Outside, a bell rings, and the bar quiets for a moment to hear the pattern. But it’s just that one chime, the warning that the hunt will start soon.

“Shall we?” Bryce says, nodding toward the door.

I stand and follow him toward the exit. Carter lags behind, kisses his wife, and swats her ass as she walks away.

He struts up beside us with a grin. The cold air steals the breath from my lungs as soon as we step outside, but I know the chill will be short-lived. Once the hunt starts, my blood will be burning.

I’m desperate for this hunt. It would be easier to blame my eagerness on my time away, but much as I hate to admit it, it’s just as likely that it’s the way Harlow has been taunting me. Maybe it’s just Harlow in general, with her vicious smile, her sinful body, the heady floral scent of her skin, and the heated look in her eyes when I sucked her finger earlier.

There are plenty of things that are annoying about being heir, but I can safely say I’m going to thoroughly enjoy fucking Harlow Carrenwell in every sense of the word.

Carter and Bryce lead the way, and I scrub a hand over my face as we walk. I need to stop fantasizing about that. Tonight is about our people and playing the part of the heir.

By the time we reach the edge of the ruins where a statue to Kennymyra still stands, a crowd has gathered. Torches burn around the circle of the shrine. My parents stand in front of the large marble statue, their cloaks embroidered with Kennymyra’s sigil. I know the cloaks are red because it’s the color that honors Kennymyra, but to me, they just look charcoal.

The prey group of men and women fuss with their white cloaks, making them look like nervous ghosts milling about the entrance to the hunt grounds. The white is so that even those of us who can’t see color will be able to tell who is participating in the hunt.

On the other side of the circle, the hunters are decked out in dark colors, their hungry gazes assessing the options in front of them. I join them, Bryce falling into place beside me. Carter hangs back toward the edge of the circle in his green guard cloak.

I scan the crowd until I find my target. I’d know those dark eyes and the curve of that sensuous mouth anywhere. Miriam.

My blood heats. She’s a good twenty feet away, but a breeze stirs her hair, and her scent hits me all at once, sage and floral and so familiar. Desire rushes through me. Perhaps my friends were right. I do deserve some fun. I was just going to catch Miriam and steal her away to fool around for old times’ sake. I wasn’t going to fuck her, but Harlow’s disdain is obvious and she’s made it clear she could not care less who I fuck.

What’s between Miriam and me is purely transactional. I can think of no better way to chase away the memory of how Harlow’s body felt arched against mine. This will set me straight.

Miriam winks, pulls her braid over her shoulder, and tightens the ribbon that fastens the end of it.

“One last hurrah?” Bryce whispers. “You look like you need it.”

I grin. “Can’t hurt to indulge this once.”

Bryce claps a hand on my back. “Fucking finally. You’ve been so serious of late. Happy to see the old friend Hen is back.”

I swat his hand away. “I’ve been here all along. Now, who will you be chasing this evening?”

He nods to a curvy woman who is smiling shyly at him. She lifts her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear and flashes the ribbon around her wrist. “She looks fun and she’s new. I love the first-timers.”

The restlessness of the crowd is a hum in my bones. I just want to go.

My father lifts his hands and a hush comes over the crowd. “All participants must follow the rules. The word Breach brings all games to an end immediately,” he says, his stern gaze passing over the crowd. “Now be safe and have fun.” He lifts his arms so they frame the statue behind him. “We dedicate this hunt to Kennymyra.”

A guard on the edge of the forest holds up a bell. “All prey get a five-minute head start.”

He rings the bell, and the participants in white dash into the trees, disappearing like specters into the darkness.

The fiddlers start playing loud music and the prey disappear into the hunt grounds. With a mere couple of miles between us and the mountain face, there are only so many places they can go inside this small area within the fort walls.

These few minutes of anticipation are my favorite part. So much about our lives here is regimented and controlled. We rely on order above all. These nights are when we can be as wild as we want, so long as we have the consent of our partner, and sometimes it’s a relief to not have to hide the impulse to be monstrous, especially after how much I’ve been leashing it with Harlow here.

The image of her running through the trees in a white dress flashes in my mind unbidden. I saw the way her pupils dilated when I mentioned the hunt. She was curious. I hate to admit that I’m just as curious about how she’d react.

The guards walk through the crowd, reminding us of the rules as the song changes over.

I can practically feel the hum of excitement in the air as hunters tip their heads back, scenting the air. It’s a gift bestowed on many of us thanks to a blessing bestowed by Elvodeen to the Davilian family. Those of us who hunt in the Drained Wood need it to know when the blood mist is coming and that enhanced sense of smell saves lives.

I can smell Miriam still. I’m not sure if she just didn’t run that far or if my senses are so heightened because I’m desperate for this, but I also don’t care. I just hope she’s ready for me.

Beside me, Bryce stretches and rolls his shoulders to ready himself. “You going to Miriam?”

I nod.

The fiddle music swells, and I scan the crowd. Everyone is caught up in the revel except Stefan Laurence. His narrowed eyes are fixed on me.

Bryce bends toward me. “You think he’s pissed about Seth?”

I shake my head. “Doubtful. That was a test. He was seeing how I handled defending a Carrenwell against one of our people. If he wanted to hurt her, he could have waited for her to be alone and he would have sent someone more competent with stronger magic. They don’t know what Harlow can do, though he definitely wasn’t expecting her to be able to fight.”

“So he wants you to look bad,” Bryce said.

I glare at Stefan as he holds up a flask in a mock toast. He has been a thorn in my side since we both survived our guard test in the same culling season. His family is beloved in Mountain Haven, and they have been gaining influence since the attack ten years ago. Fortunately, our rebuilding efforts haven’t gone unnoticed, and the people of the fort are superstitious, so they are wary of changing leadership after my family gave up so much to help them survive the attack.

Stefan knows he can’t outright challenge me, but it’s smart of him to chip away at my reputation for loyalty at a time when it will already be most in question for our people.

Only me, my parents, and my two best friends know the truth of this marriage arrangement. In order to keep it a secret, we had to keep it from everyone, and we knew there would be anger and frustration from our people. But these few weeks of deceit will provide them with a lifetime of safety. Easier to beg forgiveness once we’ve brought the Carrenwell family down.

Then, the Laurences will be well and truly dealt with.

Eyeing the rest of the group, I estimate only about twenty hunters heading out tonight. More prey than predators, which means some might go more than one round, or there might be some disappointed prey.

Bryce punches my arm. “Be careful out there. He looks like he’s going to be a problem.”

“One problem at a time. I need this hunt so I can think straight.”

Bryce grins and rolls his shoulder out. “Happy hunting.”

Across the boisterous crowd, a huntsman lifts the bell and rings it.