Inherited Malice: A Dark Secret Society Romance

After high school, there was no money for me to go to college, at least not the kind of colleges my mother wanted for her daughter. But it wasn’t like I could apply for scholarships, because that would have equally mortified her. Appearance was everything to the woman.

When Dad got sick, I just ended up staying home after school anyway to help take care of him. And the years passed.

Mom still presided as the Queen of Darlington because it was all she had left. And she protected the secret of our near bankruptcy with the ferocity of a dragon protecting a treasure. The thought of anyone knowing she was in diminished circumstances was her worst fear.

So here we were, all dolled up, in the second row with Darlington’s best and brightest, attending the wedding of the year.

Mom suddenly reached out and grasped my hand. “You have to do it. I can get you an invitation. It’s the only way.”

I frowned and tried to pull free of her claw-like grip on my hand. “What are you talking about?” I hissed.

Her nails dug into my wrist, though. There was no getting free.

“It’s perfect, don’t you see? I can get you an invitation so you can be one of those harlot belles. Then you can entice one of those two boys who are left with your charms. You can get them to marry you and save the family!”

My mouth must have dropped open because she snapped at me, “Close your mouth, you look like a fish. It’s unattractive. And let’s be honest, all you have are your looks at this point. It’s time to grow up and face facts. You think your father fell in love with me because of my intellect? No. Men respond to a pretty face and thank the Lord you aren’t too old yet. Though don’t think I haven’t noticed those lines around your eyes. It’s the first sign of aging.”

“Jesus, Mom, I’m only twenty-four!”

“Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain. No man wants a lady who’s uncouth.”

I looked away from my mother and glared at the perfectly manicured grass underneath us. Because that was always what it came down to for my mother, wasn’t it? What a man wanted. How I looked to a man. That had always been my only worth. My mother had never talked about what career I might grow up to have. She’d never encouraged any interest beyond my looks and critiquing my weight or make-up.

I thought about the little she’d spoken of in regard to the secret society the men in town were part of. Usually she spoke about it in disgusted tones, which was why it was absolutely rich that she was now willing to throw me under the bus if it meant she could get me married off at the end of it. There were orgies, for Christ’s sake. Orgies and like, demonic rituals, if the rumors were to be believed. Crazy, freaky shit.

But then, the rumors about me had always been exaggerated, so surely these were too.

I looked up to the front where Montgomery stood, smiling widely as he waited for his bride. Five men flanked him, his best men.

“Who would it be?” I suddenly asked, flushed with a wild curiosity and recklessness.

My mother pounced on the opportunity. “The one closest to Montgomery, that’s Walker. And the one on the end. Emmett.”

The fact that she was so ready to point them out had me thinking that this wasn’t just a spur of the moment suggestion. How long had she been thinking about springing this one on me?

I tamped down my fury at her and looked at the two men. I knew both of them a little from my time at Darlington, at least in passing. They’d been in the grade ahead of me, but everyone had idolized the group of friends. Walker especially had been a big personality on campus. He and Montgomery were two of the biggest legacy kids in Darlington. That kind of swagger had always been a turn off to me.

I turned my sights to the man standing at the end. Emmett. I didn’t remember so much about him. But he was tall and broad-shouldered and so handsome I had to shift in my seat just from watching him.

“Emmett,” I said to my mother. “Get me an Invitation for his Trial.”

Her face lit up so much it was like I’d announced Christmas in July. “Done.”

Oh, Mother, Mother. She had no idea, but I had no intention of playing along with her games and schemes.