Chapter 4 4

Aden pushed the bathroom door open. It swung shut behind them.

"Dude, what is your problem?" Chadwick asked, adjusting his glasses. "You're acting weird. Weirder than usual."

"I just need a minute," Aden said. He splashed cold water on his face.

The intercom crackled.

"All students, please report to the auditorium immediately for a special assembly."

Chadwick groaned. "Great. Probably another pep talk about school spirit."

Aden dried his face with a paper towel. "Let's just get it over with."

The auditorium was a sea of bodies. The hum of conversation was loud.

Aden stuck close to the wall. He felt exposed.

Principal Myers tapped the microphone.

"Quiet, please. Settle down."

The room hushed.

"We have a new student joining us today," Myers said. "Please welcome Elise Tucker."

A girl walked onto the stage.

The air in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.

She was striking. Platinum blonde hair that fell to her waist like liquid silk. Her uniform was tailored perfectly, looking more like a costume than school clothes.

She stood at the podium and looked out at the crowd.

Her eyes were blue, but cold. Like glacial ice.

She didn't smile. She looked bored. She looked like she was inspecting livestock.

Aden felt a sharp prick in his chest. Instinct.

Elise's gaze swept across the rows.

It stopped on him.

She narrowed her eyes. Her nostrils flared slightly.

She had smelled him.

The assembly ended ten minutes later. Aden tried to blend into the herd of students leaving the hall.

He made it to the corridor near the science labs.

A hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

It wasn't a gentle grab. It was a vice grip.

Aden was slammed into the lockers. Bang.

He gasped.

Elise stood in front of him. She was shorter than him, but she loomed.

She wore black velvet gloves.

"No clan marking," she said softly. Her voice was melodic but sharp. "A rogue?"

Aden played dumb. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't insult me," Elise said. "You smell like old pennies and desperation."

She reached for his pocket.

Aden tried to push her away. It was like pushing a marble column. She didn't budge.

She pulled out his phone.

"Hey!" Aden shouted. "Give that back!"

"You were going to call someone?" Elise asked. "Maybe your sire? Or the police?"

"It's my phone, you psycho!"

Elise looked at the device with disdain.

"Signal is jammed anyway," she said.

She squeezed her hand.

Crunch.

The glass screen shattered. The metal casing buckled. Sparks flew.

She crushed the phone into a ball of debris with one hand.

She dropped the wreckage on the floor.

Aden stared at it. That phone cost him three months of bussing tables.

"You owe me a thousand dollars," Aden said, his voice trembling with rage.

People were stopping to watch. Whispers spread.

Chadwick pushed through the crowd.

"Hey! Back off!" Chadwick yelled. He stepped between them.

Elise looked at Chadwick. She didn't even blink.

She just radiated... pressure.

Chadwick froze. His mouth hung open, but no words came out. He looked like a deer in headlights.

Elise turned back to Aden. She reached up and patted his cheek with her gloved hand.

It was humiliating. Like petting a dog.

"Meet me on the football field after school," she whispered. "If you run, I'll hunt you down. And I enjoy the chase."

She turned and walked away. Her heels clicked on the linoleum.

Aden leaned against the dented locker.

He looked at the pile of plastic and glass on the floor.

She wasn't a parasite. She was a hunter. Or a rival predator.

And she wanted him dead.