Page 1 of Snapped
Prologue
Marcus sat at the tiny kitchen table watching the baby in the bassinet set atop the table as he slept. It was far easier than he’d imagined it would be to find a woman to carry the child, then raise him until Marcus was ready to bring the boy to House Gaeland. One that would simply do as she was told without asking questions as long as Marcus paid her and provided her with a lavish but small apartment within the walls of House Orion.
The baby jerked in his sleep, small hands reaching out and opening before he smacked his little lips a couple of times and settled back into the blanket he was wrapped in. Marcus gently rocked the bassinet to ensure the tiny bundle stayed quiet. “Shhh. Shhh. I have such grand plans for you, little one. I’ve already set you up with the best educators in Greece to teach you about your culture, your history, and when the time comes, how to be the best warrior in all the Houses.” Marcus spoke softly, not wanting the baby’s mother to hear him.
“When the time comes, you will be the entry in the trials for The Order from House Orion. Then, together, you and I will destroy House Orion from within.” Marcus smiled at the sleeping infant, chuckling softly.
For years, Marcus had been plotting and scheming ways to ensure House Orion would fall. He only hoped he could watch the destruction up close rather than from afar. Nothing would make Marcus happier than to see Thomas suffer after what he’d done to Marcus when they were teenagers. Thomas and Marcus had been best friends since they were children. They’d schooled and trained together, shared their first kiss together, and so much more as they grew into young men and discovered the pleasures of their bodies.
But Thomas grew distant not long after Marcus started the trials for The Order. When Marcus was initiated as the Geneticist for The Order, he couldn’t fully enjoy the day or the celebration because the one person he wanted to celebrate with wasn’t there. He went into town and found Thomas that night, demanding to know what kept him away. And that was when Marcus learned truth and love couldn’t be further apart from each other, at least in his wronged mind. The man Marcus loved—and meant to spend his life with—had fallen in love with another.
“Is he still sleeping?” Alana asked as she came into the room. She leaned over the bassinet and brushed her fingers across the sleeping baby’s cheek, smiling down at him. Their arrangement was one of money, secrecy, and convenience. And though she loved the child she’d carried, Alana knew—when her son was old enough, Marcus would move him to House Gaeland.
“Marcus, what do you think?” Marcus shook his head, looking up at her quizzically. “The baby, Marcus, what do you think about calling him Apollo?”
