Page 141 of Ruthless Legacy

“You slept with Pax to complete your challenge?”

“I gave him oral, and he fingered me in each hole. We did the bare minimum to get me through the challenge. But I let him get me off with his hands, because it gave me extra points.”

He scrubs his hand across his face.

“I’m sorry. I-”

“What are you sorry for?”

“I told you I don’t want Pax, but I keep hooking up with him.” I told Wolfe what happened on Valentine’s Day and he accepted it, but I told him it wouldn’t happen again. “I should have told you before we slept together.”

He tips my chin up. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. It was an impossible choice. Sexual contact or taking another beating? Sweetness, I’m glad Pax was there, so you could choose the first option, and complete your challenge. I’ve told you I know there’s something between you. You’re just not ready to admit it’s there.”

He drags his sleeping bag over and a blanket, motioning for me to lay down on mine. I do, and he throws the blanket over us. “Get some rest. There’s no telling what challenge they’ll have you do next.”

“You mean you don’t know?”

“No. Not yet. But whatever it is, I’ll make sure you get through it.”

Chapter57

Thea

This is it. The day I get my first official ranking. The newest prospects are on the left, the older first year prospects are on the right, and the second and third years are behind us. Today’s ceremony master calls the room to order and they take attendance for the mid-level and high council.

The rest of us checked in at the door. My ears perk up when attendance is taken for the members joining remotely from New York, DC, Chicago, and several countries in Europe. How big is this organization? I know they extend beyond the state of California, but I thought maybe just the western seaboard.

The next person to speak goes over the previous meeting notes, closes out old business, then officially opens the floor to tonight’s agenda. The official scorekeeper goes through the challenge scores for the last week.

I snicker when they announce the top three teams. The Trium is in the lead, but there are only twenty points separating them from the second-place team, which has way more people.

As I listen, I realize The Trium is the only team with less than six people. Is Pax that annoying that they couldn’t find three other people to join them for challenges?

“Next, we’ll tally the prospect rankings of our newest members from the first day of indoctrination through the end of last week.”

My name is in the middle of the group.

The ceremony master asks, “Scorekeeper, are there any adjustments to the rankings?”

He answers, “There are.”

“Please present the adjustments.”

The scorekeeper reads off names. A few people receive bonus points. Others receive demerits.

“Theona LaReaux, twenty demerits for the following infractions. Refusal to accept an assignment to a guardian line, and rejecting the first four invitations to appear for preliminary screening to join The League of the Daggered Raven.”

So they’re basically penalizing from a time I wasn’t affiliated with them, because they decided I wasn’t being a team player?

It’s bullshit. Utter and complete bullshit. Someone snickers, and someone else says I’ll be dismissed at the next score reading.

As if that would hurt my feelings. It wouldn’t. Not if I actually flunked out. But getting ranked at the bottom for shit that happened before I agreed to join? I’m not gonna just roll over with that.

I unclench my jaw and paste a serene expression on my face, so nobody knows just how pissed I am. I make the mistake of looking to the left and catching Eloise’s attention. She’s at the top of the post indoctrination board for the women, and fourth from the bottom for the men.

They’ve all got an advantage over me. The girls all grew up here, and the guys come from families who are active in The League, so they have people they can talk to. I’m going through this on my own. Not even Joshua’s previous involvement would help, since he’s been out of the game for eighteen years.

The scorekeeper lowers the list he’s reading from and says, “In accordance with our bylaws, all points adjusted through demerit are up for grabs.”

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