easy for me?!”

“Oh, I’m sorry that my reluctance to stand by and become an accessory to murder inconveniences your little plans!” I snap back, heavy on the sarcasm. I get to my feet too and suddenly I’m chest to chest with Axel. He towers over me but I still meet him head on. “Let me lie down and take whatever you”re offering like a good little girl.”

I don’t miss the way his eyes darken at my poor choice of words, despite my heavily sarcastic tone. My damn nipples harden in response to his proximity too. For a moment it feels like there’s just the two of us in the room, wading through tension thicker than treacle, but then the spell is broken when McKenzie clears his throat. I look away, turning my back on all of them. What was that?

“I don’t understand.” I clear my throat.

“You’re going to be safe. No one will touch you. When the game begins, only the competitors will interact with you, but they won’t hurt you either. They’ll probably try to date you and get on your good side, ready for if they win. It’s important to have forged a good relationship with The Doe.”

“Forged or forced?” I snap, refusing to acknowledge Axel’s continued warped idea of keeping me safe. Some things, some people, never change but these boys are failing to realise that I did.

I don’t look at them through rose-tinted glasses anymore, and I never will again.

“No one is forcing you to do anything.”

“Except play,” I point out. “Fine. When the winner is announced, what happens?”

“They claim their prize.”

“Me.”

“You.”

“And then what? Do we go on a date? A couple of dates? What’s the prize winner’s timeline?” I can’t believe I’m asking this, like I’m seriously contemplating being complicit - compliant - in what they’re proposing. It makes me want to gag.

There’s a silence which stretches on and on. I start to panic that they meant claiming the prize the same way The General claimed my innocence and I want to be sick.

No one will look me in the eye.

There’s a beat, and then Axel breaks the tension with his bombshell...

“No, little doe. It’s forever.”