Harvard would be the death of him.

David rubbed at the swollen lump on his middle finger, formed by too many hours of holding a ballpoint, and looked back down at the spread of books scattered across his desk. It was late, and his brain was starting to feel less like an organ and more like a sack of Jell-O packed between his ears, but he wasn’t nearly prepared enough for his impending exams.

He blew out a slow breath and slouched back over his copy of American Politics Through the Twentieth Century, willing his eyes to cooperate. Just a couple more hours, and he’d allow himself to hit the pillow. Just a couple. More. Hours…

A pair of heavy hands clamped down on his shoulders. He jerked upright, but his chair tipped backwards, slamming him onto the floor with a painful thud. Before he could glimpse his attacker’s face, a second set of hands pulled him upright and came around his head with a blindfold.

“What the—” He brought his hands up to bat it away, but then the hands grabbed his arms, pressed a knee sharply between his shoulder blades, and wrestled his wrists together behind his back. Another heavy grip joined his ankles; he felt the scrape of rope against his flesh there, too.

“Are you ready for your true test of character?” a familiar voice boomed down from above in a tone so stupidly deep David would have laughed were he not so pissed off.

“Get the hell off me, Seb!” David snapped, realizing his housemates were hog-tying him.

He tried to lash out and break away from the rope-tiers, but although he was a large guy, two (or three?) against one was foul play, especially when they had the advantage of surprise.

“Woohoo, we got the Brit!” another familiar voice announced.

David felt the rope tighten into a painful knot around his ankles.

“Not funny, Max,” Seb shot back, finishing the bind around David’s wrists.

“Hey, David knows I didn’t mean it like—”

“Just shut the hell up. We gotta get him outta here.”

“No.” David grunted, writhing like a snake as the guys hoisted him into the air. But their grip held, and they lugged him across the dorm room. He heard his door clicking shut, and then the two boys were out in the hallway, breaking into a jog that jolted him uncomfortably from side to side.

“Guys,” David said through gritted teeth. “I seriously do not have time for this.”

“Everyone who joins the Wolf Club has time for this,” Max snorted.

The ride grew suddenly bumpier as they descended a flight of stairs. Then there was the whine of a door, and chill evening air surrounded him.

His skin prickled with alarm. Where were they going?

Metal doors creaked open, and a moment later, David landed on a hard, metallic surface. Then the doors slammed shut, and he was engulfed by silence.

Or, almost silence. He could hear someone else’s ragged breathing just opposite him, a couple feet away.

“Who’s there?” he asked, trying to shift into a more comfortable, upright position.

“David? Is that you?”

David grimaced as he recognized the slight Iranian accent. They’d gotten Zeke, too.

“Unfortunately, yes,” David muttered to his roommate. “Where did they find you?”

“In the middle of the parking lot!” Zeke exhaled in frustration. “I was trying to get a better signal calling home.”

The engine roared to life beneath them, and the vehicle jolted forward, sending them both skidding toward the front of the trunk. It was all David could do to avoid smashing his head against the wall. Judging by Zeke’s groan, he hadn’t been so lucky.

“You blindfolded too?” David managed, shifting himself back upright.

“Yes!” Zeke said. “God. I am an ignoramus. What the hell was I thinking when I joined this club?”

David sighed. Zeke was right. They really only had themselves to blame. The Wolf Club was an unsanctioned social club, and even though hazing was supposed to be banned, everyone knew it still happened. They had both heard some absurd rumors regarding its rituals, but David had just assumed they were only that—rumors—especially because they’d made it so far without anything happening.

“Clearly, we’re both a bit thick,” he said, wincing as he tried, and failed, to loosen his binds. He guessed they must have been biding their time, perhaps to make it all the more unpredictable. “What happened to your phone, Zeke? Do you still have it?”

“No.” He huffed. “They snatched it, right in the middle of a conversation with my grandmother! She’s going to have a heart attack, I tell you. Bloody morons.”

A smile twitched at David’s lips in spite of everything. His influence on Zeke’s vocabulary was quite noticeable already, and they’d only been roommates for a couple months. David secretly hoped Zeke would be calling guys blokes by the time they parted ways.

“Well, I’m sure they’ll give the phone back.” David cleared his throat. “After they’ve done…whatever it is they’re going to do.”

“And what do you think that is?” Zeke’s voice wavered a touch. “Make us rob a grocery store? Drop us in a lake? Bury us underground?”

“Umm…I have no idea. But hopefully none of those,” David replied.

At this point, he was down to hoping that the rumors were grossly exaggerated. That they’d just have to run a few laps around a field or something. Maybe butt naked. He wasn’t exactly an au naturel kind of guy, but even that would be better than doing something illegal.

Uncomfortable silence fell between the two men while David’s mind continued to mull over what could possibly lie in store for them. He shoved himself up against the wall separating them from the front compartment of the vehicle, hoping to catch snippets of conversation. But try as he might, either the guys were being quiet or the engine was simply too loud, because he was still clueless when the van pulled to an abrupt stop what felt like ten minutes later.

The engine quieted, and the back doors swung open. Hands grabbed David by the ankles and dragged him out. Then he was being carried again, the sound of twigs cracking and leaves crunching underfoot. They must be in some kind of forest.

“Oi—watch what your hands are gripping, man!” Zeke yelled from several feet behind.

“Sorry, bro,” one of the boys replied, sniggering. “It’s dark.”

“The sooner your initiation is over, the sooner you’ll be back to base.” Seb’s voice rose up from somewhere on David’s left. “If you survive it, of course…”

“What do you say, boys? Give these cubs the chant?” Max added.

Jeers erupted from around David and quickly transformed into a bizarre chorus of words he couldn’t understand. Apparently, the whole club had been waiting on them out here. The chant sounded like Latin, though the intonation was guttural and downright tribal—effectively turning the creepiness dial up a notch. David had to wonder if they were going to roast them on a spit or something.

The group began to slow, then came to a halt. David was lowered onto coarse grass. Hands on his wrists and ankles loosened the bindings and slipped them off. David immediately reached up to remove his blindfold.

As he pushed himself upright, his eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness. He could hear a chorus of hurried footfalls disappearing into the distance. The guys had scampered already, leaving him with nothing but pale shafts of moonlight to guide his way.

“Zeke?” David called tentatively, rising to unsteady feet. “You here?”

He heard stumbling to his right and turned to see the dazed silhouette of his five-foot-seven friend staggering into the small clearing.

“Yes,” Zeke sniped, swiping at his brow.

David navigated a fallen tree trunk and moved closer. Whatever lay in store for them next—finding their way home, presumably—he figured it was wise to stay close to each other in the gloom.

He’d almost reached his friend’s side when something hit the small of his back. He whirled to see a large white ball at his feet.