I gasp as the knife retreats and a heaviness settles on my chest. I stare wide-eyed at Olivia whose eyes are filled with tears as she lets the knife clatter to the ground of the bathroom floor. A floor that is streaked with blood.
A sob tears through Olivia's throat as she pulls Willow off my chest. Willow's dead eyes look up at the ceiling, staring blankly into nothing.
"Maeve! Can you hear me?" Olivia asks as she shakes my body.
I look up at her in shock. "You didn't kill me."
Her body shook violently with sobs as she looks over at Willow's body and back at me. "Of course not. We're friends."
My own tears fell freely at her declaration. "I thought you were one of them," I said.
She picked up the knife as if she was afraid Willow would come back to life and kill her. Wait, she wouldn't right?
Olivia took my hand before pulling me up and looking down at the book with a sigh. "I told you to give that back or else one of us would get hurt."
I was about to ask her why she had the book in the first place before the bathroom door opened so fast, it embedded itself into the wall. I jumped as my mates stood in the open doorway, taking in the scene in front of them.
"Hey, guys-"
Olivia was yanked from my grip as Colt slammed her up against a wall. "Drop the damn knife."
Olivia screeched as the knife fell to the floor. Harley kicked it away with his boot as he checked Willow's pulse. "Not breathing."
"Let her down-" I started before Daxon and Caspian pulled me into their embrace, cutting off my words.
"Got anything to say before I kill you?" Colt asked in an icy tone.
Olivia opened and closed her mouth. "Uh, yeah. I'm innocent!"
Caspian frowned as if he wanted to believe her, so I quickly extracted myself from their death grip. "She's telling the truth." Colt ignored me so I stormed over. "Let her go, Colt!"
He frowned but released her. Olivia rubbed her throat. "Geez, how do you let him choke you in bed girl?"
A giggle popped out of my mouth making all of the guys look at me in concern. I looked down at Willow's body. Yeah, maybe now wasn't the time to laugh.
"Is someone going to explain what's going on?" Daxon asked with a raised brow as he nudged Willow's body as if to make sure she wasn't faking it. No, she's definitely dead.
I open my mouth to explain before frowning. "Uh, I actually have no idea." I look at Olivia who was cowering under the glares of my mates.
Harley taps on the book in my hand and recoils as if he can feel the magic pulsing from it. "What the hell is that?"
I give Olivia a pointed look because even I don't know what I'm holding. She bites her lip before looking at Willow on the floor with guilty eyes. "We should probably clean this up, like now. We don't want anyone to see this, or else things will progress faster than we want."
Well, that wasn't vague or ominous as fuck.
"Anyone got a clean-up crew on speed dial?" I joked as I really took in the mess we made.
Colt nodded once before taking out his cellphone. "On it."
I gaped at him. "I was joking."
He stopped typing in a phone number before looking at me with a scowl. "So do you not want me to call them?"
I quickly shook my head. "No, go ahead, Sir."
Colt's eyes turned midnight black before he ground his jaw and walked out the door with his phone. I sighed before looking at Olivia who was smirking at me. Her face quickly sobered though once she focused back on the task at hand.
"I guess we need to disucss things," she began.
"Yeah, we sure as hell do," I replied a little sharper than I meant to.
She let out a small watery laugh before throwing her arms around my shoulder. "I have been wanting to tell you everything for over a month now. You have no idea how alone I've been in this. What it's like to be surrounded by those things all the time."
That caught my attention. "Things?" I questioned as I watched her face tighten in sadness...and fear.
She nodded her head, opening her mouth before shutting it again. She leaned in and spoke in a near whisper. "We should wait until we go back to our room. There are eyes and ears everywhere at this school. You can't trust anyone."
I nodded my head slowly and gulped. Is it bad if I say that I didn't trust her just five minutes ago? Fuck, I really thought she was going to stab me. And I almost let her. Even with my powers, my heart has a mind of its own.
Colt entered the bathroom again. "Clean-up is coming. We should head upstairs before anyone sees us here."
I wasn't one to disagree. I followed as we filed out of the bathroom and up the empty staircase. Olivia didn't let go of my hand, and I didn't dare let go of the book in the other. We all shuffled silently into the dorm room and I let Olivia's hand go.
She sat down with a thud on her bunk as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I guess I should start at the beginning," she said once Harley shut the door, sealing the six of us inside.
I nodded my head encouragingly for her to continue. She sighed as she looked out the window of the dorm room. "Well, it all started with Kameron. You know, the girl I had a crush on?"
My chest twinged in discomfort. "She's dead."
Olivia's eyes watered before she looked down at her clasped hands. "I thought so. I never knew for sure. I just..." she trailed off before playing with a bracelet on her wrist. "I just knew that thing wasn't her."
Daxon straightened from his spot against the door. "You keep saying that. What does that mean?"
Olivia's eyes got a faraway look. "It means they aren't human. Hell, they aren't even any supernatural being I've ever seen."
"How did you know it wasn't her?" I asked quietly.
"Because she was interested in me," Olivia said through a muffled sob.
Colt frowned. "And what does that mean?"
I sent Colt a glare as Olivia answered. "We were friends. I've always had a crush on her, but I don't think she ever reciprocated the same feelings. I mean, she was a wolf, she would find her mate one day. Chances are, I never would." She wiped her eyes before straightening up. "She started hanging around Willow and people she would normally never speak a word to. It was out of character for her."
Caspian's eyes widened. "What other people was she hanging around?"
Olivia smiled humorlessly. "William, Amanda, Andrew, and Donovan."
I shook my head. "But we already know Donovan couldn't have been a part of it. At least not the full picture."
Olivia nodded her head. "He's aware of some things going on. Willow was tasked to bring him in, gain his trust. She wanted him to seduce me into joining them. Little did she know, all she needed was to use Kameron to make me cooperate. But that was before I knew that Kameron wasn't Kameron."
Sadness flooded my senses. Olivia didn't deserve this. Hell, none of us did.
Harley spoke up from his spot by the window. "So what do you know? You seem to be more aware of everything going on than we do."
Olivia looked at me and I shrugged sheepishly. "You did seem to know Willow pretty well."
Olivia sighed. "I used Willow as an entrance into the group. I needed to know what happened to Kameron, and once I was in, I couldn't stop investigating. I needed them to trust me so they would divulge more information."
She glanced down at the book in my hand. "I stole that from one of the members. I could feel the dark magic seeping from it, and... I don't know. It seemed important for me to take it from them."
I looked down at the leatherbound book in question. "Is this what they use for the spells?"
Olivia shook her head. "No. But I know that it's important," She said as she looked at me meaningfully. "They're frantically searching for it."
"Who do they think has the book?" Colt says through gritted teeth.
Olivia gulped before staring me straight in the eye. "You."
I staggered back a step. "What? Why me?"
Her eyes went back to the book. "I translated some of the writing. There's talk about ancient rituals, all needing one thing." We waited as Olivia chewed on her lip before whispering. "A tribrid."
The guys went on high alert at her words.
I blinked. "So they're after me?"
"Not yet," Olivia said with a wince. "You need to look at that book." I look down at the one in my hand before Olivia shakes her head. "The one I teased you about in the library."
I realize she's referring to the book that I accidentally picked up when Colt caught me eavesdropping. The one that referenced power-sharing. Why would that be important right now?
I shook my head and laughed anxiously. "None of this makes any sense."
Caspian wrapped his arm around me, pulling me to his side. "We'll get to the bottom of this. You're not alone in this, shortcake."
I nod my head absentmindedly. I appreciated having people who cared for me. However, it almost seemed like it would be better if I was alone in this. That way, I wouldn't drag anyone down with me.
Unknown POV
My hands shook ever so slightly as I pulled the thread through the cloth in my lap. The sound of footsteps approaching made me lose my concentration. The needle slipped, puncturing the skin of my thumb.
Alexander looked over at me, his fangs catching the light. "Better watch yourself, Ella."
I grit my teeth at the vile words that I wanted to scream at him, and instead say, "Sorry."
He grunts before facing forward again. The sound of footsteps approaching is the only signal we get before he walks in. His eyes find mine as he breaks out in a smile. The sight makes my skin crawl.
I was one of the very few who knew his real name, but I would never dare speak it. I hated him. I wanted to kill him.
His attention returns to Alexander. "A word." His tone was commanding. A tone I was very well acquainted with. I looked back down, pretending to be engrossed in my needlework as I kept an ear directed towards them.
"It's time." I choked on my next breath at his words. No, it can't be. "Ms. Richards has been found dead. The book has been detected nearby. We need to carry on with the next course of action."
Footsteps sound closer until I see the toe of his shoes in my line of sight. "Your presence will be needed, Ella. It's about time you make yourself useful." A hand touched my arm, making me shiver in disgust, but then again, he wouldn't notice such a difference. He stroked my hair in a loving gesture. "Be ready, darling."
I wanted to kill him.
The sound of footsteps retreated, leaving me alone to my needlework and a bleeding thumb. My hand touches the bare skin of my chest, realizing that the pendent I once cherished so dearly is forever gone. And that the family I once had, was never coming back.
I'm very interested in hearing everyone's opinions on this chapter. I'm finally putting every little hint and secret together that's mentioned throughout the book, and I hope it meets everyone's expectations!
Question: Who is this mystery POV? Leave all your theories!