THEY CHOSE THE WRONG PREY

CHAPTER 11 - THE HUNT START

Selene barely slept the day after

By morning she wasn't even sure she'd slept at all.

"Tell me you look this terrible because of studying."

Selene looked up from her coffee.

Zoe dropped into the seat beside her.

"You don't believe that."

"Not even a little."

For a moment, neither mentioned the wolves.

The campus felt strangely normal.

Students hurried to class.

"Have you seen Raven?"

Zoe asked suddenly.

Selene blinked.

"No."

"That's weird."

Yet her usual seat near the windows was empty.

Their first class started.

Still no Raven.

Their second class started.

Still no Raven.

By lunch, students had started noticing.

"Maybe she's sick."

"Raven?"

"Good point."

Then the cafeteria doors opened.

Conversation immediately slowed.

Selene looked up.

Her stomach tightened.

Raven had finally arrived.

Something was wrong.

Raven's usually perfect appearance looked slightly unorganized.

The sleeves of her hoodie were pulled down farther than usual.

Dark circles shadowed beneath her eyes.

Her movements seemed slower.

"Wow."

Zoe stared.

"She looks awful."

Selene immediately noticed something else.

Raven's hand.

A white bandage disappeared beneath the sleeve of her hoodie.

Wrapped around her wrist.

Without saying a word, Raven headed toward an empty table.

"Okay."

Zoe leaned closer.

"That's suspicious."

Selene didn't answer.

The afternoon passed slowly.

By the time last class ended, everyone was exhausted.

Selene was gathering her books when movement outside the classroom caught her attention.

Several students had gathered in the hallway.

"What now?" Zoe groaned.

The crowd suddenly shifted.

Someone stepped aside.

And Selene saw why everyone had stopped.

"New transfer students?"

Zoe whispered.

"Probably."

Two young men had just stepped through the main entrance.

Exactly identical.

Even the way they stood matched.

Perfectly.

Like mirrors.

A chill ran down Selene's spine.

The twins stopped near the administration office.

Both were dressed in dark clothes that somehow made them stand out even more.

Selene couldn't explain it.

Something about them bothered her.

The twins looked around campus.

Calmly.

Patiently.

Studying everything.

A staff member hurried toward them holding a folder.

"Welcome to Crescent University."

The twin accepted it with a polite nod.

Then the staff member spoke loudly enough for nearby students to hear.

"Everyone, these are our transfer students."

Several people stopped moving completely.

The hallway suddenly seemed quieter.

"Please welcome..."

The woman checked her paperwork.

"...Lucian Vale and Damian Vale."

The students gossipin about the handsome transfers

"They're gorgeous."

"I think so."

"Are they models?"

"Are they brothers?"

"They have to be twins."

Selene wasn't listening anymore.

Her pulse hammered inside her ears.

Because she recognized something.

A tiny detail.

Yet something about them felt wrong.

Selene couldn't explain it.

They looked perfectly normal.

Yet a cold feeling settled in her stomach the moment she saw them.

A strange sense of familiarity.

As though she'd seen them before.

Somewhere.

Above the left eye of each twin—

A faint scar.

Identical.

The exact same place.

The exact same shape.

The memory hit her instantly.

She just couldn't remember where.

"Zoe."

Her voice barely worked.

"What?"

"Look at their faces."

Zoe squinted.

"I don't see anything."

"The scars."

"What scars?"

Then Zoe saw them.

And immediately went pale.

"No."

"Yeah."

"No."

"Yeah."

Beside her, Raven's jaw tightened.

Raven took a step backward.

"Do you know them?"

Selene asked.

"Raven?"

No response.

"Raven."

Still nothing.

Raven looked genuinely unsettled.

A chill ran down Selene's spine.

Because Raven wasn't simply looking at someone.

She looked like she'd seen a ghost.

Then Lucian's gaze lifted.

His eyes moved across the crowd.

Without taking her eyes off the twins, Raven spoke.

Quietly.

Almost to herself.

"No..."