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GARRET

“She doesn’t have the right blood, Garret. You know the rules.”

“Neither did Veronica,” I reply.

Alaric’s gaze hardens. I struck a nerve. He hates when another man speaks his beloved wife’s name. But I saved her—more than once. Not in the way he would like. But in a way, she saved me.

It’s true. She was supposed to be in the dorms, but the sadistic bastard her mother married wouldn’t allow it.

“True,” Caruthers agrees. He’s the oldest one in the room so he gets the final ruling when it comes to Prey.

But I can see the wheels turning in the old man’s head. He’s playing right into my game. And he doesn’t even know it.

“And what do you propose?”

I don’t hesitate. “She stays with me.”

“Absolutely not!” John roars.

I smirk. It’s not up to him. No one but Caruthers and the others—the real players in this game—know why I have to be involved.

Valen and Reid watch me with interest. They haven’t decided how they want this to end. But I have.

Rose is mine. I want to peel her apart, layer by layer. She only gives me glimpses. But she’s pulling away. I can see it in her eyes — She’s giving up on me. A girl like her doesn’t stay interested for long. She’s taught herself not to trust. It’s what people do when lying is their only choice.

“It’s not up to you, John,” Caruthers says. “It’s up to me. You’re lucky we don’t kill you for the deception.”

John’s face darkens. “She gets nothing.” He looks at me triumphantly.

I want to laugh in his face. “You think I’m conspiring, John?” I grin. “I have more money than your entire pathetic existence—your forefathers included—sitting in my bank account. I wouldn’t burn through that amount if I died four times and came back. So please, don’t insult yourself. I can smell your shit from here.” I glance at Caruthers. “She stays with me. Until I see fit.”

Caruthers exhales, impatient. “Fine.” His voice cuts through the tension like a blade. “Enough talk about a girl with no future in our organization.”

John’s fury ignites. “You won’t get away with this, Nox.” He glares, seething. “I own her. She’s mine.”

I pick up my plague mask from the pew. “Please, try and stop me.” My tone is dry, amused. But inside— I want to smash his face in.

I want to gut him open and play jump rope with his intestines.

Alaric meets me outside after the others leave. “What the fuck, Nox? You want your bloodline to die?”

I shrug. “I didn’t mean to mention her. But it was the only way.”

He adjusts his tailored suit jacket, the red Louis Vuitton tie unmistakably Veronica’s choice. He never would have picked that out himself. Let alone worn a fucking tie. “A way to get your little toy out of the playpen?”

I scoff. “You would’ve done the same.” I pause. “I need a favor.”

He snorts. “What? You want my fucking balls? My cock? You want that too?” “I need Veronica to stop by the house.”

He laughs. It’s murderous. “Like fucking hell. You had a better chance with my dick.”

“It’s not for me. It’s for her.”

He rolls his shoulders.“Ask any other asshole’s wife you’ve fucked in the past. Why does it have to be mine?”

I exhale. “Jess is eight months pregnant. Melody wouldn’t understand. And the twins don’t let Gia out of their sight.” I meet his gaze. “Veronica’s the only one I trust.”

He studies me. “Why her?”

I give him the real answer. “She’s the only one who understands me.”

Alaric walks to the cemetery entrance. The clouds shift, revealing the full moon. He sighs. “I should have hit you harder that day.” His voice is flat. “I thought the pills we slipped you would teach you a lesson.”

I shake my head. “That wasn’t funny.” He smirks. “I thought I had small dick syndrome for a year until the doctor told me about the side effects.”

He grins, unrepentant. “You should have kept it in your pants before you fucked with Jess. It was Reid’s idea.”

Fucking assholes.

I shake my head. “Tell him he owes me.”

“I think knowing you’ve tasted our wife’s pussy is punishment enough.”

I glare. “I said I was sorry.”

Alaric exhales.

“What is it with you and this girl?”

I don’t respond.

He continues.

“Melody wants to reach out to her. You said no. Repeatedly. And now this.”

I hesitate. “I don’t know yet. But I need you to find out where John adopted her from.” He goes still. “There are no records. Something doesn’t add up.”

Alaric leans against the stone pillar. The moonlight catches in his dark eyes.

He finally nods. “Well, for one thing—John’s a liar.” He straightens. “It’s obvious he’s possessive of her.”

“She has nightmares.” I exhale. “The way she cries. The way she pleads.”

Alaric’s jaw tics. “Like Veronica did?”

I stare at my father’s grave. “Yeah.”

The tombstone doesn’t say beloved father. Or beloved husband. Because he was neither.

He became a monster the day my mother terminated every child he put inside her—except me. I thought he hated me for being the only one she chose to keep. But it wasn’t hatred. It was pity. He used me against her.

He was a liar, a killer, a deceiver. But he loved his legacy. And that meant, in his twisted way—he loved me.

I was his sole heir to the Nox estate, the fortune, the company—mine.

No stipulations. No forced marriage. No need for heirs.

I could have walked away. But then Rose showed up. She witnessed corruption. She saw death. And didn’t run. She took it and it means she’s seen it before. It means she’s suffered.

The Order sends students to Kenyan because they have some type of mental condition. Me included. But what if the Order made a mistake? What if Rose is the sanest one of us all?