by Caitlyn Dare
“Down, kitty,” Ashton teases. “We’re just getting to the good part.”
The truth circles us like a storm closing in. I can’t get the image of Bexley with Brook out of my head, their bodies writhing, moving as one.
Tears prick the corners of my eyes, but I swallow them down.
“Go on, Sis, tell him. Tell Bexy boy how he fucked you like a champ last night.”
The blood drains from Bexley’s face as he staggers back. “N-no, I didn’t… I would never…” His alarmed expression finds me as the tears burst free, rolling down my cheeks.
“It’s true… I saw you.” The words gut me, but it’s nothing compared to the expression on his face.
“No. No way.” He laughs, but it comes out strangled. “This is a joke. You’re joking with me. I was with you last night. We…” I see it the moment he realizes. Pure anger explodes across his face as he barrels toward Cade.
My scream fills the hall as the two of them stumble down the stairs in a flurry of fists and limbs. Bexley is like a man possessed, throwing everything he can at Cade. But eventually, Ashton steps in and the two of them manage to subdue him, Cade pinning him against the wall by his throat.
“Let’s get one thing straight, Easton. Mia is my prosapia. Mine to toy with, mine to taunt, mine to fuck. It would serve you well to remember that.”
“Although now she knows you’ve dipped your end in my sister’s pussy, I’m sure she won’t want your dick anywhere near her.”
A violent shudder rolls through me at Ashton’s crass words. I sway a little on my feet, emotionally annihilated by the revelations.
Of course Cade drugged Bexley. It makes perfect sense now, but I’d been too upset, too shocked, to see it last night.
“You fucking drugged me again and let me… fuck.” Bexley dry heaves.
“Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy every damn second,” Ashton chuckles. “We all saw you giving it to her like you couldn’t get enough. I bet she has the bruises to prove it.”
“And the bite marks.” Brook shoots me a smug look, and I want nothing more than to gouge her eyes out.
“I can’t believe I—”
“Believe it.” Cade slowly relaxes his arm, the one pinned against Bexley’s throat. “Can I trust that you won’t come at me again?”
Bexley nods, unable to meet my eyes. It hurts. But it doesn’t hurt anywhere near as much as knowing that Cade has driven a huge wedge between us.
Bexley slept with Brook. Had hot, animalistic sex with her… and I saw it all.
We can never come back from this.
Cade has played his ace, and there’s nothing to do except admit defeat.
“I need some air,” I say, backing away from them all slowly.
“Mia, please—”
“It’s done, Bexley. We’re done.” My voice cracks, the words like a knife to my own heart.
His eyes drill into mine, silently pleading with me not to do this. But there’s nothing more to say.
Cade knows.
He knows, and he will never let us be together. Last night was proof of that.
“I-I need to go.” I push past them all and take off down the hall. I don’t know where I’m going, but all I know is that I can’t stay here a single second longer.
Sasha finds me sitting down by the lake. My feet are in the cool water, grounding me.
“Hey, can I join you?”
I shrug. Not because I don’t want her here, but because I’m scared of what might spill out if I open my mouth.
“Feeling any better?”
“What do you think?”
“Honestly?” She offers me a weak smile. “I think you need to take all that anger and hatred and turn it into a weapon. Cade is unhinged, Mia. The things he does, the way he thinks… it isn’t normal…”
“I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to live in your world.”
“His world,” Sasha whispers. “It’s his kingdom, Mia, and we’re all just pawns.”
“Why doesn’t someone do something? Quinctus, can’t they—”
“What? Send him away? Have him killed? He’s the heir to the Kingsley bloodline. They need him.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know, but you will. And when you do, you need to remember everything I’ve told you.” She glances back at the house.
“You’re worried they’re watching us.”
“Someone is always watching, Mia. Don’t ever forget that.”
“What happens now? Now Bexley and Alex are Electi?”
“They’ll live here, run errands for Q.”
“Errands?” Sasha presses her lips together and I sigh deeply. “Let me guess,” I add, “you can’t tell me.”
“There are some things even I’m not privy to, you know that. For what it’s worth, though, I am sorry.”
“I hate him. I hate him so freaking much, I don’t understand why anyone would think I’m the right girl for him.”
Silence falls over us as the events of the last twenty-four hours play in my mind.
“Why would Brook do that? I thought she wanted Cade.”
“Oh, she does. Which is exactly why she did it.”
“That makes no sense.”
“You’re looking for answers that aren’t there. Cade, Ashton, Brook… they only care about one thing. Power. You ended up in the middle of Bexley and Cade… well, she’s just put your boyfriend right in the middle of her and Cade.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” He’s not my anything now.
“He didn’t know what he was doing.”
“It doesn’t matter. I can’t keep doing this. Cade isn’t going to ever give me up. Not unless I find a way out.”
“What are you saying?”
“I need to find his weakness. I need something I can use against him.”
“Mia,” Sasha tsks, “don’t start something you can’t finish. Cade is… well, he’s a special brand of crazy.”
“So what would you have me do? Just accept that this is it for me? Because I won’t do that, Sash, I won’t.”
Lacing her arm through mine, she pulls me close, laying her head on my shoulder. “You can’t win against someone like Cade. He doesn’t play by the rules, Mia. He makes the rules. What do you think is going to happen to Bexley now he knows the truth about the two of you?”
Oh God. Bexley.
“He won’t let you forget, babe. And when you’re least expecting it, he’ll pull the rug out from under you.”
“I can’t just do nothing.” The idea makes me feel nauseous.
Sasha peeks up at me and gives me a weak smile. “I know it sucks, but I don’t think you have a choice.”
Sasha gave me a ride back to my dorm after that. I might not have been able to go to war with Cade yet, but I could fight each battle. And if he thought for one second that I was going to walk back in there and act as if everything was okay, he had another thing coming.
I throw my bag down by the desk and grab my laptop, getting comfy on the middle of my bed. Sasha said I don’t have any choice, but there’s always a choice. I just have to find my leverage.
I open up a new search bar and type in Cade Kingsley. Everyone has secrets, and something tells me Cade’s are bigger and darker than most.
I just need to find the right one.
The one that will get me out of this in one piece.
But after an hour of researching Cade and his family’s name, I’m still drawing a blank. Google isn’t going to give me the information I need. I need to go straight to the source: the town’s archives. But they’re not public records. I know, because my dad told me once.
And lucky for me, my dad just happens to work security for the building in which they’re kept.
3
Bexley
"You're out of fucking line," I bark at Cade the second Mia disappears from the hallway.
"So? What the fuck are you going to do about it?"
"You're not going t
o get away with this," I warn, taking a step toward him once more.
I don't give a fuck that my shoulder smarts from where we tumbled down the stairs; I'll take this motherfucker out right now.
Ashton steps up beside his leader, and I scoff at his loyalty.
Cade leans in, a cocky smirk playing on his face. "Who's going to fucking stop me? You? Your ancestors might have been in charge, but that time has long past, Easton. Kingsleys are in charge around here now. And lucky for you, I’m right here."
A growl rumbles up my throat.
"Mia is mine. Promised to me. She was meant to be a fucking virgin, but I'll be nice and let that one slide. You got a taste of mine, after all." He tilts his chin toward where I know Brook is standing behind me.
"I hate to break it to you, but everyone has had a taste of her," I spit, disgusted that I've now joined that club.
I didn't want to believe it, but one look at the devastation on Mia's face and I knew it was true.
It wasn't Mia I was fucking last night like my skewed memories led me to believe. It was Brook.
My heart splinters in my chest again.
She watched. This fucking cunt made Mia stand there and watch me as I fucked someone else.
My nails dig into my palms as I try to restrain myself from taking his head off. But, just like the last time, it's four against one. I'm going to have to wait until I can get him alone.
A little one on one time is well overdue for us already.
"Good, right?" Ashton smirks, and I do a double take.
"That's your fucking sister," I spit in disgust. "This is fucked." I lift my arms and gesture to the house, to this situation. "All of this is fucked up, and I want nothing to do with any of it."
"Trust me, Easton. If I thought there was a way for that to happen, you'd be long gone already. This is your life now, so suck it up. Forget about the girl. We've got plenty more for you to dip your end into—most a hell of a lot hotter and more experienced than Mia. You'll be thanking me soon enough." He winks, and I see red, but before I manage to throw a punch, hands wrap around my upper arms and I’m hauled back.
"Leave it," Channing growls in my ear.
Shaking my head at the lot of them, I storm from the house. Fuck knows how, but when I walk out to the driveway, my BMW is sitting right there beside Alex's Porsche.
I don't overthink it. I just pull the key from my pocket, unlock it, and shut myself inside.
His burning hate stare makes my skin tingle, and when I look up at the house, I find him standing in the middle of the open double doors, glaring at me in warning.
Flipping him off, I floor the accelerator and speed away from what is now apparently my home.
It's over an hour later when I feel calm enough to talk to anyone about what went down last night, and there's only one person I need to have it out with right now.
I pull up to the huge gates of Marcus’ home ten minutes later, and, after a few seconds, they open for me. The front door is open and I let myself in and walk straight down to the kitchen, starting the coffee maker.
"Sit down, boy. I can do that for you," Brenda says, walking into the room with a feather duster in hand.
"It's okay, I don't mind."
Whatever she sees on my face when I look up stops her arguing immediately. "He's up in his study if you're looking for your un—grandfather."
My eyes narrow on her, wondering just how much she knows about all of this. Seeing as she's been here since the dawn of time, I assume everything.
"You always knew, didn't you?"
"Your father was a wonderful man, Bexley. It breaks my heart that he never got to meet you. You look so much like him. He'd be so proud of you for taking your rightful place in this town."
My lips part to respond, but I soon find I have no words.
Why would any parent want this kind of life for their child?
Everyone acts as if this Electi Gravestone shit is a privilege. It's utter bullshit, if you ask me.
The fighting, the drugs, the secrets, lies, power, money. All of it is total bullshit, and I want nothing to do with it.
I just want a college degree and to get a decent job, have a decent life.
I never asked for any of this.
I shake my head at her excited smile, turn my back on her, and head upstairs.
"Bexley," Marcus greets me as I peer inside his study. "How do you feel?"
"Like shit," I answer honestly. At least I now know why my hangover is so fucking bad.
"Last night's party that good, huh? I remember the night I passed the initiation." A smile pulls at his lips as he relives his former life.
"Cade drugged me and forced me into sleeping with Brook Moore," I blurt. I'm not here to beat around the bush. I want some fucking answers.
"Sounds just like the parties I remember, although I don't ever remember it ever being forced," he mutters.
"This isn't a fucking joke. He found out that I—"
"That you're in love with Mia Thompson?" he finishes for me.
My lips open and close as I stand there in his doorway.
"Come in and sit down, Son."
I hesitate but eventually do as he requests.
"How'd you—"
“I make it my business to know things, Bexley." He leans forward on his elbows and looks me dead in the eyes.
"Well, thanks for the warning."
"I said I know things, not that I'm psychic."
"I'm done, Marcus. I'm so fucking done with this." I push to stand and begin pacing. I'm too irritable to sit still. "I'll transfer somewhere else. I don't need this fucking shit."
"You can't—"
"Because they'll find me? Kill me? Let them. I'm not fucking doing this. I'm not letting him do this, control us like this." I scrub my hand down my face. "The look on her face this morning… I've never seen hurt like that before. She fucking hates me. I get it. I hate myself. I thought it was her. I woke up this morning thinking that I had this amazing night with her, and it wasn't. It was that fucking whore." My fist connects with Marcus’ office wall, my knuckles splitting with the force of the hit and pain shooting down my arm. "And she watched. She wanted me—" A sob rips up my throat, cutting off my words.
"Bexley," Marcus says softly, but I don't react. Instead, I rest my palms against the wall and hang my head, squeezing my eyes closed and picturing what I thought happened last night. Mia's flawless face flushed with pleasure as she rode me, throwing her head back as she came, my fingers gripping her hips tightly as I pistoned in and out of her.
But it wasn't fucking her.
My stomach churns, and I think I'm going to puke right here on Marcus’ carpet.
"Bexley, you can't leave."
"Watch me." Pushing from the wall with blood dripping down my hand, I stalk toward the door.
But I don't get through it, because he says the one thing that will ensure I do anything he wants.
"If you love her, you need to be here to protect her."
I suck in a deep breath at his words.
"She needs you, Bexley. She needs you here, doing as you're told and protecting her from a distance."
I don't turn to look at him. Instead, I close my eyes and speak what's on my mind, no matter how much it hurts. "I can't stay here and watch her be his."
"You have to. Cade is… Cade is a liability. He—"
"You think I don't fucking know that?" I bark, spinning around and pinning him with a look that most would cower away from—only Marcus doesn't so much as flinch. "Do you know what he's done to me? To Alex? To Mia?"
"Yes."
"They locked us underground and gave us a fucking hallucinogenic…"
"The vault. I know. It's a standard initiation task."
"A standard—the fuck?" I run my hand through my hair. "This is fucking crazy. He's out of control."
"And that is exactly why you need to see this through."
I stare at him, trying to read the truths that are hiding in the
depths of his eyes. "What aren't you telling me?"
His lips part but no words come out, not for long seconds. "This is bigger than you think. You need to play your part. We all do."
"I fucking hate these games, the lies… the cryptic secrets. Why can't you just tell me everything? I'm on the inside now." I drag my shirt aside, showing him my fucking brand that will forever remind me of this fucking disaster.
"I know, Son. But it's too dangerous for you to know everything. You have to trust that Q knows what they are doing. You have to take your place and do as they wish."
"And what the fuck is that? I haven’t even spoken to them outside of bullshit ceremonies where someone brands me or draws my fucking blood," I seethe.
"You will. You will be invited to a meeting soon enough."
"Great," I mutter, less than excited about the prospect.
"You must play your part, Bexley. Protect her."
"She hates me. She won't let me near her ever again." I blow out a long breath as I finally fall back into the chair opposite Marcus.
"You can do it from a distance, for now."
I stare at him, waiting for him to say more, but he never does. "You want me to accept this, don't you?"
"We don't have a choice, Bexley."
"Someone needs to take his power away before he really hurts someone."
"It's not that easy. He's the only Kingsley heir. Without him—"
"Yeah, I get it. But I don't fucking like it."
"Trust me, no one does. Just… please, Bexley. Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be.”
"Why does everything have to be a fucking game?"
"It's life, Son. And you are the Easton heir. Life as you know it will never be the same again.”
4
Mia
“Hey.” I march up to Annabel. “What’s up?”
“Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
Her expression morphs into a grimace. “I heard that Bexley and Brook are—”
“Don’t.” I bristle.
“So, it is true?” She laces her arm through mine and we walk the short distance to the humanities building. I have a psychology class first, which means I’ll have to see Bexley.