Chapter seven

HAZEL POV

I stood on the gravel driveway of the cottage, the oversized black hoodie swishing against my thighs, my knees still shaking slightly from exhaustion.

Killian walked out of the cabin, locking the heavy wooden door behind him. He looked entirely unaffected by the lack of sleep. He held out the spare black helmet.

"Put it on," he commanded.

I took the helmet, my bandaged palms stinging as my fingers gripped the hard plastic. "Are we going back to the campus?"

"Where else would we go, sweetpea?" Killian stepped over the bike, his long legs settling effortlessly on either side of the machine. He gripped the handlebars, his bare forearms flexing, the dark ink shifting under his skin. "Classes start in an hour. You have an economics quiz, don't you?"

My breath hitched. I hadn't told him about the quiz. "How do you know my schedule?"

Killian tilted his head back, his pitch-black eyes locking onto mine. “I told you. I know everything about you . Now get on before I make you ride in front."

The thought of being pinned between his chest and the handlebars made my pulse spike. I quickly shoved the helmet over my head, buckled the strap, and climbed onto the back of the bike. I hesitated, keeping my hands on the metal bar behind the seat.

Killian didn't even look back. He grabbed my wrists, and yanked my arms around his waist.

"Hold on to me," he growled over the engine's idle. "Unless you want to paint the asphalt with your blood."

We tore through the winding forest roads at a terrifying speed. Every time the bike leaned into a sharp turn, I gripped his waist tighter, burying my face into the leather of his jacket. He was a monster who had just beaten a boy half to death for speaking to me, yet right now, he was the only thing keeping me from flying off into the dirt.

Twenty minutes later, the iron gates of Legacy Thorne University loomed ahead.

Instead of stopping at the student parking lot, Killian drove straight into campus. Students walking to their early morning lectures stopped and stared.

My heart dropped into my stomach. "Killian, stop! People are watching!" I shouted through the helmet.

He didn't care. He skidded the bike to a halt right in front of the main library steps—the busiest spot on campus. He cut the engine.

I scrambled off the bike immediately, ripping the helmet off my head. My long black hair fell around my face in wild tangles.

"Hey. Freshman."

I looked up. Jason Jax and Lucian Vane were leaning against the stone railing of the library steps. Jason was nursing a coffee, a dark smirk on his face. Lucian was tossing a lighter up and down, his unhinged blue eyes wide and scanning me from head to toe.

"Look at that," Lucian chuckled, walking down the steps toward us. His steps were erratic, loose. "She's wearing the boss's hoodie. Did you break her already, Blackwood?

"Back off, Lucian," Killian said, his voice dropping into that terrifyingly growl. He didn't get off the bike.

"Just asking," Lucian raised his hands in mock surrender, though his eyes never left my face. He leaned closer to me, whispering just loud enough for Killian to hear. "You look tired, Hazel. If Killian plays too rough, you can always come to my dorm. I keep my toys clean."

Killian stood up from the bike, stepping between Lucian and I. “Speak to her that way again and I will forget we’re ever friends. Now fuck the hell out of here.”

“Loud and clear, boss." He turned on his heel and walked away, whistling a tuneless song.

"Go to class, Hazel," Killian commanded, not turning around to look at me.

I didn't need to be told twice. I grabbed my backpack, shoved past Jason, and practically ran up the library steps.

As I burst through the heavy glass doors of the science building, a hand gripped my arm, pulling me into a side alcove. I gasped, ready to fight, but stopped when I saw a flash of blonde hair.

"Mila?" I breathed, my heart hammering against my ribs.

“Where the hell have you been, Hazel?" Mila demanded, her voice tight, "Winter and I were sick with worry. And now you show up on the back of Killian Blackwood's bike? Wearing his clothes?"

"It's... it's complicated, Mila," I stammered, trying to pull the hoodie sleeves down to cover my bandaged hands. "I got caught up in some project work for him.….” I quickly snap my mouth shut before I say something stupid.

“ I don’t know what’s happening,Hazel, but you need to talk to us. I just saw you with Killian and that can’t be good news.”

I sighed. Not saying a word.

“Whenever you’re ready you can always talk to us, winter and I are always here for you. Go get changed before class You smell like him.”

She turned and walked down the hallway. I can’t go back to the dorm now so I made a quick stop to the restroom.

Winter slid into the seat next to me. Her face paled with anger. She didn't say a word. She just unlocked her phone and shoved it into my face.

It was a new post on the anonymous campus forum paired with a caption:

The freshman scholarship girl thinks she's special because the biker king brought her to class. Let's see how long she lasts before she gets passed down the line.

My breath caught in my throat. The room started to spin.

"Is this true?" Winter asked, her voice a fierce whisper. "Did Killian Blackwood bring you to class this morning ? Hazel, Conner is in the campus infirmary with a broken jaw and fractured ribs. The entire school is saying Killian did it because of you."

"Winter, I didn't want any of this," I choked out, tears of humiliation burning my eyes. "He forced me. I'm trapped."

"Then we go to the Dean," Winter said, her grip tightening on my wrist. "We show them this post. We tell them what he did to Conner."

"No!" I panicked, pulling my hand away. "You don't understand. If you interfere, he will destroy me. He has something on me, Winter. Please, just leave it alone."

Winter stared at me, a deep hurt flashing in her eyes. "You're keeping secrets from me now? After everything we went through back home? Fine, Hazel. If you want to play with monsters, don't cry when they bite."

She stood up, grabbing her bags, and moved to a seat on the complete opposite side of the lecture hall.

I sat entirely alone, the heavy silence of the classroom pressing down on me. I looked down at my phone. A new message popped up from an unknown number.

Unknown: Library basement. Midnight. Bring the edited chapter notes. Don't be late, sweetpea.