X
Tori
I f I was returning next semester, I’d make the effort to attend my exams, but since I’m not, there was no point. Despite this, I woke up early.
After returning from speaking to Penny, I went straight to my room and haven’t left it. I’d taken my chair and wedged it under my door handle, then popped some painkillers, hoping to get a good night’s sleep. Instead, I tossed and turned all night.
Although I’m still tired, my appetite is back, and my grumbling stomach is enough to drag me from the warm bed.
I head into the bathroom, bracing myself before I look at my reflection. Considering how my face was looking yesterday, I half expected my eye to be swollen this morning, but somehow, I’ve miraculously avoided that. The worst of the bruising is on my cheek, but the deep reds and blues are starting to turn yellow at the edges.
The red line around my neck, however, seems just as stark and obvious as it did yesterday. Thankfully, my throat doesn’t seem to hurt as much as it did—though I’ve not tried to speak yet.
Taking care near my still tender injuries, I wash my face, fix my hair and dress before I head downstairs, trying to remember what food is in the cupboards.
“You’re dressed. Good.” Much to my surprise, Syn’s in the kitchen with Royal.
As usual, Syn is dressed impeccably in his tailored uniform. For some reason, it irks me that he’s the sort of person who wears the suit rather than the suit wearing him. I have no idea what his exam schedule is like, but Syn looks like he’s about to go to war in a boardroom every day, so it’s entirely possible he doesn’t even have an exam today.
“How are you feeling this morning?” Royal asks. He’s also dressed in his uniform, although his blazer is draped over the back of one of the tall island stools beside him.
A different kind of ache settled into me overnight. My headache has subsided, and the various wounds aren’t throbbing as much. Overall, the pain feels less stabbing and localized.
“We’re going to the dining hall,” Syn announces before I can respond.
I shrug. “Bye, then.”
“No, we are going to the dining hall. You need to eat.”
Just a few weeks ago, Syn restricted my food. “I don’t care if you have that contract framed and hanging on your wall, just because I’m back here doesn’t mean things are returning to how they were.”
“Then stay here and hide in this house. Just don’t accuse me of trying to keep you a prisoner here,” Syn snaps back at me.
“Or maybe, option three: I go for breakfast in the dining hall by myself .” I plant my hands on my hips as I glare at him.
Royal holds up his hands as he moves himself between us. “Considering what happened yesterday, it’s probably not a good idea to go by yourself—at least, not yet. And we’re not suggesting you go with the intention of serving us,” he hurriedly adds.
“Your initiation is over anyway,” Syn adds.
Having never expected to pass the initiation or be accepted into the Elite, I never even bothered to ask what the criteria was. All Syn had ever offered was surviving the initiation period as a time frame. I doubt this means I’ve become a member of the Elite, nor do I care.
“The point is that I’m not taking orders from you,” I tell him.
Syn cocks his head. “I’m not giving you orders.”
“Here’s a tip. If you want someone to do something, you ask.”
Given how long Syn stares at me, I suspect he’s never asked anyone to do anything in his life.
“I had the weirdest dream last night. There was this woman who might have been an alien because tentacles were coming out of her pussy,” Gemini declares as he walks into the kitchen. “It could also have been a hentai I watched.” He stops just shy of the doorway, looking between us. “What’s going on?”
“I was about to ask Victoria to join us for breakfast,” Syn says through gritted teeth.
“Cool.” Gemini pulls out a stool, but instead of sitting on it, he heaves himself up onto the island counter. Then, he pulls out his phone and aims it in Syn’s direction. “Don’t let me stop you.”
When I fold my arms, Syn lets out an aggravated snort. “Will you come to the dining hall with us?”
“You forgot to say please.” I take pleasure in seeing Syn grind his teeth.
“Please,” he says as though saying the word takes great effort.
“No, thank you,” I respond cheerfully, causing Gemini to start giggling.
“Are you kidding me?” Syn practically snarls.
The smile drops from my face. “Why would I be kidding?”
Royal turns and snatches Gemini’s phone from his hand. Ignoring his objection, he turns back to me. “I get you don’t trust us, but we spent last night trying to figure out the best way to keep you safe. If you don’t want to hide away in this house for the next few weeks, you need to be seen with us.”
With the way Syn’s turned this campus against me, I’m not sure he’s really going to be able to convince them of anything anymore, but I would like to enjoy my lunch—with Penny—without worrying that someone is going to throw knives at us.
And then, a dark little idea starts to form.
A smile slowly spreads across my lips. “Fine. But you’re going to need to wear a collar.”
“Are you fucking insane?” Syn explodes.
“I don’t know. Does it sound like an idea an insane person would suggest?” I make my eyes wide as I blink innocently.
I can’t tell if the red that Syn turns has a hint of remorse to it, but it’s still satisfying to see.
He goes tense, his muscles locking him in place. Then slowly, he releases a breath, and a small smile grows on his lips. “Much as I would love to entertain that idea, I unfortunately don’t have a spare collar, nor will I be able to obtain one before—”
“I do,” Gemini blurts out, his dark eyes wide with glee. “Actually, I have several.”
Syn closes his eyes as his body tenses. “Of course, you do.”
Gemini uses his hands to push himself off the counter with a flourish. “I don’t have tags, but I think I have something special for you.”
“Gemini Frederick Remington, I am not about to wear one of your crusty sex toys,” Syn bellows after Gemini as he races from the room. He turns back to me and arches an eyebrow.
“I might have more sympathy if I wasn’t still wearing mine,” I say as I point to my neck.
Syn’s gaze drops to the marks, but his lips remain pressed together.
“Who is it going to hurt if we wear a collar?” Royal asks. Like Syn, he’s staring at the red mark on my throat. “It’s probably the least we can do. And I think it would really hammer the point home to everyone when we tell them Tori’s off limits.”
“I don’t need any props to make my point,” Syn responds.
I wait for him to reiterate that he’s not going to wear a collar, but he doesn’t. Instead, moments later, Gemini comes skipping back into the kitchen. There’s a thick, black collar with silver spikes already around his neck. While it doesn’t have a tag on it, there is a chunky ring that’s settled comfortably against his golden skin.
In his hands are two more identical collars that he offers to Royal and Syn with a crazed grin on his face. “Do you need help putting them on?”
Royal takes one of the collars, holding it with both hands in front of him as he stares at it, before turning it over. Like the first collar Syn gave me, this one is fastened with a silver buckle—but this one is missing a lock. Royal glances at me before he turns his attention back to the collar, unfastening the back. Then, straightening his back, he lifts his head and presses the collar against his throat. His eyes don’t leave me as he fastens it up.
“Don’t forget yours, Synnie,” Gemini sings.
Considering he’s been waving it at Syn since Royal took his, I doubt Syn’s forgotten about it, but as much as I want to smile, I bite it back.
I know he’s not going to put it on, but if he thinks I’m going to tell him he doesn’t have to, he’s going to—
Syn snatches the collar from Gemini. Breaking his glare only long enough to look down at the collar to find the buckle, he doesn’t blink as he fastens it around his neck.
This has got to be a trick.
There’s no way he’s going to keep that on…
“Fine. Let’s go to breakfast,” I declare. I’m still expecting someone to object, but they don’t.
Instead, Syn raises an arm to gesture to the door.
Yesterday, I’d only gone for breakfast once I’d put some makeup on to cover the bruises. It’s tempting to do it again, because even if it wasn’t my fault, I still feel some embarrassment about it. I also hate the idea of people pointing and staring, but considering the presence of Syn, Royal, and Gemini is going to do that anyway, I get my coat instead of trying to hide the bruises.
This time, Royal drives the golf cart instead of us walking across campus. Off the paths, there doesn’t seem to be much change in the snow, but the paths themselves have been cleared and resalted.
We arrive at the dining hall, at what would normally be the busiest time for breakfast, but today, it’s half that. I bet those who could leave once the dean said there was no obligation for some to do their exams this semester, did. Regardless, the dining hall falls almost silent as Royal and Gemini push open the double doors and stride in.
After spending most of the semester trying to not be the center of attention, and suffering from it when I’d failed, my first reaction is to try to back away. But on the far side of the room, I spot Lissa sitting with another member of the Elite, Gabrielle. Even from here, she looks like she’s ready to leap over the table and tackle me to the ground.
My inherent distrust of Syn has me questioning if this is all a setup—a chance for Lissa to finish what she started. If that’s the case, I’m not going down without a fight.
Pushing my shoulders back, I take a step into the dining room.
And as I do, Syn joins my side, capturing his hand with mine.
Ready to pull my hand free, I keep walking, but Syn won’t let go. Instead, he matches my pace as Royal joins my other side.
Syn’s hand is strangely cold, but his grip is both firm and gentle.
In some parallel universe, he’s leading his girlfriend around Tiffany’s so she can pick out whatever she wants.
As we walk through the dining hall to their usual table, I catch some of the hushed conversations…
Why are they wearing collars?
Why is Syn holding her hand?
Didn’t her brother kill his?
Didn’t she kill Declan?
I keep my shoulders back, and my head held high as I try to ignore the whispers.
The table is on a raised area at the back of the dining hall. It’s long, and could easily seat six people, but there are only three chairs behind it. Since the beginning of the semester, the only time there’s been anyone else there was last week. That day, the honor was held by me, but only because Syn was trying to embarrass me. In front of everyone, I’d tried to eat my breakfast as normally as I could, with a vibrator buried deep inside me, keeping me on the edge of an orgasm.
Maybe I am as depraved as Syn keeps insinuating, because despite being almost caught by Penny, of all people, my pussy had been dripping from how much I’d been turned on by it.
Syn leads me in front of the table, not letting go of my hand. Like someone has turned the volume down, the room falls silent. Everyone, including the dining hall staff, have their eyes glued to the four of us.
“Victoria Reynolds is officially off-limits. No one on this campus is to lay a single finger on her—either directly or indirectly.” Syn’s voice is clear and unwavering, carrying across the whole of the dining room. “Effective immediately.”
When Syn doesn’t continue, the whispers start up again. I can’t hear much of what’s being said, but from the expressions I can see, people are either confused or skeptical.
“Carmichael,” Syn suddenly barks. “If you have something to say, come here and say it to me instead of hiding like a cockroach.”
Lissa presses her lips together, but instead of going quiet like I’d expect, she stands and walks in front of us, glaring at me the whole way.
When I first looked at her, I could see a hint of a mark from where I’d punched her, but now that she’s in front of me, I can see her nose is still slightly swollen, and any redness is hidden beneath the thick layer of foundation.
“What?” Syn asks in a bored tone.
“Is this a joke?” Lissa asks him.
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Syn crack a smile, much less make a joke,” Gemini mutters, though he’s loud enough for a few people to hear.
“Her brother murdered yours, and she murdered Declan, yet you’re standing here claiming she’s off limits. I don’t think you’re joking, but we all know this is an act.” Lissa shoots me another glare. “Stop with this facade and decimate her in front of us, because we want to see her suffer as much as you do.”
As Lissa stands there, smirking, I can feel my confidence disappearing. I lowered my guard and walked straight into this trap like—
“Victoria is a member of the Elite,” Syn says to a collection of gasps.
Even Lissa’s mouth falls open.
“And she is also my—” he glances at Gemini by his side, then to Royal on my other side. “ Our equal. Any form of attack on her is no different than an attack on us, and if we hear so much as a whisper of a plan, we will act as though you’ve attacked us.”
Lissa snorts. “You consider yourself equal to a murderous whore who spread her legs and let the whole world watch her have her cunt fucked by some poor fuckwit who had to be drugged to get his cock hard?”
Oh, fuck no.
I am sick of being the one vilified here.
“Maybe they had to take drugs, but I still made each of these three fuckwits come hard,” I tell her before any of them can stop me.
Her mouth flaps open and closed as she looks at the three guys on either side of me. “These three…” Lissa suddenly clears her throat and shakes her head. “You wish.”
“You mean, you wish,” Royal tells her.
“To be fair,” Gemini drawls as he drapes his arm over Syn’s shoulder. “I was fucking her ass in that video, but I would love to be buried balls deep in her pussy again, how about now?”
Beside me, Syn hasn’t moved. When I glance up at him, I find him staring down at me, his expression unreadable. If he expects me to feel remorseful, he’s going to be disappointed.
I arch an eyebrow at him.
Syn turns back to Lissa. “Keep talking, and I’ll make you wish you were dead, because your life will be over.”
“We have your own video,” Royal reminds her. He takes a deep breath. “And while I was too busy having the most amazing sex with Tori to pay any attention to you during your initiation, I’d bet there are a lot of people out there who’d like to see you eating out a pussy as someone takes you up the ass, including your preacher father.”
When Royal announces he was having sex with me, Syn’s grip on my hand tightens.
I don’t care how mad he is. He can focus that anger on Royal. I didn’t know who Royal was at the time, and if Royal knew who I was, that’s on him.
Besides, I’m the one who’s currently having her sex life shared with the whole world.
“Not that you’ll have any device capable of streaming it, because when I’ve finished with you and your family, you’ll be trying to find your next meal from a trashcan,” Gemini tells her like it would take him the same amount of effort as it would to take off his jacket, yet Lissa wobbles on the spot, like he’s just hit her.
“Just in case there’s anyone else in the room with a single digit IQ and unable to process what I’ve just said like Carmichael here, let me dumb myself down,” Syn speaks louder, even though the room is silent. “Hurting Victoria is like hurting us. Play with fire, and your family’s bloodline will be incinerated off the fucking planet.”