Chapter 10
I watched everything from beneath my hood, my senses prickling with anticipation, as Cole and Ryder loomed silently beside me. The same charged energy filled the air between us. We were all waiting, watching. From our vantage point, I could see everything clearly as she was carried into the clearing. I didn't even have to look at Cadence to know her emotions were running rampant; I could feel it.
They dumped her to the ground with a thud, and when they ripped the hood from her head, her wide, terrified eyes scanned the surroundings. The pale light of the early moon washed over her features, illuminating the stark disbelief twisting her face. The strong twitch of my dick as it hardened was an immediate reaction as I watched her fall apart, her mind attempting to comprehend the reality that had just been thrust upon her. That shock on her face? God, it was delicious. Her pretty mouth quivered ever so slightly, and I bit back a groan, it was everything I could do not to reach out and snatch her closer right then and there. Her lips parted, and for a fleeting second, I could've sworn her gaze found mine, like she knew exactly where I was hidden amidst the shadows of the trees. Impossible, of course, but thrilling all the same. Something dark and predatory stirred inside me, a hunger that made my blood hum with excitement.
The Regent’s Hunt, a centuries-old tradition, was flawless in its design, a perfect mechanism to test the girls, mould them, break them. Every tiny detail had been thought out to ensure maximum effect. Each girl was stripped of anything that could distract, barefoot and vulnerable, just as they should be. They were tributes to the Trivium Court, sent in their most raw form. Our job was to break them down, piece by piece, before rebuilding them into Consorts, the highly coveted prize known only to the select Regents of each ruling house. Whilst the Courts knew there would be a Consort choosing in the first week of term, the details of the ritual were kept secret by Trivium law. Although a quick glance around the women before us told me that not everyone had been as tight lipped as what had been required of them.
I flicked my gaze to the other girls standing in a nervous huddle in the middle of the clearing, but none of them held my interest the way Cadence did. Some of them, like Julia Latters and her two hanger ons, were clearly aware of what might go down tonight. Everything about them screamed prepared. They had an edge of sickening excitement about them, like they thought playing the role of a Consort meant they would slide right into a beautifully crafted life of luxury. I am sure they hoped that the sight of their pert little tits padded and pushed up high would increase their chances of being claimed tonight. But at least one of them would be shit out of luck, since my sights were set on one girl and one girl only.
My eyes followed the curve of Cadence’s bare shoulders as she stood ignorant amongst the crowd, her body stiff and visibly trembling. She wasn’t pretending. Her fear? It was real. And that’s what I wanted. What I craved.
Headmaster Williams stepped forward, and his presence commanded immediate attention. His voice cut through the night like the steady toll of a funeral bell, echoing eerily through the forest.
"The rules are simple, ladies…" His voice had always grated on me, a cold, authoritative tone meant to subdue, but tonight? Tonight, it was sweetened by the underlying thrill of power play. I felt the vibration of his words as much as I heard them, each syllable rippling across the air like an electrical current. I could see it in the way the girls shivered, their eyes lifting toward him like lost children seeking a lifeline. The soft rustle of their anxious movements only added to the growing sense of dread hanging above them.
"You are all gathered here as the best potential candidates for one of our three Consorts," he continued, the enthusiasm barely restrained. He and the other two board members were as invested in the outcome of tonight’s hunt as the rest of us, acting as the official overseers to ensure things went as planned. His eyes swept over the row of faces, briefly landing on each girl.
My gaze slid back to Cadence, watching the subtle heave of her chest as her breathing quickened. She didn’t move, pinned in place by invisible shackles of terror as Williams laid out the rules one by one.
"You must attempt to evade capture throughout the night while remaining within the boundaries of Remnant Woods. There are luminescent stakes marking the edge of the forest, and guards from each House patrolling the borders to ensure you do not leave."
Cadence's wide-eyed expression was fixed on Williams, though I could see the tension bunching at her shoulders, her muscles clenching as if she wanted so badly to run. I almost chuckled at the futility of it. There would be no escaping. She could run as fast as she liked, but she'd never make it beyond those boundaries, not without paying the price.
The stench of wet leaves filled my nose as I almost took an instinctual step forward, as though my body was preparing to react to the tension in hers. I loved every second of watching her crack, and as much as she fought to maintain her composure, her fear was tangible. It tasted like adrenaline in the back of my throat, heightening my senses and ratcheting up my bloodlust.
For a brief moment, Williams' speech faltered, his gaze fixing fully on Cadence. The forest went eerily quiet, even the breeze seemed to pause out of respect for the palpable strain in the atmosphere. Cadence’s lips trembled, the unshed terror evident in her pale features. She looked like she was on the verge of exploding, either in anger or panic, and I could hardly wait to find out which.
"And let me remind you," Williams went on, his low, ominous drawl piercing through the clearing, "any girl caught outside the boundaries will not only face immediate disqualification, but also bear the financial consequences of breaching your Courts Scholarship contract." The mere mention of the scholarship hit her hard. I could see the shift in her face, fear flashed bright, and her skin paled visibly in the dim moonlight. Cadence’s situation was no secret to me. Her grandparents couldn’t possibly afford the price if she failed tonight, and now she knew, there was truly no way out. My heart thumped eagerly in my chest. She was trapped.
"Each time one of you is successfully claimed by one of our houses, an air-horn will sound through the woods. On the confirmation of the third air-horn, a further set of double air horns will be sounded, and those of you left will be able to return to this clearing, aided by housemen to be looked after and returned back to your home." Williams' voice took on a darker tone, "Be aware that if you are successfully caught by one of our Regent trios, you must comply with your captors’ wishes and accept the claiming. Again, failure to do so will result in a breach of contract. Does everyone understand?" Their eager nods confirmed the extent of his control, but my eyes never left Cadence. Her chest rose and fell in ragged breaths, her gaze flicking around wildly as if searching for a hidden exit. There wasn’t one.
"W-What, no?” Cadence's voice cracked, her stutter betraying the disbelief in her words. Her eyes wildly darted around the clearing. “This can’t be legal. It-it’s barbaric! You can’t expect us to agree to this!” The words spilled out shaky and rapid, her face flushed with heated fury, but beneath that bravado, I could feel the undercurrent of desperation radiating off her.
“Miss Turner,” Williams' cold, measured voice cut through her like a blade through silk, and she snapped her mouth shut. His demeanour was chilling, an unyielding pillar of authority that silenced her rebellion in an instant. “You have already agreed.”
“W-what? No, I haven’t. I’d never-” Her voice wavered. But I saw it, that tiny fragment of doubt beginning to crack through her determined facade. My heart thrummed in my chest, and a thrill surged through me that I didn’t bother to hide. I could feel the corners of my mouth turn upward, smugness rolling through me like a dark tide. Victory, inevitable as it was, tasted exquisite. She was caught.
With a slow, deliberate gesture, Williams slid the iPad from the hand of a nearby board member. He swiped at the screen, the soft sound of his fingers against the glass only amplifying the tension stretching thick in the clearing. I could almost hear her shallow breathing, the subtle tremor in her chest as she watched him. He extended the device toward her, tilting it slightly, the glow of the screen reflecting coldly off her pale face. There it was, a single name at the bottom of the contract, glowing like a death sentence.
“This is your signature, isn’t it?” His voice had taken on an edge, like the hiss of steel, adding weight to the moment.
Cadence stared at the screen, her throat bobbing visibly as she swallowed. The silence that followed was suffocating. I watched, trained on her every movement, every flicker of emotion that crossed her face. Her fingers twitched at her side. She hesitated, and for a heartbeat, it seemed like she was about to crumble, right there in front of us.
“Yes, but-” It was almost too easy.
“But nothing, Miss Turner.” Williams’s words cracked down like a whip. “The contract clearly states that you are to take part in the Regent's Hunt. The terms were made abundantly clear from the beginning. You, by your own volition, signed this document, agreeing to those terms.” She trembled under his gaze, her chest rising and falling too quickly, too shallow. The air reeked of tension, her fear-filled breaths permeating the woods around us like a delicate perfume. It was intoxicating. Williams jerked the device away, shoving it back into the board member’s hands without another glance. His hard, calculating gaze appraised Cadence, dissecting her. She was on her last legs, crumbling, and I revelled in the way that realisation dawned in her eyes, wide, trapped, and frantic. And still, she fought. My chest tightened at the sight of it, admiration mixing with the darker thrill swarming inside me.
"If you regret your decision…" Williams paused, the silence stretching, deepening the gravity of what was to come, "…Then, yes, you may back out. That is your right. However, you will be in breach of contract." His smile didn’t reach his eyes, but I caught the sadistic satisfaction shimmering just beneath his professionalism. “Breaking that contract will carry… consequences.” Her face twitched, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip as her pulse visibly thrummed under her skin, a tantalising rhythm. She stood at the very edge of the precipice, wary, though we both knew there’d be no going back. Cadence Turner was as good as mine.
"Oh my god, for fuck’s sake!" Julia’s voice rang out, sharp as a blade slicing through the tense air. "Just disqualify her now. She’s clearly too common for this." Her words dripped with venom, each one a calculated blow meant to bruise. I tore my eyes away from Julia, the predatory gleam in her eyes, and focused instead on Megan. The moment was subtle, her breath seemed steady, though the faint tremor in her fingers as she stepped forward betrayed a deeper unease as she extended a hand to Cadence, her movements tenuous but deliberate. Megan’s grip on Cadence’s arm was gentle, almost too soft for the hard edge of what was to come.
"Listen..." Megan’s words barely broke above a whisper, but in the heavy silence, they felt louder than they were. "Just do the hunt..." She paused, deliberately turning her gaze to Julia and Hannah, whose smirks curled like serpents in the background, waiting. "There are thirteen of us here. More than enough who want this." Her voice, even and low, lingered in the air, hanging like a thread of hope stretched thin. She was trying, god, she was trying to comfort Cadence. I could see it in the way her face softened, her lips pulling into what passed as a genuine smile, a crack in the cold facade I had always associated with her. Julia's little bitch, sure, but tonight she seemed almost... tender.
"The chances of you actually being caught... It's like, so little. Just run and keep your head down, and you’ll be alright." I couldn't help but scoff internally. It was a shame that she couldn't be more wrong. There was no way that tonight wouldn't end with Cadence being claimed by the Covenant House. But if gentle assurance let her feel safe, then who was I to disagree? Cadence’s eyes flitted across Megan’s face, searching for something. Truth? Comfort? Her lips quivered ever so slightly, betraying the rising panic she couldn't fully conceal. Megan leaned in, her voice lowering so only Cadence could hear. Or so she thought.
"You’ll be okay," she repeated, softer this time. The words hung, a pointless wish in the suffocating darkness. I watched as Cadence’s face fell. The small flame of resistance I saw before, the tiny spark that had maybe made her want to fight back, to refuse, wilted under the weight of Megan’s words. She nodded, a brief, jerking motion, her shoulders slumping in resigned defeat as the final thread of hope slipped from her grasp, dissolving into the night. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Williams standing off to the side, watching the whole exchange. Cadence took a deep breath before meeting his face once more and nodding.
Williams nodded as well and looked around the girls again, seemingly satisfied that there were no more disruptions.
"You will have a ten minute head start," he said formally. "The first double horn will sound and that will be your cue to run, after ten minutes have passed there will be a second double horn which will signal for the Regents to join the game. As each Regent trio makes their claim, they will sound their horn once and return with their claim to the clearing. After the final horn sounds, you can make your way back to the clearing, but not until." He looked around at the semi-circle of hooded figures, there were nine of us in total. Myself, Cole and Ryder from the Covenant House. Lucas, Jake and Kieran from Syndicate House and Andrew, David and Harrison from Archive House.
"You have until first light to hunt down and claim your Consort for the year, if you do not manage it then your house will be disqualified, and it will be a breach of your contracts as well. Do you understand Regents?" In unison we all called out, clearly into the night.
"Yes, High Lord." Williams wasn't actually the High Lord, that was James Killinham, but I was aware that he was away on business at this point. Williams nodded and turned back to the girls.
"Ladies, the hunt begins," he said and nodded behind him. One of the other hooded board members sounded the first double horn, its sound reaching through the night and causing more than a couple of the girls to jump in shock. Julia was the first to dash into the woods with a determined expression on her face, and Megan and Hannah quickly on her heels. Within seconds the other nine girls made their way into the woods, leaving Cadence behind. She glanced around with hesitation and for a moment I thought she might back out, but then she too dashed into the woods, disappearing from sight.
I watched the gap where she had disappeared impatiently as excitement coursed through my body, knowing that my brothers were also poised and ready to go. The ten minutes felt like an hour, but as soon as the second double horn sounded, I was off and following my prey through the woods, knowing that Ryder and Cole were right behind me. The one thought was clear in my mind.
Run Princess, run fast… and hide. Because when I catch you, I will claim you, and then I will own you, mind, body and soul.