Total pages in book: 266
Estimated words: 250787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1254(@200wpm)___ 1003(@250wpm)___ 836(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 250787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1254(@200wpm)___ 1003(@250wpm)___ 836(@300wpm)
“You said that you and your mother-in-law are fighting over where the baby shower will be,” Margaret answers.
Hannah narrows her eyes at her. “Thank you, Annabelle, for answering.” She calls Margaret by my name because she asked me, not her.
“You’re welcome.” Margaret smiles, picking up her coffee.
“Why are you letting her decide?” I join in on the conversation. “She’s not the one going to give birth.”
She rubs her growing stomach. “I swear she would if she could, which is creepy. I’ve never known a woman so obsessed with her son.”
“He’s a mama’s boy. What did you expect?” Margaret laughs.
Margaret is also married. But she and Clint don’t want to kill one another. I wouldn’t call it love, but he knows she sleeps around and doesn’t care. She was also his chosen. Their marriage was already arranged before the ritual even took place. He proposed on her father’s yacht after the vow ceremony, and they married the following month. Clint thinks they’re trying to get pregnant, but she’s still taking the pill behind his back. She’s not ready to become a mom. Her words. I give her three months before he figures it out.
Then there’s me, midway through my junior year at Barrington. I’m twenty-one, single, and still a virgin. My parents didn’t want me to be a chosen. I can’t say that I cared either way. Saving myself isn’t something that I care about. My mother said I was meant for something greater than spreading my legs in a tub of water for all to see. I know how the ritual works, and although I didn’t mind participating, I also didn’t really see a bad side to it.
I accepted long ago that I’ll live in a loveless marriage to a bastard who will cheat on me and probably pass me around like a piece of cake at a wedding. Some women would be terrified by that thought, but I’m not.
If I can’t have love, I want power. I want what a man in our world gets, but I’m going to have to work twice as hard for it because I have a pussy and tits. Fine by me. I’ll show them that I can do whatever they throw at me with a smile on my face while bleeding between my legs.
My cell rings, and I pick it up off the table where it sits next to my mimosa. UNKNOWN lights up the screen.
“Sorry, I have to take this.” I get up and rush outside, hitting answer. “Hello?”
“You have been given your assignment,” the voice announces. It’s altered so I can’t make out who it is. Not like I’d be able to anyway. No one knows who is ever actually in charge. There are rumors, of course, but you can’t believe everything you hear.
“Okay.” I’m excited and nervous. I’ve been waiting for this call since I completed my initiation back in August. “What do I need to do?”
“A package has been delivered to your house. You will have three months to prepare before the official assignment begins.” The voice continues. “During that time, you will get a new life.”
I frown. “A new life?” I figured it would be a quick “kill this person and you’re in” type of situation. That’s what I get for assuming. The Lords always like to throw curveballs at you.
“New identity. New friends, new occupation. And…a boyfriend.”
What the fuck do the Lords have me doing? Why does any of that matter? “O-okay.”
“You will remain untouched.”
“Wait.” I give a rough laugh. “You want me to get a boyfriend but not put out?” Another laugh, thinking I heard him wrong. The Lords world revolves around sex. It’s literally all they think about and want. It’s not their fault. It’s what we’ve all been conditioned for. “He won’t stay around long.” I’m not dumb. I know how relationships work and what men expect. Hell, I’m horny all the time. I’d like to get fucked, but the Lords hold power in sex. They tell you when you can get it and who you get it from.
“He likes to ruin his toys,” the voice says cryptically.
Ruin his toys? Is he telling me that I have to fuck someone? “Who?” I wonder.
“Three months, Annabelle. If you don’t have everything ready to go within that time, you have failed.” Click.
HAIDYN
“SKELETON LORDS” by HALLOW fills the small concrete room from my phone while the Lord lies on the floor, covered in his own blood, but he’s not dead. That’s not what we do here.
Death is a luxury we don’t supply.
Exiting the cell, I lock him inside and go over to the sink in the corner. I turn on the water and begin to wash his blood off my hands and ink-covered arms.
The sound of someone coming has me looking over my shoulder to see Kashton joining me. Turning off the water, I grab some paper towels and turn to face him.