Page 57 of Bear
My brow darts together, and I scramble from the bed. Mason’s eyes connect with mine at the same time I hear the patio door open. I hurry to join him on the balcony.
“Hey! Up here. Do I need to come down?” Mason shouts as we watch Duke storm back over toward the pool where Bear has pushed himself out of the water and is standing there like the football god that he is. Water drips down his six-foot-six frame as he gestures to the outdoor shower and begins to move in that direction.
Duke turns and squints as he looks up toward the balcony, and nods, beckoning with one hand. “Get the fuck down here, we’ve got a problem.” He’s holding some sort of paper, and I can only imagine that whatever is on it can’t be good from the irate expression on his face.
I’ve seen Duke pissed before, but this is so far beyond that it scares me.
Mase rubs his hand over his jaw and shakes his head, as he ushers me into the bedroom with a hand at my back. “Whatever it is isn’t good. Just so you’re aware. I don’t wanna say he’s panicking, but…”
“I know. You’re right.”
We make for the hallway, faintly able to hear Duke’s agitated voice from here. I don’t question Mason’s assumption that I should be coming with him. I’m unsure whether Duke wants me down there or not if it’s strictly brotherhood business. It won’t hurt my feelings to be sent back inside.
But I am curious what the hell has him so worked up. I peek at Mason out of the corner of my eye as we thunder down the stairs, worried that whatever is going on will adversely affect his state of mind. So far he seems to be managing himself just fine. The question is how long it will last, because who knows what fresh hell is waiting for us. We hurry toward the back of the house where the sound of raised voices is coming through the open patio doors.
From this distance, I can make out Duke shoving the paper into Bear’s hands before barking, “This isn’t happening.” His hands dive into his hair, his body rigid as he stalks around the patio, pacing.
“You’ve gotta calm down so we can talk about this logically,” comes Bear’s rough voice in return. In the time it took us to get down here, Bear has wrapped himself in a towel and now sits on one of the patio chairs, resting his forearms on his thighs.
I look nervously up at Mason, who shakes his head, brows drawing together as we approach the others. His expression is that of a thundercloud. I wince.Shit, whatever this is, we don’t need it right now.
“Elliot Ashford. Hawthorne Hall,” Bear mutters, his brow furrowing.
From beside me, Mason growls, “Who thefuckis Elliot?”
Elliot Ashford. Hawthorne Hall.It clicks for me a split second later. “The girl. The one with Kingston and those other guys at the party.”
Duke grits his teeth. “She’s their initiate.”
Those words cause a commotion that doesn’t calm for a good thirty seconds, and I have to say, it comes as a surprise to me. These guys may have been told they could treat me like a grunt, but I’ve never once thought it meant I was actually one of them. But this chick… is initiating into a brotherhood? That must be wild. Good for her. But… I kinda see why things are weird. She’s not a sorority girl.
Bear looks over the paper again, then eyes Duke. “You’re coming at this out of a place of anger, and that’snotwhat we fuckin’ need right now.” His words are forceful, unnecessarily harsh, in my opinion. He’s been snappish and downrightmeanto everyone lately. It’s concerning. I watch him carefully as he rubs one hand over his face, shaking his head. He’s avoiding my eyes, and I don’t like it.
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to dwell on it because the words that’ve just come out of Pierre’s mouth have my attention flying to him. I run it through my head again to be certain I understood properly.The sorority houses all put forward girls. Why not us if we have one living here?And now the pencil-dick fuck is chuckling as he aims his sneer my way.
Wait, what?“You don’t mean…?” I feel like an elephant has taken up residence on my chest. This is about me. My eyes flick back and forth between Duke and Bear, and when they don’t immediately answer me, I look to the rest of the brotherhood. It’s a mistake.
Brendan stifles a laugh. “Apparently, the powers that be demand we auction you and Elliot off on Saturday with all the other sorority girls.”
Seeing red, I don’t know whether it’s Kai or Pierre who snorts and says, “Have fun with that, grunt. Looks like we’re putting your best assets to work for the good of the brotherhood.”
I don’t give a fuck which one it was, so I aim my glare at both of them as my jaw works to the side.I already said I wouldn’t be participating. I don’t want any part of it because I have an idea how quickly an event like this will devolve into something ugly and out of my control.I fucking hate the panicky feeling overtaking me.
Meanwhile, Duke’s reaction is similar, like he’s about to blow his top. “Why do they do this shit? They’re on a motherfucking power trip. Why the fuck are they adding girls to this goddamn auction? I don’t give a flying fuck if they’re the founding fathers of the motherfucking country, never mind this brotherhood!” he roars, then immediately bends at the waist, his hands resting on his thighs for support as he shakes his head. The fact that the OG Bastards are involved makes me even more nervous than I already was. My stomach lurches violently.
With my breaths stuttering faster and faster, Mason wraps an arm around my lower back, pulling me to his side. I lean against him for support. If he feels the tremors running through my body, he doesn’t mention it. “Can I see the fucking paper?” Mason asks sharply.
My eyes connect with Bear’s. “Is that what it says? That I’m being auctioned off? Becausenope.No fucking way.”
Bear growls, his eyes murderous as he slaps the paper into Mason’s palm. Before I can blink, his big body is close to mine, and he grips my chin. Forcing me to look at him, the words that leave his lips are absolutely lethal in tone. “You’re not doing anything you don’t want to do.”
Fuck.The entire house is watching. I look up into his hazel eyes, blinking rapidly, but he doesn’t release me until I nod.
“Why does it feel like maybe you guys don’t want to let her do it because you want to keep her all to yourselves?” Kai’s gaze shifts smoothly from Mason to Bear, who have both had their hands on me, then over to Duke, who is staring daggers at him for asking the question in the first place. Kai lifts his hands. “Just saying.”
Duke wets his bottom lip as he stalks over to him, plants his hands on his chest, and shoves hard. “That’s enough, you fuckwit. Got it?”
And when the idiot doesn’t respond, Bear takes a menacing step in his direction, which results in Kai tripping over his own feet and going down hard on his ass. “What the fuck,” he hisses. It’s not really a question, and no one bothers—or dares—to say a word.
