“Is that Mara?”
“What the hell?”
“No way…”
A few people actually laugh in disbelief. Others just stare, slack-jawed. A flush works down my neck and I bite down on my lower lip hard enough to taste blood, but I refuse to make a sound.
Dredyn stops abruptly near the center of the quad, and I almost bump into him. He turns around to face me. “Kneel,” he commands.
Heat floods my body as I sink back onto my heels, knees apart on the ground, my palms coming up off the concrete to rest uncertainly on my thighs. Anyone standing close could probably see a flash of my black panties if they looked. A spike of pure mortification spears through me . . . followed quickly by that now-familiar lick of arousal in my belly.
Students are definitely looking now.
A small crowd is forming a cautious distance away, phones raised. I spot at least two people I recognize from classes gaping at me. One of them, a guy from my O-Chem course, has his phone out and a stunned grin on his face.
He’s filming this.
They all are.
This footage will be on every group chat, every social mediafeed, by evening. By tonight, Father will see it. I force myself to stay rooted, knees pressed into the earth. A trembling breath leaves me. There’s no stopping it, and a twisted part of me doesn’t want to.
Talon steps forward with a flourish, clearly enjoying the spectacle. He tosses an arm around Jasper’s shoulders and calls out loudly, addressing the gawking onlookers, “What’s the matter? Never seen a princess on a leash before?”
A ripple of laughter—some nervous, some outright crude—passes through the growing audience. My face flares hotter. I want to hide, want the ground to swallow me, yet Talon’s words ignite a defiant spark in me too.
Princess.
He’s throwing that title out to scorn—to show everyone exactly what I am now. Not Daddy’s precious princess, but something else entirely. My pulse kicks up, and without thinking I straighten my spine, still kneeling.
Dredyn crouches beside me suddenly and I flinch. He reaches out and tugs the collar at my throat, not gently, forcing me to face him. My breath catches as I gaze into his bright, devilish eyes. “Smile for the cameras, Hellcat.”
The hand on my collar slides up, fingers threading briefly into the hair at my nape in a way that’s both possessive and oddly comforting. Then he pulls back, and I’m left swaying on my knees, a dizzy heat spreading through me.
Dredyn gives a light tug on the leash and commands, “Heel.” The word rolls out deep and authoritative. I crawl forward, falling into place just a half-step behind Dredyn’s boots, as a trained pet would. The humiliation of obeying that command, of performing like this, squeezes my chest. Yet, I feel a strange release in it too. I don’t have to think, I just follow. The world around me blurs except for the leash guiding me and the feet I trail.
They lead me in a slow circuit of the quad. We pass the fountain at the center, where more students gape from the ledges.
Somebody whistles and shouts, “Work it, girl!” which is followed by crude laughter.
My thighs brush together as I crawl, and I jolt at the dampness I feel between them.God, am I actually… ?A rush of hot shame floods me at the realization that my body is betraying me. Growing slick with arousal even as people laugh and stare.
I bite my lip so hard I nearly draw blood.
What is wrong with me?
How can I be humiliated and turned on at the same time?
Dredyn stops us again near the wide steps of the administration building—ironically, the most public spot on campus. Students coming out of the doors practically trip over themselves at the spectacle of me kneeling on all fours below the steps. Murmurs ripple everywhere; it feels like the whole campus is encircling us now. A living, breathing amphitheater of scandal.
Talon steps forward and turns to face me. He flicks the leash out of Dredyn’s grasp and into his own hand in one quick move. Dredyn shoots him a warning glare but lets him for the moment. Talon gives the leash a little upward tug. “Up,” he orders sharply. “On your knees, Mara.”
I obey, pushing myself up from all fours to a kneeling position once more, spine straight. I should hate how naturally I respond to his command, but there’s a relief in surrendering control. I feel myself slip into some headspace where their words are the only thing I have to focus on.
“What are you waiting for, Princess?” he calls out, projecting so all can hear. “Give them a show. Tell everyone exactly who owns you now.”
A collective gasp rises from those close enough to hear. My stomach lurches; I hadn’t expected him to demand that. Fresh terror grips me at the thought of saying it out loud—announcing my submission so plainly. My instinct is to balk, to shy away.
This is too far.
