Covenant of Ruin (Regents of Covenant House #2)

Chapter 1

Three. Fucking. Weeks.

Three weeks since Cole, Ryder, and I had to deliver the First Offence Protocol Punishment to our sweet princess.

Three weeks of watching and waiting for.

.. well, anything. I shifted uncomfortably in the leather chair facing Headmaster Williams’s desk, my frustration mounting with each passing second.

The old bastard had been droning on about duty and responsibility for what felt like hours, but my mind kept drifting back to Cadence.

She’d been perfect since that night, too perfect.

Every rule followed to the letter, every social expectation met with grace, every public interaction carefully measured and appropriate.

She dressed exactly as required, attended every event without complaint, and maintained the image of the perfect Consort.

And it was driving me fucking insane.

Because the moment we were alone, the moment the doors closed, and the witnesses disappeared, she became a ghost. Present but untouchable.

Following the letter of the contract while violating its spirit in ways that made me want to grab her, bend her over my knee, and remind her exactly who she belonged to.

The memory of her on her knees before us that night flashed through my mind.

The way her lips had stretched around my cock, the tears tracking down her cheeks, the perfect submission we’d forced from her.

My dick hardened at the recollection, and I shifted again, trying to focus on Williams’s words instead of the phantom sensation of my stubborn princess’s mouth.

“Mr Bale, are you listening?” Williams’s sharp tone cut through my thoughts.

I straightened in my chair, noting the way James Killingham watched me from his position by the window.

The head of our branch of the Trivium had been showing up on campus with increasing frequency lately, and his particular interest in Covenant House, in Cadence in particular, set my teeth on edge.

And I was pretty sure he had something to do with Cadence’s ability to get my new rule put into our contract.

“Of course, Headmaster,” I replied smoothly, though we all knew it was bullshit.

“You were discussing the importance of maintaining proper order within the houses.” Williams’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he continued his lecture.

To my right, I could feel Cole’s steady presence, his careful attention to every word masking whatever thoughts churned behind his mismatched eyes.

On my left, Ryder practically vibrated with nervous energy, his leg bouncing slightly as he checked his watch for the third time in as many minutes.

I knew what had him so worked up. It was lunchtime, and Cadence would be in the dining hall now.

Ever since the punishment, Ryder had become almost obsessive about keeping her in sight, as if afraid she might disappear if he looked away too long.

It felt like a repeat of the incident in high school, and his growing instability concerned me.

Especially since his monthly required dinner with his bastard of a father was looming over him.

“The purpose of the First Offence Protocol Punishment is to correct behavioural issues before they become problematic,” Killingham stated.

“However, the implementation should always be cleared through proper channels first.” He delivered this last part with a pointed look in my direction, and I felt my jaw clench.

Killingham had been particularly pissed off that we’d carried out the punishment without consulting him first. His reaction had seemed excessive for someone whose only official connection to us was through the Trivium, and it had added to my growing irritation about his interest in our Consort.

Because of him, one false move and everything Ryder, Cole and I had been working for these last few years could come crashing down around us.

I maintained my mask though and shrugged, forcing forward an air of nonchalance.

“Williams cleared it,” I stated, ignoring the glare Williams sent my way. “In fact, we were only following his orders.” I was more than happy to throw the old bastard under the bus. He had been just as eager to lay the law of the contract down on our Consort.

“Yes, well,” Killingham said, “I have already discussed the situation at length with him. It is you three who concern me now.”

Ryder looked up at Killingham with a shine in his eyes.

“Do you think we wanted to do it?” he asked, his voice strained.

“Do you think I wanted to hurt her, to make her cry?” Ryder had been pissed off afterwards.

Not just because my new rule meant that he wasn’t getting laid, but the subsequent freezing out from our girl had hit him fucking hard.

He was back to not sleeping and spending the nights either watching her on the cameras, or in her room after she had fallen asleep.

I would have been lying if I had tried to convince myself that the punishment hadn’t affected us all in one way or another. Even more so now.

Cadence had come to Williams demanding that my rule had to have consequences for all of us, not just her.

Williams had agreed, and now we couldn’t fuck her unless she specifically asked us to.

What surprised me was the punishment Cadence had picked.

If any one of us broke the rule, then it would void the contract and Cadence would be released from her obligations, consequence free.

There was no way that Williams would have agreed to that, which is why I was certain that Killingham was behind it.

I reached out to grab Ryder’s shoulder before he said something that got him into trouble. Killingham may have been an annoyance, but as our High Lord he was still the one with the power. Ryder shook off my hand and looked back down at his watch.

“You have to understand that we were only following the rules,” Williams stuttered out.

“The girl was seen in public, not only disobeying a direct request from her Regents but also spending time alone with another male.” Killingham shot Williams a less than savoury look before turning his attention back to me.

“The actions of the Consort reflect on the control that her Regents have,” he said.

His message was clear. This didn’t look good for us.

If we couldn’t keep one woman in line, how would we be able to manage the duties of the Trivium?

“Nonetheless, the matter is done with, and I will be keeping a close eye for the meantime.” I nodded stiffly, not giving myself the chance to fuck the situation up more than it already was.

“Your father has also expressed concerns about the stability of your house, Mr Bale,” Williams’s words rang through my head with an angry buzz.

“He heard about the recent events and feels that perhaps you’re not maintaining proper control over your Consort.

” I felt my fingers dig into the arms of the chair.

Of course, Nicholas Bale had been in touch.

The old bastard never could resist meddling in my affairs.

He was too desperate for that Trivium acceptance and knew the only way he could get access was through me and my performance as Regent.

“Our Consort is perfectly controlled now,” I replied, keeping my voice level despite the anger churning in my gut. “She follows every rule, maintains appropriate behaviour at all times, and represents Covenant House with dignity.”

“And yet,” Killingham spoke up again, his voice carrying that cultured accent that always set my teeth on edge, “you can’t deny that she still seems to be causing quite a bit of.

.. distraction among your ranks.” His eyes flickered to Ryder before resting back on me, with a knowing smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

The fucker knew exactly what was happening, how Cadence’s perfect obedience in public was matched by her absolute withdrawal in private.

How she’d turned our own rules against us, using my own bloody weapon, my attempt at breaking her, to ensure that none of us could touch her without her explicit request, a request she’d made crystal clear would never come.

“Our house is in perfect order,” I stated firmly, though I could feel Ryder’s agitation increasing beside me. “Any internal matters are being handled appropriately.”

Killingham’s smirk widened slightly as his eyes drifted to Ryder’s bouncing leg, then to Cole’s too-rigid posture.

“Of course,” he murmured. “I’m sure you have everything well in hand.

” The double meaning in his words made me want to wipe that smug look off his face with my fists.

The fact that he knew, that everyone probably knew, how our own Consort was slowly driving us mad with her calculated compliance and private resistance was infuriating.

Because the truth was, she’d found the perfect way to punish us in return.

By following every rule to the letter while withholding the one thing we couldn’t force from her, she’d turned our own power against us.

We could watch her on the cameras, see her every move, but we couldn’t touch her without her asking for it.

I was both in awe and crushed by the absolute tenacity that she was showing.

And the one taste we’d had of her during the punishment had only made the craving worse.

The vision of her taste, her tears, her unwilling submission sprang back to my mind.

The way she’d looked up at us with hatred burning in those blue eyes even as she took us in her mouth.

The soft sounds she’d made as we’d marked her as ours.

How she knelt at my side at dinner after, wearing my mark for all to see.

Once again, my cock hardened painfully at the recollection, and I shifted again in my chair, drawing another knowing look from Killingham. He seemed almost smug about it all.