Page 49

“That’s not what I said,” Grigori snaps. “Not exactly, but close enough, I suppose. Now then, Chelsea, you will do my house proud.Da?”

“Da, Sir.”

Letting her go, he nods over to me even as his lips thin into an unhappy grimace. “Your submissive will be fine.”

If things weren’t so dire right now, I’d probably burst out laughing. But that’s probably just my mind threatening to snap. I’m sure if I chuckled now, they’d call Andrew back to shrink me.

“Honestly, at this point, I’m somehow a bit more worried about Chelsea getting interrogated by my snoop. But I guess it is what it is.”

“Let the girl snoop. My Chelsea knows nothing of importance.” At her insolent scowl, he chuckles and amends. “At least nothing that can get her or me into trouble. She knows a lot of important things.”

As touching as all this is, I don’t have time for him to placate the brat. “As long as they’re both safe and sound, when I get done, I don’t care.”

“I will repeat my offer,” Professor Richards says as he pulls Melody to the forefront. “Think of her as a possible mediator.”

Sergei snorts and shakes his head. “You ask for head to sit in lion’s mouth and hope for the best?”

“They’ve come to a truce,” he grumbles. “Unless you think Chelsea isn’t capable of putting the past in the past and moving forward.”

“Enough of this!” I hiss as loudly as I dare. “The rest of them grow restless. I don’t give a fuck who’s in there with her. I just can’t have her alone. Understand?”

“Go on, Melody. If anything happens, find me instantly.”

“Yes, Sir.”

My heart constricts as I watch the three shuffle toward the back so the others don’t notice. This is bad. This is very, very bad. There’s a reason I don’t allow myself to form relationships with any of the submissives here. Unfortunately, with Ashleigh, I can’t seem to stay away.

At this point, I have no idea how much time has passed. Luckily, some of the others are still fucking other submissives while a few men finally come on Lia. No one seems to notice my absence. And that’s how I want it.

“Now that Lia is inducted into our society as an official submissive, is there anyone here who wishes to claim her?” Her eyes widen as she looks around, reminding me far too much of another set of startling blue that’s waiting for me.

For a moment, silence weighs down upon me as I give a customary moment, but no one comes forth. It’s not surprising. And honestly, the fact that these few were claimed so instantly is certainly not the norm. With a firm nod of my head, I direct the assistants to take her off the bed and lead her to the bathroom.

I need them out. I need every person out of this sanctuary of debauchery so I can deal with this problem in peace. Thankfully, I have a ready-made excuse... deus ex machina, as it may seem.

“As much as I would like for you to avail yourself to the various dungeons to keep this celebration going, I regret to inform you that this week’s cleaners are scheduled to come tonight. The rooms will, of course, be available to you all starting again tomorrow. Do not feel as if you have to rush, but I would appreciate your respectful exit. I will leave Lia in capable hands.”

The small crowd begins to gather their things, no doubt taking their extracurriculars either back to the sorority house or to other areas unknown. Thankfully, it’s a small night tonight. It would have been far worse if everyone was here. On my way back to my friends, I grab a submissive and instruct her to get Lia back to the house as soon as she’s cleaned up.

Next, I grab Todd and pull him off to the side. “I hate to bother you so late in the evening, but I’ll need to register a submissive later tonight.”

His brows pull down into a frown. “I already have Lia in the system. She’s taken care of.”

“It’s not her. It’s... It’s an issue I need solving. Will you be up tonight?”

“You’re in luck. I’m working out some bugs in a program for the Pentagon. Pretty sure it will keep me busy until the morning.”

“Good. I’ll text you when I’m heading to the office.”

Off to the side, Thatcher pushes himself off the wall and saunters closer. His gaze bores into mine, but no words are exchanged, no questions or inquiries leave his lips. Though he studies me as if he knows something, he eventually moves on.

With all that settled, the band around my heart finally eases loose. From all around me, others scurry past as they make their way to their cars, leaving the place empty save my friends and the new initiate. No doubt she’ll still be in the bathroom for a bit, giving me time to let them in on what’s happening.

“Now then. I’m sure you are all curious as to what’s going on.”

“I’ll say,” Grigori murmurs. “Until tonight, I thought you were unflappable. Something must have gone seriously wrong for you to be so shaken.”

I want to correct him, to refute what he’s saying, but I can’t. Normally, I’m the strong one. I’m the one others come to when they have problems. Now, it’s my turn, and I feel at a loss.