Page 19 of Glutton for Punishment

My den sent me to the academy with a simple goal: get close to Ryker. Strengthen the alliance between his people in Greed and my den back home. Expand influence. Secure power.

And I did what they asked.

Ryker’s posse opened their circle easily enough. I know how to say the right things, laugh at the right jokes, and make myself useful without looking like I’m trying too hard. I was trained for this. But my time with Ryker and his questionable academy politics put a wall up between my friends and me.

A high-end boutique with gold lettering across its windows draws my attention as we hit a stoplight. A man is crouched close to the dumpster. He rolls his sleeve up and ties his arm off with a dirty strip of cloth. Then he searches for a vein like it’s a treasure map.

The shop window beside him displays silk dresses worth more than most families in this district make in a year.

No one inside seems to notice him.

Or maybe they’re just good at pretending not to.

At first, it was just strategy with Ryker. Draw him in with my charisma, the same way the design of the boutique draws in the wealthy.

Then it became something else.

My thoughts drift—as they always seem to lately—to a girl with sharp blue eyes and a stubborn mouth.

Arwen.

Just thinking about her tightens something deep in my chest. The bond almost feels normal now. Like an uncomfortable side effect that you learn to live with.

It snapped into place during the ceremony before I even realized what was happening. One moment I was sitting there like everyone else, the next it felt like something inside my chest had detonated silently as a small redhead walked across the stage with her head down.

Thankfully, I was so in shock that I didn’t make a sound. And neither did she.

Lust’s don’t bond.

Bodies are currency here. Commitment belongs to your den. Hearts aren’t really part of the equation. I doubt any of us in this shithole even have a heart.

Movement catches my eye as we slow down in traffic. Above us on a patio facing the inner city, a woman is bent over the railing. A heavy weigh man pounds into her from behind, eyes rolling to the back of his head in ecstasy.

The second woman on the patio has her nose pressed to a table as her tits spill out of her bikini.

A billboard directly above them shows a smiling man and woman posing with 3 kids, all in matching clothes. The sign lights up in bright words, “Family Friendly!”

Damien takes his foot off the breaks as we inch forward.

After the ceremony, I told myself I was only watching her because Ryker had taken an interest. That keeping an eye on her was just another way to stay useful.

But somewhere along the way it got harder to pretend and ignore the truth.

One moment she was just the girl I’d been observing from the edge of Ryker’s circle.

The next she was under my skin.

I expected her to fold to Ryker’s charms immediately. Suck all the power and attention up that he gave her. She certainly needs someone in her corner of his caliber.

Unfortunately, the universe enjoys a good joke because I’m not the only one tied to her.

After her trial at the end of the semester, the rumors spread faster than wildfire. The bond ceremony had not only linked her to me but also linked her to Atticus Willshire. The ‘Golden Heir’ of Pride. Future Council seat. The kind of man whose name already carries weight in every faction.

As if that wasn’t absurd enough, Ryker claimed his father said a proximity bond formed during the trial itself.

Maddox West.

Another Councilor’s son and one of the most dangerous gang leaders in Gluttony.