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I heard William, Dante, and Mateo each reach their climax.
The buzzing in my head increased. I felt it deep in my body. The heaviness. I was still inside Sian, but the world had started to spin.
I felt a little sick.
And then, all at once, the world went black.
Chapter Nineteen
Dante
I fucking hated that ceremony.
That was my first thought. The next was the pain on my back. I groaned as I came to on my bed in the dorm.
What the fuck?
Sitting bolt upright, I glanced around the room, a little out of it.
I was naked. Climbing out of my bed, I rushed toward the mirror and I saw why my back was fucking hurting. I’d been given a tattoo.
“Fuck!”
“Holy fucking shit.”
I heard the sudden shout and rushed out of my bedroom just as Gideon, William, Mateo, and Sian did.
We were all naked apart from Sian.
I turned my back. “Did you see what they’ve fucking done! What is it? I can’t get a good read on it!”
“It’s the All Saints crest. My dad has one. It’s part of the token. The initiation process,” Gideon said.
“Oh, yeah, where the fuck is yours?” I asked.
Gideon showed me his arm.
Mateo had his on his calf. That one looked like it would hurt.
William’s was on his chest, above his heart. “I don’t think they fucking thought too brightly about where mine is placed.”
“It’s subtle,” Gideon said. “Only if you get close enough do you see the initials of The Society.”
I turned to Sian. “Do you have one?”
She opened her robe and there on her hip was a small inking, exactly like ours. “Mine has a G, W, M, and D around it. I guess that makes me yours. I can’t recall if my mom ever had one of these.”
“She would have,” I said. “You just didn’t know what you were looking for.”
“I guess this means we fulfilled what they wanted? We’re part of their world right now, huh?”
Gideon closed the distance and went to Sian, pulling her into a tight embrace. I smiled.
I knew Gideon. He hadn’t liked any part of last night. In fact, I’d say that he really didn’t like last night.
“So, what does this mean?” Mateo asked.
“I’m not a virgin after last night.”
“I tried to make it good for you,” Gideon said.
Sian put a hand to his cheek. “You did. How are you guys holding up? The card told me that I had to give myself to you all completely. I’m a little sore though. Do you think we could, you know, wait?”
I frowned. “Of course.”
Mateo and William said the same thing.
We all stood in stunned silence.
“I can’t believe we did that.”
“And it’s November first,” I said. “Fucking wow.”
Halloween night had been lingering over our heads like some kind of curse. I was happy it was over, but I also know it meant we were going to be tested.
“Do you guys want to get out of here?” Sian asked. “Maybe go someplace that isn’t, you know, school?”
We all agreed.
Thirty minutes later, we left the school. Gideon drove us again, and we headed to a fast-food joint that served breakfast. We didn’t go inside but went around the drive-thru. I was starved and ordered three of their breakfast sandwiches.
Sian had their vegan options, of course.
The rest of the guys seemed to be as hungry as me. Once we had our food, we climbed out and walked over to one of the benches. It was cold, but we’d all dressed up prepared.
“What happens now?” Sian asked. “I know we have to finish school.”
“My dad said we will be given instructions when The Society wants us to do something. We can’t question it. We do it. We have to show our faith and absolute loyalty to them.”
Sian frowned and put down her vegan burger. “But what if it’s something we don’t agree to?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. It could be anything. I’m not going to ruin someone’s life because I’m told to,” she said.
“We’re all going to be in this together. It means doing a lot of stuff we’re not proud of.” I looked toward Gideon.
None of us could say anything else to offer comfort. We were all in the same boat. None of us knew what was coming or what was expected of us.
With the elephant settling between us, I picked up my sandwich and ate, losing my appetite as I thought about what could or couldn’t be.
One thing was for certain, our lives were never going to be the same again.
****
Sian
Monday morning started off strange. I was still sore from what happened Halloween night, and the tattoo I’d been given. The guys were treating me like I was delicate. As if I was going to fall and break at a moment’s notice. I wasn’t.
Being with Gideon the first time had been surreal. Not totally unpleasant and not great either.
