1 ~ Shadows in the Stacks.

HAWTHORNE’s POV

I adjusted my glasses and leaned against the upper balcony railing of the campus library, my heart beating a little faster than usual.

It was late, way past ten on a Thursday night during exam week, and the place felt like a tomb. Just a handful of desperate students down below, their heads buried in books and notes, the soft hum of fluorescent lights the only sound breaking the silence.

But I wasn't here for the quiet or the musty smell of old pages anymore. No, I had been coming to these late shifts for years now, feeding off the sight of...