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My cheeks flood with embarrassment at him seeing me like this, until my eyes meet his once more, and all I can see reflected is fire. He’s looking at me like he wants to devour me whole, and it makes my knees weak.

Lawson places his hand against the wall beside my head, blocking me in even further, and when I take a breath, all I can smell is him…and it’s all kinds of intoxicating.

“Why didn’t you stand up for yourself?” His voice is deep and gravelly, but there’s a sternness to it that puts me on edge.

I shrug my shoulders. “There’s no point. A proper lady knows how to remain quiet and not cause a scene.” I’m just spitting out a pre-rehearsed line that I was taught growing up.

With his free hand, he hooks his finger under my chin and lifts my head until I meet his gaze. I shiver under the intensity and his touch. He’s so close, his breath fans across my face.

“I’ll admit, there’s something incredibly sexy about seeing a woman submit, but it’s even hotter when she puts up a fight.”

The innuendo in his words sends butterflies through my stomach, and my core clenches in a very unfamiliar way. The corner of his lip tips up into his signature smirk, as if he can see the way my body is reacting to him.

He tilts his head toward my ear, moving so close his lips are almost touching my lobe. I ball my hands into fists to stop from reaching out, as the overwhelming urge to touch him grows.

“If you want to show you still have power and status, even without your family name, you’ll need to act like it. Tillie knows she’s powerful, which is why she acts like a bitch. If you learn to stand up for yourself, she’ll quickly realise that you haven’t fallen like she believes you have, and she’ll think twice about messing with you.”

I tilt my head to look at him once more, trying to see behind the mask of indifference he wears so well. “Why are you telling me this? Why are you helping me?”

He takes a small step back, and I’m very grateful as it allows me to clear my head just a little. With my senses not overwhelmed by all things Lawson, I can actually think straight.

“I have a very selfish reason. I want you to agree to be my Prize.” His casual words hang in the air, a stark contrast to the sudden cold that prickles my skin. I flinch, the sharp sound of my own gasp echoing in the sudden quiet.

I shake my head in confusion; stunned and a little intrigued by his suggestion.

Of course, I know what a Prize is, though many girls on campus probably don’t. If you’re a daughter, raised in an Obsidian family, you will be one of two things—a Wife or a Prize, but you can’t be both.

Coming from a high-ranking Obsidian family, there was never any doubt that I’d be an Order Wife, which is why I had to remain a virgin, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t learn all about the other option that wasn’t even presented to me.

Every third-year Pledge is gifted a Prize at the start of the school year, and that girl is theirs until they graduate. She must gift herself willingly, but once she does, she belongs to him—mind, body, and soul. He can do whatever he wants with her, and she has to obey.

That a guy like Lawson would want me as his Prize is frankly baffling, but it calls to a part of me I’ve kept hidden for a very long time. The part of me that is secretly intrigued by the idea of being a Prize, and all that it entails.

Despite him calling to a dark, repressed part of my soul, there’s only one answer I can give him. “I can’t be your Prize. I still plan to be an Order Wife in the future; that hasn’t changed. Besides, I’d never lower myself to be your whore.”

As I say the final word, a shiver of excitement ripples through me, and I have to push the thoughts away, but I can tell Lawson saw. He laughs, his silver gaze sparkling with something that can only resemble a challenge, and it sets my nerves on edge.

He leans closer until his lips are right beside mine, and I have to hold my breath as I stay as still as possible. “I guess we’ll have to see what happens, sweetheart. I think you’ll find being my Prize—my whore—is the best future you can hope for.”

Before I have the chance to respond, he takes a step back, spins around and walks away, as if he didn’t just shake me to my very core. All I can think about, as he gets further away, is the way his eyes blazed when he called me his whore, and how much I liked the idea.

It’s been two days since Lawson told me he wanted me to be his Prize, and I’ve barely been able to think about anything else. I don’t know why, but there’s a dark part of me that’s intrigued by his offer and is genuinely considering it.

Lawson Radley is the highest-ranking Crow for a reason—he’s deadly, ruthless, and cold, but I have always wondered if that’s just a role he plays. That maybe nobody has ever seen the real Lawson, but that could just be wishful thinking. Maybe he’s exactly as he appears.

The one thing I am thankful for is that I’ve not had any more run-ins similar to that first day. Don’t get me wrong, I still get stared at constantly, and people throw hateful comments my way, or call me names, but it’s not gotten physical again, which I’m grateful for. I’d have to take Lawson’s suggestion into consideration if it had.

As soon as Wren found out what happened, she wanted to wage war on Tillie and Sienna, and I couldn’t help but smile at the rage and hurt she felt on my behalf. I hate that she agrees with Lawson, and thinks I need to defend myself.

I didn’t tell her about his suggestion at first…mostly because I didn’t want her to try talking me into it. She’s never been supportive of me remaining a virgin until marriage, but she doesn’t come from our world. She only knows about the Obsidian Order through me.

When we met on our trial day, the summer before starting university, it was nice to meet someone who didn’t belong in our world. She’s from a working-class background, and her family worked their arses off to send her to Shadowmere.

Initially, she thought the four Houses were nothing more than pretentious frats, who ruled the school because of their wealth, status, and reputation. But as our friendship grew, and I learnt I could trust her more than anyone else in my life, I explained all about the Obsidian Order and the world I grew up in.

Generally, the Order’s existence is kept secret, but Wren attending their parties with me would draw attention to her. Her lack of status means she’ll never be an Order Wife, but it doesn’t stop someone from wanting her as a Prize, and that’s the loophole I used to enlighten my best friend on the life I grew up in.

While Wren supports me at Order events, she’s also determined that I experience some of what life has to offer for a normal student. Which is how I find myself being dragged to the campus pub after a really long week.