Chapter 22

SHE WOLF

I flattened myself against a tree trunk. We’d tried running toward the car, but chaos had exploded in that direction. Flames had erupted and crackled from the back end of dorm building one, but they’d finally tapered out.

“We need to get out of here,” I panted, scrubbing my fingers through my hair. Mass murder had befallen the school. At the forefront was a creature too horrible to name, with red charred skin.

“We needed to get out of here yesterday,” Sandra muttered, peeking through the bush.

When her breathing stuttered, I neared her shoulder and followed her gaze. Horns stretched out from the head of the beast. It looked demonic.

Was this thing like Maya? If so, we were screwed.

A girl screamed as she ran from it. The demon stalked around with his cock at the ready. Tossing his head back, he laughed, bloody teeth flashing.

The girl fell to the ground like something pushed her. He fisted her hair and dragged her over to a broken tree. With mindboggling ease, he draped her over it so her hips rested on the rough, broken surface, and her upper body dangled. Without a precursor, he slammed himself inside her. She screamed while I winced, my eyes welling. I’d seen similar things while in the warehouses. The only difference was this guy ate the people he raped.

My stomach lurched, and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the horror.

“Let’s just keep walking until we cross the barrier surrounding the school. Getting lost out there is better than whatever this is.”

“Not a good idea,” a voice whispered.

I startled, but before I could grab Adrien, he positioned himself in front of me. “Sam?” I said, peering around Adrien.

The nude blond approached, crouched low. “I ran the perimeter, there’s no way out,” he said grimly. “It looks like he had the witches reinstate the barrier.”

It used to be that no one could get in and alarms would go off if someone left, but now the monster had caged us in.

“I have another witch,” the shout dragged my attention back to the gruesome sight in the courtyard. McKinney grabbed a girl and slammed her to the ground. He punched the back of her head until she stopped fighting.

The demon flashed another gruesome smile. “Bring her.”

Holy shit, that’s Katrina! Not the nicest of people, but she didn’t deserve this either.

McKinney yanked her up and forced her to stare in the creature’s face. The demon clasped her chin and leaned down, whispering to her.She stepped back, her movements jerky.

“We need to contact Maya,” I croaked.

“Shit,” Sandra hissed staring at the damage scattered across the courtyard.

A slim guy screamed as he was dragged out. I caught a flash of red hair from behind him.

“I need to go help her,” Sandra said, springing up.

“Wait,” I whispered, but she’d already disappeared.

My heart pounded as she dashed into the brush. Just then, Claudia gripped my wrist, her breath elevating. “What’s wrong?”

She blinked quickly. “I-I don’t know,” she groaned. “It hurts.”

A sheen of tears coated her eyes. She wrapped her arm around her torso and curled forward, her blonde hair cascading around her face.

Shit.

I grabbed her shoulders before she rolled headfirst into dirt and twigs. Claudia huddled into a ball, burying her face in her knees.

“We have bigger problems coming.” Sam tipped his head.

McKinney’s gaze swept across the tree line where we were hiding. He lifted his nose, sucked in a breath and began to approach.

Sam lowered his head and bunched his legs, ready to burst forward.

“What are you doing, Sam?” My heartbeat thumped in my ears.

“I need to distract him, or they’ll find all of us.” His arm slipped from my grip. “You have the best shot of getting in touch with Maya.”

“But—” My eyes darted up.

McKinney was too close now.

Sam’s lips thinned, and he dashed from the bush, meeting McKinney mid-shift. They collided with a flash of teeth and fur. Blood leaked through patches of Sam’s fur, but he didn’t give up as he furiously fought the larger male.

It didn’t take long for McKinney to break his neck.

Adrien wrapped a palm over my mouth and dragged me tight against his chest, keeping me quiet so that Sam’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain. My chest burned with each breath.

“We need to go for cover,” Claudia croaked. “Something’s wrong with me.” Sweat beaded on her forehead. “Never mind . . . it’s too late,” Claudia groaned and clutched her stomach. Oh crap, I recognized that look. “Quick! Knock me out.”

I wriggled free of Adrien’s grip and slammed my fist into her cheek. She dropped in an ungraceful slump on the ground. Adrien raised his eyebrows.

“She’s maturing.”