I swung a fist and my knuckles smacked against a firm body. Blake cursed and Kyan’s dark laughter filled the air right by my ear. I started kicking and thrashing as fear encircled my heart. I couldn’t let them take me, I couldn’t give in.
Strong hands captured one of my wrists and I slammed my heel down onto a foot with a yell of determination. Kyan growled as I threw my elbow back into his gut, but another hand caught hold of my free arm a second later.
“Hold her still,” Saint’s cold voice sliced through me and I fought even harder, thrashing like a bobcat in a snare as I sensed him closing in on me.
No no no no.
Kyan clamped my hands together and a second later I felt a zip-tie locking around them. Kyan released my hands and I immediately swung my fists forward, smacking into another body.
Saint snarled and adrenaline pulsed through my veins as I felt the heat of bare skin and I slashed my nails down it with a cry of defiance.
“You fucking bitch!” Saint snapped.
His hot breath washed through the bag as he grabbed hold of my throat. I waited for him to choke me as Kyan held me still and his fingers tightened as I was held at Saint’s mercy. A true fear found me as I wondered how far these bastards would go. If Saint really had the balls to hurt me.
“Dude,” Blake growled. “We need to go before the storm breaks.”
Saint shoved away from me and his footsteps pounded off into the trees. I hated that I was shaking. I despised that he’d rattled me. But Saint Memphis was unpredictable, heartless and had all the makings of a psychopath. It wouldn’t have surprised me if he’d been the type of kid to capture the most beautiful of butterflies in jars, shaking them until they were dead.
Kyan’s grip on me firmed and he guided me forward, whispering in my ear as we went, “Behave tonight or you’ll regret it.”
“Is that a threat from you or from Saint?” I hissed.
“Both,” he snarled.
“Ha,” I laughed hollowly, forcing strength into my voice. “You’re just the muscle, Kyan. Saint’s the brains. You just do what he says like some leashed dog.”
“Shut your mouth, Plague,” Kyan snapped, shoving me along.
My foot caught on a root and I threw my bound hands out to catch myself with a gasp, but Kyan caught my waist, dragging me upright again as my breathing steadied out.
Thunder crashed in the distance, drawing ever closer and making my heart pound wildly in my chest. The rain hadn’t started yet, but it wouldn’t be long now.
We walked on and on along a winding trail and Kyan’s grip on me never wavered. Part of me wondered if I should bother to scream for help, but somehow I knew no one would come. And if I screamed, the three of them would know I was afraid. I couldn’t allow that.
We travelled up a hill then down the other side of it and the sheerness of the path beneath my feet made me slow my pace.
“I won’t let you fall,” Kyan hissed. “Just move.”
I had about as much faith in him as I did the leader of North Korea. So I was gonna take my damn time thank you very much.
“Hurry the fuck up!” Saint’s voice carried back from afar.
“Just carry her!” Blake called and Kyan whipped me off of my feet, throwing me over his shoulder and making me gasp in alarm.
My bound hands bumped against his ass which was as hard as a brick wall of course. I yelled as his hand pressed to the backs of my bare thighs to hold me in place, firmly under my goddamn skirt.
“Don’t touch me, asshole!” I bashed my fists against his ass again and he chuckled wickedly, ignoring me as his calloused hand remained clamped against my skin.
The ground soon levelled out and the wind around me was definitely blowing my skirt up, baring my panties to the world. I cursed each of their names a thousand times as Kyan strode along, the sound of waves lapping against the shore filling the air and tangling with the howling wind.
Without warning, Kyan dumped me on the ground and I fell into soft sand, rolling onto my knees as I tried to gather my bearings. The hood was ripped off of me and I took in the huge beach and the giant rock protruding from the sand in front of me. It tapered to a point over six feet above my head and was covered in strange carvings.
The lake lapped against its base as the wind made the choppy water splash across the beach. The three Night Keepers stood shoulder to shoulder in front of me, dressed in I-shit-you-not full black capes clipped into place with silver clasps around their necks. Their chests were bare, marked with red and white handprints and their entire faces were decorated with red and white paint too like they were living up to the legends they claimed to be. I smiled at the sight of the bloody scratches I’d left on Saint’s chest and his eyes darkened to pitch.
“You have got to be fucking with me?” I called over the wind.
My hair whipped around me in the maelstrom and I turned to look for an exit route, finding Tahoma Mountain looming behind me. The clouds had descended, covering over half the mountainside, the sheer height of it towering beyond the perimeter wall. I felt tiny in its shadow, freaking minuscule, but turning back to the Night Keepers made me feel even smaller.
Saint strode forward with a dark grin on his face and I lifted my chin to look up at him, raising up on my knees as I tried to stand. He placed a hand on my head to keep me down and I shook him off with a snarl.
He pinched my chin between his finger and thumb, holding my gaze as a stone cold hate unfurled in his eyes.
“This is the sacred stone.” He pointed to the hulking rock behind him and I gave him a blank look.
“And?” I demanded. “Did you drag me all the way out here just to stare at a stupid boulder?”
He gripped my hair, yanking me to my feet and making me yelp in pain. I lunged for him like a rabid dog and he kicked out my legs so I slammed onto the ground on my back. My skirt rode up over my hips and Saint’s gaze dropped to my little black panties.
He dropped down to a crouch as I sat up, ready to fight him with everything I had if he dared lay a hand on me. He reached out for my skirt and yanked it back down to cover my thighs and my breathing steadied.
“You look afraid, Barbie,” he purred. “Do you really think we’d force ourselves on you? You’re the least desirable thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Tell that to Blake,” I said loud enough for the other Night Keepers to hear. “He fucked me like the sky was gonna fall if he stopped.”
My cheeks heated as I felt Blake’s eyes on me, but I kept my gaze firmly on Saint’s, hunting for a flash of jealousy. One ounce of it would give me something to hook onto. Some tiny ray of hope that this monster craved me like his friends did.
Saint reached into his pants’ pocket and produced a knife, making my heart fall entirely still. For two whole eternities, I stared at him, readying to fight for my life before he snatched my wrists and severed the zip-tie. I released a slow breath, keeping my features schooled so he couldn’t see how frightened I’d been.
Saint laughed as he got up, kicking the sand so it sprayed over me. “Blake fucked you before he knew you were a plague, Plague.”
I looked over at Blake, finding his jaw ticking as he glared at me. “I’d cut my dick off before I ever touched you again.” He spat on the ground and my heart twitched from the ice in his words.
“Then why did you come back after you spoke to your Dad?” I asked, painting a twisted smile onto my face. “You wanted that recording of me, sure, but you didn’t have to screw me to get it, did you?”
Blake’s hands curled into fists as his friends looked to him for a response. “It was the only way,” he said firmly and I laughed loudly enough to rub it in. Because I had him pegged now. And so did they.
“Enough,” Saint snapped.
I pushed myself to my feet, standing before them with fury in my heart.
“What do you want?” I demanded, knowing that if I ran they’d only catch me. Besides, running was a coward’s move. And I wasn’t going to let them s
ee me blink.
Thunder crashed in the sky right above us and the wind dragged my hair out behind me and made their capes dance in the air. I would have laughed at their ridiculous outfits if they hadn’t somehow made them look so damn terrifying.
“This place is a burial ground for the bodies which were left in the lake by the Night People,” Saint said in a dark tone. “Bones still wash up from time to time…”
I shuddered, wrapping my arms around myself against the biting cold as Saint went on.
“They left this stone here as a warning of their power,” he growled. “And the legend of the sacred stone states that anyone who touches it willingly and gives the oath must become Night Bound to us. That means their soul will be owned by the Night Keepers along with their mind and body,” he explained and I looked to the rock with a grimace. “When you touch it, you’ll do our bidding, every single thing we want you to do, without question. Forever. You’ll be ours.”
I shook my head with a snort of dismissal. No chance, assholes.
“You’re going to touch it,” Kyan threatened and Blake nodded his agreement.
Lightning flashed through the sky, the jagged line of it carving a path all the way to the other end of the lake. The rain was about to fall, I could sense it in the most primal part of my being.
I glanced between them and tried to ignore the fear clawing up my spine. Something about the way they looked right now made them seem more animal than man. “There’s just one problem with that, douchebags. Saint said willingly. Which is never going to happen.”
The three of them closed ranks, walking towards me like devil hounds on the hunt for blood. I steeled my nerve as I lifted my chin and prepared to face them, refusing to budge an inch.
“Fine, don’t touch it,” Saint said in a deadly tone; his smirk said he wasn’t going to let me go. “The alternative is far worse.”
They continued closing in until they formed a triangle around me and their dark shadows seemed to consume every lasting bit of light in the sky.
“We’ll tell the whole school to fuck with you,” Blake growled and I glanced toward him with my heart thumping madly against my ribcage.
Kyan yanked my hair to get my attention and I turned to him with my teeth bared. “We’ll make every day insufferable, unliveable. Far worse than it’s been this week.”
They tightened the circle and Saint pinched my cheek, forcing me to look at him next and making my heart lurch into my throat. “You’ll have no friends and anyone who even glances at you too long will be severely punished for it. You’ll wish you were an Unspeakable, you’ll beg us to let you join them again.”
Their triangle closed even tighter so their bare chests were crushing me in the middle. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think straight. And I suddenly didn’t know which choice to make.
“Do you care about that pretty little roommate of yours?” Saint purred, making my heart clench for her. I couldn’t let him hurt Mila. Not because of me.
“And do you want the full, uncut version of our sex tape aired to the whole school?” Blake growled. “Do you remember how you begged me for it?”
“Shut up,” I snarled, but my voice was somehow lost to the wind and fear hammered harder against my chest.
I shut my eyes as I tried to block them out as they continued to whisper all the awful things they were going to do to me if I didn’t agree to this.
I hooked onto my dad’s teachings and dug deep for that inner place of peace he’d taught me to cultivate. A place no one could touch. Somewhere I could go when the world seemed impossible and the stress was too much.
I took one breath, two.
They were pulling at my clothes, my hair, trying to make me listen but I blocked them out. Forcing them from my private, inner space. I wouldn’t ever let them in there.
I have to make the right choice.
The right choice means survival.
The right choice means I’ll have a chance to beat them.
So which path will offer me that?
If I refused them now, they’d destroy me quickly and painfully. If the entire school worked against me, I’d never have a chance to get closer to the Unspeakables and find strength in their ranks. I’d lose Mila. I’d lose my sanity. But was the alternative really any better? Letting them own me? The thought was repugnant.
Ragged breaths dragged in and out of my lungs and I opened my eyes, finding Saint leering at me. And there it was, just for a second, desire blazing from his inky irises. He wanted me, but he wanted me weak. He craved me like this, losing control. Giving in to his demands. And this time, I was going to have to let him have it. I was going to agree so I could buy myself enough time to find a way out. But even though the decision was mine, it still felt like bowing. Like breaking.
The ice in his eyes was as sharp as knives. He was a starved creature who needed pain to thrive. And mine was a delicacy he wanted to take his time over, chewing on it piece by piece.
Tears pricked my eyes as I felt the weight of his victory crashing over me. Of all their victories. I was boxed in. A fox at the end of a farmer’s gun. And it felt like the lowest point of my life.
“What are the rules?” I breathed, fighting to make sure my bottom lip didn’t tremble.
Saint reached out, brushing a lock of hair behind my ear and it felt anything but soothing. He licked his lips as he savoured this moment, grazing his fingers down my cheek, leaving a freezing trail in their wake. “There’s only three rules…”
“You’re either doing something for us,” Kyan supplied the first.
“Or you’re with one of us,” Blake gave the second.
“Or you’re with all of us,” Saint hissed the last and a biting chill ran down my spine. “So do you agree, Barbie?” he asked in an almost loving tone, but I wasn’t fooled. I doubted Saint’s heart was capable of any warm emotion. It was a lump of ice, kept at fifty below zero at all times.
“I won’t do anything sexual for any of you,” I snarled, looking between them and pressure built in my chest as I waited for their response. I was gonna scream or cry or catch fire. And some shattered part of me wished for the last.
“Like I said, Barbie, we’d rather fuck a hand grenade than you,” Saint purred. “But if you want it, you can have our word that none of us will fuck you until you want us to.”
“Why would I want you to?” I sneered.
“Because I get the feeling you’ll learn to like being our pet,” he said, the glint in his eyes giving away just how much he desired that.
“There’s no fucking chance of that,” I snapped.
“Just give us an answer,” Blake demanded suddenly, his anger slipping past his defences. “Yes or no. Do you agree to be ours?”
I nodded and the second I did they stepped away from me, moving behind me instead so I was angled towards the sacred stone. A tremor ran through my body just as thunder boomed above, sending a shockwave right down to my core
I glanced over my shoulder as Blake took his phone from his pocket and started filming me.
“We’re live,” he muttered to the others, but I caught the words on the wind. This video was now streaming to every student on campus via social media. Holy shit.
Saint waved me forward and my legs felt leaden as I walked toward the rock, my fate, my doom.
As I reached it, a violent ripple of energy ran through me as the wind picked up once more. Close up, I could see the markings on the rock more clearly. At the top were four painted men with a different intricate arrow beneath them. Three of them were the same as the tattoos I’d seen on the Night Keepers and I shuddered to think what their group would look like with a fourth Keeper amongst them. Above the carvings was a fifth figure and an arrow hung above them with five decorated feathers attached to it. Something instinctive told me this was the Night Bound, the legend I was about to embody.
I turned to face three boys before me with a shaky breath. They were cast in shadow, their capes billowing behind th
em as scowls twisted their features into something truly evil.
“Tatum Rivers, do you swear to devote yourself to us and spend your days working to please us?” Blake spoke over the storm and the answer got stuck in my throat.
Can I really agree to this?
Give myself to them?
Promise to do everything they ask? Anything they ask?
One heartbeat, two, three, four.
Blake was about to lower the phone when I forced the word out. “Yes,” I choked. It tasted like poison on my tongue.
The three of them smiled in unison like their dark souls were somehow connected to one another’s in that moment.
“And do you swear to obey our every word?” Kyan growled and I managed to nod, though my neck felt stiff, like my body knew I was betraying it.
“Do you swear to follow the rules, to be bound mind, body and soul to the Night Keepers. And only us?” Saint’s voice ripped into my ears. He wasn’t smiling anymore, he was leering like a monster, looking like my darkest nightmare brought to life.
“Yes,” I rasped, my tongue heavy, my heart hollow.
“Touch the sacred stone,” Saint commanded. “Prove your promises and become Night Bound to each of us as Keepers.”
My fingers curled up instinctively, trying to fight the decision I’d made. But it was already over. The dice had landed, the deal was done. And I felt tears running hot and fast down my cheeks as the weight of that truth sank into my veins.
I reached out to the rock, hesitating a final second, my last scrap of defiance fading away. I pressed my palm against the cold stone and adrenaline poured through me like a vat of liquid nitrogen spilling into my blood. Lightning flared above me and thunder clashed so loudly in the heavens, I winced. The rain came half a heartbeat later and rushed down on us like a tsunami.
I retracted my hand from the rock, my fingers icily cold as I curled them into a fist and tried to ignore the tingling scattering through my palm. What the fuck?
I knew the legend wasn’t true. I knew it was just ghost stories and fairy tales, but I’d felt something when I’d touched that thing. Like my soul had shifted inside my body. And maybe it was just the freezing cold and the raging storm, but somehow, I felt like they really did own me now. And that terrified me more than anything I’d ever experienced in my life.
Kings of Quarantine: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep Book 1) Page 18
