Page 2 of Venomous Desires

He shook his head, his rough features contorting into a grimace. “Should have stayed there,” he muttered under his breath.

Unsure of what the man meant, she let out a sigh and blocked out the news reporter. The more she heard, the more anxious she was getting. Calm down. There was no way she’d caught herself among all that danger. She was just a student. From the dorms to classes andrepeat. Get a part-time job and stay away from trouble.

The car took a sudden turn, slowing down before coming to a halt. Sera looked around as they stopped in front of a fancy building. It took her off guard. This couldn’t be the dorms? She uncurled the paper in her hand and read the address again.Star Square-lane 25-building 56.

“We are here,” the driver grumbled, perpetually unhappy with something.

Nodding, she got out of the taxi., feeling the cold air hitting her face and neck immediately.

“Get your luggage.”

“What-oh!” Feeling stupid, she quickly ducked in and grabbed her bag along with a smaller one. “Spasibo.”

The driver gave her a look and then turned around. She blinked, unsure if she had offended him somehow. She knew that thank you was Spasibo in Russian. Did she somehow misinterpret it?

“Beware of snakes, there’re more in winter.”

Sera frowned. Be careful of...snakes?

She watched as the taxi drove away. Something strange settled in her chest. She couldn’t pinpoint it, but it was there nonetheless. A feeling of something close to fear. As if being… watched.

Turning around, she let her eyes follow the lane. It was empty.

She kept looking at the empty road for another moment before blinking away with a shake of her head. She was over-thinking again.

Calming her heart, she swallowed hard and brushed away the sensations, focusing her attention on the building. These two years would take long, she could feel already.

Her clutch on the bags tightened, and with a determined sigh, she got ready to face whatever would come her way.

Chapter 1

The Prey

Iwas tired, so tired I couldn’t even lift a finger. My back was screaming at me for being a superwoman last night, and my butt was sore.God damnit!Not even a week and I already wanted to go back.

Lord knew why I decided to be a saviour when I knew I was a blind owl. Couldn’t even see without my glasses, and now, not only was I left with a broken elbow and sprained foot, but broken glasses too. I’d gotten them fixed before moving to Russia, and now it’d take another sum of money to repair them. Great.

“You up,Dorogaya?” She walked through the bathroom door wearing nothing but a towel. I quickly averted my eyes, feeling my cheeks warming. Despite the Russian cold, Alina preferred wearing fewer clothes than a sunbathing lizard. “Had breakfast?”

I continued packing my bag in a hurry, realizing I had less than twenty minutes left for class. “I don’t have enough time for breakfast,” I grabbed the assignments before stuffing them into the bag.

I hoped I hadn’t missed anything.

“Have some coffee before you leave,okay?” Alina extended the coffee mug to me.

“Thanks.”

“No problem,” she winked, sauntering away to blow dry her hair. “You can help me with assignments later though,” she added over her shoulder.

I took gulps of the coffee and gagged, feeling like I’d just ingested rocket fuel. Just what I needed—a double shot of caffeine and anxiety.

Instead, I focused on Alina.

“...Of course...”her green eyes brightened, and I facepalmed myself. Why did she have to look like a goddess while I resembled a sprouted potato? Life really wasn’t fair sometimes.

“Are you free this Friday; we can hit the club or go to a bar.”

Trust me, nothing was more blissful than hitting the club, getting drunk, forgetting all the problems, even if it was for just one night, and being the cool girl. Having a group of friends to chill around, having cute coffee dates, going on shopping sprees, falling in love, having my heart broken, then finding another boy, being the girl everyone desired to be.