Tempted By my Evil Lycan Stepbrother novel Chapter 49

You Dare

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Chapter 49: If You Dare

Riley’s POV

Time before the Hunting Season Blew by in a blink. It officially starts tomorrow.

I couldn’t sleep the night before.

I lay in bed, tossing and turning, wondering what Ezra was doing in his roorn just a few floors above mine.

Was he as nervous as me?

Or was he spending his last hours training, studying survival techniques?

No, that’s not like him. Ezra was probably asleep already, getting ready to crush it tomorrow. Guys like him always aim to win.

I took a deep breath and shut my eyes, forcing myself to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt surprisingly refreshed. Almost wired.

I washed up quickly and got into my school’s combat uniform- -a high-support sports bra underneath and a fitting jumpsuit made specifically for field combat. I also pulled my hair up into a high ponytail for easier movement.

Before leaving the room, I took one last look at the girl in the mirror.

She was toned, tall, light on her feet.

And her eyes gleamed with a bright, ambitious fire, like she was ready to take on anything.

“Good luck, Rene,” I whispered.

“We got this, Riley,” my wolf Rene grinned back at me.

When I got to school, the central plaza was already packed with/students in combat gear. The staff made us line up to sign waivers and then board the buses with our teams.

The edges of the plaza were also crowded with parents seeing their kids off. Most looked nervous, waving goodbye and yelling at them to stay safe.

Of course, no one came to see me off. Mom hadn’t even come to see me after I got back from the hospital.

I scanned the crowd but couldn’t find Ezra anywhere. He was probably with his teammates right now.

My three teammates and I climbed onto the bus and sat down near some other students. A staff member mmediately came over and handed us headphones and blindfolds.

That’s right.

We were supposed to be blindfolded on the way to the Hunting Season competition site.

“Shit, this is so goddamn creepy. Like we’re some kind of criminals,” Olivia complained before putting hers on.

“It’s to keep us from knowing the route and trying to escape,” Silas said. He’d done one Hunting Season before, so he knew way

more than us.

“Escape? Why would we want to escape? Everyone’s here willingly.”

Sitas gave her a cold, sarcastic smile, “Well… don’t jump to conclusions. Wait till you see some of the crazyshit stuff in the competition.”

A chill ran down my spine.

You Dore

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I glanced at Odin, who’d been sitting with us in dead silence. He’d been like this ever since he walked in on Ezra and me at the hospital. Wouldn’t even talk to me or make eye contact during our final days of training.

Just like now.

Annoyance prickled inside me. I put on my blindfold and blocked his face out.

The bus bumped along for almost an hour before finally stopping. The door opened, and we were told to take off our blindfolds and get out.

I followed Silas off the bus and looked around.

Right away, I gasped.

We were in a clearing surrounded by thick forest and mountains.

All around us, dense woods stretched endlessly toward peaks that rose up like dark walls. Like prison walls keeping us in.

The trees were so thick that even the afternoon light couldn’t reach us. So even though it was morning, the light felt dim.

A cold unease crept over me.

The forest looked too dark, too silent… the kind of place that made you imagine terrible things lurking inside.

“…Shit,” Olivia muttered beside me.

“Well, too late to back out now,” Silas shrugged. “Come on. The principal’s about to give his final speech.”

We followed the crowd of students toward the center of the clearing, where there was a raised platform. The principal was already standing on it.

“-Welcome to this year’s Hunting Season. I’m your principal Wyatt.”

His booming voice startled birds from the distant trees into the air.

“There are some rules for you to bear in mind:

1. The competition will last three days and three nights. When the time runs out, the team with the highest points wins.
2. About the points system. The rarer and more dangerous the animal you kill, the more points you get. But chasing those rare animals also means risking getting killed yourself and being eliminated early.
3. No violence against your fellow students.”

I turned my head and saw my rone Camila smirking at me. Her whole team glared like I was their prey.

Well, looks like Rule 3 wouldn’t be followed completely.

“4. The whole competition will be broadcast live to the public. In the later stages, you might receive donations from outside food, weapons, medicine-that could turn the tide for you. So perform well.”

I noticed there was no rule about surrendering.

Maybe, just like Silas said, we were supposed to fight until our last breath.

“Now you can go to the tents to pick up your basic supplies and have one final strategy meeting with your team. When the first cannon fires, the competition officially begins. Good luck to everyone!”

**

…Come on,” Olivia muttered to us, her face a little pale.

We moved toward the tents and split up to grab our supplies.

Fou Dare

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I was almost at the front of the line for medical supplies when someone slammed into me from behind. My stuff went dropped. “Look at that. Can’t even trold onto your gear. What makes you think you’ll survive in the game?” a squeaky voice sneered behind me.

I took a deep breath and turned around.

Standing at the front was Camila. She had her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised, glaring at me. Right next to her was Ezra’s ex-girlfriend Danica. After Ezra refused to have her as his healer, she’d joined an all-male Lycan team. She was clearly enjoying all the attention.

And then there was Kade’s team. Standing behind that huge son of a bitch Kade was Roy. He kept his head down, avoiding my gaze.

My heart sank a little.

This wasn’t good.

Almost every enemy I’d made since coming here had teamed up.

“Roy,” I called out to my former friend. “It’s not too late yet. You don’t have to stick with these assholes if you don’t want to.”

Roy kept his head down and didn’t say anything. Everyone else burst out laughing.

“Oh, what are you going to do, exactly?” Kade sneered. “Carry this loser on your back to keep him safe? And what’s that like? Loser times two?”

They all cracked up again.

Camila stepped forward, a nasty glint in her eyes. “You know what I hate most about you Riley Monroe? That you pretend to be some great, innocent savior. Like every guy should just love you. But really, you’re just ugly, disgusting, low-class-”

“Jealousy really gets to you, doesn’t it?” I said icily.

“SHUT UP!” Her face twisted with rage. She screeched, “You don’t even deserve to be here! This is Layla’s chance and you stole it from her. And now I’m going to ruin yours!”

“What’s that supposed to mean? That Layla can mess with me all she wants and I’m not allowed to fight back?” I snapped “You didn’t have to be so vicious. Getting her expelled.” Danica chimed in, wiping a fake tear from her eye, looking devastated. Poor Layla. I know how much she was looking forward to this. You practically destroyed someone’s dream, Riley.”

They made me sick.

Layla had been making my life miserable every chance she got. And the one time I actually fought back, I’m the vicious one.

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