HELL UNIVERSITY

Freshmen and Predators

The east gate was supposed to be safe.

That's what the orientation guides said. That's what the campus brochures promised. That's what the administration wanted everyone to believe. But Tristan Reed had been at Hell University for exactly three weeks, and he'd already learned that nothing about this place was safe.

He stood at the edge of the courtyard, his hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets, his breath misting in the cold October air. The east gate loomed in the distance, its iron bars rusted and ancient. Beyond it, the forest stretched into darkness, the trees like skeletal fingers reaching toward the sky.

Tristan had heard the stories. Everyone had. Students disappearing. Bodies found. Something lurking in the shadows. He'd dismissed them as rumors, the kind of tales that spread through every new student body. But now, standing alone in the darkness, he wasn't so sure.

He turned to leave. He'd only come out here to clear his head, to escape the noise of the dormitory. But the silence was worse. The silence felt like it was waiting for something.

A twig snapped behind him.

Tristan spun around, his heart pounding. The courtyard was empty. The shadows were deep. But there was something out there. He could feel it. Eyes watching him from the darkness.

"Hello?" His voice was barely a whisper. "Is someone there?"

No answer.

Tristan backed away, his eyes scanning the darkness. He was being paranoid. That was all. Just paranoid. There was nothing out here but trees and shadows and—

A hand clamped over his mouth.

Tristan tried to scream, but the sound was muffled. Strong arms dragged him backward, pulling him into the shadows. He struggled, kicked, fought, but the grip was too strong. Too powerful.

He caught a glimpse of a face. Pale. Expressionless. Eyes that glittered in the moonlight.

And then everything went black.

---

The news spread through the campus like wildfire.

By morning, everyone knew that a freshman had gone missing. Tristan Reed. Eighteen years old. From Ohio. No one had seen him since the night before.

Rowan heard the news in the dining hall, his coffee growing cold in his hands. The whispers were everywhere, students clustered in groups, their faces pale with fear.

"Another one?"

"This is the fourth one this month."

"Someone has to do something."

"The administration is covering it up."

Rowan set down his coffee and stood. He needed to find his friends. He needed to figure out what was happening.

He found them at the sixth table, their faces grim.

"Tristan Reed," Declan said quietly. "I knew him. He was in my history class. Nice kid. Always smiling."

"Was he marked?" Rowan asked.

Selene nodded slowly. "I checked. There was a mark on his desk. The same symbol we saw in the catacombs."

Briar slammed her hand on the table. "This has to stop. The hunters are getting bolder. They're targeting freshmen now. Students who don't know what's happening."

"We need to find him," Gideon said. "Before it's too late."

Rowan nodded. "We'll search the campus. Every building. Every corner. He has to be somewhere."

They split up, each heading in a different direction. Rowan walked through the main courtyard, his eyes scanning the shadows. The campus was eerily quiet, the students retreating to their dormitories as the morning sun climbed higher.

He found a group of freshmen huddled near the fountain, their faces pale with fear.

"Have you seen Tristan?" he asked.

One of them shook her head. "We haven't seen him since last night. He said he was going for a walk. He never came back."

"Where did he go?"

"He said something about the east gate. He wanted to see the forest."

Rowan's blood ran cold. The east gate. That's where the hunters had been operating. That's where the bodies had been found.

"Stay inside," he said. "Don't go anywhere alone. And if you see anything suspicious, tell a professor."

He walked away, his mind racing. Tristan had gone to the east gate. The hunters had taken him. And now he was somewhere on campus, hidden in the shadows.

Rowan needed to find him. And he needed to find him fast.

---

The search took hours.

Rowan combed the campus, checking every building, every corridor, every shadow. He found nothing. Tristan had vanished, like so many others before him.

He was about to give up when he saw her.

Selene was standing near the catacombs entrance, her face pale. She was holding a piece of paper in her trembling hands.

"Rowan." Her voice was barely a whisper. "I found something."

She handed him the paper. It was a note, written in handwriting that looked familiar.

"Tristan is in the catacombs. Come alone. Or he dies."

Rowan stared at the note, his heart pounding. It was a trap. It had to be. The hunters were using Tristan as bait, trying to lure him into the darkness.

But he couldn't let Tristan die.

"I'm going," he said.

"No." Selene grabbed his arm. "It's a trap. They're going to kill you."

"Then I'll die trying to save him."

He pulled away and descended into the darkness.

---

The catacombs were cold and damp, the air heavy with the smell of stone and decay. Rowan moved through the tunnels, his footsteps echoing in the silence. The torches on the walls flickered, casting dancing shadows that seemed to move on their own.

He found Tristan near the bottom, bound and gagged, his eyes wide with terror. A figure stood behind him, a knife pressed to his throat.

"Ah, Rowan." The voice was familiar. "I was wondering when you'd come."

Rowan's blood ran cold. He knew that voice. He'd heard it in the lecture hall, in the dining hall, in his nightmares.

Professor Victor Hale stepped out of the shadows.

"You," Rowan whispered.

"Me." Hale's smile was cold. "Did you really think I was trying to help you? I've been planning this for years, Rowan. Years. And you walked right into my trap."

"Why?" Rowan demanded. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you're a monster. All of you. Vampires, werewolves, witches, hybrids. You're a plague on humanity. And I'm going to wipe you out." Hale pressed the knife closer to Tristan's throat. "Starting with your friends."

"Let him go. He's just a kid. He doesn't know anything."

"He's human. That's all that matters." Hale's eyes glittered. "But you can save him, Rowan. You can save all of them. All you have to do is give yourself up."

Rowan stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"Submit to the hunters. Renounce your kind. Help us destroy the supernaturals that infest this campus." Hale's voice was soft, persuasive. "Do that, and I'll let the boy live."

Rowan was silent for a long moment. Then he spoke.

"Never."

Hale's smile widened. "I was hoping you'd say that."

He raised his hand, and the shadows behind him stirred. Figures emerged from the darkness—dozens of them. Hunters, armed and ready.

Rowan's heart sank. He was surrounded. Outnumbered. And there was no way out.

But he wasn't going to give up. Not now. Not ever.

He raised his hands, his eyes blazing. "Come and get me."

The hunters attacked.

---

The battle was brutal.

Rowan fought with everything he had, his vampire strength and speed giving him an edge against the hunters. He dodged their attacks, blocked their blows, struck back with devastating force. But there were too many of them. And they were too well-trained.

He was losing.

A hunter's blade sliced across his arm. He staggered, his vision swimming. Another hunter grabbed him from behind, pinning his arms to his sides.

"Enough," Hale said. "You've lost, Rowan. Surrender, and I'll make your death painless."

Rowan laughed bitterly. "You think I'm afraid to die?"

"I think you're afraid to watch your friends die." Hale gestured to the shadows. "Bring them out."

The hunters dragged Declan, Briar, Gideon, and Selene into the chamber. They were bound and gagged, their eyes wide with terror.

"No!" Rowan struggled against his captors. "Let them go!"

"That's not how this works." Hale stepped forward, his eyes cold. "You're going to watch them die, Rowan. One by one. And then you're going to die too."

Rowan felt something inside him snap. A rage so deep, so primal, that it consumed everything else.

He broke free.

The hunters didn't have time to react. Rowan moved like a blur, striking them down with brutal efficiency. He tore through them, his hands and teeth finding their targets. Blood sprayed across the walls. Bodies fell to the ground.

Hale watched, his expression unchanged. "Impressive. But pointless."

He raised his hand, and the ground beneath Rowan's feet began to glow. A circle of light surrounded him, trapping him in place.

"Did you think I wouldn't be prepared?" Hale asked. "I've been studying your kind for years, Rowan. I know your weaknesses. I know your limits."

Rowan struggled against the light, but it held him fast. He was trapped. Helpless.

And Hale was winning.

"Now," Hale said softly. "Let's finish this."

---

But before Hale could strike, the lights flickered.

The chamber was plunged into darkness. A sound echoed through the catacombs—a howl, long and mournful.

Hale's eyes widened. "What is that?"

The howl grew closer. Louder. More powerful.

And then the walls began to shake.

Hale stumbled, his concentration breaking. The light around Rowan flickered and died.

"Now!" Selene shouted.

Rowan moved. He grabbed Declan and Briar, pulling them free of their bonds. Gideon broke free on his own, his eyes blazing with rage.

They ran.

The hunters pursued them, but the howling grew louder, more intense. The walls shook again, and this time, chunks of stone began to fall from the ceiling.

"Run!" Rowan shouted.

They fled through the tunnels, the hunters close behind. The howling was everywhere now, filling the darkness, drowning out everything else.

And then, just as they reached the surface, the howling stopped.

Rowan collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. His friends were beside him, bruised and battered, but alive.

The hunters were gone.

But the howling had left behind something else. A message. A warning.

"Adrian Crowe," Selene whispered. "He's waking up."

Rowan looked at her, his heart pounding. "How do you know?"

"Because I heard him." She met his eyes. "He spoke to me. He told me the hunters are feeding him. The hatred. The fear. The violence. It's making him stronger."

Rowan's blood ran cold. "Then we have to stop them. Before it's too late."

They stood in the darkness, the weight of the world pressing down on them.

The war was coming.

And they had no idea if they could survive it.

---

But as the sun rose over Hell University, Rowan made a decision. He would protect his friends. He would stop the hunters. He would find a way to save the campus.

No matter what it cost.

He looked at his friends, bruised and battered, but still standing.

"Together," he said quietly. "We do this together."

They nodded.

The war was coming.

But they were ready to fight.

---

The howl echoed through the catacombs.

And somewhere beneath the university, the First Hybrid smiled.

"Soon," he whispered.

"Soon."