Page 12 of Hysteria Rises
Out of habit, I avoid each and every creaky floorboard on my way over to my small nook of our shared room. The weight of everything that’s transpired today settles over me, heavy like the thunderclouds had been yesterday, full of impending rain.
Daylight is coming, and while I always think any problem is worse at night, this time, I’m not so sure. What’s waiting for our compound when dawn breaks could be as bad as it gets. Drop a new woman into this pit of vipers, and it’s bedlam every time.
In fact, if I don’t force myself to sleep, I won’t be ready to deal with whatever goes down. Too bad shut-eye has been a stranger for many moons now.
When I reach my bedside, I release a heavy sigh and drop my pants. The assorted sleep sounds of the others echo off the high ceiling. I grit my teeth and peel the bedding down before climbing in. I’ll be really fucking glad when Kiefer finishes the restorations on the wing of the building that will one day be ours—the firstborn sons’. I let out an exhausted breath, then attempt to get comfortable enough to drop off, but knowing it won’t happen easily. It never does. And even if I do manage to sleep, what bullshit will find me while I’m in thatstate?
Aggravated that my mind won’t stop churning, I shift, punch a fist into my pillow, then flop back over to stare toward the long window over my head. The tree outside sways with the wind and rain. This storm is something else. What could possibly have been the catalyst that brought the new girl to us? And on a night likethisof all fucking nights. I turn it over and over in my head. It makes no sense that she’d simply appear in the middle of the Full Moon Hunting.
The longer I lie here, the more vividly I’m able to recall every single fucking second of the way she felt beneath me. But at least thoughts of her are a distraction from the nightmares in my head. Perhaps she’s just what I need.
Fiery. Stubborn. Really fucking pretty—when she’s not acting completely deranged. My lips curve as a reel plays through my head of the heated interaction. I hadn’t intended any of it to happen, but she left me with no other choice when she decided to lash out. What’d started as an attempt at subduing her and keeping her quiet had turned into something more. All the fight in her had made my cock swell and harden. I can’t say whether it was her spirit or the curves of her body that’d caused fire to flow through my veins, but she felt so good. And I couldn’t stop.
Didn’twantto stop. Ever. What I’d felt there on that cot with her had been tenfold the raging need I feel when participating in the Hunting. She’d excited me in a way no one ever has before. I skim a hand down my chest then over the firm muscles of myabdomen. My skin is hot again. My breath stutters in response. I wish I were back in that room, pistoning my aching cock against her—finishing what I started.
Dipping my hand under the covers, I take myself in a firm, choking grip. Almost whimpering at how good it feels, I slowly begin to stroke myself. Then, automatic guilt swamps me, every satisfying tug a heady reminder that we aren’t supposed to do this. We’re to save our semen for the women. Period.
My heart thuds heavily inside my chest. I have this hypothesis that they believe it’ll make us work harder toward our… goals. But it’s my honest guess that there’s not a single one of us who follows that command to the letter. Just last night, I heard grunting coming from Gannon’s bed. He was supposedly asleep. But definitely wasn’t. Then, Cross in the shower yesterday.
Groaning, I give myself a mental shake. I don’t want to think about any of them right now. Instead, I force myself back to the memory of the girl’s smooth, firm backside in my hand. Assuming the Collective decides to keep her—and they will—I’d love nothing more than the opportunity to chase her down during the New Moon Hunting. My head fills with the thrill of it—but more to the point, the rush I’ll get from what I’ll do with her when I catch her.
I shudder, overcome with desire and primal fucking need. Stroking vigorously, my breath comes faster and faster. I see it in my mind’s eye. I’d take her up against a tree while the sounds of the wildernesssurround us. Fill her cunt with every inch of my cock. Spill my seed inside her womb. Fuck. I’m close. I shuttle my hand from root to tip and swipe my thumb over the slit where my ejaculate has begun to seep in anticipation. Feels so fucking good.Fuck. Fuuuck.And at the next flash of lightning, I let go, allowing myself to roar, my strangled shout disguised by the boom of thunder.
With my body spent and my dick softening, a troubling thought rolls through my mind.What’s mine is yours. And what’s yours is mine.
I want her. But how am I going to keep her from the animals that walk these halls?
SEVEN
MALAKAI
The clangof pots and the faint sounds of people moving around downstairs is all the signal I need that it’s time to get my ass out of bed. The schedule around here doesn’t deviate much. Like ever. The Collective runs the compound at Dark Falls Hollow like a tight goddamn ship. When I was brought here three years ago, it’d felt like I’d been thrown in the deep end without a life preserver. The society my father and his friends have built here is nothing—I repeat,nothing—like it is on the outside. But that’s a distant memory these days. Now, my world has shrunk down to a never-ending loop of the same people and the same shit to be accomplished. I survive, but not much more than that.
Working my jaw to the side, irritation grates at me as it so often does. Maybe if I’d been given a goddamn choice, I’d feel differently.
Gannon, my younger brother, snorts in his sleep,stretching both arms over his head. I wish there was a chance we weren’t related. But nope. There’s simply no denying we share blood.
Without further thought, I open the locker at the foot of my bed. The hinge creaks noisily, but I shrug, digging into my clothing for a clean pair of pants, followed by a navy long-sleeved shirt that’s seen better days, underwear, and socks. A tired sigh escapes me as I tug the garments into place. Narrowing my eyes, I glance around the room. The rest of these assholes won’t be up for a while. At least if I leave now, I’ll have some time to myself. Glancing over my shoulder as I exit, a smirk tugs at my lips, and I yank the door shut with a loud snap behind me.
We’re only ever permitted to sleep in the mornings after the Hunting. It’s a crock of steaming shit, if you ask me. These fools are clueless. If it’s not in one of the approved books—the ones Finneas provides for us—they don’t know anything about it.
The moment my feet hit the floor at the bottom of the stairwell, a deafening silence greets me. That means nothing, though. The women will be in the kitchen, as usual. A moment later, I barge into their domain and they scatter like frightened bugs. Twenty-two and Twenty-one move quickly. Sixteen and Eight don’t even cast me a wary glance. They keep their heads down, saying nothing. They’re not stupid. At least they’ve got their roles down pat.
At the quickening of their pace, I let loose a chuckle into the cavernous room. Hell, even the onewho’s taken to waddling around lately is moving fast now. Once they’re gone, I allow myself a minute, eyes roaming over the covered warming dishes set out for our breakfast along the enormous stainless steel work surface. I’m in the process of putting a couple flapjacks on my plate and pouring syrup over them when angry voices raise loud enough to wake the dead.
It’s the fact that there’s a female voice among them that makes my brows shoot upward on my forehead. It can only be the one we found last night. The one I saw first. The same one Hayze snatched right out of my perfectly capable hands.Fucker. Always thinks he knows best and has a big goddamn head from all the undeserved compliments his father pays him. Someday, I will delight in bursting his overinflated ego. I’m just biding my time. Watching every move he makes so I’ll know when the moment is right.
Cocking my head to the side, I attempt to discern which of the Collective is dealing with her or even if there is more than one. I can’t quite tell even as the cacophony continues to echo through the main floor of the compound.
What the fucking hell is going on?
And then… there’s a sound of wretched anguish followed by a low, snarling shout of …pain. The plate I’d been filling slips out of my hand and crashes to the floor. Not giving the shards of ceramic or the food that hit the floor another glance, I run toward the sound of madness. If something is going down, I want to be involved. I hate the passive role I’m routinely forcedinto. It sucks. But Finneas’s absence might give me the opportunity to play a more important part.
I rush down one hall, then the next, picking up my pace as more pissed-off bellowing meets my ears. It sounds like my father, but the cries are muffled, so I could be wrong. Even without knowing for certain who is involved, my best guess is that the pandemonium has broken out in Nolan’s rooms. After all, that’s where they took the girl last night.
My ears prick as some additional commotion drifts down the stairwell from two stories up. Considering all the shouting probably yanked everyone out of a sound sleep, I assume it’s the guys. No doubt they’re scrambling to dress so they can get down here to see what the hell is going on.
This is my chance to prove myself, though, and I’m taking it.
