Chapter 28 Eva
EVA
It has been two weeks since I returned to Fort George, and luckily, there hasn’t been a single episode.
Luck named Mason Grant.
Mason doesn’t let a dark thought near my mind, let alone allow it to consume me. The slightest frown on my face, or a hint of a daydream and I’m taken. Into the rugby storage or the café’s private lounge—didn’t know they had one—or the secret spots on the third floor in the library.
Why? Because I refuse to be seen with him in public.
If the Council families find out their heir is sleeping with an Etheridge, Mason will have a mutiny on his hands, and me, a mark on my back. I don’t need any more hate, thank you very much. If keeping us a secret gives me a little more freedom, I’m taking it.
Mason is not amused, to say the least.
Not sure what he has to complain about. Unlike him, who not only stakes his claim on me every night but has downright scared and threatened everyone at Kingsden to stay away from me, I can’t do the same.
Because people don’t quake in their boots when I walk past and I am not the bloody King of Fort.
Our status is so incredibly unfair: I’m alienated, yet he’s available.
Completely, mouthwateringly, heartbreakingly available to everyone and anyone who wants him, which I’m slowly realizing is literally every single one. The sight of other women hovering around him lights my skin on fire.
I’m not proud of it, but the other day, when Hannah got too close, I faked a zone out.
What? I just wanted to see if he would notice.
He did. Ten minutes later, he fucked me in the rugby locker rooms.
Mason still uses his stolen key at night.
It was only a matter of time until my roommates found out.
So one day, on our way back from class, I confided in Thea.
Her reaction? I’m still waiting for it. But Thea doesn’t judge, so it’s not surprising.
Penny still doesn’t know. Telling her would be like sending an email to the editor of the local newspaper.
The ties around my wrists are now replaced by the warmth of his suffocating arms. Nightmares still come, but they are less vivid when he’s around. On the occasional nights I stir, he wakes me up and fucks me back to sleep, utterly and completely taking over my mind and body.
And that scares the hell out of me.
From the dark corners of my mind, which he’s rewired to orbit him, to every inch of my body that only answers to him, I’m totally at his mercy.
It terrifies me how easily he has taken control of me and how willingly I handed myself over.
At this point, I’m no different from an addict waiting for my dealer to come and deliver another hit.
If he leaves me now, I might just shatter. Because as much as I want Mason, I need him even more. It’s been good to live with a brain that doesn’t hurt as much.
But at what cost?
When this unshackled bliss I have naively embraced ends, will there be enough left of me to put together? Or will I go crumbling back to my choking darkness?
“Hey.” A voice from above startles me. Charlotte Pike—Lottie—first-year art student, smiles with all her silver-blond poise and charm.
Not at me. At Thea, who sits opposite me on our quiet table in the library.
“You wanted to talk?” she asks Thea, crossing her arms over her chest and zoning me out completely.
“Yeah.” Thea quickly glances at me. I bury my face in my notebook, giving them privacy. “I was going to ask you about… Kane’s father, Robert Berkeley.”
Now that Thea knows about Mason, I also filled her in on my mysterious night at 99 and the visit to the frightening Mr. Berkeley’s lodge.
I can’t shake the feeling that I know him.
He is not an easy face to mistake. That scar on his face, those haunting eyes, I can’t get him out of my head. But where from?
“Uncle Rob? What about him?”
Uncle? I know the three families are close. Didn’t realize they were close enough to be on Uncle and Auntie privileges.
“I heard a rumor that he lives in the woods,” Thea whispers, “which is curious because no one’s ever seen him.”
“Yeah, he’s not been very well.” Lottie sighs. “Getting worse for the last five years. Mum won’t let me visit now. Dad and Reginald see him sometimes.”
“So, Mr. Berkeley wouldn’t have been in London recently…”
“Oh no, he hasn’t left Fort for years. After his wife passed away, he was never the same.
That’s why Kane has a seat on The Council.
He sits in for Uncle Rob, even though Mason is the one who’s going to take over,” she chirps, her hand slicing the air with every word.
“I hope it’s after we get married so I can rub it in Hugo’s face. ” She giggles.
My pen stills, the tip digging into my notebook, making a dent and blotting the white with dark blue. Did she say married?
“Isn’t he like four years older than you?” Thea side-eyes me. I start moving my pen in circles, keeping the pretense.
“So? I’m in no rush.” Lottie shrugs. “Besides, Fort Council men marry for power. Reginald set the bar quite high, you see. That’s why he is untouchable. I know Mason’s Grandfather Morelli wants him to marry someone from his network, but I’m not losing him to some Italian bitch.”
“So, you’re going to fight mafia princesses now?” Thea fake giggles.
“If I have to.” She shrugs. “But it won’t come to that. Aunt Alessia loves me. She never wanted Mason in the thick of it. I’ll get him sooner or later. Patience is my middle name.”
Lottie glances toward me, squinting.
Why? Surely, she doesn’t know about Mason and me.
“Hey, Gretchen. What are you doing here?” she asks, looking over my shoulder.
“Just dropping this off.” Gretchen, the barista, appears behind me and places a takeaway mug next to my notebook.
“Can’t collect your own beverage, your highness?” Lottie scoffs at me.
“Thanks, Gretchen,” I mutter, ignoring Lottie. I wonder if she would like to know her future husband has a standing order for said beverage that he has delivered if I don’t pick it up promptly.
Like an echo to my thoughts, my phone pings on the desk.
Mason
Meet me at the north wing entrance in 20
“T, I have to go,” I whisper to Thea, gathering my notebook and laptop.
“Are you coming to bonfire night at The Barrel?” Thea asks.
Lottie fixes me with a gaze hot enough to ignite. I was supposed to go to Mason’s house tonight. For the first time. But suddenly, I’m not in the mood.
“I have to catch up with Caden,” I reply with a pursed smile. “You and Penny have fun.”
I turn around and stalk away before I say or do something I’ll regret.
The latte in my hand feels like a rock. One I unburden in the bin outside the library.
Should I give Lottie’s words much weight?
Probably not. But she doesn’t know about us—if there even is an us—so why would she lie?
Either way, I don’t want to see him right now.
My fingers tap the screen, typing a quick reply to Mason as I dash down the stairs.
I have plans. Later.
He is going to be livid. But I don’t care. Tonight, I need a detox from Mason Grant. And I can’t think of a better combination than Caden and my superheroes.
I barge into Chris and Caden’s match at the tennis court, cutting between the swerves, and haul Caden out before he can protest. Twenty minutes later, we’re heading to the Fort Cinema just in time.
“Don’t you have a boyfriend now? Why am I still being tortured with your Marvel fanatics?” Caden sulks.
“You think it’s that easy to shrug me off?” I scoff, leading him in by the elbow while he feigns a groan.
“I’d better not get in trouble for this,” he warns. “Full disclosure: If he comes at me, I’m using you as a human shield.”
“He wouldn’t dare.” I side-hug him. “Now hurry. You know what happens if I don’t get my popcorn.”
Caden laughs. “The horror!”
We make it to the screen just after the advertisements. Finding our seats in the dark was easy. Not many people come to see a film on Bonfire Night with bonfires and fireworks events all over the town.
After putting my phone on silent, ignoring the many missed calls from Mason, I sit back in my seat with my popcorn. Caden continues to groan and huff at every other scene before he leans down and hides under his hoodie, ignoring the film altogether and scrolling on his phone.
An hour in, he offers to get a refill of popcorn. Just to get away from the screen, no doubt. I hand him the empty box and wait impatiently. My fingers twitch toward my phone, the urge to check my messages clawing at me.
Nope. Not tonight. We are detoxing.
I fold my hands over my chest, putting my restless fingers away, and stare at the screen. Caden returns ten minutes later, with my favorite mix of salt and sweet. I grab the overflowing box without taking my eyes off the screen.
“Stop trying to get away.” I motion toward his seat. “You’re staying.”
“If you say so, little dove.”
I freeze. Popcorn pausing an inch from my open mouth as Mason takes Caden’s seat, casually dangling one foot over the other knee.
The corner of his lips lift, smugness sharpening at my stunned silence. But there is more.
Subtle movements in the dark theater pull my attention.
My gaze lifts as people are being escorted out by staff mid-film.
Everyone’s gone. The last couple are being ushered toward the door, protesting.
He emptied out the whole theater? Well, there were only a handful of people.
But, still. What exactly did he tell the staff?
“Problem?” He takes a popcorn and throws it into his mouth, grinning wider.
“What are you doing here?”
“Taking you on a date, apparently.” He waves toward the screen. “You could have just asked. Playing hard to get is a bit tedious when you fall asleep with my cock inside you every night.”
I fight the blush that races to my cheeks. His crude words undo me so easily.
“I told you I had plans.” I scowl.
“Plans change.” He goes for another handful, but I drag the box out of his reach.
“What did you do to get everyone out? And where is Caden?”