Page 47 of Ruthless Legacy

Coxsuckers one, two and three are posted up outside of Vale Tower when I get back from the open house. It’s clear from the disgusted look on Pax’s face that I’m in for an unpleasant encounter. “What were you doing in the Lion’s Den?”

“Learning to roar.” They all look at me like I’m crazy, but I’m serious. In the history of the pack session, we learned the history behind the Lady Lions’ roar.

The early founders took the notion that women are told to scream for help, but inherently unless you’re an opera singer shattering glass or a banshee, it’s a weaker sound. They came up with the idea that a louder, more powerful vocal warning or SOS is to roar. It’s deeper, more guttural. Powerful, and won’t strain your voice as quickly. I loved that and will be adapting the roar to my fighting tool box.

“I thought we were clear, but apparently not, so I’ll lay this out for you one more time. As a legacy heir, you’re forbidden from joining The Lady Lions.”

“Did you know that originally The Lady Lions had the largest number of legacy members? It was nearly six to one for all other sororities on campus.”

“Is that the lie they told you?” Pax snorts.

“That is what they told us, but they also suggested we take a trip to Heritage Hall and see for ourselves.”

“That’ll be a waste of your time. There’s nothing in Heritage Hall to support that lie.”

I shrug. “Maybe not, or maybe you’re the one being lied to. Either way, I’m interested in learning more about The Lady Lions in the coming weeks.”

“How stupid are you? The Lady Lions don’t really want you. This is a game to them. They just want to use you to embarrass The Trium, and stick it to the Nus.”

He storms off, leaving Finn and Holden to try to smooth things over. It won’t work. “Don’t even try to undermine what he said. He meant it. Anyone’s interest in me is only because of the status that Joshua’s name would give me. Or do you think I’m too stupid to figure that out too?”

I sidestep them to get into the building. I’m fuming by the time I reach my floor. Pax has this annoying habit of saying shit, like he’s issuing a royal decree, then storming off, so I can’t respond. I can work out for myself the tension between the organizations, and I know their interest in me stems from my feud with Eloise. That doesn’t invalidate the foundation of what they built their sorority on. And really, why should Zeta Nu hold the monopoly on legacy students?

I like what I’ve seen from the Lady Lions so far. The last time I thought about pledging was to support LJ. This time, if I do it, it’ll be because it’s the right choice for me.

* * *

Pax

We told Thea to stay away from The Lady Lions and Prides, and what does she do when she sees us crossing The Circle? She walks right up to them and sits down in the middle of their little group. I ignore the buzz from the crowd as we make our way over to them, tuning out the murmurs of the people behind us.

We need to squash this latest act of defiance before a new batch of rumors get started, or the parents whose status Laurent leap frogged over, gets wind of her behavior.

Finn scowls at the guy she’s sitting next to. “Didn’t I tell you to stay away from her?”

“You did, but maybe you should have told her to stay away from me.”

Rodney has a point. Thea’s using them to piss us off. I’m over having to deal with her bratty behavior. I’m also impressed that she’s consistently pushing back against us, but I won’t show either reaction. This is just another insignificant moment on an insignificant day. I have to project calmness and control. There’s always someone watching.

Everyone knows Finn’s a hothead, and he acts accordingly. “Oh, I intend to address that right now.” He grabs her arm, pulling her to her feet, and drags her towards our dorm. “Let’s go, Pet.”

She digs her heels in, trying to get him to release her. He spins on her and takes a menacing step forward. “You can either walk or get carried out of here. Your choice.”

“Fine.” She snatches her arm away. “I’ll walk.”

We wait for her to walk ahead of us, and she does, at the slowest pace imaginable. She doesn’t stop until we’re a few feet from Vale Tower. There are too many people out here for this conversation, so we usher her towards the back of the building.

“Oooh. A secluded location. This is very romantic.” She sasses.

Her smile slips when I say, “Romance is the last thing on anybody’s mind when it comes to you.”

“Romance. Toe curling orgasms. Same difference.” Her smile’s back in place. “Did you wanna go first this time?”

“You already know how I feel about touching you.”

“True, but I also know how hard you came when you did. You look a little stressed, big guy. Like you could use a good hard fuck. Toss a paper bag over your head and I can probably take care of that for you.”

Finn cuts into our verbal sparring. “Let’s circle back to that later, Pet. Right now, we need to address your behavior back at The Circle.”

---