Page 18 of The Initiation

“This is our newest initiate.”

Syn has them well trained because the room remains silent.

Either that, or they think this is a joke.

“As the usual program for initiations has ended, this is a special case.”

The first hand goes up, and after Syn’s nod, a senior named Rich stands. He folds his arms, shooting me a look of suspicion before looking back to Syn. “She’s the sister of the guy who killed your brother.”

“Thank you for your astute observation, Brentwood.”

“Why the hell would you let that in?

“I haven’t let her in. I’ve allowed her to try to pass the initiation.” Syn’s voice is cold, but Rich still doesn’t sit back down.

“You can’t do that.”

Syn’s voice drops dangerously low. “I already have.”

I can’t quite see Syn’s face from this angle, but Rich finally sits back down, although he looks far from happy.

A few rows in front, a girl calls out. “We all had to go through the initiation ceremony. None of us are going to want to do that again, especially if we have to fuck her. And she shouldn’t be able to get out of that.”

Although I’m not exactly thrilled at the prospect of having to fuck any of them, that comment hurts.

Hoping that moment of weakness wasn’t noticed, I narrow my eyes and glower in the general direction the voice had come from.

“She has already been through the initiation ceremony,” Syn says. His voice has taken on a biting tone. “And while I can’t say it was anything special, you might want to consider your opinion of yourself, Sienna. And lower it. Considerably.”

I zero in on the commenter in time to see her eyes widen and her cheeks flame. Even if it came with a backhanded compliment, I’ll take it.

Another hand shoots up.

“Farley.”

The sophomore stands, shooting me a sly look before addressing Syn. “What about the rest of the initiation? Is she going to be required to do what we had to?”

“If you are implying that she’s going to receive special treatment, she’s had her one boon. Yes, I have agreed to let her attempt to pass the initiation outside of the usual timeframe, however, what was once shared by sixteen of you, will be carried by her alone. Assuming, of course, no one’s standards are too high.”

From the angle of his head, and the way Sienna ducked hers, I’m sure that was directed at her, but I felt the bite of that too.

For the last two years, I’ve worked hard to train myself into keeping a blank expression—making sure my feelings and opinions are not plastered over my face. Right now, it’s taking everything in me to keep myself expressionless.

“She’s going to be put in stocks and have all the guys line up to fuck her face?” Pepper-Rose asks. “Put on call to be the senior’s fuck toy?”

The room is silent. Everyone’s waiting for Syn to answer, me included. After seeing the freshmen initiations, I assumed a number of sexual acts would be required of me, but I never really considered what they’d be.

Maybe I’d not wanted to in case I talked myself out of this.

Although my eyes are open, I’m not seeing the room. Instead, my mind has wandered, and now all I see is my older brother and how much he changed between him being free and the last time I visited him in prison.

He would have graduated last year, but instead, he looked like he was in his thirties. His hair was at that length where it’s clear it’s not a fashion choice, and as someone who would keep his hair just long enough to style with gel, combined with the lack of daily shaving, he looked like he had given up.

Considering he’s sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole, I understand why. But I am here because I know he’s innocent, and if I can find some way to prove that no matter how long the process takes for his appeal to go through and for him to be exonerated, I can at least give him something to look forward to again.

The idea of being here as an initiate seemed impossible only a couple of weeks ago, and yet, here I am. This is my glimmer of hope.

Syn is going to make this hard for me. There’s no doubt about that. And even if I somehow pass all the tests, I expect that I’ll still be told no.

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