Claimed by the Devils

Chapter 13

Lucian POV

Heather’s room wasn’t hard to find, nor hard to get into. The locks at All Saints Academy were a f*****g joke. I leaned against the door, waiting for our target to arrive. By now, she should have a brand-new schedule. I’d made sure the principal knew to keep some of her classes with Aria, but for the most part, they had changed. There was no way the guys or I could see us succeeding in this selection with Heather constantly getting in the way.

“Wow, this chick reads so much s**t,” Rowan said.

“Don’t touch anything,” I said.

“Come on. You’re not the least bit curious about this girl?” Elliot asked.

“I’m only interested in getting her on our side and out of our way.”

I ran a hand down my face. This was a precious time we could be spending with Aria. She was becoming more of a challenge than I realized. Most of the girls liked it when I made a possessive grab of them, drawing them close. I was used to having an intoxicating effect on them.

Aria was … difficult. She’d been tense in my arms, her body not giving anything away. I wanted to know what it would take to make her cave. To give herself to me willingly. Now that would be a reward.

Aria is needy, begging on her knees. The image alone was enough to make me hard as f*****g rock.

Standing in her best friend’s room wasn’t going to answer the blue balls I had.

It would be easy for us to have a woman for our needs. There were plenty of willing women who would do anything for us, but we’d all decided to focus on Aria. This was way too important to all of us to screw up.

Girls liked monogamy, and cheating on Aria would only bring about other problems.

“What are we hoping to achieve right now?” Sebastian asked.

He’d decided to sit on Heather’s bed. Rowan was busy looking through her abundant bookshelves. I stood beside the door, and Elliot rifled through her drawers.

There wasn’t a lot to Heather that I did know. Her family was happy about her transfer here, but they also didn’t care so long as they didn’t have to pay. It was why she spent the majority of the holidays at school, studying. At first, I thought she was a kiss ass, but once I investigated her, I knew the truth.

“Help,” I said.

We all went silent as the lock flicked open, and then seconds later, Heather walked right through the door.

She saw all of us and she didn’t even scream or bat an eyelash. Instead, she sighed.

“If Aria knew you were here, she’d pitch a fit.”

She removed her bag, placing it on the floor in the corner. She stepped into the middle of the room, hands on hips.

“What do you guys want? You’re not happy messing up my schedule? What else could you all want to do now?”

“You and I both know you can handle any class in this school.”

“Do you think I don’t know each class I’ve been removed from? I’m not stupid. You want me out of the picture. Why?”

I smiled, and I knew I didn’t smile well, at least, not when I made a power play.

“This selection process is really important, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

“I only know the rumors I hear. I don’t know anything else, and assuming I do is stupid.”

“I’m not a stupid guy,” I said. “You know that some rumors speak the truth.”

Heather sighed.

“If what you’re saying is to be believed then the whole selection process is connected to some secret society.”

“Have you told Aria that?”

“No. It made me sound like I was losing my mind.”

“And it’s important for you to sound super cool with her?” Sebastian asked.

Heather spun in a circle, looking at each of us in turn.

“What do you guys want?”

“Simple, we want Aria to want us.”

“And what makes you think I will help you guys? She doesn’t like you, and to be honest, I don’t blame her. Out of the blue, you put her at the center of attention. It doesn’t bode well for anyone. In case you didn’t get the memo, she hates, and I mean hates, attention. She has a plan.”

She pressed her lips together.

“A plan.”

“I’m not telling you guys anything. You can’t scare me. Just get the hell out.”

“You’re in love with her,” I said.

I’d noticed the way Heather looked at Aria, the subtle touches. The sweet caresses. The way she cared for her. It went beyond friendship.

Heather’s hands clenched into fists.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“It’s pretty simple. You want access to Aria’s p***y. It’s written all over your face every single time you look at her. It must suck for you. To want someone you can’t have,” Rowan said. “I wonder how she’d feel if she knew her best friend was only sticking around because she wanted in her pants.”

Heather folded her arms.

“Now that is a lie.”

“Yeah, but planting that little seed in Aria’s head, I wonder how that would work for your friendship.”

Rowan chuckled as he finished.

“Why should I help you?”

“You will if you want to have anything to do with Aria.”

“You guys don’t control her.”

“Oh, but we will.”

I stepped toward her.

“We will control every single element of her life. Where she goes. Who she dates. Where she studies. It will all be in our power. Heather, you think the selection process ends at graduation? No, this selection process is a f*****g lifetime, and believe me, it still stands today.”

“You’re an asshole if you think Aria will ever fall for that. You’re playing with the wrong s**t there.”

“Are you willing to take that chance?” I asked.

The power we would hold one day was absolute. She could try to argue with it, but it would only get her hurt, especially if she got in the way.

“You’re a lonely girl, Heather. Your family doesn’t give a s**t about you. Even though you work your ass off to achieve everything you have, it’s like you don’t exist.”

I tutted.

“What if I say one day, we can make every single one of your dreams come true.”

“No,” Heather said.

“You will get to see Aria as much as you want. She’ll never belong to you, that’s for sure. We both know she sees you as the best friend. Your life will be comfortable.”

“I will not agree to Aria’s pain. I know what she wants out of life, and it’s not to belong to four men or some kind of secret society.”

She shook her head.

“No.”

I stepped toward her.

“Do you think this is a choice? Aria’s fate has already been written. The moment we put the rose on her table, she was ours. It’s just a matter of time before she is. You’ve got ’til tomorrow morning to give us your decision.”

Spinning on my heel, I took a step toward the door.

“Do you even know everything about her?” Heather asked. “Why she’s vegan? Why won't she cut her hair? Why is she so determined to live her own path? Why she hates this f*****g school?”

I didn’t know she was vegan. I figured the pizza was just a personal preference. I’d recognized the hint about the hair. There was a lot we didn’t know about her, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t find it out.

“My offer still stands,” I said.

We left the room with Rowan closing the door behind us. On the way over to our private dorms, my cell phone rang. Without looking at the call identifier, I knew who it was. He didn’t like how long this was taking.

“Evening, Dad,” I said.

“Update.”

“We’re working on it.”

Rowan, Elliot, and Sebastian headed straight into the dorm, leaving me to deal with my dad. He was a meddling bastard.

“Working on it. For f**k’s sake, son. At your age, I had already f****d our selected six f*****g times.”

“Aria is not … she’s different.”

“Of course, they are. They’re all f*****g special. Get it done.”

“Her parents don’t know,” I said.

“Excuse me?”

“Aria’s parents are not aware she’s been selected or turned down the rose.”

My father laughed, and it wasn’t a pleasant sound.

“They know, Lucian, but thank you for the update. I will take care of it.”

The line went dead, and I headed inside, feeling a little sick about what I’d just done. The guys were all waiting for me when I entered.

“I told him about the parents,” I said.

Rowan stood.

“What the f**k?”

“We’re not getting anywhere with this. You all know that. Aria wants nothing to do with us. Even the f*****g video we leaked of Chloe didn’t make her happy.”

We’d already pulled the video of Chloe.

We released it and we knew the guy who could wipe all traces of it ever existing. It was what we did for the one Aria.

“Do you think getting her parents involved is going to help?” Rowan asked. “We said we were going to do this our way. Not their way.”

“You all know what’s at stake right now.”

“The parents are too far,” Elliot said. “You needed to consult with us.”

“If it gets us what we want, does it matter?”

“Do you really think Aria’s going to be happy with us bringing in her parents? She’s going to be pissed. This wasn’t cool, and it wasn’t part of the plan,” Sebastian said.

He ran his fingers through his hair.

“f**k!”

“We had to do what we had to do,” I said, shrugging.

I wasn’t going to be upset about playing this card. We needed all the help we could get.