The Ritual

“You will receive a text giving you a name, a location, and a time,” my father starts. “This will be the orders of your initiation.”

I snort. “I’m not joining this secret society!” They’ve lost their fucking minds. “I want nothing to do with the Lords.”

The other man jumps to his feet once more. “You will do what we say—”

“Give us the room,” Ryat interrupts the man.

The guy storms out, but my dad takes his time. Coming up next to us, he places his hand on Ryat’s shoulder. “I hope you know what you’re doing.” Then he walks out.

“What is going on, Ryat?” I demand the moment the door closes behind them. “And don’t lie to me.”

He pulls out one of the black leather chairs at the table and gestures for me to sit. Rolling my eyes, I plop down into it. Ryat pulls out the one beside me and spins it so we’re face-to-face. Leaning forward, he places his elbow on his knees. “We’re already married, Blake,” he reminds me. “If you don’t get initiated in, then you are removed as Lady.”

My eyes widen. “We can get a divorce?” Maybe there’s hope after all.

“No!” he snaps, making me jump. Dropping his head, he runs his hands through his hair. A clear sign he’s getting pissy with me.

Taking a second to get a good look at him, I see how tired his green eyes look. I wonder if he’s lost sleep like me. I wonder if he thought of me like I did him. “I don’t understand.” I soften my voice. “You just said—”

“You either kill or get killed,” he growls, interrupting me.

I laugh at that but stop when he just glares at me. “This has to be a joke, right?”

“There is no way around it!” he snaps, jumping to his feet.

He can’t be serious. I must still be knocked out. Maybe I’m having a nightmare. Or possibly hallucinating. “I can’t …”

“Yes, you can.” He nods. “I knew what you would have to do going into this.”

“How could you?” I whisper, feeling my throat tighten. I was an assignment that he tried to buy. And now I’m a Lady who has to kill someone?

“We all make sacrifices in order to get what we want,” he states.

I stand on shaky legs, my hands fisting at my sides. Stepping into him, he looks down at me, his green eyes the coldest I’ve ever seen them. It makes me realize just how good of an actor he was and how stupid I am. “What you don’t seem to understand is that I no longer want to be your wife, Ryat! And I don’t want to join your stupid secret society. So, no, I don’t want to sacrifice anything for you because I don’t want to be with you.” My heart is hammering in my chest while the blood rushes in my ears at the lie. I can’t let him see how much I missed him. I felt something for him the night of the ceremony, but then Matt fucked it all up with what he told me. I hate him too. Maybe Sarah was right—I was better off being in the dark.

Cupping my face, he sighs heavily. “None of that matters, Blake.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

RYAT

SHE HASN’T SAID one word to me since I told her that what she wants no longer matters. It was cruel, but it was the truth. I’m tired of hiding things from her. She needs to know what goes on inside the world of the Lords. She may not like it, but she will learn to live with it.

Blood, death, and secrets are what my life is made of. Hers will be the same.

I quickly look over at her in the passenger seat of my W Motors Lykan Hypersport. She’s got her head tilted to the side and her eyes closed. She fell asleep the moment we left the house of Lords. I didn’t give her a very high dosage when I found her last night at the run-down bar. I was angry with her and knew she’d fight me every step of the way, so drugging her was my best option to move her without injuring her. It was just a couple of sleeping pills. On a normal person, they wouldn’t have worked that well, but I was banking on her already being exhausted. I know my wife pretty well by now. She wasn’t getting much sleep, knowing she was on the run.

Pulling into the driveway, I shut off my car, and she stirs. “We’re home,” I tell her.

Opening her heavy eyes, she blinks. “Why are we here?” she asks, looking around the wooded area.

“This is where we live.”

“No … my apartment …”

I get out and round the front of the car, opening her door for her. “You no longer have that,” I say, grabbing her hand and pulling her out. “I moved all of your stuff into the cabin.” After she left, I destroyed her apartment. Not my greatest moment, but I was looking for the slightest clue on where she might have gone. Once I managed to sit back and look at what I’d done, I said fuck it and hired a moving company to pack up all her shit and move it. I knew she wouldn’t be going back there once I found her.