“The choice is yours,” he says, an infuriating smirk cresting his mouth. “But the consequences are completely in my control.”
At his words, a deep groan escapes Rook’s throat, and when I look over my shoulder, I can tell he’s hanging by a thread as whatever fucking pain-voodoo powers Lucian has start to consume his body. My eldest brother is a big fucking bastard, and his pain tolerance is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, but he’s no match for Lucian.
Rook only stays on his feet for ten seconds before he’s on his knees with a clenched jaw and his beloved Kylie trying to help him with concern.
“Stop!” I demand. “Just fucking stop.”
“And why would I stop?” Lucian questions. “Because you’ve had an epiphany that attending the selection process is not only a wonderful opportunity for you, but something you are happily going to do?”
When I don’t answer right away, I hear Kane fall to his knees from behind me on a strangled groan.
“No, no, no!” Blair screams. “Kane!”
And when I look over my shoulder, the pain in my brothers’ eyes and the terror on their fated mates’ faces is too fucking much.
“Fine!” I shout. “You can stop with the bullshit! I’ll come!”
Lucian lets out a hearty laugh, and with a little twist of his wrist, he stops my brothers’ pain.
“But just me,” I add through a tight jaw. “Kane and Rook and their mates aren’t necessary.”
“Nonsense. This is a family affair,” Lucian declares with a clap. “It’ll be all or none,” he says and purposefully steps closer to Kylie…and then a moment later does the same to Blair. “And I know the three of you are smart enough to understand the implications of each.”
Oh yeah, motherfucker. The implications are downright impossible to miss.
He looks at the women again, and both of my brothers are strung tight as fucking bows. It’s clear Lucian Wrath is willing to do anything to get what he wants, and unfortunately for us, he outmatches us in the worst kind of way.
“So…what shall it be?” he questions and walks over toward Kylie to just barely touch the ends of her brown hair. “Everyone…or no one?”
I scrub a hand down my face, desperate to figure a way out of this mess, but there is no way out. Our hands are fucking tied. Our body count stacked too high. All our transgressions against the elite point straight to a death sentence.
I don’t trust Lucian, but I don’t doubt he’s a man of his word when it comes to consequences, I think in my mind, hoping to hell Rook can use his telepathy to tap into me.
I have no idea if Lucian is a shield, but I’d prefer to have this conversation without scaring Kylie and Blair even more than they already are.
I want to murder this fucking fuck,Rook pushes into my head.
Yeah, well, clearly, we’re out-fucking-matched,I think.
Kane says his offer isn’t saying death…at least…not yet,Rook pushes into my head.
Kane’s not wrong. Going along with Lucian might be the only chance we have to survive,I answer back.We gotta do this, man. I fucking hate it, but it’s all we’ve got right now.
“Looks like the Slaters are headed to New York,” Rook growls.
“Beautiful.” Lucian smiles. “If I may make a suggestion?”
We all just stare at him.
“Pack your finest. We have many exciting events to attend.”
Romy
Butter-yellow silk skims my legs as I walk into the massive ballroom of the mansion set somewhere outside of New York City, a glass of wine in hand and a sour feeling in my stomach that’s kept me from eating all day.
This morning, after I found four new gowns my mother approved of in Neiman Marcus and stopped home to pack them safely in a garment bag, my father drove me to the airport and escorted me all the way to the gate—somehow—to make sure I got on the plane.
We didn’t speak much, but truly, we didn’t need to. His decision to send me off to be sold and my sense of betrayal as a result are like two ends of the same wooden board—connected forever, but in no way will they ever meet in the middle without chopping everything up into a million tiny pieces.
