A few girls have to swallow back their disappointment and fear when their name is called. I worry about them, but I’m also scared shitless when it comes to my fate.
Sebastien Reynolds is the first Heir to be called forward. No surprise when the notorious playboy of Harmony Heights High laughs before refusing to Claim any of the remaining Offering.
Same thing with Dallas. He’s scowling as his father calls his name, answering with a succinct ‘no’ before returning to his place beside Adrian.
I’ve been doing my best to ignore Adrian as much as I can. Just now, I can’t help it, and it annoys the piss out of me that he looks… bored. Seriously. One hand rests in the pocket of his pants while the other holds another cigarette. Every now and then, he takes a drag before exhaling on a sigh as though this entire ceremony is inconveniencing him.
You and me both, asshole.
My nerves are only getting worse the longer this goes on. It sucks, and it sucks even more because, for the first time since I understood how this ceremony was supposed to go once I was old enough to attend it, I genuinely have no clue what's going to happen.
Technically, Adrian is supposed to Claim me. That's what everybody expects. It was decided long ago, but after what happened… there’s no way in hell he’s going to pretend like his affair with Loni never existed and tell all of Harmony Heights that he plans on marrying me.
I’m right, too. When Jack Collins calls his name, Adrian drops his cigarette to the grass. I see his shoulders shift and assume he’s putting it out before it adds to the conflagration. Then, with every eye gathered darting from Adrian to me and back, he shrugs.
“No, thanks.”
The gathered crowd goes still. I find myself able to breathe a little easier, though that doesn’t quite last when Jack Collins glares at his nephew.
“Are you sure about that, Adrian?”
“I am, Uncle Jack. I won’t be Claiming anyone here tonight.”
Tonight, I notice. Adrian is exercising his right to wait until the next Claiming ceremony or the ones after that, but because the charter says he has time to take a bride, he’s refusing to Claim me during this one.
Am I glad? Hell, yeah. I didn’t want to marry Adrian Heller, even if his uncle got some crazy idea in his head that I should. Then again, it’s not Adrian I was really worried about…
For a moment, it’s like the King doesn’t want to move on to the next Owed. He finally does, and I don’t think anyone is surprised when Desmond refuses to Claim an Offering. The next four Owed do, and by the time Jack Collins calls out, “Connor Heyward,” half of the Offering pool has been chosen.
Maybe I’m overly sensitive, but as Connor takes a lazy stroll forward, I notice a couple of girls on my side straightening up some, maybe even smoothing their dresses or showing off their tits, anything to catch his attention.
I fold my hands behind my back, not because I’m doing the same, but because I can’t keep myself from shaking—and I’ll be damned if Connor notices.
Two months ago, he kissed me.
Two months ago, he promised that I was his and he was mine.
Two months ago, he told me he'd Claim me.
Me? I told myself not to believe him. I spent the last eight weeks reminding myself that Connor never means half the ridiculous things that come out of his mouth.
And yet… what if he does?
I suck in a breath as his gaze goes from one Offering to the next before landing on me.
“Connor Heyward? Do you Claim an Offering?”
He winks at me. I swear he does. And then, turning toward the King, he says, “Nah. I’m good,” and I don’t know if I want to thank him for not making it so that I’m stuck with him as a joke or fuckingthrottlehim that he played with me over the most important ceremony in the Order charter.
It sucks. His rejection—if that’s what it is—hits even harder than Adrian’s. At least Adrian never acted like I was anything more than another inconvenience in his perfect life. But Connor… that kiss messed with me, and for a moment there, I thought:what if?
I should’ve known better than to believe anything Connor Heyward said.
Next time, I won’t. And when I’m not Claimed—by Connor, by Adrian, byanyone—at this ceremony or any of those thatfollow, I decide that I’ll never let any of the Heirs get under my skin again.
They already cost me my best friend. I’ll be damned if they cost me my freedom and my future, too.
ONE
