Taking a deep breath, I stepped into view of the person. Rage growled, not liking the fact that I took control.
The person had a hood over their head, and at first, their face was hidden by a shadow that not even my wolf eyes could see. When they stepped into the moonlight, I lost my breath.
Golden eyes stared right at me and their jet-black hair blended with the hood. Sharp vampire features stared back at me.
“Jordan?” I couldn’t help the question that filtered through.
“Believe me, I’m not thrilled about this either.” Jordan rolled her eyes when they landed on Rage. “Of course, you couldn’t leave him out of this. Now I have to deal with two dogs instead of one.”
“Whatever it is, we’re not interested.” Rage scoffed and glanced at me. “Let’s head back. She isn’t worth our time.”
“No, you stay here.” She commanded us with her high-pitched voice.
She’d been a bitch to me ever since I came to the school. The very night Cole showed me to my dorm room, she put a target on my head. Apparently, she wanted Cole, but he wouldn’t have anything to do with her. I’d been her punching bag ever since, and after killing Ashley in self-defense, I wasn’t okay with it anymore. “Let’s see how well we listen to you.”
Turning, Rage and I began moving back out of the clearing.
“We know you killed Ashley.”
Did she think she could hold it over my head? “It was in self-defense, so if you saw, you’ll know it’s the truth.” I took a few more steps with no intention of turning around.
“Some of us think you are the vision in one of our leader’s dreams.” Her voice cracked, as if she was desperate.
“And I dreamed that I killed you by ripping out your throat.” Rage tensed and turned around. “So does that mean I get to kill you now?”
Her golden eyes darkened, and she laughed. “I’d like to see you try, but unfortunately, we are here to be civil.”
“Speak for yourself, bloodsucker.” Rage bared his teeth at her. “If you don’t want to fight me, then we’re heading back so we can wash off your stench.”
“In the dream, he saw your moon necklace.”
I stopped in my tracks and turned around. “So what?”
She grinned, knowing she had caught my attention. “It was the way of marking the wolf that could help the supernatural world balance out.”
“My mom gave me that necklace, so there must have been a hiccup in that dream.” My gut told me she was telling the truth, which made my skin crawl.
“Maybe, but think about it.” Her red lips resembled blood as she smirked. “If you really are her, are you sure you want more deaths like the one you just covered up?”
“Stop playing games.” Rage's jaw twitched, and his eyes glowed. “What is in this for you?”
“Look, I’m not thrilled about this either.” Jordan huffed and crossed her arms. “Do you think I’d be here if I didn’t have to be? I wish it was anyone but her.” Her eyes were filled with hate as she stared at me. “But the cause is worth more than my hatred for her.”
“Wow, I’m not sure what to think.” She had made it clear how much she despised me. Granted, I wasn’t sure why, but at that point, it was my relationship with the guys that appeared to piss everyone off.
“This is bullshit.” He took a menacing step toward her and scowled. “You invite her here and then treat her with such disrespect. Why the hell should we believe anything you say?”
Jordan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “The death earlier was due to him being a half-breed.”
“If that was the case, how did he survive so long? He looked as if he was a teenager.” It was known that when a human woman gave birth to a half-wolf, both died during birth. So this didn’t make any sense.
“Since both parents were supernaturals, the mother and child were able to survive the labor.” Jordan dropped her hands, and for once, her face wasn’t full of hatred or disgust. She stared off in the distance. “He lived most of his life as a fae from what we can tell. Apparently, he turned sixteen a few weeks ago, and then this happened.”
“That makes sense. That’s when we come into our wolf.” Rage rubbed a hand down his face and sighed. “So, the wolf and the fae inside became unbalanced.”
“Yes.” She bit her bottom lip and leaned back against the tree. “This is a growing epidemic that has severe consequences for all of our supernatural races.”
“So what do you all do?” If people were losing their lives or something like that, the message did need to get out.
A small smirk crossed her face. “We search for the half-breeds to help them maintain their balance and take them to a place they can all live without the threat of combustion.”
“Why should we believe you?” Rage turned around, scanning the area.
“You don’t have to believe me.” Jordan crossed her arms and tilted her head. “But how else would I know what’s going on. Do you think I’d go out of my way to talk to Raven?”
Whether we liked it or not, she had a point. “Fine, I’m interested.” If I could save lives, then, of course, I would do it. Besides, how could I live with myself otherwise?
“If she’s in, I am too.” Rage reached for my hand.
“Great, we could use you both.” Jordan smiled, and my blood ran cold.
I hoped we hadn’t just signed up for more than we bargained for.
Chapter Six
The next few weeks were uneventful. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. The Elites hadn’t reached out again, and Jordan wasn’t targeting me with her hateful gazes when I walked by like before. Granted, she wasn’t going out of her way to be nice either. It was more like not acknowledging me.
Both Rage and I were on edge because of the quiet. It didn’t seem right for life to turn to normal now that we knew what had been going on around us.
“And I said, back off bitches, I’m too hot to handle.” Cole had his normal tumbler filled with warm blood while we sat around eating breakfast. He took a sip and waved his hand in front of his chest. “I mean, look at me.”
“Has anyone else noticed that a lot of Cole’s stories deal with how hot he is?” Jess piled some eggs on her fork and popped it into her mouth. “I mean, does it seem like someone is overcompensating?”
“Hey, hey.” Cole lifted both hands in the air. “Don’t shade. I’m just spilling the tea.”
These two have been going at each other a lot lately. I wasn’t sure what that was all about.
“The only thing you’re going to be spilling is blood if you don’t keep your mouth shut.” She arched an eyebrow and swiped at his cup.
“I can’t help it that people find me hot.” He pointed at me. “Tell her how good looking I am.”
To be fair, all three boys at this table were damn hot, but I wasn’t stupid enough to admit that, especially with Rage sitting close to me. “You’re cute.”
“Cute?” Somehow that made him even angrier at me than Jess. “Cute?”