Chapter 37 Mara #2
A small crowd is forming a cautious distance away, phones raised. I spot at least two people I recognize from classes gaping at me. One of them, a guy from my O-Chem course, has his phone out and a stunned grin on his face.
He’s filming this.
They all are.
This footage will be on every group chat, every social media feed, by evening. By tonight, Father will see it. I force myself to stay rooted, knees pressed into the earth. A trembling breath leaves me. There’s no stopping it, and a twisted part of me doesn’t want to.
Talon steps forward with a flourish, clearly enjoying the spectacle. He tosses an arm around Jasper’s shoulders and calls out loudly, addressing the gawking onlookers, “What’s the matter? Never seen a princess on a leash before?”
A ripple of laughter—some nervous, some outright crude—passes through the growing audience. My face flares hotter. I want to hide, want the ground to swallow me, yet Talon’s words ignite a defiant spark in me too.
Princess.
He’s throwing that title out to scorn—to show everyone exactly what I am now. Not Daddy’s precious princess, but something else entirely. My pulse kicks up, and without thinking I straighten my spine, still kneeling.
Dredyn crouches beside me suddenly and I flinch. He reaches out and tugs the collar at my throat, not gently, forcing me to face him. My breath catches as I gaze into his bright, devilish eyes. “Smile for the cameras, Hellcat.”
The hand on my collar slides up, fingers threading briefly into the hair at my nape in a way that’s both possessive and oddly comforting. Then he pulls back, and I’m left swaying on my knees, a dizzy heat spreading through me.
Dredyn gives a light tug on the leash and commands, “Heel.” The word rolls out deep and authoritative.
I crawl forward, falling into place just a half-step behind Dredyn’s boots, as a trained pet would.
The humiliation of obeying that command, of performing like this, squeezes my chest. Yet, I feel a strange release in it too.
I don’t have to think, I just follow. The world around me blurs except for the leash guiding me and the feet I trail.
They lead me in a slow circuit of the quad. We pass the fountain at the center, where more students gape from the ledges.
Somebody whistles and shouts, “Work it, girl!” which is followed by crude laughter.
My thighs brush together as I crawl, and I jolt at the dampness I feel between them. God, am I actually… ? A rush of hot shame floods me at the realization that my body is betraying me. Growing slick with arousal even as people laugh and stare.
I bite my lip so hard I nearly draw blood.
What is wrong with me?
How can I be humiliated and turned on at the same time?
Dredyn stops us again near the wide steps of the administration building—ironically, the most public spot on campus.
Students coming out of the doors practically trip over themselves at the spectacle of me kneeling on all fours below the steps.
Murmurs ripple everywhere; it feels like the whole campus is encircling us now.
A living, breathing amphitheater of scandal.
Talon steps forward and turns to face me. He flicks the leash out of Dredyn’s grasp and into his own hand in one quick move. Dredyn shoots him a warning glare but lets him for the moment. Talon gives the leash a little upward tug. “Up,” he orders sharply. “On your knees, Mara.”
I obey, pushing myself up from all fours to a kneeling position once more, spine straight. I should hate how naturally I respond to his command, but there’s a relief in surrendering control. I feel myself slip into some headspace where their words are the only thing I have to focus on.
“What are you waiting for, Princess?” he calls out, projecting so all can hear. “Give them a show. Tell everyone exactly who owns you now.”
A collective gasp rises from those close enough to hear. My stomach lurches; I hadn’t expected him to demand that. Fresh terror grips me at the thought of saying it out loud—announcing my submission so plainly. My instinct is to balk, to shy away.
This is too far.
My lips part, but no sound comes at first.
I’m shaking.
Phones are pointed at my face; this moment will live forever on the internet. My pulse whooshes in my ears.
I think of Father. I think of Chase. I think of every expectation strangling me since birth.
And I think of these three men who have, in their own messed-up way, shown me more respect for my choices than my family ever has.
If I falter now, if I don’t go all the way, this humiliation will be for nothing.
I wet my dry lips. My voice cracks as I begin, but I force it louder, from the diaphragm, like I learned in debate club.
“I—” My throat is tight; I push past it. “I belong to OCK.”
A roar of mixed reactions erupts. Some cheers, some gasps of outrage, laughter, and a lot of startled exclamations.
My face is so hot I feel faint, but inside, beneath the mortification, something like triumph ignites.
I did it. I said it, the truth, in its rawest form.
I see a few girls with hands over their mouths, and one of them—a friend of my brother’s, I realize—actually looks sympathetic. Maybe even impressed.
Talon looks downright giddy, baring his teeth in a feral grin.
“Good girl,” he practically purrs, giving the leash a light snap that makes the collar pinch briefly at my neck.
The praise shoots through me, embarrassingly pleasurable.
I drop my gaze, half in submission, half to hide the spark in my eyes. Why does that feel good?
“Spread the word, folks,” Dredyn calls out with a laugh. “Daddy’s little angel prefers to crawl.” His crude announcement is met with another burst of laughter and scandalized chatter.
I cringe internally. That line was definitely aimed to get straight back to my father’s ears.
Talon winks down at me, utterly unapologetic.
“All right, show’s over,” Dredyn growls to no one in particular. He’s noticed a few campus security officers hovering at the far end of the quad, unsure what to do about this situation. Dredyn isn’t about to wait and find out. “Let’s wrap this up. Mara, heel.”
On command, I drop back to all fours. My body is humming, exhaustion and adrenaline mixing into a potent haze.
We start moving briskly back the way we came, retracing our steps.
Talon keeps hold of the leash, tugging firmly to guide me.
Jasper and Dredyn close ranks near me, their legs shielding me somewhat from prying hands or cameras as we depart.
What seems like a million years later, we return to the OCK house doorstep. Talon practically yanks it open and steps aside. Dredyn and Jasper herd me in swiftly.
Jasper is immediately at my side, kneeling next to me. His arm goes around my shoulders, steady and gentle. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.”
“I’m fine,” I manage, though my voice breaks. “I’m… I’m fine.”
Talon tosses the leash onto a side table and runs both hands through his hair, looking as wired as I feel. “That. Was. Wild,” he says, half-laughing, half in awe.
I wipe my face, taking a shaky breath to calm myself. The tears stop after that; I won’t break down completely, I refuse. I lift my chin, and my hand drifts up to touch the leather around my throat. “I… I meant it,” I say softly, voice hoarse.
Jasper rubs a soothing circle on my back.
Dredyn comes to plop down on the bottom stair. “No shit you meant it. I don’t think anyone will question that after that performance.”
I lean slightly into Jasper’s side, suddenly exhausted. My knees throb dully now and I’m sure they’ll bruise. My tights are shredded at the joints. Jasper notices and gently lifts one of my legs, grimacing at the sight of the abrasion. “Hurt?”
“It’s nothing,” I assure him, even though it stings. Honestly, I barely feel it over the whirlwind in my head. Physical pain is easy compared to the emotional rollercoaster.
Talon laughs under his breath, drawing my attention.
He’s pulled out his phone. “Well, it didn’t take long,” he says, eyes on the screen.
“I’ve got like thirty notifications . . .
Oh man, look at this one.” He turns the phone so we can see.
Through a blur, I make out a social media post. Someone uploaded a short video clip—me, on my knees by the fountain, shouting “I belong to these men.” The caption reads: OMFG PRINCESS MARA HAS LOST IT with about a hundred shocked emojis.
“Turn it off, Tal,” Dredyn snaps, noticing my distress. Talon’s smile fades and he pockets the phone at once, hands up defensively. “All right, all right. Sorry.”
Jasper gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. I take a slow breath and open my eyes. “It’s okay,” I say quietly. “I . . . I knew that would happen. I wanted it to happen, remember?”
They all look at me for a long moment, and I muster a braver smile than I feel. Inside, I’m still trembling—thinking about Father’s face when he inevitably sees that video, about Chase’s reaction, about the university administration and whether I just broke a dozen rules.
Consequences loom like dark clouds on the horizon of my mind.
But alongside them, unbelievably, is a twisted sense of liberation.
“I’m proud of you.”
Dredyn clears his throat and stands, pulling a key from his pocket.
With deliberate care, he unbuckles the collar around my neck.
The leather slides free, leaving my skin oddly cool where it once warmed me.
I touch the faint indents it left behind—marks that prove it was real. A part of me misses its weight already.
He offers me a hand. “Come on,” he says. “Let’s get you off the floor.”
I take his hand, and Jasper helps me from the other side until I’m standing on unsteady legs. Dredyn’s hand lingers at my waist even after I’m upright, as if ready to catch me if I wobble.
“You still think you’re fine, Hellcat?”
I can’t even pretend. My whole body hums, damp and desperate. “No, I’m not fine. I’m… I’m so turned on I can’t breathe. And I don’t want just one of you. I want all of you.”
“Oh, Princess,” Talon drawls, stepping closer, “careful what you wish for.”