David cast a glance at his friend, whose hands had clenched into balls of tension, and sighed. “Come on, Zeke. You’re not doing that badly. Like I said, we’ll both bitch about the stress, but we’ll get through it. Besides, you’ve got to stick around for Primal Scream. Nur would never forgive you if you don’t.”
Zeke slanted him a coy look. “Shut up. She doesn’t like me.”
David grinned at the rising flush in Zeke’s cheeks, glad that this tactic seemed to be working. “How are you so sure of that?” he wondered aloud. “I saw her checking you out yesterday when we were in the lunch line.”
Zeke groaned. “Oh, stop it. She was probably looking at somebody else.”
David shrugged. “Alright. If you insist. I’m just saying, there’s stuff to hang on for. Good times to come.”
Zeke went quiet, once more turning his gaze to the road ahead, and after examining him for a couple more seconds, David took the opportunity to do the same. They’d made fairly good progress, and they were already back in familiar territory—which made it easier to travel faster.
Fifteen minutes of speed-walking later, and they were only a block away from home.
As they reached the end of their road, Zeke cleared his throat, and David looked over at him again. His expression wasn’t quite as ashen as before, to David’s relief, and when he caught David’s eye, a smile slowly unfurled on his lips, brightening his round face.
“Anyway,” he mumbled, “if I do stay, and I do pass, I won’t be waiting for Primal Scream to show my naked ass. I’ll go streaking around the dorm rooms—through the whole bloody house!”
David let out a surprised laugh. “Sounds brilliant. Just remind me to check into a hotel.”
Zeke chuckled. “Now come on—my whole family is probably already on the phone to Interpol or something.” He picked up his pace to a jog, and David smirked, glad the guy’s spirits seemed to have cheered.
Though he couldn’t fully shake how upset Zeke had seemed, and made a mental note to try to keep an eye on him.
For now, David ran to catch up, and the two boys sprinted the rest of the way, egged on by the promise of a warm shower.
When they reached their destination, however, David’s face fell.
Music was blaring from within the house, florescent strobes pulsing through the windows, and the lawn was packed with people holding red Solo cups.
So much for a quiet night of recovery…
It was a struggle even to reach the front door, and when they did step through, it was even more crowded inside.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t crowded enough to evade the notice of Max, who was hovering at the edge of the hallway, a pretty redheaded girl hanging from one arm.
“Yo!” he roared above the deafening beat. “The cubs made it back!”
He rushed over to David and Zeke, quickly joined by Sebastien and four other housemates whom David suspected had been involved in the kidnapping. They swarmed around, slapping the two boys on the back.
“Congratulations, man!” Max yelled into David’s ear. “You survived the initiation.”
“Yeah,” David said dryly, trying to shrug Max off, as well as all the other hands that were pounding his bruised skin. Though he supposed he did feel a bit good about himself for surviving the ordeal. If he hadn’t had so much on his plate, he might even have been in the mood to celebrate. But as it stood…
“Now I’d like to take a shower,” he finished firmly.
“And get back to studying,” Zeke said irritably, ducking out from beneath Sebastien.
“Whoa, what? Studying?” Seb gaped. “There’s no way you’re studying with this party goin’ on!”
Without so much as a warning, Max dropped to his knees and rammed his shoulders into David’s legs, throwing him off balance. He was caught by three sets of hands behind him, lifting him horizontally into the air. They rushed him across the hallway and barged into the heaving living room. Before David could fight his way back to the ground, he was hoisted onto a screaming crowd and surfing across a sea of hands.
David groaned. Now, he was going to have to escape this forest.
* * *
Ready to continue David and Katy’s story?
If you’d like to keep reading, A Love that Endures releases on April 29th, 2019.
Pre-order your copy now and have it delivered automatically to your device on release day!:
Amazon US: Tap here
Amazon UK: Tap here
Amazon AU: Tap here
Any other store: Tap here
I hope you enjoyed these sample chapters and will join me on this new journey!
On the next page, I give details about your next Shade fix. :)
The next Shade book
ASOV 74: A Piece of Scythe releases March 30th, 2019!
Not long to wait!
Pre-order your copy now and have it delivered automatically to your reading device on release day:
If you’re in the USA: Tap here
UK: Tap here
Australia: Tap here
Any other country: Tap here
I’ll see you there…
Love,
Bella x
P.S. Join my VIP email list and I’ll send you a reminder as soon as I have a new book out. Visit here to sign up: www.forrestbooks.com
(Your email will be kept 100% private and you can unsubscribe at any time.)
P.P.S. Follow The Shade on Instagram: @ashadeofvampire
You can also come say hi on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BellaForrestAuthor
And Twitter: @ashadeofvampire
Read more by Bella Forrest
A LOVE THAT ENDURES
(New! Contemporary romance)
A Love that Endures
HARLEY MERLIN
(Fantasy/romance/adventure series)
Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven (Book 1)
Harley Merlin and the Mystery Twins (Book 2)
Harley Merlin and the Stolen Magicals (Book 3)
Harley Merlin and the First Ritual (Book 4)
Harley Merlin and the Broken Spell (Book 5)
Harley Merlin and the Cult of Eris (Book 6)
Harley Merlin and the Detector Fix (Book 7)
HOTBLOODS
(Supernatural romance. Completed series.)
Hotbloods (Book 1)
Coldbloods (Book 2)
Renegades (Book 3)
Venturers (Book 4)
Traitors (Book 5)
Allies (Book 6)
Invaders (Book 7)
Stargazers (Book 8)
THE CHILD THIEF
(Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)
The Child Thief (Book 1)
Deep Shadows (Book 2)
Thin Lines (Book 3)
Little Lies (Book 4)
Ghost Towns (Book 5)
Zero Hour (Book 6)
THE GENDER GAME
(Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)
The Gender Game (Book 1)
The Gender Secret (Book 2)
The Gender Lie (Book 3)
The Gender War (Book 4)
The Gender Fall (Book 5)
The Gender Plan (Book 6)
The Gender End (Book 7)
THE GIRL WHO DARED TO THINK
(Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)
The Girl Who Dared to Think (Book 1)
The Girl Who Dared to Stand (Book 2)
The Girl Who Dared to Descend (Book 3)
The Girl Who Dared to Rise (Book 4)
The Girl Who Dared to Lead (Book 5)
The Girl Who Dared to Endure (Book 6)
The Girl Who Dared to Fight (Book 7)
A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES
(Supernatural romance)
Season 1: Derek & Sofia’s story
A Shade of Vampire (Book 1)
A Shade of Blood (Book 2)
A Castle of Sand (Book 3)
A Shadow of Light (Book 4)
A Blaze of Sun
(Book 5)
A Gate of Night (Book 6)
A Break of Day (Book 7)
Season 2: Rose & Caleb’s story
A Shade of Novak (Book 8)
A Bond of Blood (Book 9)
A Spell of Time (Book 10)
A Chase of Prey (Book 11)
A Shade of Doubt (Book 12)
A Turn of Tides (Book 13)
A Dawn of Strength (Book 14)
A Fall of Secrets (Book 15)
An End of Night (Book 16)
Season 3: The Shade continues with a new hero…
A Wind of Change (Book 17)
A Trail of Echoes (Book 18)
A Soldier of Shadows (Book 19)
A Hero of Realms (Book 20)
A Vial of Life (Book 21)
A Fork of Paths (Book 22)
A Flight of Souls (Book 23)
A Bridge of Stars (Book 24)
Season 4: A Clan of Novaks
A Clan of Novaks (Book 25)
A World of New (Book 26)
A Web of Lies (Book 27)
A Touch of Truth (Book 28)
An Hour of Need (Book 29)
A Game of Risk (Book 30)
A Twist of Fates (Book 31)
A Day of Glory (Book 32)
Season 5: A Dawn of Guardians
A Dawn of Guardians (Book 33)
A Sword of Chance (Book 34)
A Race of Trials (Book 35)
A King of Shadow (Book 36)
An Empire of Stones (Book 37)
A Power of Old (Book 38)
A Rip of Realms (Book 39)
A Throne of Fire (Book 40)
A Tide of War (Book 41)
Season 6: A Gift of Three
A Gift of Three (Book 42)
A House of Mysteries (Book 43)
A Tangle of Hearts (Book 44)
A Meet of Tribes (Book 45)
A Ride of Peril (Book 46)
A Passage of Threats (Book 47)
A Tip of Balance (Book 48)
A Shield of Glass (Book 49)
A Clash of Storms (Book 50)
Season 7: A Call of Vampires
A Call of Vampires (Book 51)
A Valley of Darkness (Book 52)
A Hunt of Fiends (Book 53)
A Den of Tricks (Book 54)
A City of Lies (Book 55)
A League of Exiles (Book 56)
A Charge of Allies (Book 57)
A Snare of Vengeance (Book 58)
A Battle of Souls (Book 59)
Season 8: A Voyage of Founders
A Voyage of Founders (Book 60)
A Land of Perfects (Book 61)
A Citadel of Captives (Book 62)
A Jungle of Rogues (Book 63)
A Camp of Savages (Book 64)
A Plague of Deceit (Book 65)
An Edge of Malice (Book 66)
A Dome of Blood (Book 67)
A Purge of Nature (Book 68)
Season 9: A Birth of Fire
A Birth of Fire (Book 69)
A Breed of Elements (Book 70)
A Sacrifice of Flames (Book 71)
A Conspiracy of Realms (Book 72)
A Search for Death (Book 73)
A Piece of Scythe (Book 74)
A SHADE OF DRAGON TRILOGY
A Shade of Dragon 1
A Shade of Dragon 2
A Shade of Dragon 3
A SHADE OF KIEV TRILOGY
A Shade of Kiev 1
A Shade of Kiev 2
A Shade of Kiev 3
THE SECRET OF SPELLSHADOW MANOR
(Supernatural/Magic YA. Completed series)
The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Book 1)
The Breaker (Book 2)
The Chain (Book 3)
The Keep (Book 4)
The Test (Book 5)
The Spell (Book 6)
BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY
(Supernatural romance)
Beautiful Monster 1
Beautiful Monster 2
DETECTIVE ERIN BOND
(Adult thriller/mystery)
Lights, Camera, GONE
Write, Edit, KILL
For an updated list of Bella’s books, please visit her website: www.bellaforrest.net
Join Bella’s VIP email list and she’ll send you an email reminder as soon as her next book is out. Tap here to sign up: www.forrestbooks.com
A Shade of Vampire 73: A Search for Death Page 32