Chapter 36
LUCA
I am so ready for this. It’s as if it’s been a long time coming and from the moment I set eyes on Summer Majerio on that first day in the corridor outside the principal’s office, I knew our destinies were entwined.
Now I’m waiting like a hungry dog for the game to begin. Dressed like a centurion, locked behind bars in a cold and damp cell. It’s archaic, depraved and so dark it matches my soul perfectly. I almost growl with anticipation as the door opens and the girls file inside.
I restrain myself from grasping hold of the bars on the cell and panting like an angry dog in heat. Instead, I maintain my cool and observe from behind the golden mask. Searching for only one girl—the one who is mine.
She follows the others, the last in the pack, and I love the brave incline to her jaw, determination flashing in her eyes as she ignores the centurions monitoring her progress.
Jesse is in the cell beside mine and has his heart set on one woman. The other three were warned off from chasing them.
I carefully register the clothing each girl is wearing for identification purposes, noting the bright red sneakers that Summer chose. Imogen’s are black along with the other girls and I smile behind the mask. Even now, my girl is different and it makes identifying her in the dark tunnel easier.
It pays to have friends on the inside because my fellow Elusive house members assured me they will direct me to Summer’s tunnel when the time comes. I’m not sure I trust Frankie though. He has a vested interest in seeing me fail, after all.
However, even Frankie has come around to the notion this is the best thing for all of us.
Summer will be under my watchful eye and cared for, as if she is a precious jewel.
I assured him of that, and I meant every word.
I’ve never had a girl before, not one who is mine and until Summer, I never wanted one.
I will treat her right—well, as right as I can treat a girl I physically ache for.
She will not escape my interest when the light dims and the darkness falls.
That is when the devil comes out to play and I am so ready to play the game I’ve been training for my entire life.
The girls pass and we wait—an interminable wait that causes Jesse to whisper, “Fuck, have they forgotten us?”
“Relax, the outcome will be the same.”
I reassure him and Eric whispers from a couple of cells away, “Headsup, I’m making for Grace. I’ve always liked her and her participation is a gift.”
“I’m going for Serena.”
Colton stakes his claim and Jed groans. “So I get Molly I’m guessing. Fuck my life.”
“Why?” Jesse asks and Jed huffs.“She’s my sister’s best friend. This won’t end well.”
It offers light relief to a situation that is growing in tension by the second.
“Good luck with that, although–” Eric laughs. “I wouldn’t want to be Luca right now with Frankie watching him attempt to capture his sister. Fuck, you must have balls of steel to take up that challenge.”
Jesse chuckles. “Agreed. I’ve watched him beat up guys for merely talking about his family. You must have a death wish or something, Luca?”
“I’ll be okay.”
I don’t let on about my agreement with Frankie.
Jesse is unaware of our liaison with Jenna Sloane and he won’t find out from me.
Frankie and I are operating together as allies rather than enemies in our joint best interests.
We are keeping a close eye on Miss Sloane under my uncle’s instruction.
He will soon possess what he needs to end The Serpent Society but to guarantee his success he can’t alert them to discovery.
So, for now, we bide our time and Jenna Sloane lives another day, but she is discovering that Rockwell’s well is drying up because her chosen ones have now got other plans.
After what feels like hours, another centurion approaches from the main chamber and silently unbolts every cell door, freeing us for the chase.
The fact we’ve all staked our claim on a particular challenger takes away the urgency to be first into the tunnels.
As we reach the main chamber, I register Santi regarding us from his position by the stone altar, two flaming torches on the wall on either side of him that burn brightly, illuminating the dark creepy space sufficiently to reveal the tunnel through to the main hunting ground.
He says nothing and neither do the two centurions observing from the shadows.
Even though I know who lurks behind the golden masks, it’s still eerie as fuck and I wonder how the girls reacted.
Once again, my impression of Frankie goes up a notch because fuck me, this game is so dark I wish I had thought of it myself.
I’m the third centurion through the tunnel. Jesse beat us all to it and, as I follow Eric, I focus on the main event.
We reach the false opening and as we crawl through, my cloak catches on my knees and slows me down, the mask an immobile object on my face that hinders my progress. Fuck, they may look impressive, but they’re bastards to wear.
As I crawl through the opening and enter the smaller chamber, two more centurions are standing against the iron door. I’m aware they are female—Cassie and Siri but aside from being smaller than the guys, you wouldn’t guess it from their costumes.
I note Jesse crawling into the third tunnel and Eric hesitates before taking the fifth.
I have the choice of three and as I glance at the two silent centurions, one of them points to tunnel number two.
I’m grateful for the heads up, unless they are messing with me, of course, and as I nod my thanks, I’m guessing they identify the centurions by their footwear, much the same as I did with the girls.
At least I hope so and I haven’t been sent crawling after Imogen, or one of the other girls.
Once you lay a hand on a challenger, they are yours under the rules of The Claiming.
If I touch the wrong girl, it would end extremely badly for me and part of me wonders if Frankie instructed the girls to send me after a different girl entirely.
I wouldn’t put it past him, which is why I’m grateful that Summer chose a distinctive color in her choice of footwear.
I waste no time and crawl into tunnel number two, a loud scream coming from the third tunnel, and I smile to myself. Hopefully, Jesse got his girl and another scream from the fifth reminds me I shouldn’t waste any more time.
As I set off, the ground is hard under my knees and the tunnel is small and rather claustrophobic.
It’s in darkness and my admiration for the challengers raises a notch because it takes a certain kind of bravery to crawl through the dirt in complete darkness, not knowing what creatures are in there with you.
My progress is fast and soon I’m not alone. Heavy breathing alerts me to somebody just in front of me. They quicken their pace and a frustrated huff tells me they’ve reached the dead end and as I crawl toward the end, I fix my sight on their footwear.
As I draw closer, a fearful voice calls out, “Who is it?”
I stop crawling.
It’s not Summer. What the fuck?
“Don’t hurt me.”
Now I know it’s not Summer, so with a low growl, I abandon the chase and crawl back the way I came.