Otherworldly Bad Boys: Three Complete Novels (60 page)

“We need you in the living room,” said Adelaide.

“She’s out of breath,” Carter snapped. “I’m getting her a glass of water. She probably ran the whole way here.”

My heart sang. He cared.

Then I felt like crying. What was going to happen?

I perched on one of the armchairs in Carter’s living room. He brought me the water, and I sipped it slowly. It was soothing, but nothing else was.

Carter sat in another chair, and Adelaide and Bancroft were across the room from us, on the couch.

For a long time, it was quiet, and it was awkward. I kept thinking of the last time I’d seen Carter. He hadn’t been wearing any clothes then. He’d been happy. I’d been happy. Now... Crap, what had I gotten myself into?

Reba said I would lose my scholarship. If that happened, I’d have to go back to my aunts. I didn’t relish the idea of trying to explain to them what I’d done.

Bancroft cleared his throat. “Listen, Teagan, we want you to understand that this is a safe place. So, you can tell us anything that Professor Alexander forced you to do, and he won’t have the power to retaliate against you, no matter what he’s threatened.”

I furrowed my brow. “No, it wasn’t like that.”

“Would you feel more comfortable if we made him leave the room?” asked Adelaide.

“No. I’d rather he stayed.” I caught his eye, hoping for a reassuring look, but he looked hollow and haggard.

Adelaide looked back and forth between the two of us. “I see.”

“So, then, you’re saying that the, um, interaction between you and the professor was consensual,” said Bancroft.

I looked down at my fingers. “Yes. It wasn’t his fault.” I bit my lip. “Please, he’s a good professor. What happened between us was nothing to do with his job, and I don’t think you should penalize him for—”

“It’s okay, Miss Moss.” Carter’s voice was quiet. “You don’t need to defend me.”

Adelaide let out a high-pitched laugh. “I must admit, I wasn’t expecting this.”

Carter sighed. “Adelaide, please. I don’t see why she has to be here.”

She turned on him, her eyes hard. “She’s part of this. An integral part.”

Bancroft looked confused. “You
willingly
sought out Professor Alexander? Really?”

“Yes,” I said. Was that hard to believe? Everyone agreed how attractive he was. Of course, everyone also thought he was a big asshole.

“But we kept hearing that he was insulting you in front of all these other students,” said Bancroft.

Adelaide sneered. “That was your cover, I suppose. How long has it been going on, Carter?”

Wait a minute. I was pretty sure that Nell had told me that Adelaide and Carter had been a couple last year. I felt mortified. How horribly awkward.

“I don’t see how that’s relevant,” said Carter. “She’s perfectly happy, or she was until this came out. I wasn’t lying about that. Are we done?”

What did my happiness have to do with anything?

“This can’t continue,” said Adelaide. “People have seen you together. If word about this gets out, it tarnishes the reputation of all of Thornfield.”

Carter rolled his eyes. “I hardly think that’s going to be a problem, is it? Reputation is the specialty of our—”

“Careful,” said Adelaide. “Stop your tongue from wagging.” She looked at me. “Unless he’s already been telling you things, Teagan?”

“What?” I said. What was going on here?

“I didn’t tell her anything,” Carter said. “Maybe I should, though. Listen, Miss Moss, I wanted you to know that you’re actually here because—”

“Don’t play ridiculous games,” said Adelaide. She sighed heavily. “You’re actually here because we don’t want to make a big deal out of this.”

“You don’t?” I said.

She shook her head. “No. I think that it will suffice if we simply relieve Professor Alexander from his duties regarding the play you’re participating in.”

Really? That was all? “You’re not going to fire him?”

“As you say, Teagan, he
is
a good professor,” said Bancroft. “We’re honored to have him here.”

“I’m not going to lose my scholarship?”

“My dear, what would give you such an idea?” said Bancroft. “Of course not. Now, your relationship is inappropriate, but it’s not criminal. You’re both adults. It can’t continue, of course, but I don’t think anyone wants to overreact.”

I sat back in my chair. This was weird, wasn’t it? Shouldn’t there be some kind of punishment?

Adelaide stood up. “We’ll be watching you, Carter. You’ll need to keep your pants zipped from now on.”

He flinched.

“I’ll walk you out, Teagan,” said Adelaide.

“Wait,” I said. “That’s it?”

“You’d prefer something worse?” she said.

I looked at Carter. He was staring at the floor.

“Come on, then,” she said.

I stood up.

She put her hand on my arm. “If you attempt to enter this house again, we’ll know, Teagan. And we’ll put a stop to it. You need to stay away from Professor Alexander.”

Her voice. I’d heard it before. She was the one who’d led the chant in the woods. I looked at her sidelong. She was part of Scales and Fangs, wasn’t she?

This was all connected.

What was going on?

* * *

Carter

I slumped in my chair. “I don’t see what the big deal is. I’m supposed to fuck her. So I did it early. What does it matter?”

Adelaide was pacing. She’d sent Marcus home after he’d seemed a little too congratulatory and impressed. I could tell that disgusted Adelaide.

I was a little disgusted by it too. It hadn’t been that way. I hadn’t seduced some innocent young girl, manipulating her into my bed. It had been more like the two of us were drawn together like magnets, and that we’d both fought as hard as we could against it, but that—in the end—we’d succumbed.

And now, I couldn’t see her anymore. I couldn’t even watch her in rehearsals. They’d taken that away from me too.

I knew better than to try to sneak around the society. They had power. They could hurt me if I didn’t follow their directives.

The worst thing was that I’d been planning on subverting them. I’d been planning to rescue Teagan from the ritual. And now, I wasn’t sure how I’d manage that.

She laughed. “Nice try, Carter, but I don’t buy the idea that you’re indifferent about her. You got her a glass of water? You’d never have done that for me, and I let you fuck me for months.”

I winced. “I’m sorry, Adelaide. I’m sorry about all of this. I know it’s awkward. I know it’s embarrassing for you. I never meant—”

“Me to find out,” she said. “I know.”

“That wasn’t what I was going to say.”

“Right. You’ve suddenly developed compassion. How do you suppose Forest feels about that, hmm?”

I sighed.

“You weren’t going to go through with the ritual, were you?”

“Of course I was. I
am
. I will.”

She shook her head. “You stood there in my kitchen and told me it was the most important thing in the world to you, and I believed you, even though I saw the way you’d been looking at her all night. I never thought you were capable of this, Carter. The society would never have picked you if we thought you’d go soft.”

I couldn’t look at her. I guessed she was right. Here I was, planning to throw away everything I’d ever worked for. And over what? Teagan Moss?

Why?

“We were counting on you, Carter.”

I sat up straight in my chair. I had to make a choice here. I could choose protecting Teagan or I could choose Scales and Fangs. I wanted Teagan. I wanted her more badly now than I ever had. And the thought of hurting her was like a dagger in my heart.

But.

I owed Scales and Fangs everything I had. And once I had the power, maybe I could find some way to fix her. Or, at the very least, I’d take care of her. I’d be rich and influential. I’d keep her safe, even if she wasn’t herself anymore. I’d...

I dragged a hand over my face. “You can still count on me, Adelaide.”

She knelt down next to me. “I don’t believe you, Carter.”

“I promise you, I’ll do it. Whatever it means happens to her—” My voice broke.

“You care about her.” It was an accusation, a dirty insult.

“No,” I said.

“You do,” she said. “You care about her. You don’t want anything to happen to her, and you’ll do whatever it is that you can to save her.”

“
No
.”

“She is a means to an end. You can’t afford feelings for her. You have to wipe this from your mind.”

I swallowed. “I know that.”

“It will destroy you if you don’t,” she said. “Just like Armstrong.” She stood up, turned her back to me.

“Did he... care about the girl too?”

“Not at first.” She sighed. “It seems to be a common affliction amongst men who complete this ritual.”

My jaw worked. “He did it anyway.”

“Yes.” She turned to face me. “He had to. The society needed him, and he did his duty. But he never forgave himself.”

It was what I’d just been contemplating. Doing the ritual, and then trying to help Teagan afterwards. It hadn’t worked out very well for Armstrong.

“We picked you because you were ruthless, Carter.”

“I... I didn’t mean...”

“Be ruthless. Forget about her.”

I turned away.

“Whatever the case, you won’t be alone with her again until the two of you are naked on that altar together.” She whisked up her coat from where it was lying over the back of the couch. “And you’ll be chained there if necessary.”

I stood up. “Listen, Adelaide, I swear to you that—”

“One thing
is
different.” She looked thoughtful.

“What?”

“I’ve never heard of the girl caring about the ritual performer before. The last girl certainly fought Armstrong. She seemed to hate him. Considering you’re the biggest jerk on this campus, I’m not sure how you managed it.”

“I’m not a jerk,” I said. And I didn’t manage anything. It simply happened. Why did everyone think I’d manipulated her? I hadn’t wanted this. “You never used to think that.”

“I was an idiot,” she said. She started for the door.

I went after her. “There isn’t another way? Any other way to get the power for the society?”

“No.” She looked at me. “I’m sorry.”

I looked away.

“You
are
going to perform the ritual.”

“Yes,” I said, my voice frayed. And it was true, too. I had thought that I could save Teagan before, but now I realized it was pointless. I had to do my duty. I’d do it. No matter the cost.

That didn’t mean I had to like it.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Teagan

It was black dark outside. There weren’t even stars in the night sky. Just inky blackness. I had waited until after midnight to sneak to Carter’s house. I had to talk to him.

I knew that Adelaide had told me that they’d know if I ever went back, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t leave things that way. Earlier in the day, we’d made love, and we’d been happy. They’d ripped all that away from us. I wouldn’t let that awkward meeting be our goodbye.

Truthfully, I didn’t want to say goodbye at all. I wanted to be with him. I wanted us to find a way to make it happen, even if it could only be with secret getaways away from school. I wished I had the ability to transfer somewhere else. If I wasn’t his student, it wouldn’t matter.

It would be better in so many ways, because I was suspicious of what was going on at Thornfield, and I knew it had something to do with Scales and Fangs. There were too many odd connections.

That was another reason I needed to see Carter. He knew something, and he wasn’t telling me. He needed to explain it to me, especially if I really was in danger, like my aunts thought.

So, under the cover of darkness, I moved like a silent shadow into Carter’s house, making sure that no one saw me. I crept up his steps, into his bedroom.

I found him in his bed, asleep. In the scant light, I could see his sleeping face. He looked so innocent and carefree that way. I bent down and kissed him.

His lips were warm. At first they didn’t move against mine, but then, as he woke up, they stirred, and he kissed me back.

Then he pushed me away. “Teagan?”

“Carter, I needed—”

“You shouldn’t be here.” He shoved aside his covers and got out of bed. “They’ll know you’re here, and they’ll be coming.”

“Who will?” I said. “Scales and Fangs?”

He pulled me into his arms. “Oh, my sweet, sweet Teagan.” He rained kisses over my face. He rested his forehead against mine. “It’s too late. There’s nothing I can do. I have to do it.”