Page 34 of Ruthless Chaos

I’ve fucked tens of girls in my lifetime. Allie Clarke is no different from any of them, and I’ll ensure that we both come to understand that in the coming weeks.

Though I’ve marked her as mine, it’s still my choice if I want to enforce the rules that come with making her my Courtesan.

I won’t.

As a matter of fact, she won’t even know I’ve chosen her. All the Associates will know, and that’s enough to ensure that she’s sufficiently protected.

Everything will be fine.

On paper she might be my Courtesan, but it changes nothing.

TEN

ALLIE

A loud,sharp sound rips into my consciousness.

It pulls me out of sleep, leaving me with a blaring headache. My eyes snap open, the vaulted wooden ceiling of my dorm room slowly coming into focus.

Glancing around the room quickly, I take a deep breath. My heart is hammering in my chest, sweat beading on my brow and nervous energy tingling in my legs.

It’s not the sound of an explosion.I repeat the thought until my feelings ebb.

The sound persists, though.

It takes me a few seconds to realize it’s coming from Tara’s side of the room. By then, my panic has turned to annoyance.

My roommate leans over avery loudblender, pouring milk into the whirring pink mixture. She looks chipper, tapping her bare feet to a rhythm in her head. Her hair is wrapped in a bun atop her head, and she’s dressed in a silky black nightgown.

Fighting the pain blooming in my head, I sit up and my whole body protests.

The weight of reality settles on my shoulders then, bringing with it the memories from the wee hours of this morning. A wave of nausea crests in my stomach.

It was all so bizarre and traumatic. I wish it was a dream.

But the pain sinking into my thighs and the rawness from the coarse rope reminds me it did happen. I passed their stupid initiation.

I don’t feel thankful, though. Only hollow.

The blender stops.

I look over at Tara to find she’s noticed I’m awake.

“Did I wake you?” she says with a bashful smile.

I roll my eyes. She knows what she did.

The sight of her makes me upset. My night went downhill the moment she abandoned me. Part of me wonders if she did it intentionally—surely it isn’t courteous to drag someone to a party then disappear?

When I don’t answer, her smile fades. “What’s wrong, Allie?”

Another rhetorical question. “Did they tell you to ditch me last night?” My voice is gravelly. Even my throat hurts. Had I been screaming? I can barely remember.

Guilt flashes on her features, but it disappears quickly.

She steps away from the blender, crossing the room.

My grip on my sheets tighten. If Tara still lives on Hemlock, then she’s just like the girls who humiliated me. Heat snakes up the back of my neck.