Page 206 of Bliss & Her Idols

The tips of Torin’s ears turn red.

Jin lets go of me, reaching to grab Torin instead.

As soon as Torin flinches, however, drawing back, Jin understands what it means, before he sees the welts on Torin’s back.

Jin’s lips thin, but he doesn’t say anything.

Instead, his gaze meets Torin’s with a lifetime of shared experience and trauma.

“What’s the next step in making sure that the Head Alpha never hurts anyone again?” Jin’s voice has become steely with determination.

“How about you give me a tour?” I reply. “I’m the first journalist to have made it onto this infamous estate. It’s Mena’s weakness that she isn’t treating me like she would an Alpha or Beta. Because I’m an Omega, she believes that I’m not a threat. Yet she’s allowed an investigative journalist into the heart of her empire. I can observe behind enemy lines. I’m your secret weapon.”

Jin’s expression becomes dangerous. “You’rethe dragon. I know exactly what to show you first.”

He grabs me by the hand.

I try to keep up, as he tugs me at a run after him down the side of the building.

When he stops at a small iron door, I bend over, catching my breath.

Torin swaggers after us. “The dance studio…?”

“The one-way mirror in the studio.” Jin shoves his hair behind his ear. “Devin and Aran are both teaching today. This little known entrance is used for the VIPs who get their kicks out of watching practice through a one-way mirror. Also, when they’re choosing the Idols, with whom they want to bond.”

My skin crawls. “They’ve been using it as a viewing room to sell off Idols.”

“Zero and I found it on one of our after curfew adventures. I guess that the twins forgot to lock it. It took us a couple of years to work out what was going on.”

Torin pales.

It appears that even he doesn’t know everything that his family has been doing.

Jin opens the door as quietly as he can, ushering us into the tiny, empty room beyond.

The room is plain without carpets or furniture. But luxury and comfort aren’t the point.

The point is the one-way glass wall that runs the length of the room, which looks into a brightly lit dance studio on the other side.

It’s disconcerting enough for me to grip onto Torin’s arm.

Jin strolls to the front next to the glass, staring intently at the scene that is unfolding in front of us.

My throat is dry.

I stare with wide eyes at the gleaming studio, which is surrounded by mirrors.

The floor and low ceiling are painted in holographic stars.

Words in gold are woven between the stars.

I shiver, when I realize that they are phrases picked out, as if they’re motivational phrases from the Beta Idols Rulebook:

Idols must keep the pack’s secrets

To reach the top in show business, you must smile to hide the tears.

For a star to shine the brightest, it must be motivated by the terror of being forever dimmed in the night sky.

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