Deadmen's Queen: A dark college reverse harem romance

Chapter Fifteen

The train platform was cold and icy, and I was grateful for the heavy soled boots I’d chosen to wear over the rest of the footwear I’d packed for home. I’d spent a good chunk of Bast’s money on clothes I’d loved, not thinking that I’d have to go home for the holidays. Thankfully, Bast had stocked up on ridiculously expensive clothes before meeting me, with labels that would impress even my mother. They were beautiful, I had to admit. The soft brown Calvin Klein wool coat I wore fell to my ankles, and the cream cashmere scarf and hat were incredibly soft. Bast frowned at the poker straight hair that fell down over my shoulders and reached out to twirl a lock in his fingers.

“I miss the curls already,” he said, a softer look than normal on his face. Then it was gone, and his face was cold and impassive as ever.

“Do you have your ticket? Purse? Phone?”

“All in here,” I said, tapping the leather handbag I carried that probably cost the same as my dorm room rent for the month. “You really didn’t have to bring me, I could have just gotten a taxi to the station.”

”It”s on our way,” he replied.

Nate leaned against the wall behind us, arms crossed, silent as ever. He’d insisted on coming, even though I knew they were heading back to the house before heading home. Bast and Tristan were looking forward to spending time with their families, but I knew Nate was dreading it, just like me. The station”s bustle flowed around us, people heading home for Christmas, just like me.

“Besides,” Bast added, his gaze never leaving mine, “I just feel better knowing you’re safely on the train.”

A shiver ran through me that had nothing to do with the mid December air. My stalker seemed to have gone quiet. There had been no more notes, or gifts since I’d moved in with the guys a couple of weeks ago.

“Train”s coming,” Nate said.

“Text me when you get there,” Bast ordered.

“Will do, boss,” I said, smiling up at him.

“Good.”

A chill wind cut through my coat, biting into my skin. I glanced at the approaching train.

“You guys can go,” I said, my voice nearly lost in the din. “I”ll be fine.”

Bast folded his arms, a dark silhouette against the greying evening. “We”re staying,” he stated flatly. “Until you”re on that train.”

“Really, it”s not necessary—” I protested, but there was something final in his stance that made me stop.

“Paige,” Bast interrupted, and there was an edge to his voice that wasn”t there before. “I need to see you get on that train. Safe.”

There was no arguing with him when he used that tone.

“Fine,” I conceded.

Nate pushed off from the wall and moved closer to me. “My father has a party every Christmas Eve. It’s quite a big event. Would you come?”

I looked up at him, a smile spreading across my face.

“Nate, are you asking me on a date?”

“I’ll be there too,” said Bast. “And Tristan. It’s a Syndicate party. Carver holds it every year at his estate. Nate, are you sure you want her-”

“Yes,” he said, looking down at me. “Will your mother let you come?”

“I have a feeling she might,” I said, trying not to wince at the thought of the delight on her face when I told her I’d be going to a party at Lord Carver’s estate with his son. “I’m not sure I have anything appropriate to wear though.”

“If you’re sure, I’ll send you something,” said Bast. “Nate can help me pick it out.” He grinned at his stoic friend who gave him a glare right back. Bast smiled down at me. “I’ll send a car for you. The estate is only about an hour from you.”

“That would be amazing,” I said, and I meant it. Facing an entire three weeks without seeing any of them had made me feel very down as the holidays had gotten closer. The idea that I would see them again in a week made me feel better already, and I smiled up at both of them as the train pulled to a stop behind us.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye till then,” I said, stepping backwards as Bast bent down to pick up my suitcase.

Nate nodded, then a strange look flashed across his face and he took two strides forward and pulled me into his arms, kissing me until I was breathless.

“Stay safe,” he murmured, before letting me go again.

“You too,” I said, my heart still racing from his kiss.

I gave him one last smile, then turned and followed Bast onto the train. He stowed my suitcase for me, then stepped back down onto the platform. I leaned down to kiss him goodbye.

“Text me every morning and night to let me know you’re ok,” he said. “And let me know immediately if you hear from that creep.”

I nodded. “I will. I’ll be fine.”

Bast pressed his lips together. “I wish you could have come back with me. I hate the idea of you going back there. My father has me completely booked up.”

“I know,” I said. “Bast, it’s fine. She’ll be fine. I’m doing exactly what she wants. Don’t worry about me.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. The train”s whistle signalled we were moments away from departure and I gave Bast one more smile as the door slid closed. His hand lingered at the edge of the closing doors, his fingers brushing mine until the very last second.

I found a seat by the window and watched as the men standing on the platform station dwindled away into the distance. Thoughts of seeing Bast and Nate again in a week kept me distracted as the train rocked its way towards home, the dark scenery passing in a blur. The journey was uneventful, just a few hours of staring at the pretty countryside covered in frost. My phone buzzed with messages from Tristan and Kate wishing me a good holiday. Another from David, wishing me a pleasant holiday season. More messages from Amy and Vanessa. Vanessa was flying home to Paris for the holidays, but Amy wasn’t leaving until the following day, and the dorms were dark and creepy without anyone else around. Then another one from Bast.

Bast - Stay safe.

I sighed, leaning back into my seat with a light smile tugging at my lips. For all his hard fa?ade, Bast did seem to care about me, beyond even his duties as Hades. Whether at university or now when I was away, he was always looking out for me. That felt...good.

The taxi ride to my parents” house was short but tense, and I felt my chest tightening the closer we got to it. No matter what I’d told Bast, the truth was, I was terrified of coming home again.

Steeling myself, I stepped out of the taxi, picking up the suitcase Bast had helped pack and paid the driver. I walked up the path to my house and stood outside the door, wondering if I should knock. Turns out, I needn’t have worried. The door swung open and my father staggered out onto the top step. He looked down at me in surprise.

“Oh. You’re back.”

“Yes. It’s the Christmas holidays,” I said.

He nodded. “I’m off down the Stag.” He leaned back into the door. “Pauline! Paige is back.” He weaved down the steps, narrowly missing me, and walked off down the street.

I sighed and walked up the steps and through the door. My mother was coming out of the kitchen. She looked me up and down, taking in my appearance. I’d brushed my hair and reapplied my makeup in the taxi, but I still felt the familiar nervousness come over me as she studied me. Finally she nodded, and I let out a silent sigh of relief. A nod like that was pretty much a compliment from her.

“We’ve eaten, but I bought some of your meals in, so you can make it yourself.”

“Thank you, Mum.”

“Don’t leave the kitchen a mess,” she said, before disappearing into the sitting room and closing the door.

I sighed and headed upstairs to my room. I set the suitcase on my bed and looked around. It felt even smaller in here than it had before I left, but it was exactly as I’d left it. The single bed, with the thin summer duvet and the worn sheets, hospital corners and edges tucked perfectly in. The wardrobe in the corner would be empty, as would be the dresser, until I unpacked.

There wasn’t much else in the room, I’d taken the few books and other things I’d owned to the university, and they’d been destroyed by the creep following me. Tristan had managed to save a few things, including the small collection of paints I’d been building up, but I”d left them behind at their house. I didn’t want to risk bringing them home, in case they were taken away from me.

I took out my phone, and typed out a quick text to Bast.

Me - Just arrived home. All good here. Enjoy your time with your dad.

Bast - Let me know if anything happens. Fuck the business meetings. I will come and get you.

I took a deep breath, smiling at his words, then replied.

Me - I’m fine. Don’t worry. x

I set my phone down, and quickly unpacked, putting my clothes and toiletries away and sliding the suitcase under the bed, before heading downstairs to make my dinner.

***

Within a day, it was like I’d never left. I was woken early for yoga and then driven to the gym to workout under the watchful eye of my mother. I pushed myself as hard as I could, but she was displeased with the amount of weights I could now lift, thanks to Nate’s training, and lectured me about bulking up.

Much of the day was spent cleaning and doing laundry, evenings were spent being ferried around to local society events. We weren’t exactly in the guy’s circles, but it was still society, and my mother loved to brag about how I was dating Sebastian Blake. I didn’t dare correct her, and I noticed she didn’t bring up my role as Persephone to her snobby friends.

When I told her Nate had invited me to the Christmas party, she actually genuinely smiled at me, and started asking me questions, chatting away as if we were a normal mother and daughter, and for the first time, I wondered if perhaps I was finally making her proud of me. I was no longer the waste of space that had ruined her life, but someone she would like. Maybe even love.

She was a little disappointed when I told her Bast was sending me a dress to wear so we couldn’t go dress shopping, but even she was impressed when it arrived on my third day home. It was beautiful. Midnight blue, falling to the floor, with crystals studded through the skirt like tiny snowflakes, and a crystal encrusted bodice that sparkled in the light. Silver sandals, a tiny clutch bag, and a crystal studded snowflake hair slide completed the outfit. I absolutely loved it.

I’d been home five days, when she came upstairs where I was cleaning the bathroom. She perched on the edge of the bath, watching me as I scrubbed at the toilet. My father wasn’t a great aim when he’d had a lot to drink, and it looked suspiciously like no one had actually cleaned the toilet since I’d left.

“The party you’re going to - it’s definitely at the Carver estate?” she asked casually.

“Yes, Nate says they throw it every year,” I said.

“And Blake’s son is sending a car for you? And bringing you home that night?”

“That’s what he said.”

She nodded thoughtfully, then reached into her pocket. “When you get there, I want you to make an excuse, and locate Carver’s office. When you find it, you will get inside and plant this somewhere around his desk where he won’t see it.”

I frowned. “What is it?”

She opened her hand, revealing a small camera, and my mouth dropped open.

“Mum, I can’t do that. He’s Nate’s dad. He’s a Lord. What if I got caught?”

My mother shook her head. “Don’t get caught. And if you do, well, you’ve been whoring yourself out to three men, what’s one more?”

I felt sick. “Are you actually suggesting if Nate’s dad finds me in his office, I should seduce him?”

“Seduce him?” She laughed coldly. “My dear, you are still such a romantic. He won’t need any seducing. You’re still young enough to be of interest to him, and he’s always been of the opinion that status and power makes every girl wet. Whether she agrees with it or not.”

My mouth fell open and I stared at her. “I can’t believe you’d tell me to do that.”

“Oh stop being such a drama queen, Paige. We both know it’s your young pussy that’s our weapon here. Though, actually, you might want to take a bottle of lube with you. Unless he’s changed, Carver always prefers doing it the back way and it hurts like hell if he doesn’t bother to lube you up first.”

I thought I might retch, and I leaned over the toilet, just in case.

“I have another one for when you go back to Blackvellyn,” she said, still watching me.

“What? To put where?”

“In Blake’s office of course. I’m assuming you don’t know any useful details about his businesses, so I’ll need first hand information if I’m going to bring him crashing down.”

Horror washed over me, and I stared at her. “I can’t… why… where did you even get these?”

She shrugged. “You can get anything on the internet, Paige. Now, just make sure they point at the desk. That”s where he’ll take most of his phone calls. If you can, sit in behind him at an angle, so I can zoom in on the computer screen.”

“I…” I stared down into the dirty toilet bowl, and shook my head.

“I can’t do that, Mum. I’m sorry, I just can’t.”

“What?” Her voice was flat, and cold, and I cringed, knowing what was coming.

“I’ll do the one for Lord Carver, but I can”t do that to Bast. He”s been so sweet to me. All of them have.”

Her icy gaze bore into me. ”He”s been sweet,” she repeated, her tone full of venom. “Was he sweet when he kidnapped you and assaulted you in front of a roomful of people?”

“That wasn’t his fault,” I protested. “You set him up. You set us all up. And they were horrified when they found out-”

“When they found out what exactly?” she asked, her tone like ice.

“That someone had set us up,” I said. “Don’t worry mother, I didn’t tell them it was you, and they wouldn’t dream it could be.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“That they would never suspect the truth about you,”” I said, turning to face her, my heart racing. “That you’ve never cared about me. You”ve always seen me as a tool to get what you want.”

She rose from the bath edge, towering over me with a murderous look in her eyes. “How dare you,” she hissed. “After everything I”ve done for you...””

“Everything you”ve done? You mean like setting me up? Using me as bait? That”s not what a mother does,” I spat back at her.

For a moment she stared at me, fury contorting her still pretty face into something ugly and cold fear crept through me, but this time I refused to back down.

“You will do as you are told, Paige.”

“I can”t betray them, Mum. I won’t.”

“You can, and you will,” she decreed. “You owe it to me, Paige. After everything I”ve done for you, sacrificed for you.”

“No,” I said. “I have a choice, and I won”t do it.”

She laughed. Then she reached down, and grabbing my hair, she slammed my head down onto the ceramic toilet bowl, once and then twice.

I cried out, reaching up to grab her hands, but she managed to do it one more time before she let me go. I fell back against the tiled wall, my head ringing and I felt blood trickle through my hair and down my neck.

My mother leaned down, her face inches from mine, mouth twisted in an ugly sneer.

“You will do as I tell you, Paige. If you will not, you are worthless to me, and I will treat you as such. You will not return to Blackvellyn. You will be kept here, and if you thought life was hard before, you have no idea of what it will become. You have no idea what I’ve sheltered you from. What your father and his friends…” she stopped, as though afraid of saying much more, and got up to leave, pausing at the door. “You might think your new boyfriends are powerful, but I know people too, Paige. You will plant both cameras, Paige. Or I won’t just ruin these boys. I’ll have them killed.”