Claimed by the Devils

Chapter 12

Aria POV

When the video of me went around the whole school—and I knew it did with the way everyone reacted at Gino’s—I was thankful I didn’t have a cell phone. Walking through the quad on Monday, I expected more stares, more gossip. The laughter. Just getting to Gino’s I’d encountered lots of laughter and mockery.

“It’s the fat slob.”

“Beware, fatties invading.”

“Was it the ghost who eats fat?”

The fat jokes, barbs, comments, and just general vicious attacks were not unexpected. It seemed to be the only original thing they could come up with. Let’s bully the fat girl who’d been pranked.

Ha ha, ha, so funny. Give me a second while I burst out laughing. Not!

Assholes.

I passed several people in my year. None of them even glanced at me, but they were staring at their cell phones, hands covering their mouths as if they were seeing something shocking.

I found Heather in the cafeteria eating. My appetite was long gone, and I settled for a large coffee.

“Do I even want to know what everyone is watching?” I asked.

Heather sighed.

“I’ll show you if you want?”

She had a cell phone. The screen was cracked, but she refused to change it for another.

“It’s not me, is it?”

“Nope. In fact, your video has been wiped from the whole internet. There’s not a single trace of it.”

“You’re kidding right?”

“I checked. It’s all gone. No evidence of your hot body for anyone to see.”

I rolled my eyes.

“This is good news, right?”

“Yeah, it’s good news. Do you want to see the video?”

Another look around the cafeteria, and I needed to know who they were watching.

“Go on. I know I’m going to regret this.”

Heather clicked on her cell phone before handing it to me. I tapped on the center of the screen and frowned.

“Yeah, baby, suck it, you know you want to. That’s it. Take it deep. Choke on it. You’re a little slut, aren’t you?”

I recognized the voice, but it wasn’t the guy who was being filmed. No, this showed Chloe, completely naked, sucking a guy’s d**k. I knew who it was as well. She pulled up off his length and smiled.

“Make me choke on it.”

I turned off the video, not needing to see any more.

“It gets worse,” Heather said.

“Then that?”

“Yep.”

I shook my head.

“No. I don’t want to know anymore. I’ve seen enough.”

Heather nodded and went back to eating her food. I rubbed at my temple, feeling the start of a headache.

“Are you going to eat something?” Heather asked.

“No. I feel a little sick.”

“The nerves. You thought more people were going to mock you?”

“You got it. Now I just feel bad for Chloe.”

“Please, there is nothing to feel bad about. She got herself in that … predicament.”

“Look, I know she’s a first-class b***h and I don’t like her, but I don’t think we should call her names and treat her like crap. They had no right to film.”

Heather sighed.

“She wanted them to.”

“What?”

“It’s all in the video. Whoever loaded it up made sure her consent to be filmed was on it. Everything that happened, she wanted. The dirtier the better.”

She took a bite of toast.

“Oh,” I said. “It still doesn’t make it right. She wanted to be filmed, but not, you know, the whole school saw it.”

“Maybe. I don’t know. Either way, I can’t walk with you to the homeroom. The principal wants to see me.”

“What about?”

“I have no idea, but we’ll meet up in biology?”

“Sure.”

I left the cafeteria and went straight to homeroom. I took a seat in the back and stared out the window for the longest time.

“Where’s your stalker?” Lucian asked, taking a seat beside me.

“Busy.”

Rowan leaned up against the window, blocking my view. Elliot and Sebastian took the seats in front.

“Did you think that was really necessary?” I asked, looking at all four guys equally.

“Was that necessary?” Lucian asked.

“You can all pretend not to know, but I recognized your voice.”

I looked toward Rowan.

He shrugged.

“No one has a clue who is in the video.”

“Did you see the video?” Lucian asked.

“Some of it.”

I didn’t want to be talking to these four about the video and s*x. It was just … wrong. I sat back, folding my arms, determined not to speak to any of them.

Lucian moved in close.

“Do you think they were going to stop with one video?” he asked. “You are ours to protect.”

“I didn’t accept the selection. I don’t want to. When are you guys going to realize I don’t want any of this?”

“You don’t understand. We can’t change our mind and we won’t.”

“You want to protect me, take Chloe. She’s not going to stop, and to be honest, I don’t want to be the reason for you ruining her.”

“Chloe’s a bitch.”

“That doesn’t mean she has to have a video of herself for everyone to see.”

I took a deep breath.

“Why won’t you just leave me alone?”

“Why won’t you just accept the selection?”

“Because I don’t have to,” I said.

“Neither do we,” Lucian said.

I leaned forward and turned my attention to Lucian. He was the leader. The one I needed to drill my message home to.

“End this. I mean it. You don’t like me. You’ve never liked me. You never even wanted to know me. This, whatever this game is, doesn’t involve me. I have no desire to better myself through my connections to you.”

“What do your parents think?” Lucian asked.

“What?”

“I’m sure you told them you turned down the selection.”

“They have nothing to do with this.”

All the guys visibly moved as if my confession was the most interesting thing I’d said. I had no idea what was going on.

There was no sign of Mr. Connors, and I couldn’t help but sense I was losing whatever argument we were having. I didn’t like it.

“This is … just leave me alone. Stop bullying others. I don’t like it.”

With that, the teacher finally arrived, and I was pissed off. For the next twenty minutes, I tried to ignore the four guys who’d made me their number-one priority. I wasn’t happy.

I didn’t care if they were good-looking guys. They were not the men I wanted to be with. I was a virgin. I’d never had a boyfriend. I had no intention of finding one until I had started my path of independence.

My parents wanted me to take the same role as them, lawyers. If I didn’t become a lawyer, then a doctor. Becoming an author was out of the question. Drew always told me to take my own path, and right now, I really needed her advice.

The bell rang, and there was no sign of Heather, which I hated. Biology was the same as Homeroom. All the guys surrounded me, not giving me a moment’s break. Chloe didn’t make an appearance either.

I noticed no one paid me any attention. It might have had something to do with my four-man bodyguard. Either way, I was grateful.

We were having a ten-minute break between lessons, and I’d escaped to the quad, hoping to catch sight of Heather.

No sign of her.

What could the principal have had to say to her?

“Here,” Lucian said, producing a red apple. “You didn’t eat breakfast this morning, and coffee doesn’t keep your strength up.”

My stomach chose that moment to growl. I took the apple and bit into it. The sweet juice spilled into my mouth and I closed my eyes, releasing a moan. It tasted so good.

“You’re stalking me?”

“You should know this is all part of belonging to us.”

“I said no.”

“Doesn’t mean we get to change our minds.”

“I doubt every single girl who was chosen for this selection process wanted it.”

“You’re the first girl to reject it.”

I found that hard to believe, but I stopped arguing with him. The truth was I was getting very tired of everything. I took another bite of the apple, savoring the sweet taste. All the while, I was acutely aware of how close Lucian stood while I looked for my best friend.

“You do realize you’re the envy of this school right now?”

“I hope you and the others realize I don’t care.”

“Do you have any idea what we could do for you?” he asked.

I ate the apple.

“I really don’t care.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

None of the other guys showed up.

“Do you realize this is the longest we’ve ever spoken?”

“We’ve been busy.”

I laughed.

“No, you haven’t. I didn’t even register on your radar of needing to be someone you spoke to. You ignored me from the moment I arrived. I meant nothing to you, to any of you. I don’t buy this whole selection process. What gives?”

“Have you ever thought we might have noticed you?”

“I wasn’t born yesterday. I may not be as ingrained as the rest of you in this bullshit school, but I recognize what is going on here and it has nothing to do with attraction or because you noticed me.”

I did the last part in air quotes.

Lucian stepped right up close, invading my personal space. I was tempted to take a step back, but I stayed perfectly still, refusing to back down.

He was so much taller than me, and the musky scent of his body invaded my senses. I wondered what he wore. It had to be something woodsy, earthy. I liked the smell a little too much, and this made me step back, only he had banded an arm around me and pulled me up close toward him.

I had no choice but to put my hand on his chest as he held me, otherwise, I would’ve collapsed against him.

My body was stiff within his grasp.

“What are you doing?”

“Wondering if your p***y is soaking wet right now.”

Did he think that was all it was going to take?

Throwing my head back, I laughed. I just couldn’t help it. From his glare, he didn’t expect this kind of reaction. He still hadn’t let me go, and whatever he thought was happening here, I wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to get out of it.

“You’re kidding, right? You think holding me a little roughly and drawing me close will suddenly make me magically attracted to you? Sorry, Lucian, I’m not wired that way.”

I pushed on his chest a little too roughly, but he didn’t let me go.

I gritted my teeth as I stared at him.

People looked at us. Being the center of attention made me uncomfortable.

“You do realize we’re going easy on you right now.”

“I don’t care what you think you’re doing for me, Lucian. Accept my answer and move on. I’m not caving to any of you. I have no desire for you.”

My hands clenched into fists as they rested on his chest.

He didn’t look away. The intensity of his stare held me captive. What was he thinking? Why was he doing this?

Panic began to work its way up my chest, but I held on to it.

The bell rang, signaling the end of break. We only had a couple of minutes to get to class, and I’d already spent way too much time with this guy with no interest to do so again.

“Let me go,” I said.

“This isn’t over.”

He let me go, and I immediately took a step back.

Without another word, I spun on my heel and walked the distance to math. Lucian thought he could have what he wanted. That I’d fall for him. He was mistaken.

I had a plan. Make it to graduation, then to college, and then live my life the way I wanted to. Not like this. Not under my parents’ thumb. I refused to follow in their footsteps just because they thought it would be better for me.

There was still no sign of Heather, and I didn’t like not seeing her. She was my only friend, and I couldn’t help but wonder if something had happened to her. It was moments like these that made me wish I owned a cell phone.