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“Not long. Enough time for me to scrub my hands and Beau’s doing the same now.”
Releasing my hair, my hands drop to my lap and I nod. “So it was all true, then?”
He leans in, cupping my face in his palms and presses a tender kiss to my lips. Kingston’s rarely soft… he’s hard, demanding, and loves to push me to my limits, so he must see the mind fuck written all over me. “Yes, baby. It’s true. I love you, Beau loves you, and we’re going to figure this shit out together.”
With a sigh, I begin processing everything one at a time. “My father’s dead. I killed him. Because he killed my mother… but somehow, he didn’t actually kill my mother.”
He nods, watching me. His hands are holding mine as he allows me to work through the crazy ass thoughts pounding through my head. My mother’s beendeadfor almost two years. I’ve been living a lie.
“Ahhh.” I exhale in frustration with all of the new information, knowing everything has changed once again. Literally my entire fucking life has flipped a one-eighty more than once now, and I’m not sure I can handle processing all of it once again. Nothing seems true now except for Kingston and Beau… everything else seems to be one big cluster of never-ending bullshit.
“My grandfather is probably behind it all somehow, because at this point it’s blatantly obvious he’s not the man I thought he was. And the real heartbreaker is my mother’s alive and has been this entire time. Did my grandfather know that all along? And fuck, I killed my father to avenge something that didn’t even happen.”
“That about sums it up, except the part where your father didn’t deserve what he had coming to him. Because he did. Your mother had a few things to say before we got you out of there and he allowed you to be assaulted, Kens. He was going to die for that anyway,” Beau says matter-of-factly from the doorway.
Glancing up, I bite into my cheek and ask them both, “Why would she let me believe she was dead? Why sit back while my life shatters and spins out of control? And then what, my grandfather swoops in and has me enroll in the university here. Then they all sit back and allow me to kill my father.”
There’s a knock on the door, effectively interrupting me trying to process the depths of deceit I’ve been surrounded by for years.
My mother walks in first, all poised and proper as if I didn’t just strangle my father for her. It’s not until I see the tear stains on her face that my hope in humanity begins to be restored.
“You have all earned your position in The Brotherhood of Darkness. Your pledge journey has been more difficult than most, but it was designed so on purpose. One of you will become the next legacy leader. You will be tasked with making decisions for the society, which will affect hundreds of members daily. This position can only be earned with proven bloodline from the top hierarchy of the society once your elder has stepped down. Your chosen partner will also be granted an equal position, leaving one of you to a lesser role in the society.”
I listen to her rehearsed instructions, so robotic, lacking any genuine emotion and empathy for what we’ve all experienced within this process to get to this point. I can’t fathom myself standing in the same situation in twenty years, reciting something similar to my own child. “I have no desire.” Not to mention, the scenario she’s painted would require me to choose between Beau and Kingston, and that willneverhappen.
“Can we address the overwhelmingly important fact you’realive,first?” I spew my emotional outburst, wondering if I’m still knocked out, dreaming up all of this crazy shit. “And how I just killed my father for you.”
“Well, things weren’t supposed to happen like that.”
“What did you expect to happen? Putting a torture tray next to his restrained body while playing a video of himchokingyou to death, while you gasped and clawed at his arms.” I toss up both of my hands, making a quotation gesture when I sayto death.
“Your father’s actions go much deeper than his attempt to kill me and his neglect with his own daughter. We expected one of the guys to kill him in your honor. It was our final test to see who deserves to be your chosen.” This society with their fucked-up rules and tests… it’s driving me insane. When do these people ever stop this shit?Final test? Sure, until they dream up the next twisted job they want completed.
“What do you mean, who deserves it? They both do, IchooseBeau and Kingston both and will not tolerate an option that doesn’t allow my choice. So, if you’re going to try to split our relationship up, you can take your brotherhood and stuff it up all of your asses. Legacy or not, they’re mine.” I grab both of their hands, linking our fingers together as our palms meet in solidarity. We stand together, unshakeable, and united in our love. I don’t even have to ask how they feel about it, they’ve been very clear with what they want for our future.
“You will have to choose one.”
“No, I don’t. And why would you allow me to think you’re dead this entire time? Let me guess, Grandfather knew you were alive all along. How heartless is my family?” And why would I ever give up my men for a life full of lies? Surely, my mother must be smarter than this.
“Your grandfather had to hide me, we had no other option. Your father was absolutely going to have me killed. I uncovered some sordid details where he had sold minors to buyers for support on his future path to The White House. I was going to oust him for his involvement and he knew it.” My stomach churns all over again.
“So, all of this has been you testing us to decide on who deserves the role of God in this society?”
“The position is yours, Iris. Your grandfather has chosen you to take his place. Their initiation was merely a series of tests to see which one earned the right to stand beside you as you lead. He took note of your fondness for both of them and narrowed it down to the two of them before you were brought to Bentley. Both of them have the bloodline, but it’s ultimately up to your grandfather.”
“What if I don’t want to be a part of the society?”
“I’d urge you to do more research before you say no.” She reaches behind her as one of the men she entered with hands her a giant book. She extends it toward me before her lips fall into a slight frown. “I hate that it’s come to this.”
I can feel the sadness in my mother’s presence. “If this is the best thing for me, then why do you look troubled about it?”
“I’m only bothered by the hurt I’ve caused you through all of it. I only wanted you to see what kind of monster your father was below his shiny facade. Robbing you of a father was never my intention.”
“He did it to himself long ago.” Beau releases my hand to put his arm over my shoulder, sliding closer to me. The three of us are still standing together facing yet another hurdle before we can enjoy some of the happiness we all deserve.
“You need to go talk to your grandfather. He will make the decision as to who gets to take the next step with you.”
“I’m telling you now, I’ll disown everyone in my life before I let go of either of these two right here. So, take my reply back to Grandfather and let my words sink in. You’re clearly in no position to hand out ultimatums, and I’m not about to listen to one that’ll cause our lives any additional chaos.”
