Page 200 of Bliss & Her Idols

My mouth is dry.

I nod.

“A fuck load. It’s a better interrogation technique than beatingthem.She told me gleefully what Devin and Aran have been doing to Immortal and how he should be in the dance studio this morning. She has plans for the Idols, which include expanding thehostingduties with VIPs for those who aren’t making enough in sponsorships, restricting their diets further, and increasing the contract to fifteen years with arranged bonding written into it.”

I hiss in shock. “Forced bonding written into a contract? That’s illegal.”

“See, people don’t think that you’re listening, when you’re screaming in pain. They have fun gloating.”

I narrow my eyes. “Then that bitch has just gloated her way into the Alpha Center. If we can find paperwork proof of what she told you, then she’ll be arrested.”

“Isn’t it funny,” Torin says, dryly, “that when Idols are forced into bonding in the name of entertainment, everyone rates the show five stars. But put it into a contract, and you’ll be locked up.”

“I think the Pack Bonds show was voted 4.3 but yeah, it’s sick. The problem is that the Betas are too intimidated to speak out. Would their testimony even be weighed against a powerful Alpha’s? But if we get it in black and white, as well as splash this into the news and the court of public opinion, then we could pull this off.”

Excitement rushes through me.

This is the missing piece that we needed to our plan. Torin paid the price for it. But I’m a music journalist —a witness.

My word must count for something, right?

“What if we sneak into the Idol camp.” I rest my forehead against Torin’s. “I’ve seen what’s happening in your family. But what if I witness what’s happening in the camp itself? It would make an explosive story, one that I’ve been investigating for over a year. If I write that story like I’d already intended but now much amplified because of media interest in our bonding, then it could change the entire industry.”

Well, I’d wanted to make my name in journalism.

This hasn’t happened precisely how I’d imagined, but it could change far more lives.

It could free every Beta singer in the world.

Torin’s breath gusts against my lips. “You’re perfect, a chroi.Brilliant.”

My cheeks flush with pride.

I feel treasured for all that I am.

Respected.

Seen.

I’m careful not to brush lower against Torin’s back as I caress his neck. “Why are you here though? After Rory patched you up, why didn’t you come back to me?”

An iridescent butterfly with glimmering wings settles on the branch next to Torin. Its wings beat in the sunlight, before it flies across the glade.

It’s hard to imagine anything so beautiful surviving in a place this brutal.

“This was my secret meeting place with Jin.” Torin blinks like he’s trying to clear his mind or work out what to say. “It was my favorite place in the world, where I didn’t feel merely the worthless brother, and Jin wasn’t the owned singer. We were simply Charming and Jin, two people in love. This was our world, until Rory found us kissing here and brought it crashing down on our heads. Both Zero and Jin in their own ways helped me to reclaim this estate and myself. I wanted to think things through and figure them out before I came back.”

“There’s no Reject Omega witch, even with me here…?” I tease, wanting to make Torin smile.

“If you were the witch, I’d enjoy beingeaten.”

I blush.

That’s more like my typical Torin.

Perhaps, I simply need to poke the bear to bring him back to himself.

“How about I devour you now?” I murmur.

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