Page 47 of Caged
So, for Monroe to pull away now?
Over my fucking dead body.
If only I could find her. She’s never at her sorority, nor do I know her class schedule. I’ll be six feet under before I set foot in the Engineering Quad, so if my plan to coax her back to me doesn’t work, I’ll be forced to send in reinforcements. I’m not above using extreme measures to get what I want when it comes to Monroe.
I reach over the edge of the bed to retrieve my phone so I can text Barrett. He’s our social chair and loyal as fuck. He told me in confidence that his family needs this to happen just as much as mine. Plus, he’s a bigger sadist than I am, so getting him on board to help with some of the more uncouth parts of these Full Moon Ceremonies has been a walk in the park. It’s amazing how dangling even the smallest carrot of power can motivatea man. Barrett, Harrison, and even Jace who just stood at the edge of the room with a scowl on his face, are now revered as gods. Untouchable. Women will claw their eyes out simply to get a taste of these men, but they’d be remiss to forget that power can be taken away just as quickly as it can be given. Power is an illusion, after all. I have my dear father to thank for that knowledge. Fucking prick.
Five elders will be in attendance this Saturday. One of which is X himself. I’m so over this self-important motherfucker. I know he’s exceptionally powerful, a kingmaker, and someone you don’t want to piss off, but Jesus Christ. I wonder if I’ll have any humanity left by the time this is over. This bloodthirsty motherfucker might just be Moloch himself.
He expects an offering at the Full Moon Ceremony. I have a candidate in mind, one who I’m told has been running her mouth around campus, and I plan to turn her into a lesson. I’ll make the disloyal weep for a mercy they’ll never find. Not from me. People go missing all the time, right? Especially on college campuses, where they just might wander off drunk and fall into a gorge.
Actually, it’s kind of fun getting to play God. It suits me.
I type out a text to Barrett telling him to set up a mixer between Sigma and Monroe’s sorority this Thursday. I’ll lure Monroe out of hiding, and once I catch her, I’ll cage her. She’ll be there for the next Full Moon Ceremony, come hell or high water, because I don’t plan on letting her out of my sight until the curtain drops.
21
MONROE
Six Months Prior to Present Day,
Early March, Junior Year,
Sigma
“You don’t seem happy to see me, baby,” Kieren rasps against the hair covering my ear. I give him a scathing side-eye glance before refocusing on the drunk debauchery unfolding on the dance floor.
“And why do you think that is, Kieren?” I sneer without turning my head to give him the acknowledgement he wants. I take a sip of my absolutely vile vodka soda through one of those skinny black straws and cross my arms.
“Monroe,” he says as he steps directly into my line of sight, cupping my face with his hands so I have no choice but to look at him. “Stop pretending you don’t love me.”
Fury crackles under my skin at his audacious remark. I glare up at him with what I hope is enough venom to stop a beating heart.
“Stop pretending you do,” I bite back. “Oh wait, you don’t.”
He rolls his eyes in a way that says, ‘Here we go again,’ and I fight back the urge to punch his throat. He leans forward to kiss me, but halts when I abruptly turn my head to the side.
“Seriously? I can’t kiss my girlfriend now?”
“I’m not doing this here,” I snap. I’ve been plotting this fight since I left Sigma the morning after the Full Moon Ceremony.
“Fine, then come upstairs.”
“Why? So you can fuck me?”
“If you want me to fuck you Monroe, I’ll happily fuck you. But it’s obvious you need to get a few things off your chest, so why don’t we start there?”
My feet press into the floor like magnets on metal. In my peripheral view, I can see Kieren staring down at me, waiting for my response. Waiting for me to cave.
“Come on, Monroe. Don’t be like this. Besides, I have a birthday present for you.”
I shift on my feet, unsure if this is a genuine attempt at reconciliation or a trap.
“I don’t forgive you for what you did,” I say.
“Fine,” Kieren huffs in aggravation. “Again, Iapologize. I thought we were on the same page.”
“We were very muchnoton the same page.”
