Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
He sighs and runs a hand through his thick shock of dark hair. Rafe has a lot weighing on him. We all do. I have chosen to simplify things so that we achieve our goals. The others are letting their emotions rule them.
“She’s our mate,” he says. “We’re supposed to love her. We’re all she has in this world. She’s an orphan.”
“We are all orphans,” I remind him. “And the reason we are all orphans is because of the corruption we are going to stamp out through discipline and determination. She is our mate, but loving Darcy doesn’t change our destiny.”
He nods, his face shifting as my words sink in. Rafe’s a good man. It’s his primary quality. Can’t really say the same for Kirin and me. We’re more twisted in different ways. But Rafe? He’s full of notions of romance and honor and acting right.
“She’s home tonight, isn’t she? She’s not getting herself killed in the middle of the city. She’s doing her homework. What I’ve done has already made her safer than she was. Darcy doesn’t respond to anything besides firm and personal attention. So let me handle this side of things, Rafe. You don’t have to discipline her. You can go and coddle her all you want. I’m not stopping you. I just ask you to let me do what I know how to do.”
“Yeah,” he says, his voice twisted with reluctance. “Alright.”
Darcy
It’s been a little while since Rafe went storming upstairs. Now I can hear Rafe and Kirin talking in the next room. Not sure what they’re saying, but I bet I could guess.
The two of them come into the room with me. Kirin hands me a shot glass with a deep amber liquid that smells like it has been fermenting for longer than I’ve been alive.
“I heard Einar whipped your ass,” Kirin says. “Down that. It’ll make you feel better.”
I do as he tells me, tipping my head back, opening my throat and letting the whole rich, smooth, fiery brew slide down to my stomach. It doesn’t immediately make me feel better, but it does make me feel warmer on the inside.
“Yeah,” I say. “He did.”
Kirin smirks, not the reaction I was expecting. Rafe was upset when he saw what happened. Kirin just seems to think it is funny.
“The old man is going to be particularly dangerous to your ass, Darcy. We’re going to have to be more careful about getting out of here.”
“What did he do to you?”
“Me? Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“I’m not his mate. And I’m definitely not his student. You’re both.” Kirin sits down in a lounge chair. “You’re somewhat fucked.”
I look over at Rafe. “What do you think?”
“I think you’ve been left to act recklessly for far too long, and if this is what it takes to stop you, then unfortunately, that’s what’s going to happen.”
I can’t believe this. Somehow, Einar has managed to get these two to present a united front. I go from thinking I have two of them on my side to realizing they are all on the same side. They might like me, they might really want to sleep with me, but their bond is strong, and they’re not going to fight each other over me. That realization makes me flush with anger. Someone should be on my fucking side. They should all be on my side.
“You know what? Fuck you. Fuck all of you!”
I throw my homework into the fire and storm out of the room. I am wild with anger and hurt. What happened at the academy was painful and humiliating. I thought I’d at least get a little sympathy at home, but no. It was stupid of me to think that. It was stupid to imagine that anybody might actually be upset at my being handled so roughly. Even the people who love me don’t like me.
I slam out of the house, jump on my bike, and kick it into life. I’m not wearing leathers or a helmet because I don’t have time to put either of them on.
I tear into the night, my vision blurry with the tears I have wanted to cry all damn day. Instead of sitting like I usually would, I sort of hover up and over the seat. The balance isn’t as good, but it means my ass doesn’t throb like I’m being caned all over again.
The bike hits a patch of smooth tarmac. It’s nothing that would usually be a problem, but I am off balance, and so is the bike. I go from riding to skidding in an instant, sliding off the road and into a thicket of bushes.
“Fuck!” I scream to the night.
The bright light of another bike is already coming up on me. I can’t struggle up out of the bushes soon enough before being caught in my predicament.