Chapter 16
T he first thing that I saw when my eyes opened was purple. So much purple. I looked around the room that was meant to be mine, but didn't feel one bit like it was. Hell, even the room at the Courts felt more comfortable. But this, this was just surreal. I sat up on the bed, still in the clothes from last night. The woody scent from the hoodie was still lingering here, like it was trying to dominate my own scent.
I had cried myself to sleep last night. It was like everything had hit me all at once, and when I was finally alone, my walls shattered and I fell to pieces. I still couldn't process everything that had happened last night. How was it that less than twenty-four hours ago, my biggest concern was party decorations, and now this. I didn't even know what half of the stuff meant. What exactly was a Consort, and how was the university involved? Given the activities of the claiming, I had a feeling that I wasn't going to like it when I found out.
I looked around the room properly for the first time. Last night had been too overwhelming and I was barely holding it together, especially with the way Ryder was acting. He was always trying to touch me and reassure me, yet I couldn’t help but feel that there was a darker edge to the niceties. And now that I saw the room in daylight, I was even more concerned. What was it he said? That they wanted me to have something familiar? How the fuck did any of them know what was familiar to me? Had they been watching me, and for how long?
My eyes landed on something white on the floor and I froze. I shuffled off the bed, my body aching from the stress, and knelt beside the white stuffed bear on the floor. I reached to pick it up and gasped.
I hadn't really noticed before, but it was an exact copy of Boopy Bear, my childhood teddy bear. I remembered how my granddad had taken me to a fair just after my mum left. He won the bear in the shooting range game. I’d been so excited because I’d watched as so many people had failed at the game and my Gran said it was rigged, but not for Granddad. He walked over and hit every single target with ease.
It was silly, but I had been so proud that he was my granddad that night. Of course, I had carried Boopy Bear around everywhere for years, until gran had declared him lost to the world after one too many repair attempts. But this thing I was holding was brand new, exactly like that first night at the fair. I dropped it onto the floor and shuffled back away from it, my heart racing. Knowing I liked purple was one thing, but this…
My racing thoughts were interrupted as I heard a soft knock on the bedroom door. I stared at it, hoping they would think I was still asleep. But the door opened, and I saw the dirty blond of Ryder's hair as he poked his head inside. His smile was wide, and his eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Good morning, Poison," he said once his eyes met mine. "How did you sleep?" He opened the door wider, stepping into the room. The action reminded me that it made no difference if this was my room, it was their house. I just stared at him, not sure what to say. But that didn't seem to deter him. He crossed the space and knelt down in front of me.
"Well, I should say, good afternoon," he said. He reached out with his hand, and I flinched back away from him. If I hadn't been watching him so close, I probably wouldn't have seen the hurt look flash through his eyes before the excitement was back.
" I know that the first night was a little overwhelming for you, but don't worry, you'll soon settle right in here," he practically cooed.
"What if I don't want to settle in?" I whispered. "What if I don't want to be here?" I could feel tears welling up, and was trying not to let them fall. Ryder's smile faltered slightly.
"Don't worry, Poison," he said, his tone a little less happy than before, "You will come around. I promise you that." He seemed so sure of himself that his words sent a chill down my spine. I wanted to respond but to my embarrassment, my stomach made a loud gurgling sound. Ryder looked at me in shock, before a chuckle burst from his lips.
"Ah sweet Poison, are you hungry?" he asked and then jumped up from the floor. He held out his hand and grinned. "It's perfect timing, it's just about lunch time and Logan wants to go through some things anyway."
"Things? Like what things?" I asked. I could feel the dread settling in my stomach already.
"Oh, you know, just Regent and Consort stuff, come on," Ryder urged. I knew I wasn't going to be hiding in my room the whole time, and I would have to face whatever this was sooner or later. I might as well get some food at the same time. I let out a deep breath and, despite Ryder's hand reaching out towards me, I got myself up from the floor. I made an attempt to walk past him towards the door, but I heard Ryder chuckle before I yelped as I was yanked backwards against his hard body. His arms slipped under the hoodie and circled my waist, and he nuzzled his nose into my neck. I tensed as his hands slid higher under the top.
"Naughty Poison," Ryder whispered in my ear. "I really want this to be perfect for you. I want you to realise how amazing we could be, the four of us." His hand grazed the underside of my breast, making me regret not wearing a bra. The touch was gentle and almost feather-light, and paired with the feeling of his warm breath against my ear, the sensation of it sent a spark of something I didn't want to admit through me as goosebumps raised along my skin. "But most of all, my sweet Poison, I really want to feel you wrapped around my cock as you beg me." He pulled me tighter against him, the evidence of how excited he was pushed against my back.
He ran his nose along my neck as he sighed. "And right now, I really don't care if you are begging me to go harder, or to stop." The words, despite their sweet coo like delivery, sent a rush of ice cold fear through my body, dampening any hint of desire that I had. I yanked myself away from him, turned to face him and slapped him hard across the face.
"You fucking prick," I hissed, the fear giving way to anger as I saw the smug look on his face. The second I hit him, I knew I was in trouble. The smirk fell from his face, his blue eyes seemed to turn to steel as something dangerous passed through them. His hand snapped up, circling my throat before I could stop him. He advanced forward on me, backing me against the door. He squeezed my throat as he leaned in again. Consciously I knew this was a power play, he was showing me who was in charge. If he wanted to, he could cut off my air, but instead he put pressure on the side of my throat where my pulse was and not my windpipe. Still, I had to control the panic running through me as the sweet boyfriend persona switched so smoothly to the vicious predator in front of me.
"Make no mistakes, Poison," he growled against my skin. "I am not Cole, I don't get off on pain. I am the one who causes the pain around here." He squeezed a little tighter, and my hands flew up to grip his hand in some futile attempt to pull him away. "And as for my fucking prick," his words making a mockery of my anger, "You will be the one fucking my prick before the month is out, that's my promise to you."
He let go of me, stepping back as quickly as he had latched onto me and I slid down the door to the floor, my body shaking. I wanted to say that it was purely fear, purely the danger of the situation that I was in, but a small part of me was way too attracted to the darkness that I could see in those clear blue eyes. And I think that scared me even more.
"Now, about breakfast," Ryder said. I looked up to see him smiling down at me, like he hadn't just threatened to hurt me, the evidence of all that darkness back beneath the surface. He held out his hand towards me again. "You are starving, and we have a busy day today." I went to get up, avoiding his hand again, only the tutting sound from him caused me to falter. I looked back up to see the lingering effects of the dangerous side of Ryder in his eyes as I reached out and let him pull me to my feet. He pulled me against him and darted a quick kiss to my cheek.
"Good girl," he mused as he swiped some hair from my face. He turned us towards the door and opened it, never letting go of my hand. He looked back at me with a grin as he tugged me through the door. "And I really must say, you look so fuckable in my hoodie." My eyes widened. I could tell by the strong masculine scent that the hooded Regents jumper belonged to one of the guys, but knowing which one made it feel way more intimate. I almost wanted to pull it off, but I had a feeling that Ryder would see that as an insult.
The door clicked shut behind us as Ryder led me down the hallway, his enthusiastic chatter filling the air. I tried to focus on his words, but my mind kept drifting back to my situation. The switch between personalities really threw me off, and the replica of Boopy Bear lying on my bedroom floor niggled at the back of my mind. How long had they been watching me? What else did they know? How was I going to be able to navigate this when they clearly had the upper hand?
"...and you'll love the gardens, Poison. We've got this amazing summer house where ..." Ryder's voice faded into background noise once more as we descended the grand staircase. My eyes darted around, taking in the lavish surroundings, dark wood panelling, oil paintings of stern-faced men, plush carpets that muffled our footsteps. It felt more like a museum than a home. It was all extremely masculine and so much more luxurious than the Courts house.
As we approached the dining room, my stomach clenched with anxiety. I could hear male voices drifting through the partially open door, highlighting the very real fact that I was severely outnumbered. Not only was this the home to the three Regents, but also to all the members of the Covenant club. Thirty-six men and one me. A shudder ran through me at the horrifying thought that ran through my mind. What if I was expected to serve more than the Regents? That was what they called it, to serve , like I was some member of staff, here for their pleasure. Ryder's hand settled on the small of my back, guiding me forward into the room. I wanted to shrink away from his touch but forced myself to remain still.
"Here we are!" Ryder announced cheerfully, pushing the door open wide. The conversation inside abruptly ceased as all eyes turned to me. Logan sat at the head of the long table, his piercing gaze making me want to turn and flee as he appraised me up and down. Three other young men I sort of recognised occupied seats further down.
"Ah, there's our Consort," Logan said, his tone deceptively light, although there was an obvious mocking edge to it. "Come, sit." He nodded to the chair to one side of the table and Ryder steered me towards it. As I sank into the seat, one of the guys, a lanky redhead, broke into a friendly grin.
"Hey Cade, how you doing?" I looked at him blankly. I knew he looked familiar, but he seemed to be more familiar with me. Was he as informed as the three Regents seemed to be? I opened my mouth, hesitating before he chuckled, and his grin widened. "Zach, remember? We had Maths together last year?" Something twigged in my brain and for a moment, relief washed over me at seeing a potentially friendly face. But then Logan coughed subtly, and Zach glanced over before looking horrified and looking away. I looked around at Logan to see him glaring at Zach. He turned the glare on me, like I was the one to blame for some unspoken rule that I had apparently broken.
"I believe you three have somewhere else to be," he said coldly, his gaze never leaving my face. I heard as the three younger men scrambled to their feet, muttering hasty goodbyes as they hurried from the room. The door clicked shut behind them, leaving me alone with Logan and Ryder.
"What, am I not allowed to speak to anyone?" I snapped. I was unsettled by the tension, and felt pinned by the predatory look in Logan's eyes. He blinked slowly before breaking eye contact and looking back down to the papers in front of him. Ryder slid into the seat next to me, scraping it closer so his thigh was touching mine, and immediately took hold of my hand again.
"Him, Poison," he said with a smile. "He's not allowed to talk to you. He hasn't earned that right yet. None of them have."
"Earned it?" I asked. "And what other rights with me can I expect the men in this house to earn?" I knew I was back to pushing it, but if I didn't keep showing them that I wasn't just going to back down, I knew they would win. Ryder chuckled as Logan looked up at me again, the hint of smug humour in his eyes.
"Oh, don't worry Princess," he said with a smirk that made me want to punch him. "That particular right is reserved solely for the Regents of this house." I gulped as Ryder's hand landed on my thigh and squeezed gently. Even as Ryder's hand crept up my leg, I couldn't take my eyes from Logan. The way he watched me, waiting for me to respond, set something inside me alight, and my memory flashed back to last night in the woods, and the power in his hold over me.
Last night Ryder had asked if I was as aroused as they were, and now a heavy weight settled in my stomach as I realised that, even in all my resistance, that I was not only turned on brighter than Blackpool Illuminations, but these guys fucking knew it. And with the look on Logan's face, they wouldn't hesitate to use it against me.