No one.
“Call them,”Bad Wolf commands.“Demand they come over. Punish them for last night. Remind them who’s in control.”
One message and they’d know I wouldn’t tolerate being treated like?—
Like what? A predator?
Isn’t that exactly what I am?
All I can think about is Kai’s face in the rearview mirror. How he flinched when I called him ‘boy.’ The way he looked at me outside the Airbnb—like he was waiting for me to be the monster he’d already decided I was.
Instead, I did nothing.
Drove them home. Didn’t push. Didn’t manipulate. Didn’t do any of the things he clearly expected me to do.
And he still looked at me like I was filth.
“Because you are,”Bad Wolf says.“Pretending you aren’t won’t help. They’ve been around predators their entire lives. They can smell them.”
Good Wolf still says nothing.
“Just one line,”Bad Wolf whispers.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand.
I grab it, heart lurching pathetically, hoping to see a message from the group chat saying they’ve changed their minds?—
It’s spam.
I throw the phone onto the bed.
“Why would they message?”Bad Wolf’s voice is almost gentle now.“They don’t care. They were never going to care. You were a game to them—a thrill, a danger, something to flirt with when they were bored. Now even you’re boring them.”
I sink onto the edge of the bed, the leather pouch clutched in my fist.
It’s true. With Kai’s charges dropped, there’s nothing to hold over them anymore. I could threaten Haven’s tuition…but I’m too fucking tired.
I’ve spent my entire adult life cultivating fear. Using it as a tool, a weapon, a shield. Fear keeps people manageable because it ensures they never get close enough to see what’s actually underneath.
But I letthemsee.
In the mausoleum, in my office, in a hundred small moments…they’ve seen parts of me I’ve never shown anyone.
And—surprise, surprise—they ran.
“When they run, you chase,”Bad Wolf says.“That’s what prey does. That’s whatyoudo. You chase, you corner, you catch.”
“And then I kill,” I murmur under my breath as I bat my eyes open.
I stare wide-eyed at my reflection in the bathroom mirror.
I don’t remember walking in here. Don’t remember showering, but my hair is wet and there’s a damp towel around my waist.
I definitely don’t remember cutting the two thick lines of coke on the counter between my hands.
My cock twitches.
It’s been half-hard all day. Every time my mind drifts to Haven and Kai, my body responds, but every time I’ve tried to do anything about it, the fantasy disappears.
