Page 45 of Monstrous Serpent

He snorts. “Yeah no, okay. Did you pick a major?”

“No.”

“Hunter.”

“I said no.”

He sighs and kills two enemies on screen. “You need to declare something even if you're going to Carolina after graduation.”

“Stop.”

He pauses the game and turns toward me. “Or do you want to go now? You could. They'd take you tomorrow. You're not staying here for me, right?”

“Atlas.”

“Hunt, if you're staying because of me, that's—”

“Stop.” I set the controller down and press my palms flat against my thighs. “The NHL isn't for another two years.”

“Less.” Atlas sighs. “Wish you could've been drafted to Philly with me.”

My knee starts bouncing, breaths becoming shallow. My fingers trace the puckered skin under the tattoo sleeve on my forearm. The ridges catch under my fingernail. I drag along the longer one.

“Hunt?”

“I'm good.”

Atlas puts his controller down and places his hand on mine, stilling my fingers. “It's been a few months. Maybe I should tell Cap he needs to set something up now.”

Last hunt was back in May. Reyes walked in on some guy trying to rape a girl at a frat party. We ended the prick later that night. But the itch under my skin has been getting worse since midsummer. Not sure what set it off.

Jenkins has calmed it. For now.

But it’s that goddamn sticker that’s currently eating at me.

My nails dig into my scarred skin. I've checked every lot on campus three times. The Grove, the student center, the athletic complex. The Prius isn't there.

It could be in the faculty lot or belong to someone from the U.P. who was visiting.

My knee bounces faster.

Atlas squeezes my hand again. “What's going on?”

“Saw a car in the lot with a 906 sticker.”

Atlas rips his hand away. The color leaves his cheeks first, then his neck. His eyes widen, and his mouth opens.

I pull him against me. His body is rigid, then his forehead drops against my shoulder. I press my hand flat against the back of his head and hold him. “Won't let anyone get to you again.”

He grips the front of my shirt, his breathing shallow and fast against my collarbone.

Atlas is the reason I'm at this school. The reason I get up in the morning. Keeping him safe is the only thing that matters.

I hold him until his breathing steadies, then I ease back. “Could be nothing. Probably is. I've been checking, and the car's not there anymore.”

He nods, his hands still fisted in my shirt.

“You finish that presentation yet?”