35. Chapter 35
E den and Holden walked across the ground of the school, her small ball of fire followed them as they stayed on the sidewalk. Ice salt crunched under their feet and the sun was particularly warm for a winter day. Grateful for it, she pointed out various buildings and areas in the school where she took classes. As they walked past the woodland’s edge his head turned toward the three tall gravestones tucked between the trees.
“These are marked this year. Are they yours?”
“Two out of three.” She admitted and avoided the sight of them as they continued.
“Usually you don’t hold back this much. Where’s the Eden that liked to brag?”
“I was under vampire venom for a week.” She retorted as they made their way toward the school garage.
“And that caused the great Heiress Miller to crumble?”
“No, the realization that The Salvamari wasn’t what I thought it was.”
She brought her hands closer to the fire as a cold breeze sent a shiver through her, Eden peered over to Holden. The person she was three years ago would have been ecstatic at the situation however that version of her was too far gone to be excited. The sound of music played from about sixty feet away from the garage. The doors were open and she instantly knew Wyatt had remembered his offer and was around if she needed him. Internally she breathed a sigh of relief knowing he was close by.
“Is there a reason you insisted on an outdoor tour in the middle of winter?” The question fell out.
“What’s the first step when you enter new surroundings?” Holden shot back.
As if automatically, she recited the line they were all taught. “Scout and route. Scout the situation and plan your route to the target… Who’s your target?”
“You.” He smirked.
A hand gripped hers suddenly and pulled her back. The force made her turn back toward him and away from the garage. With a tug she forced her hand out of his grasp and placed her hands on his chest to stop the momentum of his actions. However, the smile on his face told her that this was still the end result he wanted.
“You know I have no real interest in this arrangement. Not anymore.” His arms wound around Eden and kept her in place as she spoke.
“Not anymore? Are you saying you did at one point?” He asked.
“You shut us down three years ago, Holden. You’re the one who suggested we couldn’t have any distractions.” Eden’s eyebrow rose and she went to turn away.
“I was wrong.” He admitted and his hands shot to her wrists. “Stay… Hear me out”
He peered at her through his eyelashes before he looked up quickly to scan their surroundings as a smirk flashed on his lips. The small ball of fire sent sparks into the air as it snapped loudly and slowly rose above their heads. Slowly, he stepped forward and led her back toward a tree sticking just outside of the woodline out of sight from the garage. It was clear he had also heard the music in the area and now wanted to be completely alone.
“I thought I was supposed to be hearing you out.”
“Not in the middle of the grounds.” He whispered in her ear.
Eden felt her back press against the rough bark, the sensation sent her nerves a light once more. The feeling of being cornered overwhelmed her as it brought her back to the night of the party in the entranceway. Adrenaline coursed through her and her heart skipped as the man looked down at her. Eden’s body shivered and she turned her head in the direction of the garage where the music had seemed to get fainter. Abruptly, one of her hands was released but she was too focused on the quieted song.
Holden’s fingertip pushed her chin and directed her eyes back to him. Forced to meet his gaze she went to reach for the dagger hidden under her jacket. However, he pressed his body into her and blocked the path to any of her other hidden weapons. She watched as his once alluring eyes now darkened. Everything shifted suddenly from a walk around campus to what felt like a trap.
“Get off me, Heir Holloway.” She attempted to break his weight held firm on her.
“You and I make sense, so why is it you seem so determined to deny it?” His grip on her other wrist tightened. “I am what is right for you and I will make you see it. Even if I have to clip your wings. Is that what you want, Little Bird?”
“Don’t you know, a Viper will strike when threatened.” Wyatt’s voice growled from behind Holden.
The sound sent ice into her veins as she saw Holden’s eyes light up. Eden had seen it before, he was ready for the hunt and seemed to know exactly who was behind him. His right hand went toward her gun tucked in a chest holster under her jacket and he turned only slightly to face Wyatt but kept his weight on her body. As he did so she was finally able to see Wyatt who was feet from them and stood five inches taller than Holden. Electricity cracked in lines between his fingers as the storm raged in his eyes.
“Is that a threat, Steele?”
“No, it's a promise. A Copperhead’s bite isn’t as venomous as a Viper’s. I wouldn’t dare stand in the way of a Viper’s revenge. Now, I believe she said to get off of her. I’d hate to see you get bit.” Wyatt taunted and peered over Holden’s shoulder and locked eyes with her.
Eden’s body didn’t move from the tree, the fear she hid when her fellow hunter suddenly trapped her played in her eyes for both of them to see. Holden brought up the stolen gun and pointed it at Wyatt with a smile as she struggled under him.
“She won’t do it, not to me. You see, Heiress Miller here knows she’s not the top of the food chain when it comes to our families. Eloise picked a Holloway for a reason and it seems I found it. To think, I didn’t even need to hunt you down.”
“I don’t give a fuck who you are,” The sparks cracked brighter and he grabbed Holden by the arm. “I’ll teach you some respect for women.”
Wyatt pulled on Holden’s arm and forced him off of Eden. With all his strength he turned them so the two traded places and brought his arm down overtop of the hunter’s hand in an attempt to disarm him. This was quickly followed by a jolt of electricity up Holden’s arm, however, the shock caused his finger to pull the trigger. The dulled sound made all of them freeze and both men looked in her direction. Her gaze followed theirs to her left shoulder she saw there was a small hole in the tree behind her. When she turned back to Wyatt she saw a mixture of shock, anger, and fear as he looked back at her with revelation in his eyes.
Without a single word, he turned toward Holden and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. He drew his right arm back and drove it into the man’s eye before he let him drop to the snow. Eden flinched but didn’t stop him, something was different about Holden from a few years ago and it scared her. Wyatt took a few steps back to stand between the two, his body blocked her view and she noticed his fists shake.
“You could have killed her! Is that what you want?” He spat.
“Maybe if you weren’t so reckless when you fought my finger wouldn’t have slipped.” Holden snapped back.
Wyatt lifted his hand as the sparks snapped around his fingers once more ready to lash out. Eden moved away from the tree quickly and stood beside him. Gently, she placed her hand on his arm and guided it back down before sliding her hand into his.
“Are you okay?” He whispered
“Fine, it didn’t hit me.” She looked past him, her attention on Holden while he returned to his feet.
Holden stood to his full height, his eye now bright red and glaring daggers at the two. He adjusted his clothes and pocketed Eden’s gun into his own weapons belt before he held a hand out to her with the same look in his eyes before Wyatt had appeared.
“Come with me, Little Bird.”
“No…” She could hear Wyatt’s huff of irritation at the nickname.
“We had a deal, you need to come home. Or I tell Eloise of Bastien and his pet.”
“Our deal had nothing to do with us.” Eden said through gritted teeth. “Just the mission.”
Holden’s hand balled into a fist as he looked down at their hands. “You chose me first, Eden. Remember that when you choose between Donovan and I.”
He turned and started to make his way back toward Elder row where she knew he would lurk for the next month as well as Chase. Eden drew in a slow, shaky breath and avoided the gaze she could feel on her. A set of familiar hands slowly came into view and her eyes fell on the scarred rose tattoo. She forced her eyes shut to hide the amount of emotions and adrenaline still coursing through her body.
“I think it’s time for a drink.” Wyatt offered quietly.
“Please,” her voice broke as he wound an arm around her waist and led her toward Kappa Theta House.