Page 51 of The Masks She Wore

?I glanced down at her, taking in the way she rested in my arms, her breathing slow and even. I liked that I wiped her of her energy, but I had to give credit where credit was due. She had an eventful night, her adrenaline spiking and feigning every hour or so. It was enough to make this woman who suffered from nightmares every night, absolutely exhausted.

?Malachi was waiting for me at the top of the steps, looking from Rae to me. “The Police Captain’s wife is telling her husband not to pursue, and I saw young Max clutching his wrist when he disappeared into that maze after her. You’re becoming reckless.”

?Not reckless, I was making it a point to those who dared touch her that she was protected. “I’m claiming her,” I announced, walking right past him. “She’s mine. My claim. Nobody touches her now but me.”

?Malachi was quiet until we reached the bottom of the stairs. “You’re the first. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

?I absolutely did.

?It was a play on Malachi’s ‘falling in love’ law. This wasn’t love, the was possession. Everett, Azrael, and I knew that we weren’t capable of love as Malachi saw it, so we shifted the wording, created a law we could abide by if we so choose.

?We were allowed a possession. A Claim. One partner we wanted to keep as our ‘prisoner’ to use, to fuck, to throw away, whatever we wanted, that’s what they needed to be to us.

?Greyson was capable of love, so this law didn’t apply to him, he chose to back out of it, but we did make it known to the Initiates in the program before they went through it.

?Once you went through the training, something inside of you snapped. It changed a person deeply and irrevocably. This was the perfect law for those of us who wanted a permanent toy.

?This toy was ours to control, to use, to treat however we wanted, but once she became a part of The Family, she became one to protect. If Azrael beat on his girl, we were obligated to protect her as we would protect our sisters, but there was a difference between beating just to beat, and causing pain because it enhanced the pleasure.

?A Claim wasn’t necessarily a part of The Family until Malachi gave his blessing, so until then, the girls were on their own to a point.

?I wouldn’t say I would hold my tongue if I saw my brothers doing something stupid, but I wasn’t obligated to do anything before the blessing either.

?“Are you sure about this?” Malachi asked, opening the door for me.

?I slid Rae into the car carefully and buckled her up. “Yes. Where’s Zo?”

?“Staying to see if she can spot who tried to poison her.”

?Good.

?I walked around the car, sliding in beside her to make sure her head wouldn’t fall at an odd angle before giving the driver her address.

?I carefully brushed the hair from her eyes and admired the way her dark lashes brushed her skin. “You need more training if this is how tired you get after such a short amount of time.”

?She released a heavy breath, but didn’t say anything, and I foundmyself smiling.

?“Don’t worry, Princess, you’re mine now. You’ll learn how this works soon enough.”

~~~

I carried her up to her suite, easily unlocking the door and slowed when I found Azrael staring out her balcony windows.

?I kicked the door shut and frowned. This was exactly what I didn’t want to deal with tonight. “What are you doing here?”

?Azrael turned, taking in the scene, wearing that mask of his as he always did, his creepy cane gripped in his left hand. He didn’t even need a cane, I think he carried it around because it set a sort of tone for him that people couldn’t ignore. “Malachi called me and said you’ve made a claim.” He cocked his head to one side. “You’re projecting,” he hummed.

?I snarled quietly under my breath and carried her to her room. I was the oldest one of us, the third most level-headed one, why were they questioning my decision?

?I placed her on her bed and put a sheet over her, not wanting to clean her up with an audience. Although, I had to admit, seeing her red and used had me wanting to take her again.

?I’d lick that blood away with my tongue, leaving bite marks instead.

?But now I had something else I needed to deal with.

?With one last look, I turned and headed for the door.

?“What’s your name?” she asked tiredly just as I opened the door.

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