Kyan strode forward once more and Bait ripped his T-shirt off, the material getting caught on his head and one arm as he scrambled to yank it off and dark laughter poured from the lips of the Night Keepers surrounding me. I almost didn’t realise I was laughing too.
These boys bring out the darkness in me.
Bait finally managed to wrench his T-shirt off, tossing it away haphazardly so that the filthy material fell on Saint’s pristine shoes.
He sneered as he kicked it away and Kyan booted Bait again as he hesitated in fear.
“All of your clothes,” Saint snapped as Bait whimpered from his wounds.
“I’m sorry,” Bait begged as he scrambled upright again, backing away from Kyan towards me. “I only wanted to escape this place. I just wanted to leave. Why wouldn’t you let me leave?”
“Have you forgotten why we made you an Unspeakable in the first place?” Blake taunted. “We own you now, and you don’t just get to run away from your punishment.”
Bait almost backed into me so I shoved him forward, right into the centre of the circle again as Kyan smirked with glee.
“You got our girl hurt,” Kyan snarled. “Do you really think we’d just allow that to go unpunished?”
“If you thought being an Unspeakable was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet,” Blake added in a devilish tone.
“Strip!” Saint roared, his patience snapping.
Bait dropped his boxers and quickly grabbed his junk to shield himself as he stood naked before us.
Saint bent down and opened up his book bag, pulling a coil of rope from it and slowly winding it around his fist.
“Stand against the flagpole with your arms behind it,” he commanded, taking a step forward with deadly intent.
Bait backed up, then again, his eyes darting around wildly as his body coiled with tension. I knew he was going to bolt before he even moved and when he darted away with a shriek of fear, I had to wonder how far he’d get, running naked from a wolf pack.
Blake whooped with excitement, ripping his blazer off and throwing it aside as he let Bait get a head start before tearing after him. I almost felt sorry for the kid as he tossed a terrified look over his shoulder, eyes wide, lips parted. Blake slammed into him with his best football tackle, taking him to the floor with a cheer of triumph as Bait crashed into the brick pathway and I had to cringe at the thought of it. Dicks and bricks should never mix.
Blake leapt up, grabbing his arm and hauling him back towards us as he crowed with laughter. Bait hadn’t won in his collision with the brick path and blood spilled down his chin as well as a huge graze on his hip and another on his elbow.
He sobbed as Blake shoved him back against the flagpole and Saint tied his hands firmly behind his back around it.
Blake grinned at me as he grabbed his cellphone from his pocket and trained it on Bait as he started up a live stream. No doubt all over campus, students were currently whipping out their phones and watching the carnage unfold.
“You are officially less than an Unspeakable,” Saint purred, circling to stand before Bait again as the others closed in at his back. I found myself moving to join them too, my shoulder brushing Kyan’s in an act of solidarity. “You will only eat if someone gives you scraps from their plate. You’re not allowed a single square of toilet paper. You won’t speak to anyone and they certainly won’t speak to you – unless they’re giving you an order. Because you are now officially the bitch of every single student at this school. As you endangered all of their lives, we’re giving them control over yours. If anyone gives you an order you now have to do as they say, not just the Night Keepers. Because you’re nothing anymore. Nothing but a ghost with no voice, no name, and no face.”
Bait whimpered as Saint retrieved a plain white mask from his book bag and a tube of superglue.
“It is your responsibility to make sure you wear this mask at all times to remind everyone that you are nothing and no one,” Saint said in a dangerous voice. “But to help you out, I’ll stick it in place for now. Once it falls off in a week or so, feel free to secure it however you like. But if any of us ever catch you not wearing it, there will be hell to pay.”
“I’ll wear it,” Bait whimpered, tears spilling down his face. “I swear. You don’t have to use the glue. I promise I’ll never take it off, I-”
“Maybe I should castrate you to stop you talking back?” Kyan suggested, plucking his hunting knife from my grip and moving forward until the blade kissed Bait’s balls.
A sound of pure terror escaped his lips and he froze entirely, staring up at Kyan like he was the devil incarnate. But I had a feeling the Night Keepers were far worse than the devil.
Saint chuckled appreciatively and proceeded to line the white mask with glue.
I watched as he prepared it and suddenly, his gaze lifted to me. He held the mask out in a silent offering, not a threat or a demand, just asking if I wanted to do the honours.
And as I thought of Tatum pinned beneath that piece of shit who’d been trying to hurt her because of this kid, it wasn’t a difficult choice to make.
I took the mask from him, careful not to touch the inside where the superglue sat before stepping forward to seal
