Page 60 of Speak No Claim

She spent most of her time outside, reading in the trees. I learned her habits, her mannerisms, the way she giggled just right. She was easy prey, never knowing I was there. Stalking her quickly became one of my favorite things to do. She was fascinating, and I couldn’t help but be drawn to her. There was only one person she reminded me of, especially when she watered all the plants on the property.

She actually told the staff she could do it. She had a smile on her face every single time. It was her peace. It was crazy how much she knew about them, taking pride in each new leaf that grew from her nurturing hands.

Even then, as I watched her on my computer screen in my bedroom suite, she was swimming in the pool most nights. She’d take a quick dip, coming in all hot and sweaty from dancing outside. Her white bathing suit clung to her body in all the right places, with her tan skin radiating off the moonlight.

She looked like a goddess.

I also caught her swimming in the river behind the estate a couple of times. She wasn’t scared of what might lurk beneath the glossy dark water. She even added a fucking tire swing she found in the garage. She was quite the little swimmer and tree climber.

Her bedroom floor was covered with books upon books of information on mythology and occult history. She was proving to be quite the little witch indeed.

I never interrupted what she was doing. That wasn’t the point. When she had first arrived, she was a job like every other one I was ordered to take on. Somewhere along the way, between learning who she was inside and out, I got addicted to her. I was looking forward to the next time I’d be able to follow her without her knowing.

You’d be surprised what you could learn about someone by just observing. I believe it was better than asking questions. People lied. This didn’t give her a chance to, and I conjured up my own conclusions about her. I was never wrong, having her right where I wanted her.

She craved me as much as I did her.

It was becoming harder not to feel possessive over her. The pressure to keep her at arm’s length no longer existed.

Now it was time to work my way in…

It was late by the time I walked into the Halloween party the next night. I was dressed as a Huntsman, with my crossbow slung over my shoulder.

The Legacy Council was doing what they did best on this night: sacrifice. It was a full moon, one of the most powerful evenings of the year for rituals. I didn’t partake. I wasn’t asked to. They knew what today signified for me. Having to numb my mind was the only thing on my itinerary tonight.

The demons were hanging off my back, heavy, demanding, and loud as fuck.

Shaking off the thought, I wasn’t much for dressing up. This was the extent of my costume: black slacks and a black button-up I often wore. If it weren’t for my crossbow artillery strapped across my chest, you wouldn’t know what I was. It was the only thing I needed to fit the part.

On top of stalking my pretty poison for the past month, my schedule was packed with class every day from morning until afternoon. Then I had fencing practice for two hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evening. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I had two hours of crossbow training in the evenings.

On Saturday mornings, I was either at a fencing tournament, practice, or crossbow conditioning later in the day, particularly for the Brotherhood events. Sundays, I spent my time with the Brotherhood. It was meetings in the evening and everything that entailed.

It was how I remained the best in our university division. If I was going to do something, then I was going to be number one, end of story. All I ever wanted was to make a life for myself out of the Graves and the Brotherhood, but the older I got, the less that became my reality.

It was what I’d worked so hard for, determined to make it happen for myself no matter what. It didn’t feel like a sacrifice to miss out on the normal stuff guys my age were doing. Once I understood who I was and what steps I had to take, I used both sports as an outlet, focusing my anger on my opponent rather than my family legacy.

To me, that was enough.

Tonight was Halloween, marking fourteen years of my own personal hell. I hadn’t seen much of Hennessy, but that soon would change. I’d been preparing for it.

All I wanted to do tonight was forget, whether it was with booze, drugs, or pussy, but preferably all three at once. I fucking hated parties. I was trying to distract myself from my worst enemy.

Me.

I wasn’t much for drinking and drugs. I hated being out of control. Tonight was different, though. It was the one night of the year when I didn’t give a shit about anything other than wanting to forget by any means necessary.

The house was packed with Academy students, drinking and acting a fool. The Hawthornes always put on one hell of a Halloween party. It was their yearly event. Caspian was always the life of the party. He was quite the ladies’ man. We all were. Pussy was thrown at us on a daily basis, making it far too easy to get my dick wet.

Another reason I liked the chase…

Speaking of hunting, my mind didn’t steer from my Hennessy, and like liquor, they were both bad for me. I knew her every track, her every routine, every place she liked to disappear. I knew her eating habits, when she showered and when she slept. There wasn’t anything I didn’t know about her anymore. I studied her, watched her. Her thoughts weren’t even hidden from me. I knew it all.

I shoved away my own reckless ones, knowing my sister was somewhere at this party stirring up trouble I’d probably have to save her from. Getting back at the family was what she did best.

The party was just how I expected it to be. The place was crowded, alcohol flowed freely, and music blared throughout the estate. As the night progressed, people started scattering everywhere. The manor was bursting at the seams, both inside and out.

All the colorful lights danced in sync to the music blaring from the speakers, filling the night air with a mix of house and top 40. Some people were playing pool or shooting darts while others were in the pool or the hot tub. Women walked around wearing next to nothing.