19. Nora

19

NORA

It took us two more days to get through everyone on the campus. By the time we were finally done, I was completely exhausted and ready for the weekend. Somewhere along the way, I had pushed John’s death out of my head. The trauma that had occurred felt like nothing more than a dream.

My body ached the entirety of the day after my night with him . Every point of pain reminded me of the pleasure I’d experienced.

Then there were the marks he’d left.

This morning, even a few days later, I’d traced every bruise and scratch in the mirror, remembering how the vines had cradled me. As I’d pulled on my turtleneck, I wondered how Alec would react if he saw them.

The tension between us was just as thrilling as my moments with the monster.

Something really perverted within me wanted to witness Alec reacting to my marks. At the moment, I was making an effort to keep them hidden. I wondered what it would be like to stand naked in front of him and witness his expression as he saw every single one, knowing that the monster he hated claimed me. Would he even care?

Fleeting touches made me want to run from him. The monster had marked me as his, and yet I couldn’t help but wish for Alec to do the same.

Alec walked next to me down the path, silent and brooding. The university shrank in the distance behind us as we made our way to Thorn Tower. I’d argued that I could walk home alone, but he followed me anyway.

His presence had become normal to me. That was probably more odd at this point than the fact that I’d slept with a monster. Alec was prickly, difficult, a complete bastard most of the time—but somehow, I had come to enjoy him.

“This has been the biggest waste of time,” I sighed.

“The interviews?”

“Yes.”

He shrugged. “I’ll talk to the Dean tomorrow. He’s holding the funeral and I suppose I have to attend.”

I snorted. “Is it a requirement?”

“No, but it would be wise to since he believes us to be close.”

“Why do you hate him so much?”

“Nora, I hate everyone,” he sighed.

I raised a brow. “Then why did you walk me home?”

The corner of his mouth tugged, but he kept his manner in check. The wind rustled his black hair and he swept his fingers through it, pushing it from his face.

He’s too beautiful to be so deadly.

I kept having to remind myself that he could kill me. That he was more of a threat than the monster.

“This weekend, I want to go into the forest.”

“Alec,” I whispered, slowing my steps.

He wouldn’t look at me, his brows pinched in a scowl. “Come with me.”

“I’m not going with you,” I said firmly. “I’m not going to be part of this. Why must you try and hunt him?”

“I need to capture him.”

“Well, I’m not helping you.” I’d warned the monster about Alec and he told me not to worry. But I could see the obsession in Alec’s face and knew that he wouldn’t let this go.

“He’s going to hurt you,” Alec snarled. “What if he hurts you?”

“He won’t,” I whispered. “He won’t harm me.”

I reached for his coat sleeve, but he stepped to the side before I touched him. He cast me a dark look, but I didn’t care. At some point, we’d come to coexist and his deathly glares didn’t bother me.

What did bother me was how much I wanted him, even knowing what he set out to do. Even knowing how he could be. His darkness had rooted into me, and I couldn’t dig him out.

My tower loomed before us. He was silent the rest of the time until we came to my door.

“Goodnight,” I said.

“Nora.”

I looked up at him. His hand darted out of nowhere and he grabbed my jaw, holding me still.

My heart raced. He continued to stare, as if searching for something . What he searched for, I did not know.

“I will find him,” he finally whispered, his voice shaking with anger. “He attempts to take things from me, and for that, he will pay.”

“You won’t find him,” I said, although I wasn’t so sure anymore.

Finally, he released me and turned without another word, fleeing for his house of glass and poison.

I breathed out as I stepped inside and locked the door behind me. I slumped against the wood, thinking about Alec.

What if he found the monster? What if he killed him?

I hadn't seen him again since the night we were together.

Alec would do everything he could to hunt him.

I didn’t want that. I didn’t know what to do. Things were escalating rapidly. While I’d already warned the monster, I felt the need to tell him again. Alec would find him in the forest, even if it killed him.

My limbs ached. Part of me really just wanted a hot bath and to study. The books that I had taken were still tucked away, and I wanted to learn more about the history of this place.

Not to mention, I wanted to try and learn more about the monster and The Hunt.

It was still hard to accept that he was real. But there was evidence now. There was no denying that he had intervened on my behalf, and had covered up John’s murder.

There was also no denying that there was something about him that I craved.

Could I share feelings with a monster? The thought didn't horrify me. The same way it didn't horrify me to think about Alec that way.

This place was changing me. Ever since I had come to St. Thorn, everything that I ever knew had crumbled. I wasn't someone to make rash decisions, and I certainly wasn't a murderer. But here I was, questioning my sanity. Wondering if I'd lost it.

I've been so adamant that monsters didn't exist. Even with living in London and hearing all of the gossip, I assumed that calling someone a monster was merely a synonym for criminal. I never would've imagined that monsters were real.

What was the mind of a monster like? Why hadn't we talked about it more? Were they different from us?

It seemed that the monster hadn't cared about hiding the body, but then again someone like Alec wouldn't have either. In all of my previous studies, in all of the experiments that I had done with professors, I had run into my fair share of psychopaths and sociopaths. I’d met killers, people who didn't have a moral compass.

I thought about the books that I read on the fae. Dryads. Other mythological creatures that I hadn't thought could be real until now. And if they were, what did that mean for what I knew of this world? Did that change how I viewed the death of my family? Could it have been a monster who was the reason they died?

Was it even worth wondering about?

I couldn't tell. I felt lost.

I went upstairs and fought the urge to simply plop on my bed. I plucked the book on The Hunt from one of my shelves. I’d hidden amongst my library in case someone came looking.

“What secrets do you hold?” I whispered.

All I wanted to do was sleep, but I knew that my brain wouldn't let me. I was tired and I needed to take a long bath. Instead, I flipped open the book to the first page.

It was blank.

I turned the page, my blood running cold. It was also blank. In fact, as I turned the pages faster, every page was blank. The entire book was empty.

“Why?” I hissed, completely flummoxed.

I held the book up, tipping it sideways. The paper was textured, but there was no ink that I could see.

Why would the Dean keep this? There had to be something on the pages. I carried the book to the washbasin and hesitated. I couldn’t just run it under water, that was absurd.

“Damn it,” I muttered.

My shoulders sank. I carried the book to my bed and searched it thoroughly once more, disappointed that I found nothing. Perhaps it was written in invisible ink? There was a formula I knew could be activated by heat.

I struck a match and lit the candle next to my bed. I carefully held a single page taut, careful not to catch it on fire.

The heat didn't reveal anything.

I grit my teeth, frustrated. Alec and the monster came back to mind. Maybe it was time I did some investigating of my own. Maybe I could find the monster and warn him, and also ask more questions about The Hunt.

I blew out the candle and looked through the book one last time. It had to be some sort of puzzle, unless the Dean was just playing tricks. But why would he?

I dejectedly reshelved the book and went back downstairs. Bianca had mentioned a fairy ring on the east side forest. Perhaps I could find the monster there. It would take some time to get to that part of the woods, but the road should take me there. If I left now…

I had to warn him about Alec again. His obsession was only growing, and I’d made things worse by saying I wanted no part in capturing the monster. If it were any other man after the monster, I would have no worries. But Alec was cunning, driven, and deadly.

All of Jacob’s warnings to stay away from the forest echoed through my mind. To ignore whatever I might hear at night.

But I couldn’t stay away from the monster.

My decision was made. I grabbed my cloak from a hook and slid it on, clasping the front near my neck. One of my gloves was missing, so I would do without them for now.

I unlocked the door and stepped out into the frigid night. Part of me expected to see Alec there, but he wasn’t. Clouds of vapour puffed from my lips as I grabbed my bicycle, mounting it and taking off down the paved road.

I kept my eyes open for him as I went through the tunnel. Listened for any movement or a rustle of leaves, but there was nothing aside from the occasional owl hooting.

My hands were damn near frozen to the handles, so I peddled faster to get my heart pumping.

It took some time before I made it to the forest outside of the university and village. There was a field that stretched towards the line of dark trees.

My heart pounded as I stared ahead. I felt like I was about to trespass, even if that was absurd.

But I wanted to find him and maybe even take a look at the supposed fae circle Bianca talked about.

Until coming to St. Thorn, I would have never given such a thing a second thought. I was logical. Scientific minded. But now, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was merit to every myth, every legend, and every whisper of the shadows.

My old life was slipping further and further away from me.

Eventually, the ground became too difficult to pedal over. I slid off my bicycle and walked it to a tree, leaning it against the trunk. I glanced behind me, making a note of the church steeple in the distance and the headstones of the graveyard. Moonlight made everything visible, but even so, it was dark within the woods. I should have brought a lamp with me.

I hesitated as I turned to face the forest. It circled around the entire university, but aside from the tunnel of trees I regularly traversed, I'd yet to step foot into it. I’d told no one of my whereabouts and considered this could be how I died.

I tugged my cloak tighter around me, fighting off a chill. I felt as though I was being watched. Mud squelched underfoot as I started down a worn path. Trees towered over me, branches rustling occasionally as a chilled wind picked up. I scrutinised my surroundings, waiting for his glowing eyes or for a vine to curl around me and drag me into the dense shadows .

Thoughts of our night together sent a stab of heat through me. I’d never experienced anything like that and craved more. Even thinking about him flushed my cheeks, the pain and the pleasure. He’d turned me into a masochist.

My ass wasn’t sore any more at least. Him fucking me there had made it difficult to sit the next day through the countless interviews, and even Alec had commented on my inability to sit still. It was deeply frustrating how observant he could be at times.

I fought the urge to call out for the monster. I wished he would give me a name, but… He refused. He had to be a fae of sorts then, right? If those legends were true.

I supposed it didn’t matter what he was exactly. What mattered was making sure Alec never found him.

Or perhaps this was an excuse to see him again. Maybe I wanted him to touch me again. The monster had awoken something inside of me, a desperate loneliness I didn’t want to face.

I continued down the path and slowed as it veered to the right, becoming less traversable. Grass grew higher, leaves and vines tangling from the trees.

“ I want this monster found now.”

Voices echoed between the towering trees. My pulse immediately shot up as I moved off the path, trying to quietly step through the foliage. Who else was out in the woods?

I crouched down, using the shadows and forest to hide. I listened, holding my breath.

“I want this monster found now . I want him found.”

The Dean. Why was he out in the middle of the forest?

“John… We cannot hunt him. You know we cannot.”

I recognized that voice. Harold. My lips parted as I heard movement. I shrank back, obscuring myself further into the bushes.

“My son…” His voice broke. “My son was ripped apart. ”

The voices softened and I strained to hear what they were saying.

“And what of Nora?”

“She’s the least of our concerns at the moment.”

“But she was spared.”

I scowled. Did they mean spared by the monster? Why wouldn’t they hunt the monster? I needed to know more about The Hunt and once again felt the disappointment that the book I’d stolen had no information.

“We need to find and kill the beast. And we’ll deal with the woman later. Unless you believe she is the monster…”

There was silence. I swallowed hard, listening intently. They couldn’t possibly believe I was the monster. Right?

“Until we find further evidence, we cannot act. And no, I don’t believe it is her.” That was Jacob’s voice.

“Find evidence and we will hunt this bastard down. I must leave, my wife is in shambles.”

There was more rustling, the voices growing fainter. I held my breath a few moments longer as a figure passed by. I glimpsed who it was. Jacob. He continued on until he was out of sight.

I breathed out once I was alone. I needed to know the purpose of The Hunt. Why were they meeting out in the middle of the woods? The Dean certainly sounded angry. Now it wasn’t just Alec who was hunting my monster, but them too.

I slumped down into the dirt, my mind shuffling through all of the information I currently had.

It struck me that I'd left my bicycle outside the forest.

“Fuck,” I whispered.

I slowly got up, listening for anyone else. I needed to move fast if I was going to get to it.

I rejoined the path, only for a set of hands to grab me.