DELILAH
Declan gives me a once-over. “June’s inside.”
I nod and follow him through the door. It’s another bedroom similar to Xavier’s. My friend is sitting on the bed, her head resting against the wall, a vacant expression covering her face. She blinks when she sees me.
I rush to her. “June.”
“Delilah.” Her voice is rough and low, a harsh whisper that sends goosebumps across my skin.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
She nods, but the movement is slow, the gesture hesitant. I throw my stuff on the comforter and sit beside her. We both lean against the wall, her studying me in silence.
June’s gaze darts to Declan and returns to me, suspicion filling her eyes. “Why are you here?”
The recruit’s stare drills in a hole in my skull from where he stands. I catch his eye, note the subtle shake of his head, and nod in acknowledgement.
“Xavier had to leave,” I say. “He thought it’d be good for us to hang out while he’s gone.”
June frowns. “He left you here? Just like that?”
“Yup.”
“Okay,” she says, elongating the word.
She makes a face at me and I smile at her in encouragement. This is the first time I’ve caught a glimpse of June’s former self. I want to believe that Declan hasn’t done anything traumatic to her, aside from the bride ritual, but this situation is fucked up in ways I couldn’t imagine.
I may not trust Xavier completely, but he is intent on keeping me safe. And he trusts Declan. Xavier wouldn’t have left me with this guy if he were going to hurt me.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask.
“Yeah.” She waves a hand in dismissal. “I’m just having a hard time wrapping my mind around this... contract.” She leans over to grab a stack of papers from a nightstand. “Did you read this thing? It’s iron-clad. We are fucked.”
I nod, keeping my thoughts to myself. There’s no need to remind June that it doesn’t matter if the contract is solid or not. The Order and its powerful members would’ve found a way to keep us under their thumb.
“So what do you want to do?” I ask, trying to change the subject. “I could really use some coffee.” I look down at the wedding dress, full of dirt and grass stains. “And a change of clothes. Holy shit. Raven.”
“She’s been blowing up your phone too?”
I nod, biting my lip.
June tilts her head. “What is it?”
“I haven’t answered her cause I don’t know what to say.”
“Not a fucking word,” Declan says. His voice is low, but the threat in his tone is loud.
“Of course not.” I scoff. “What do you think I’m going to say? ‘Hey, Raven, I know you think I signed up for some extracurricular activities to help my grades, but I’m really undera contract to be the sex slave of some guy. But don’t worry, he’s hot.’” I roll my eyes. “I’m not stupid.”
He narrows his. “Never said you were. Just don’t fuck around because you will find out. The Order would replace you like that.” He snaps his fingers, and I flinch.
“I have no doubt,” I say.
June grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. “Come on, let’s go. On the way to the dorm, we can come up with a story to tell Raven. The juicier you make it, the more likely she is to believe it.”
I groan. “If I tell her I hooked up with Xavier, she’ll ask for details.”
“Didn’t you?” June asks.
