Page 109 of Saint

Declan chuckles as I walk over to the table, setting down the knife and trading it for bolt cutters.

“No one caresifyou fuck your girlfriend, Zane. The issue iswhen.” Declan pats him on the shoulder. “Any other year, you could have fucked her all you wanted. Her. Her friends. Some slut at a party. No one would give a shit. But you knew the rules we laid out for you, and it was pretty fucking clear. No sex.”

“What does my being celibate have to do with anything?” Zane laughs, not realizing he’s proving our point further by asking that question.

Not all the trials are transparent, but this one should be obvious, even for an airhead like him.

“It’s just a fucking trial.” Zane shrugs.

I turn to face him with the bolt cutters at my side. “That comment right there is why you fucking your girlfriend is the least of our concerns.”

Not only that, but it’s also pathetic.

Thirty days is nothing like the yearlong term the House inflicted on me with Violet. Most trials aren’t nearly that long, but given I passed the first six easily and it was my final one, they wanted to be sure I was committed before handing me my legacy.

Zane couldn’t make it three weeks.

Not for himself.

Not for the House.

To him, it’s just sex with his girlfriend, but to us, he’s revealed his lack of self-control. A quality that will fall back on the House eventually when it’s clear he doesn’t understand loyalty.

If it were just me and him in this room, I’d be tempted to do worse than I will. There’s nothing more disgusting than lying, backstabbing pieces of shit.

“Fine, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was this big of an issue. I’ll start over. I’ll pass this time.” Zane’s bargaining now, panicking as I approach with the bolt cutters in hand.

“That’s not how this works.” I shake my head.

Marco and Asher move to either side, holding his arms down while Declan takes the spot behind him.

Declan has one of his favorite chains, wrapping it around Zane’s neck to secure him in place while Marco and Asher hold his arms down.

“Take from the House, and we take from you.” I stop in front of Zane, and Asher peels one of his fingers from the chair to hold it up for me.

Wrapping the bolt cutters around it, I snap his finger off at the first knuckle, and the entire room echoes with his scream.

It’s satisfying to the point where I’d like to clip off a few more. I’d like to cut him piece by piece from his fingers to his limbs. Chop him up just to show him what a disloyal piece of shit he is.

Marco, Asher, and Declan release him, and he grabs his hand. He’s screaming and bleeding all over himself.

“Asshole.” Zane’s dark eyes fill with rage.

“That’s us taking it easy. Repeat this to anyone, and you’ll lose the part I’d much rather be cutting off right now.” My gaze moves down to between his legs, and his whole body tenses. “I’m sure half the female population at your high school would thank me for it.”

“Take him to the hospital,” Declan says to Marco and Asher. “It looks like he accidentally lost a finger trying to fix something.”

Zane’s still screaming as Marco and Asher lead him from the basement. He’ll hate us for what happened in this room but won’t say shit about what we’ve done.Sigma House has our reputation for a reason. We don’t make empty threats.

The door closes behind Marco and Asher, leaving Declan and me in silence.

“Feels like a fucking waste.” Declan stops at my side, still holding the chain. “It’s so much more fun when they fail out after three or four.”

I glance over at him, and I can only imagine what Declan’s picturing. Sometimes, I think the only reason Declan fits in around here is because Sigma House gives him an outlet for his sadistic tendencies.

“You’re sick.”

He shrugs. “You’re no better.”

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