Once it struck three a.m., we’d begin.
Seventeen
Blair
A violent tugripped me from my bed.
My eyes flashed open in panic as I saw the low light filtering through my dorm. I cried out when rough hands seized me and dragged me across the floor.
I writhed in their hold as they jerked me upright.
I’d stupidly thought I’d prepared for this. I tried to stay awake, but my body betrayed me. Daphne had given me a heads-up that with Clarissa, the Sons hadn’t waited until morning tocollecther. They had come in the middle of the night.
That was why I was still dressed in my uniform and loafers and not in my pajamas.
When I started to scream for Daphne, a callous hand clamped over my mouth, forcing the words back down as someone stepped in front of me.
Enzo—my devil, my tormentor—stood tall, like the darkest omen that existed in the world.
A skull mask covered his face, and all I could see through the hollow circles around his eyes were two dark pinpoints.
The hand over my mouth disappeared when he stepped closer.
I dragged in air as I readied to scream, but my body relaxed when he reached forward and touched me.
His chilly hand cupped my chin to tilt it upward until I couldn’t look at anything but him.
“It’s time, Blair,” he said, his voice almost sounding soulless.
Like there was no human behind that mask.
It’s time.
The words settled over me like a death sentence.
My Initiation had started.
Someone moved behind me before I could react. I heard the sound of tape tearing before they smacked it against my mouth.
Before I could even attempt to fight, the person behind me grabbed my arms and hauled me backward.
Everything happened so fast that my mind could barely keep up.
They dragged me out of the room, their steps so rushed that they were nearly running. The walls and dorms blurred past me before they cut that view off by placing a cloth over my head.
Something slammed, and a frigid gust tore across my body. The sudden drop in temperature told me we were outside.
My mind snapped clear, jolting me fully awake, and I fought to awaken every survival instinct I had.
They stopped to bound my wrists and ankles together before moving me again. I heard a loud click, then the sound of scuffling broke through the silence.
My stomach dropped as they held me sideways to swing my body back, as if preparing to launch me across the damn state. I twisted, my muffled cries spilling into the tape across my mouth as I struggled to break myself free.
A second later, they let go.
I crashed down onto a solid surface. The slam reverberated through whatever space they’d thrown me into.
I smelled that new-car smell and chemical cleaner. My elbows brushed rough carpet. The bastards had put me in a goddamn trunk.
