Chapter 20 Kieren
KIEREN
Six Months Prior to Present Day,
Early March, Junior Year,
Sigma
My phone falls to the floor with a plunk. Where the fuck is Monroe? I’ve texted her ten times in the last hour.
This is not what she promised.
She promised to behave.
She promised not to run.
And what the fuck is she doing? Running.
Fucking disobedient fucking bitch.
How does she not understand all that I have riding on the success of these Full Moon Ceremonies? I need her full commitment. Physically, mentally and emotionally.
I should have just told her I loved her.
I should have just said it back. It wouldn’t have been a complete lie.
I do love her in my own way. I especially love the feeling of owning her.
The way she yields control of her body, trusting me with her needs, is intoxicating.
Having that much power over someone, bending her to my will, makes the darkest parts of me come alive.
And now she’s fucking disappeared, again, just like she did at the end of our sophomore year. She’s going to abandon me.
Not this time, Monroe. Not this fucking time.
The March Full Moon Ceremony with attending elders will be the first Ceremony held this century at the Dornell chapter.
Last month’s Ceremony was just a dry-run, a means to recruit Sinners to tap for the Ritual of Sacrifice.
Finally, the ancient tradition will return and reclaim its rightful spot in the legacy of this fraternity, just as X and my father want.
Maybe then, they will finally shut the fuck up.
The hours I have spent organizing and preparing for this have been a sacrifice in and of itself.
Not that I care about my classes. Convincing new pledges to trade scrubbing toilets for ghost writing my papers and completing my homework took no effort whatsoever.
Besides, they’re all terrified of me, with good reason.
So, for Monroe to pull away now?
Over my fucking dead body.
If only I could find her. She’s never at her sorority, nor do I know her class schedule.
I’ll be six feet under before I set foot in the Engineering Quad, so if my plan to coax her back to me doesn’t work, I’ll be forced to send in reinforcements.
I’m not above using extreme measures to get what I want when it comes to Monroe.
I reach over the edge of the bed to retrieve my phone so I can text Barrett.
He’s our social chair and loyal as fuck.
He told me in confidence that his family needs this to happen just as much as mine.
Plus, he’s a bigger sadist than I am, so getting him on board to help with some of the more uncouth parts of these Full Moon Ceremonies has been a walk in the park.
It’s amazing how dangling even the smallest carrot of power can motivate a man.
Barrett, Harrison, and even Jace who just stood at the edge of the room with a scowl on his face, are now revered as gods.
Untouchable. Women will claw their eyes out simply to get a taste of these men, but they’d be remiss to forget that power can be taken away just as quickly as it can be given.
Power is an illusion, after all. I have my dear father to thank for that knowledge. Fucking prick.
Five elders will be in attendance this Saturday.
One of which is X himself. I’m so over this self-important motherfucker.
I know he’s exceptionally powerful, a kingmaker, and someone you don’t want to piss off, but Jesus Christ. I wonder if I’ll have any humanity left by the time this is over.
This bloodthirsty motherfucker might just be Moloch himself.
He expects an offering at the Full Moon Ceremony.
I have a candidate in mind, one who I’m told has been running her mouth around campus, and I plan to turn her into a lesson.
I’ll make the disloyal weep for a mercy they’ll never find.
Not from me. People go missing all the time, right?
Especially on college campuses, where they just might wander off drunk and fall into a gorge.
Actually, it’s kind of fun getting to play God. It suits me.
I type out a text to Barrett telling him to set up a mixer between Sigma and Monroe’s sorority this Thursday.
I’ll lure Monroe out of hiding, and once I catch her, I’ll cage her.
She’ll be there for the next Full Moon Ceremony, come hell or high water, because I don’t plan on letting her out of my sight until the curtain drops.