Page 144 of Claiming Pretty

I fought the primal urge to reach out, to clutch his wrist, to beg him not to go. But I couldn’t. Not if we were going to survive this nightmare.

“Now, Mr. Donahue,” the dean’s voice cut through the moment, sharp and commanding. There was no room for defiance.

Ciaran’s hand slipped off my thigh, and I heard his footsteps moving away, each step feeling like a blow. He was leaving me behind.

My chest tightened, panic clawing at the edges of my resolve.

“Give that to me,” I heard him mutter to someone.

And then, suddenly, his footsteps returned and before I could process it, he draped a cloth over my exposed body, the weight of it feeling both protective and crushing.

“Nobodytouches her,” his voice echoed through the chamber, a fierce command. “Or I’ll tear their fucking arm off and beat them to death with it.”

For a moment, everything was still; even the tomb seemed to hold its breath.

I could almost feel the fingers sliding onto the triggers.

Then the dean laughed, breaking the tension like snapping bone. “Mr. Donahue, please. We’re not savages. No one’s going to touch your property.”

His property.

Rage flared hot and fast in my chest, so potent it almost forced me to break character.

God, I couldn’t wait to burn their fucking sick, misogynistic society to the ground.

The heavy door groaned as it creaked shut behind them, the sound echoing like a death knell. And then, silence.

But I wasn’t alone.

The air in the chamber shifted, tense and charged, and I caught the faintest shuffle of movement. Someone was still here. Someone was getting closer.

I stopped breathing, straining every nerve to listen.

My skin prickled with the undeniable sensation of being watched, of eyes raking over me, assessing, judging. My pulse pounded, deafening in my ears, and I prayed they couldn’t see it hammering at the base of my throat.

The sheet was ripped away from me so violently it was as if the room itself exhaled in shock. My body joltedinstinctively, but I swallowed the scream that clawed its way up my throat.

A presence loomed above me, heavy and oppressive. Fear slammed into me, twisting my insides into knots.

No. Oh God, no.

Ciaran’s words meant nothing now. His decree that no one touch me was worthless against whatever monster the dean had left behind.

I could feel the heat of his breath against my skin, hear the low rasp of his breathing as he leaned closer.

My mind spiraled, wild with terror, as I imagined what was about to happen.

What if there’s more than one? What if they all—

Time warped, stretching into a cruel mockery of itself. Seconds felt like hours as my mind fought to reconcile my rising panic with the cold logic of survival.

Could I keep pretending I was unconscious if they decided to violate me? Could I endure this charade at the cost of my soul?

No.Fury surged like wildfire in my veins, burning away the paralysis of fear.

I wouldn’t let them take another piece of me. I wouldn’t lie there, motionless, while they shred my body to pieces.

I’d rather die fighting than let the Sochai steal any more of my soul from me.

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