Chapter 42

I stretched in bed, well, as much as I could with the weight pinning me. After another experimental wiggle, I huffed and asked, “Where did Tanner go?”

An unintelligible murmur was the response. Two arms banned around my midsection from both sides and a third hand tangled in my hair.

“Enzo,” I called. His arm around my waist tightened, but he didn’t answer, sleeping away. “Beckett?” I nudged his arm that was draped over my breasts. He released a loud snore.

At least they weren’t dead. I smiled at the ceiling; finally, the bullshit had ended . . . except for the clean-up. Which likely explained Tanner’s absence.

“You sucked us dry last night,” Elliot murmured into the pillow from Beckett’s other side and then buried his face into it. “No energy.” His fingers rubbed my scalp, and then he fell back asleep.

I snorted. Unbelievable. Carefully wiggling between all of them, I managed to inch downward until I extricated myself. Beckett, who had attached himself to my side, rolled into my spot and pressed into Enzo.

The corner of my lips twitched. Not that long ago, Beckett and Enzo had violently hated each other, yet here they were, cuddling. Their attitude toward each other had shifted, turning almost friendly.

My heart throbbed. If I didn’t get out of here, I would cry.

Combing through my closet, I pulled out my uniform because it was the only wearable, non-dirty outfit. I rolled my tights on and wiggled the skirt up my waist, then buttoned my shirt and tucked it into my waistband.

I never thought my life would bring me here. Everything had changed since I first arrived, and it kind of fucking hurt. Change was a part of life, but the growing pains sometimes hurt a bit too much.

I cleared my throat and smoothed the collar of my shirt, so it wasn’t bunched up. If I didn’t, Tanner would forcefully fix it when I caught up to him—I’d save myself the embarrassment.

I shut the door with care even though I doubted anything would wake them. All their energy had leaked into me which meant that they’d sleep for a while. No noise graced the halls of the dorm building. None of the clamor or shouting or fighting over the bathrooms. And yet it was a different sort of quiet from when I would wake up too early.

Tapping the lower-level button on the elevator, the doors swooshed closed. These elevator walls had seen way too much action from me and Enzo. I smiled. The doors dinged open, and the silence in the lobby made my steps too loud. I discovered why when I neared the glass doors leading into the courtyard.

The swell of noise assaulted my ears. Various people in black suits with badges adorning their necks scattered the area. A line of students had formed in front of the Union, their uniforms in various states of disarray. I started in that direction.

“In line please,” a salt-and-pepper haired agent barked, directing me to the back of the line.

“What’s happening?”

The middle-aged man frowned. “If you haven’t been questioned you need to head toward the Administration building. I’ll have someone escort you. No one is to leave the campus. No exceptions.”

“Maya!” Wendy hurried in my direction with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Oh thank God, she was okay after we were attacked. She careened to a stop. “He told me you were okay, but where have you been?”

“Who told you?”

“Tanner.”

“Where is he?”

She pointed across the campus to the same building the agent had directed me toward.

I licked my lips, not wanting to ask it but knowing I had to. “Is everyone okay?”

“Alive, yeah, but I wouldn’t go so far to say they’re okay. Especially Sandra and Thomas.”

Wendy hooked her arm with mine and pulled me past the line.

“Back of the line.” A different agent guarded the glass doors.

“Do you know who she is?” Wendy scoffed. “She’s the one that saved all our asses.” She didn’t wait for a reply before yanking me into the cafeteria.

It had never been as quiet as it was today. The chatter dropped to a minimum, and there were various states of detached expressions everywhere.

Purple flashed in my peripheral, and then a tall form hugged me tight. “I’m sorry.”

I froze. Physical contact—hugs, and Sandra, were not the norm.

I patted her back, and she released a body-shaking sob. I stayed quiet while she babbled ‘sorry’ over and over into my hair. The crying subsided, and I gripped her forearms. The dark roots of her natural hair color had grown out, and her eyes kept flicking side to side.

“None of it is your fault.”

Her face turned red and blotchy.

“I’m serious. You saw how crazy evil I was last semester. It wasn’t me. I didn’t want to do that.” I knew better than anyone how it felt to lack control, but as much as I said it, she would need to come to terms with it herself. Just like I had.

Her brown eyes fixed on my shoulder, and she nodded.

“I’m just glad you’re talking to me again,” I quipped.

That started up the torrent of tears again, and she dropped onto the metal seat.

“Fuck,” I muttered, hooking my arm around her shoulders.

Thomas remained seated, sightlessly staring at the top of the table. He hadn’t looked up once.

“Thomas?”

His jaw pulsed with how hard he grit his teeth, but he completely ignored me. Perry approached the table with a plate piled high with fruit and sat next to the catatonic Thomas.

“His head’s messed up, don’t take it personally,” Wendy muttered to me, glancing at Thomas.

Easier said than done, but I understood. I’d come from the demon he’d seen do awful, awful things. A knot formed in my throat. “Where’s Helen?”

Wendy shrugged. “She managed to get away, but I haven’t seen her.”

I nodded slowly. Maybe she’d run off before shit hit the fan. I wouldn’t blame her. “I’m going to find Tanner.”

“Okay.”

I turned on my heel, not unaware of the attention on me. Everyone kept looking at me, their expressions seesawing between grateful and terrified. I exhaled and exited the stifling room.

The Administration building had as much bustle as the Union across the courtyard, but there seemed to be more movement in here. A curtain rustled in the broken entrance as I approached.

“Stop.” An agent put up his hand, stopping me just shy of the door.

“Let her through.”

“Agent Woo, I’m looking for Tanner.” The agent who stopped me tipped his head and moved aside.

“He’s helping us with a few things,” Woo said as I followed him through the loud halls.

A scream halted my stride, but Woo urged me forward. “Someone is setting a dislocated leg.”

The curtain dividing the building up into sections moved again. I continued through the hall after him and recognized the direction we were headed.

Tanner’s old office.

An agent pulled the door open and waved us through. Agent Sims stood with her arms crossed while Tanner leaned against his desk, eyes fixed across the room. A row of people with collars around their necks sat on the floor.

“We need to determine who was aware of their actions and who wasn’t. We’re waiting for one of our fae or vampires who can read minds to get here before dolling out sentences,” Agent Woo explained. “If it’s determined they had no choice, they’ll head away with a warning and a location tracker which we will remove within a few months if they follow regulations.”

Professor Grace bowed forward, her head in her hands. Professor McKinney glared at me, and I smirked.

“Cunt,” McKinney spat.

A spherical paperweight flew across the room. McKinney’s head whipped to the side, a gash opening on his eyebrow.

“Open your mouth again,” Tanner threatened.

McKinney growled in response.

“Maya, good to see you,” Sims said with a head nod, which I returned.

“If that’s not a confession, what is?” I smirked at the combat professor who hadn’t liked me since he’d first set eyes on me. “That one was in on it too.” Iyla met my gaze without wavering. “But unlike that fucker, she can be useful.”

“You killed Lukas,” Iyla finally said.

“Oh.” Oh . Love. Chick was dick-notized. Couldn’t lie, been there before. Well, kind of still was.

“Did I?” I tilted my head. “I wouldn’t know, I got rid of so much trash.” I shrugged.

She jumped to her feet but didn’t get far. Woo grabbed her and had her on the ground in an instant. Damn, he moved fast.

“I hoped we could chat. I’ll walk you out,” Sims waved her hand toward the door and walked through. I peeked at the lineup of professors and then at Tanner. There were three other agents beside Woo.

They could handle this without my nose all up in it. It wasn’t like it wasn’t a room full of Unnaturals.

I caught up to Sims.

“Have you given more thought to joining the UB?”

“I haven’t had much time to consider it with all the killing and stuff.” I gestured my hand in a circle.

“Right.”

The cacophony of the lobby-turned-medical-center bustled through the halls. She didn’t stop and made her way through the shattered glass doors. Her high ponytail swung until she came to a stop to the left side of the building where a large packing truck was parked. The vehicle cast a shadow over her face as she contemplatively stared up at the gothic structure.

“Woo and I can get you fast tracked through the preliminary screenings.”

“Giving me special treatment?”

“I’m not going to lie, yes. We need someone like you.” She faced me, and her gaze roamed over me. “Invincible. Feared. Have you heard about the rumors that have spread about you?”

I quirked my eyebrows. News to me.

“The Unnatural community is stirred up. They fear you.” She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “It’s been rough on the inside, corruption running rampant and all. We finally have it cleared out, but we need people now more than ever—specifically Unnaturals who won’t be fucked with and who can’t be corrupted.”

“What’s to say I’m not corruptible?”

She stared at me a beat, then two.

I finally sighed.

“Pay and benefits are great once you get through the training academy.” She rifled around in her pocket. “Here, tell me when you decide. The next cohort training begins in a week.”

She handed me another card. Simple and direct with her name and number. A door creaked at the side of the building, and people spoke back and forth in a rapid foreign language.

“Our agents are trying to clean out the bodies without students seeing.” She tsked. “See you later, kid,” she said and strode back inside.

I grazed my fingers over the card’s sharp edges. Good thing she gave me another; I’d lost the last one. The scent of firewood enveloped me, and then a chest pressed into my back.

“Who uses business cards these days?”

I focused on the rustling noises. Leaves crunched under shoes, and a man strode out with two large black bags in hand. Blood trickled out from the bottom. There had to be a hole. He strode past, his steps vibrating on the ramp as he placed the bags on the back of the trunk. Another agent passed by wheeling a cart. The bulge at the top was clearly an arm.

My stomach turned. Not from the sight of blood, but from the demon behind it. I’d come from the monster that did this.

I’d done shit like this too.

The back of my head hit Enzo’s sternum. His big hands engulfed my face.

“You are not a monster, Maya.”

I grimaced. “He ate more than half the student body. What if . . .”

“We’ll never let you eat people.”

I smiled. Trust Enzo to get straight to the point.

“And he didn’t have mates to keep him in line.”

I didn’t know how much I should trust this from Enzo, but I appreciated his take on it.