Claimed by the Devils

Chapter 23

Lucian POV

I had f****d up.

After talking with my dad, I shouldn’t have opted to go to collect Aria. I’d volunteered to go to try to clear my head, and in doing so, whatever ground we’d gained through class, I’d f*****g lost.

“So that little advice of us going at a little slower pace, you just ignored that?” Rowan asked.

I glared at him.

“Now isn’t the time.”

“No? You see we’re all working on a countdown, and you’ve just made this all difficult for us.”

Rowan continued to mock me.

“Is this some kind of power trip? You don’t think she’s challenging enough, you want to make it a little harder?”

“No, of course not.”

He stepped toward me, and I saw his anger simmering beneath the surface. My own anger awakened and I took a step toward him, ready to take this s**t wherever he wanted to go. Hands clenched into fists at my sides, I was more than ready to fight. I wanted to. The punching bag hadn’t helped.

I craved the feel of human flesh.

Elliot and Sebastian stood in, getting between us.

“No,” Elliot said.

“This isn’t going to solve anything,” Sebastian said.

“No, but it will put him in his f*****g place. You may be the leader of us, Gid, but you’re not perfect. You just cost us in your little stunt.”

I wanted him to hit me.

“We’re not going to get anywhere if we’re attacking each other,” Elliot said.

I waited.

Rowan stared me in the eye, and I saw the challenge there.

“You better fix this for all of our sakes,” Rowan said, stepping away.

Elliot nudged me in the shoulder.

“Back down.”

I took a step back, but I didn’t want to leave a fight. If Rowan was ready to throw down, I was right there. More than happy to pummel him into the next f*****g world. I was ready.

Rowan walked away with Sebastian, leaving me with Elliot.

“Dude, what the f**k?” Elliot asked.

“He…”

“This isn’t about Rowan. You know you f****d up.”

“She’s going to have to learn her place once and for all. I’m tired of pussyfooting around her. She has to get in line.”

Elliot put his hands on his hips.

“You know I’d very much like to punch you in the face right now.”

“Do it,” I said.

“No, I’m not going to do it. It would give you too much satisfaction. What I am going to do is leave Aria’s food there for you to fix this.”

“I don’t need to fix shit.”

Elliot rushed me, shoving me against the wall. His hand went to my neck, but he didn’t squeeze. He held me perfectly still.

“I’m tired of all of this bullshit, Lucian. Fix it before I have to.”

“You wouldn’t be able to fix it without me.”

“You’re not invincible. We all know there is a time limit here. Make it work.”

I watched as he took off. I didn’t expect Elliot of all people to leave me alone. My phone call with my dad had pissed me off. He’d taken twenty minutes to tell me how important my role was within this. What I needed to do with Aria. He even suggested we … hurt her to get her in line. There was a reason The Society picked the females, and Aria was the choice for us.

I … never hit a woman.

Gripping the back of my head, I growled low in my chest.

Aria was supposed to be easy. This year was supposed to be a breeze, and instead, I’d never been so f*****g stressed.

After grabbing the takeout from the table, I moved toward Aria’s door. I knocked on the door and waited for her to respond. She didn’t.

The soup was going to get cold.

There was no lock, so I opened the door, but I came into contact with a body.

“Aria?”

“Leave me alone.”

I pushed the door and felt the sudden weight of it against my hand.

“You’re seriously trying to keep me out by blocking the door?”

“I don’t want to see or talk to you. Elliot, Sebastian, Rowan, make him leave.”

“You’re out of luck, princess. They’re not here.”

“Figures.”

I smiled.

“You’ve got a bad attitude, anyone ever tell you that.”

It did the trick. She got to her feet and opened the door.

“I’ve got a bad attitude?”

I held the food up.

“I come bearing offerings.”

She looked at the food skeptically.

“There’s nothing wrong with it. It might be a little cold, but other than that, it’s good food.”

“You haven’t drugged it?”

I counted to ten under my breath. This girl was going to drive me f*****g crazy.

“No. I haven’t drugged it. We don’t need to get girls by drugging them.”

She still didn’t take the food.

“For f**k’s sake.”

I stepped into her bedroom, put the bag down, opened the carton of the soup, and took a long, healthy sip.

“See? Not drugged. Perfectly good soup.”

I rolled my eyes then sat down on the edge of her bed.

“I didn’t tell you you could sit,” she said.

“I invited myself.”

There was no other chair in the room. She took the soup from me and sat down beside me, then began to sip at the soup. I watched her eat for a few seconds, enjoying the silence that fell between us.

“I’m sorry,” I said as she got halfway through.

She’d just put a slice of garlic bread into her mouth when I spoke, and then began to choke. I slapped her on the back, and this seemed to do the trick. She rubbed at her chest and turned her eyes to me.

“I did just hear that right?”

“Yes, I apologized. Don’t worry. I won’t make that mistake again.”

I saw the hint of a smile on her lips. After removing my hand, I sat with them flat on my legs.

“Thank you,” she said.

I nodded.

She ate, making little noises of appreciation which made me think about how it would feel to have her lips wrapped around my d**k, sucking on me.

I’d never gone this long without s*x.

“Did you mean what you said out there?” Aria asked.

“Are you ready to know the truth?”

She didn’t speak, and I looked toward her. She nibbled on her lip with her brows drawn together.

“Heather said I should ask what the selection thing means.”

I chuckled.

“I find it hard to believe you’ve been at this school for three years and you have no clue.”

“Why does that have to matter?” she asked.

“I don’t listen to gossip. I think it’s a quality.”

I didn’t want to be the one to tell her.

“Didn’t your parents say anything?” I asked.

“No. Their only instruction was to do everything you said without question. I have no idea what you want from me.”

As the leader, it was up to me to fill in the blanks.

“s*x. You belong to us. You are ours to use in any way we feel we have to.”

I heard her gasp.

“That’s barbaric.”

“And yet most of the girls are excited about it.”

“What about … others? Do you sleep with others?”

“We can if we want, but this selection is more important. You see, Aria, once you become ours so completely, and I mean all four of us, it helps to set you up for life.”