“Some hunters prefer to keep their catches private,” one twin continues, circling me. “But tradition demands presentation. Your Xavier will parade you before every hunter in that room, show them exactly what he captured.”
The blood drains from my face. “I won’t?—”
“You will,” his twin interrupts, moving to Keira’sother side. “The contract you signed covers this, too. Every delicious detail.”
The other twin laughs again, the sound sharp and mocking. “Did you really think the hunt ended with a simple fuck in the pool? Oh, you have so much to learn about our world.”
The horn echoes through the chamber again, longer this time, more demanding. Both twins straighten, their playful cruelty shifting to urgent purpose.
One of them takes Keira’s elbow. “The gathering waits for no one.”
They move toward a passage I hadn’t noticed before, half-hidden behind ornate tapestries.
Keira glances back at me. “Good luck,” she whispers before the twins guide her into the shadows.
I stand alone in the chamber, my mind reeling. The orgy room. Displayed like a trophy. Shared among hunters like a piece of meat.
My legs feel weak, threatening to buckle under the weight of what awaits me. The horn calls again, and I know I can’t hide here forever. Somewhere in this maze, Xavier is hunting for me, ready to take his prize before the entire gathering.
A hand grips my shoulder from behind.
The touch burns through Xavier’s shirt like a brand, fingers pressing into my skin with familiar possessions. Tension coils through me as that scent wraps around me.
“Running again?” The voice is low, amused, and completely calm despite the urgency of the horns still echoing through the maze.
I don’t turn around. Can’t. My eyes remain fixed on the passage where the twins disappeared with Keira, where she vanished the into shadows.
“I wasn’t running,” I whisper, hating how breathless I sound. “I was just?—”
“Watching.” His grip tightens slightly. “Learning what’s expected of you.”
Heat floods my cheeks as I realize he knows exactly what I witnessed. Of course, he does. The surveillance cameras probably captured every second of my voyeuristic episode.
“The twins were quite accommodating, weren’t they?” Xavier continues conversationally as if discussing the weather rather than the explicit scene I’d stumbled upon. “Cyrus always enjoys an audience. Did you like what you saw?”
I force myself to swallow, needing to calm down, because the honest answer terrifies me—yes, I liked it. The way Keira surrendered completely, the way the twins worshipped her, the bindings that transformed her into living art.
“The horn,” I manage, grasping for safer ground.
“Summoning us to the center,” Xavier confirms. “Where every hunter will see exactly what I’ve claimed. Where you’ll understand your place in our world.”
His free hand slides down my arm, fingers intertwining with mine. The gentle gesture is a sharp contrast to the steel in his voice.
“I won’t be displayed like some trophy,” I say, finally finding my voice.
Xavier’s laugh rumbles against my back as he steps closer, his chest pressing against my spine. “You still think you have a choice.”
The horn sounds again, longer this time, more insistent. Around us, the maze seems to pulse with new energy—distant footsteps, voices calling, the sound of other hunters herding their catches toward whatever central chamber awaits.
“They’re all gathering,” Xavier murmurs against my ear. “Every hunter who participated in the hunt. Every woman who was claimed. And you, my prize, will take your place among them.”
Not Xavier’s possession, but wholly objectified, displayed in a performance of submission before them all. My heart races in my chest at the twisted ritual he’s orchestrated to conclude this nightmare.
“I can hear your heart racing,” he whispers, lips brushing the shell of my ear. “Fear or excitement?”
I close my eyes, knowing the answer even as I stand defiantly silent. Knowing before I even feel his other arm circle my waist, before I hear his satisfied hum against my neck, that resistance is futile.
29
