Page 131 of The Order

“Get your fucking hands off-”

“I don’t think I will,” he interrupts, his fingers moving towards the front of my thigh. Fallan’s rage is palpable as he sets down the bottle of champagne and begins rolling up his sleeves.

“What do you think you're doing?” Josh questions playfully. Every scenario I play out in my mind ends with Josh face down in a pool of his own blood. There's no guarantee I’ll be able to control the bloodlust threatening to consume me. To make things worse, there are surveillance cameras in every corner of the room we’re in.

Fallan circles Josh with a look of malice. I see the shift in his eyes. I feel the energy he pulls from me. Josh’s nails dig into my skin as his body tenses in anticipation.

“Let her go,” Fallan says, his voice commanding and powerful.

Like an obedient dog, Josh releases me, and I move away from him the moment I'm free. I shift behind Fallan, keeping a safe distance to avoid suspicion if someone is watching through the camera feed.

“What are you doing,”I question silently to him through the connection.

“Debating whether or not I have him snap his own neck,”he says, his energy continuing to wane.

I grab his arm, trying to calm him down.

“Fallan,” I whisper, feeling his body relax. “Let him go,” I say. He looks over his shoulder at me before finally releasing Josh from his invisible grasp.

Gradually, I back away from the two of them, watching Josh blink, clutching his head with a dazed expression.

“What happened?” Josh questions, looking between the two of us.

“Dinner is ready,sir,” Fallan snaps at him coldly. “I came in here to get you, and you were standing in the middle of the room, mumbling to yourself,” Fallan says, my hand covering my smile as Josh slowly looks around.

“Right,” Josh says, looking between us. “No need to linger. Move,” Josh says, urging Fallan to leave the room.

I take the opportunity to walk beside Fallan out of the room, wishing more than ever that my lips could explore that lovely smile painting his face as we exit.

It’s nothing more than a foolish fantasy.

The table’s spread is beautiful, decorated with small gourds and crisp foliage. Bundles of cinnamon and spiced cones surround the area. I take in the smells around me, watching Fallan linger close to the wall, giving me a small smile each time I look at him.

A few members of upper leadership speak to Adam. Each time a new group of people walks through the door, my parents greet them and make small talk. Josh sits at the table, flirting with some of the daughters of the other Officials. I watch Fallan eye the man, his voice broody in my mind.

“Would it be worth it to make him drop that whole glass of champagne on the girl next to him?”he questions, my eyes averting to the girl in his company.

"It would be a shame to ruin such a pretty dress,”I admit, appreciating the light pinks wrapped around her slender frame.

Fallan moves to hand out more drinks, his body working past me as his voice reaches my ear.

“Your dress outshines everyone else’s,” he whispers, my cheeks reddening.

I feel my stomach toss. The rasp in his voice enough to drive me insane.

I’m continuously tormented by his influx of emotions. One moment, he hates me. The next, he’s ready to back me into a wall and make me his.

I hear my brother’s voice boom as he enters the dining hall. He’s jovial and his words are vibrant and playful as he continues to converse with the man entering by his side. Xavier smiles ear to ear at my brother's words, his black suit tailored to perfection.

Kai clings to the man for some comfort, ignoring the other kid’s kiss-ass attitudes, giving them little attention. I see Adam eyeing Fallan, watching him work through the room. I see the moment Fallan spots Xavier next to my brother. They exchange deep looks of distaste, suffocating the space with menacing energy. I see a metal flask hidden in my brother's coat, giving Xavier a wide-eyed look of uncertainty.

“I think Blondie might have given your brother some liquid courage,”Fallan whispers. I frown at them as they approach.

I toy with the necklace Xavier returned to me, watching his hands go up in protest before I can even get a word in.

“It was mine. He’s the one who decided I was an open bar,” Xavier says. My brother's lazy, drunken grin is enough to make anyone laugh.

“You're all a bunch of prudes,” Kai says, looking around the room. “This house is horrid,” he continues, his arms wrapping around me.

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