The Initiation (Darkness Within Duet 1)

The first touch of the needle, and she tensed up, shocked.

“You okay in there?” Draven asked.

“Yeah.” She didn’t like it. The pain took her a little by surprise. Gripping the chair, she closed her eyes and quickly remembered, Draven saw her.

He burst out laughing as she tried to pretend she wasn’t entirely in pain. Nothing helped.

Breathing in and out.

Nope.

Draven suddenly sat in front of her on one of the spare chairs and took her hands. She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her go.

“Stop,” he said. “Don’t pretend. Squeeze my hands.”

“You’re insane.” She gasped, and the man behind her paused.

“You okay?”

“Fine, fine, fine.”

The buzzing started again, and she closed her eyes.

“Are you wishing you said no?” Draven asked.

Opening her eyes, she rolled them. “No.”

“You’re hurting.”

“So? It’s no different than being hit down at that ring. I can handle this.”

“You were on fire in that ring,” he said.

“I hate thinking about it.”

“Then don’t. You need to learn to let shit go.”

“Like you do?” she asked.

“I let stuff go.”

“What was that in the pool?”

“Nothing. It’s serious what we’re doing.”

She shook her head. “No. There’s more to it than that. You can’t pretend with me.”

“Harper, not now.”

She stared at him, waiting, but he clearly wasn’t in the mood to talk. “Fine. Not now but you’re going to tell me.”

“What makes you think I will?”

“We’ve all got to share our concerns with someone, Draven, even you.”

“And you think you know all about my worries?” he asked.

“I have an idea. Your dad doesn’t exactly scream out fatherly love.”

Draven squeezed her hand as if he was asking her without words to not bring up his father again. She had no problem with that. After all, he was a monster, and Draven would know that more than anyone else.

****

One week later

“You got a tattoo?”

Harper turned around to see Ian entering the kitchen. She thought she was home alone and had taken the opportunity to just make her breakfast without rushing out of the house. Normally, she took a snack in order to avoid any kind of confrontation that she couldn’t stand.

Her shirt had ridden up.

The tattoo that had all four guys’ names swirled within thorns had come out amazingly well. She loved it. All dark ink, no color anywhere. She loved it where she’d gotten it down at the base of her back.

One look at Ian though, he looked ready to explode.

“You like?”

“What the fuck, Harper?” he asked. “You didn’t even consult me about this. You’re a child.”

She rolled her eyes. “How could I consult you? You’re never around anymore.”

“Harper?”

She shrugged. “I’m not wanting to argue with you about this.” She went back to her cereal.

He sat down beside her, and she knew he wasn’t going to let it go.

“I want you to get it removed.”

“No.”

“Harper, that’s four boys’ last names. You’re getting it removed.”

“I’m eighteen. You don’t get to tell me what to do. Not anymore.” She stood up, throwing her cereal in the trash and washing out the bowl.

“What the hell happened to you?”

She gripped the edge of the sink, trying to find the strength to deal with him.

“You were always such a nice girl. Your mother, she raised you right.”

Harper spun around, glaring at him. “That’s right, my mother raised me right. She raised me to be a good girl. You know what? I am.”

“Hanging around the likes of Draven and Axel, they’ll ruin you.”

“Like you ruined Mom?”

“Harper!” The warning was there.

She smiled. “Don’t talk about Mom. Don’t talk about how she killed herself. Don’t talk about anything that could make me feel because I don’t want it to be my fault when the truth is, it is because I decided to fuck a woman far younger than me and I couldn’t handle being a responsible parent.” She spoke calmly, hands clasped together. “Don’t forget, Harper, be a good girl. Don’t make waves for your dad. He doesn’t like it when you do. Don’t worry, Ian, I’ll be out of your life for good soon. I’d go now, but you won’t let me leave.”

“No matter what, you’re still my daughter.”

She snorted. “You called the cops on me.”

“I didn’t.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Hannah did, and as I explained to the cop and to your fucking boyfriend, I would never call the cops on you because I never wanted to hit you. I shouldn’t have hit you in the first place. You think I don’t know that? I told Hannah she shouldn’t have done that. You’re my fucking daughter, and believe it or not, I do love you.”

Harper gritted her teeth, hating the sudden sweep of emotion that rushed through her. “Are you done?”

“I’ve not even started. You shouldn’t be around guys like Draven.”

“You work for his dad. How bad can he be?”

“It’s because I work for him that I know just how bad he is, Harper. They’re dangerous. They’re not boys. They’ve never had a day of playing around in their lives. They’re not allowed to play. It has always been training, work, preparing them. They’re men, plain and simple. I don’t … it’s dangerous for you.” He went to move toward her, but she took a step back.