《Nanny and Her Four Alpha Bullies》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 ¡°You lucky little bitch! Your mom actually married our city¡¯s billionaire! You¡¯re getting out of this shithole for good, aren¡¯t you?¡± My best friend, Navis, sounded a little bitter. We grew up together in the slums until my rich new dad made me change schools. ¡°Don¡¯t be jealous, Navis. You know how beautiful my mom is.¡± I said with tears in my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m transferring to Moon River, so write to me often.¡± Navis hugged me even though she pretended to be reluctant. She slipped something secretly into my hand, ¡°A gift for the beginning of the school year.¡± She said. ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone find out. Be safe.¡± It was a cloth¨Ccovered dagger?! I smiled. Only I knew the significance of the dagger. Moonriver Boarding School is one of the most elusive schools in the country. I¡¯m hoping Moonriver will help aplish my dream. I want to be the first female warrior. I aspire to have status and dignity on my own. Bing a warrior is the only thing I can fight for with my own hands. No woman has yet passed the warrior training test, but I believe I will be the first. In our slums, there was crisis everywhere. In the past, my mom would bring home some messed up men. I hated them. They harassed me then, and I had to learn self¨Cdefense from an early age. This enhanced my love of warrior training. That¡¯s why I receive a dagger as a transfer gift. Although I now have the opportunity toe to Moon River to study, who knows when my stepfather will change his mind. I must take advantage of this opportunity. I look back at the car and see my stepbrother, Wyatt. ¡°Ready?¡± he says. I shrug. I guess I¡¯m ready. He nods once then goes around the other side of the car. There isn¡¯t a handle. I wave my hand around the side of the car and nothing happens. I m the heel of my boot into the car. The driver sighs behind me and the door opens on it¡¯s own. It¡¯s followed by Wyatt¡¯s cackles from inside the car. ¡°It¡¯s automatic,¡± Wyatt drawls. He pats my knee. ¡°Here we go to Moonriver!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find your first day guide in the student center over there,¡± Wyatt says. His raises his eyebrows and his smile gets a bit more wolfish. ¡°Good luck.¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°Thanks.¡± I m the door to the car shut the walk into the castle. There¡¯s a tall, blonde woman standing smack in the middle of the hallway. I watch as her eyes skim over my entire body from my mud¨Ccaked boots to my vintage band tee. They widen slightly. I catch a tremor in her lip. ¡°Miss, are you sure you¡¯re in the right ce?¡± she says. I look around and hold my hands out. ¡°My brother said this is the student center.¡± 124 PM Chapter 1 The woman¡¯s eyes twitch ever¨Cso slightly. She sticks out a perfectly¨Cmanicured hand. ¡°Kathy,¡± she says. ¡°And I stick out my own hand, nails coated in chipped ck nail polish. ¡°Chloe.¡± I say with all the fake sugary sweetness I can muster. you are?¡± ¡°Chloe,¡± she repeats like maple syrupced with rat poison. ¡°You¡¯re from Greendale, right? I didn¡¯t know fashion was Another once over, lingering on the holes of my tee. Interesting there.¡± My face heats up despite every bit of rage bubbling deep within me. I drop her hand. ¡°So how¡¯d you end up at Moonriver?¡± she goes on. ¡°My step¨Cfather just enrolled me. Figured it¡¯d help me get out of Greendale,¡± I cock my head. ¡°Isaac Jones?¡± Kathy¡¯s eyebrow flies up. Her sneer drops into a malicious smirk. Fuck, this isn¡¯t what I expected. ¡± ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re Cam¡¯s daughter?¡± she says. ¡°Cam Martin. Lowly caretaker to the rich¡¯s kids? Tell me, did your mom drug Isaac? Is that why he got rid of his wife?¡± She cocks her head in a mocking manor to the way I just did. ¡°I heard he lost most of his fortune in the divorce. Surprised he can even afford to send two kids here.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t,¡± I snap. ¡°And my mom didn¡¯t give Isaac shit. He pursued her, well after he and the former Mrs. Jones split. They may have gotten quickly married but, I assure you, their rtionship was all natural.¡± ¡°Interesting, Kathy drawls. I¡¯m two seconds away from bashing her perfectly white veneers into her skull. She waves a hand. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find your father to be a hot topic in town. Everyone loves the gossip associated with the billionaire and his gold¨Cdigging mistress.¡± She brushes past me. Her heels click on the floor as she walks to the front door. I can¡¯t help but see red. The dagger feels like a hot weight in my pocket. But this was Moonriver. This was a whole new territory with new dynamics to learn. With a crack of my fingers, I turn and put on the fakest smile I can muster. Kathy¡¯s waiting for me by the door. I turn to follow her. She winds me around campus and thers on about things 1 truthfully could not give a shit about. I¡¯m about to speak up and tell her to skip all the bullshit when we pass a building so unlike the rest of them. It¡¯s arge pyramid, seeming like it was plucked out of Egypt and smacked in the middle of the forest. The only thing that makes it feel more of this century is the obsidian it¡¯s made of. The light hits it and it shimmers slightly. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I ask Kathy. ¡°Oh,¡± sheughs. ¡°That¡¯s the Hayes Pyramid. Home of the Hayes brothers.¡±This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org. ¡°Hayes brothers?¡± I say. Kathy rolls her eyes. ¡°Theodore Hayes runs the school,¡± she goes on. ¡°He is in the running for the next Alpha King. The Hayes brothers are his sons. Four of them. They¡¯re wickedly attractive and smart and funny. ¡°Sounds like they¡¯re all winners,¡± I dead pan. ¡°The only winners,¡± Kathy corrects. She tips her head towards the pyramid. ¡°Are whomever they choose as their mates. I look around the pyramid and see a bunch of women frolicking about. Some are singing, some are sparring. They all seem to trying to put on some sort of show. For fuck¡¯s sake, one of the girls is doing splits in thewn and throwing Chapter 1 her head back as if she¡¯s in some sort of pornographic films. Suddenly, I hear a cry. All of the women in the yard, myself and Kathy all turn towards it. A girles out from the backside of the pyramid. Another group of girls immediately go up to console her. Kathy fakes concern in a coo ¡°Poor girl,¡± she says. ¡°Probably another reject for mother.¡± ¡°Mother?¡± I whip my head towards Kathy. ¡°Aren¡¯t we, like, under twenty?¡± Kathy hums, ¡°Yes, yes. The peak age of mating is twenty but sometimes strange things happen.¡± She says. ¡°A baby was left on the front door of the pyramid yesterday. A girl. No one can seem to find her mother. The Hayes brothers, as generous as they were, took her into their house. Now, they¡¯re trying to find a girl to help them raise her.¡± ¡°Raise her?!¡± I gasp. ¡°We¡¯re all students with full time ss schedules. No one has the time to raise a baby!¡± It seems that Moonriver is even moreplicated than I anticipated. Çú Chapter 2 Chapter 2 ¡°So who¡¯s the mom?¡± ¡°What?¡± Kathy says over her shoulder. Of the baby that the Hayes brothers have?¡± I add. ¡°Seems like an angry mistress just dropped it there out of spite.¡± Kathy stops and turns back to sneer at me. ¡°She,¡± Kathy emphasizes. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. ¡°Has unknown parentage. No one knows where or why she came to be. All we know is that she exists and has been adopted by the biggest, most powerful house on campus. Even the inner ring of the brothers knows nothing beyond that.¡± I snort. ¡°They don¡¯t have girlfriends of their own to take care of her?¡± ¡°They do,¡± Kathy drawls. ¡°But that seemed inappropriate. So they expanded the search to the whole school.¡± She stops and cocks her head, eyebrow flying into her blonde hair. ¡°Though with your mother¡¯s childcare history, maybe you¡¯d be a good fit.¡± ¡°Isaac didn¡¯t pay to tuition for me to babysit,¡± I say, sharply. ¡°Suit yourself,¡± Kathy says. ¡°As lovely as it¡¯s been showing you around, my own interview for caretaker ising up. Too¨Cda¨Cloo Without even a second nce, she turns on her heel and marches back towards the ominous looking pyramid and it¡¯s gaggle of hysteric women. I watch in disbelief. This school is full of crazy people! I can¡¯t imagine I will do anything else here besides study, train and try and be an even better candidate for warrior. Speaking of which, I should scope out the training facilities and see what they look like here. I start towards a building marked ¡°Combat Center.¡± I go for the doors then stop short when I realize I can¡¯t get in. There¡¯s a card reader. I frown and turn around to head back to the student center. I run into something wide and hard and ¡°oof¡± slightly as my face collides with it. ¡°Sorry,¡± I mumble, swiping a hand over my face. ¡°No worries,¡± the voice chuckles. It¡¯s low and deep and lights a sort of spark in my gut. I snap my eyes open. In front of me is a tree of a man. He¡¯s strikingly handsome, wavy brown hair and yellowed eyes. He rakes over my entire figure and I¡¯m immediately self¨Cconscious of the ratty shirt I put on that morning. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you before,¡± the man goes on. ¡°Freshman?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I find my voice, lodged in my throat. I motion over my shoulder slightly. Trying to check out thebat facilities but my guide didn¡¯t give me my ID. Do you think you can let me in?¡± The man¡¯s eyes do another skim over me, lingering on my breasts and hips. His gaze feels like lightning and I¡¯m immediately twitchy. I cross my arms over my chest. He snickers. ¡°You want to go to thebat facilities?¡± he says. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t someone like you be more interested in flirting with boys and making a home?¡± ¡°I have no interest in flirting.¡± I snap. I¡¯mpletely over this man¡¯s shit and this fucking school¡¯s nonsense. ¡°I¡¯m here to be a warrior.¡± The man stares at me for a moment. He blinks a few more times, eyes locked with my mine before he arches an eyebrow and speaks, low and soft. ¡°You want to be a warrior?¡± 100 Chupiter ¡°As I just said, yes,¡± I say.. He looks over my shoulder then back to me. Another sweep of my body, this time lingering on my arms and legs. Finally, he pushes past me and taps his wrist against the card reader. ¡°Thanks.¡± I mumble. We walk inside. He sticks a hand towards me. ¡°Archer.¡± ¡°Chloe,¡± I say slowly. I ignore his hand. ¡°Chloe,¡± he repeats. He pulls his hand back and clears his throat. ¡°That name sounds familiar.¡± I freeze. I close my eyes and breathe slowly. Here we go again. ¡°Yeah,¡± I say. ¡°My brother Wyatt goes here. I¡¯m Isaac Jones¡¯s stepdaughter.¡± Archer raises an eyebrow. The rest of his face is set in a hardline. ¡°Oh so I¡¯ve just let the most infamous transfer into my gym?¡± Fuck. tun I bite my lip. I look up at Archer and see no malice, just curiosity. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard about our campus¡¯s new little bundle of joy,¡± he says. ¡°Maybe you should try and apply for the mother role. Maybe those nanny skills of your whore mother are transferable. It¡¯s be a far better use of time than here to train to be a warrior you¡¯ll never be.¡± Rage seethes across my body How dare he?! ¡°Fuck you!¡± I spit. I jab my finger at his chest. ¡°Where do you get off?!¡± He holds his hands up andughs a little. ¡°Ooh, what¡¯re you going to do warrior girl? Poke me to death?¡± I shove my palm against his chest. He barely moves, a hulking mass of dick¨Cish muscle. Instead, he looks shocked I touched him. ¡°Everyone at this goddamn school is obsessed with this stupid fucking baby!¡± I shove him again. ¡°Just because my mother was a nanny does not mean I am one! Nor does it mean I should be the one to take care of the fucking brat!¡± I shove him once more. This time he steps back a bit. More shockes across his face. PER CER At the end of my tirade, we¡¯re nose to nose. I¡¯m heaving breaths that send my chest further up against his. The rubbing against each other is making my nipples pebble. That, coupled with the fact that Archer is looking at me like I¡¯m prey is making my stomach feel like lightning has rippled through it. He tips his chin higher before he wraps his hands around my biceps. In one second, he¡¯s whipped us around and pinned my back to the wall. His leg slots between mine and he uses his hips to pin me into ce. I try and fight back against him but I¡¯m barely able to move against his grasp. ¡°Let me ¡°I wriggle again. ¡°Go!¡± ¡°No,¡± he roars. ¡°Listen to me, little girl.¡± He pulls me away from the wall and ms me back against it. My head bounces and my vision goes slightly blurry. Archer shakes me and the two of him I¡¯m seeing be one again. He looks enraged. His nostrils re and the honey Chapter 2Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. I saw in his eyes turns into a fire. ¡°You¡¯re new, I get it,¡± he snaps. ¡°But you have no idea who you¡¯re dealing with. You have picked the wrong asshole to fuck with. I get what I want at this school and I do what I want. People like you don¡¯t so it¡¯s best you start to learn that.¡± I get one arm free and shove his massive chest. He barely moves and continues to re down at me before snatching my wrist in his massive hand. I whine as he twists his hand and the skin on skin burns. ¡°This school isn¡¯t for little sluts like you whoe in looking for someone¡¯s money to spend,¡± Archer hisses. ¡°I don¡¯t know how your mother seduced Isaac but I do know I won¡¯t let you get your ws into any of the people here. I¡¯ll let you off with a warning, but if I ever see you in my gym again, I¡¯ll tear you to shreds.¡± He drops my wrist and pulls away from the way. My body staggered and I almost slide to the floor. Every cell in my body is aching. Archer res down at me. ¡°Got it?¡± he snaps. I nod once, trying hard to not whimper. My arm feels numb and I rub at my red wrist. I watch Archer storm off into the gym. His fists are balled at his sides and his spine is arched in contempt. I look down at my aching hand and flex my fingers. They¡¯re stiff but nothing seems broken. I look back up and Archer is gone. I¡¯m left in the entryway of the facilities with a throbbing wrist and a bruised ego. I let my head rest against the wall and close my eyes. Maybe this wasn¡¯t the best idea. Sure, life in Greendale wasn¡¯t great. But at least rich assholes wouldn¡¯t spend their days making my life miserable. SEND GIFT Chapter 3 Chapter 3 After being beat up by that Archer guy. I dart from the gym and try and find a ce to shelter. I wind up in the dining hall eating somethingvish called ¡°ceviche.¡± It tastes like vinegar and feels like raw chicken. I¡¯ve managed to down a few bites of it when my phone goes off. A message from Wyatt blinks on my screen. Wyatt (1:45 PM): Meet me at 450 E Peak Hwy @ 2:00 PM. Don¡¯t b 18. It¡¯s ominous as ever but it¡¯s also very Wyatt. He¡¯s always been short with me. It may be his disdain towards my mother and I for ruining his daddy¡¯s perfect marriage or maybe it¡¯s just because that¡¯s who he is. Despite how vague and odd the message is, I keep Isaac¡¯s promise in the back of my mind. He told me that Wyatt would watch after me at Moonriver. Make sure I fit in and all that. So far, I¡¯ve done anything but fit in. Then again, Wyatt and I parted ways the moment I stepped in this Gods¨Cforsaken ce. Maybe he genuinely would watch after me. Or maybe this was a trap. Regardless. I dump my ceviche and start across campus. My phone tells me it¡¯s a ten minute walk meaning I¡¯ll show up right on time if I don¡¯t get lost.Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. The campus is gorgeous, I¡¯ll give it that. The greenery is in full bloom at this point of year. Large willows arch and hug the pathways that weave through the buildings. The halls and dorms look like gothic castles, dark stone with looming ck gargoyles hanging over the eaves of the roofs. My phone directs me to a smaller building. It¡¯s slightly off campus and looks nicer and newer than the other buildings. The ck marble is much like that of the Hayes pyramid but seems to look more like a church than a misced Egyptian pyramid. I look around and seem to find that everyone has abandoned this part of campus. I slowly edge toward the door. I try calling out for Wyatt but hear nothing. I step inside and call his name again. ¡°Wyan? Hello?¡± The door ms behind me. I hear a series of clicking and I immediately panic. I go to try and wrench the door open but it¡¯s locked. Great. I continue to slowly walk through the church. It¡¯s so dark inside that I can barely see where I¡¯m walking. I hear muffled noises around a corner and tentatively poke my head around to see if it¡¯s Wyatt. A young couple is entangled against a wall. Her head is tossed back in ecstasy. Her long brown hair is cascading down her shoulders and draped over her chest. Her shirt is hike high up and bunched under her chin. The man¡¯s hand is working at her tits with fervor, all while he sucks on her exposed next. His own shirt is tossed on the floor and his back. muscles are rippling in the low candle light. I am immediately embarrassed and pinned to my ce, watching as his hand moves against her skin. He slides it lower and her full chest is bared to the wind. I feel heat flush my cheeks. His hand moves in between her legs and the girl lets out a wanton moan. I p my hand over my mouth and stare at them, frozen. The man spins the girl around so his back is against the wall, all while keeping their lips locked together. She leans into him as his hand continues to work under her skirt. The leg closest to me is wraps around his hip. He moves from her mouth to suckle on her neck again and that¡¯s when we make eye contact. ¡°What the fucks?¡± he hisses. ¡°Keep going,¡± the girl whines as she gyrates her hips against his hand. ¡°Please, baby.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± the man snaps. ¡°This is a private building!¡± The girl finally turns to face me. She yelps and immediately flies from the boy. She yanks her shirt down and darts out the other side of the room. The man, still shirtless, starts towards me. I scrambled backwards. ¡°I¡¯m sorry my¨C1- my brother-¡± ¡ª 1244 PM 6 Chapter 3. ¡°I¡¯m not asking again,¡± he snaps. ¡°Who. The fuck. Are you?¡± The man looks eerily familiar. He has honey gold eyes and wavy brown hair. It hits me like a bullet train that he looks exactly like Archer. I step back again, raising my hands in defense. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry I didn¡¯t¨C ¡°You must be new,¡± the man snaps. ¡°This property is Hayes property. Exclusive to the Hayes brothers and Hayes brothers only.¡± ¡°Fuck,¡± I breathe. ¡°I was told toe here. The door was open and- ¡°By a brother?¡± he rakes his eyes over me and scoffs. ¡°Don¡¯t know which of my brothers would ever mess with someone as disgusting as you.¡± ¡°No, no!¡± I shout. I immediately realize I¡¯m utterly screwed. This man is a Hayes brother, an alpha king in training. And I have just barged in on his secret space and ruined his tryst with some girl. He seethes at me and I back up again. My back hits the wall and I¡¯m cornered. ¡°Wyatt!¡± I yell. ¡°My step brother Wyatt told me toe here!¡± The man stops. He furrows his brow. ¡°Wyatt? Wyatt Jones?¡± ¡°Y¨Cyes!¡± I stutter. ¡°He¡¯s my step brother. I¡¯m Chloe Jones!¡± The man turns over his shoulder. ¡°Jones!¡± he barks. My step¨Cbrother emerges from the shadows. He looks confused by my presence. ¡°Chloe?¡± ¡°Wyatt!¡± I shout. ¡°Tell them you told me me toe here. I didn¡¯t I didn¡¯t mean to intrude!¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Wyatt says slowly. He looks at the other man. ¡°This is the Hayes temple. I¡¯d never tell you toe here.¡± I feel my stomach sink to my toes. It was a trick. I knew it. ¡°Beau, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Wyatt says and shakes his head. He looks back at me incredulously. ¡°She¡¯s not used to this sort of luxury. She must¡¯vee in here because it looked nice. I apologize.¡± ¡°ssic gold¨Cdigger, huh?¡± The Hayes brother, Beau, remarks with a chuckle. ¡°Putting yourself in ces you don¡¯t belong.¡± ¡°Just like her mother, really,¡± Wyatt says still shaking his head. He pauses and looks back at me. I want to tear his eyes out. ¡°I told my father it was a bad idea to send her here. She¡¯d just make trouble.¡± I whip my head to see Beau walking towards me. I¡¯m utterly speechless as he takes my chin is his hands. His touch is gentle, despite the malice in which he spoke to me with. He turns my face towards the dim candlelight then turns it back to look him in the eyes. They¡¯re the same honey¨Cdrenched fire as Archer¡¯s. I swallow thickly. ¡°Now, now,¡± he tuts. ¡°I love me a little trouble. Usually tastes the sweetest.¡± His tongue darts out and wets his bottoms lip. Despite myself, I whimper. Beau¡¯s mouth curls up like the Chesiree cat. I look over his shoulder at Wyatt, who¡¯s lips are stretched into a smirk. My blood boils but I¡¯m still frozen in ce. Beau runs his thumb over my lips and my eyes jerk back to him. Chapter 3 ¡°Boys, he yells. ¡°Come see the little rabbit I¡¯ve caught us to y with.¡± Three other figures emerge in the doorway. Çú Chapter 4 Chapter 4 The four bulking figures stand in front of me I know immediately that they are the Hayes brothers by the fact that they look like fucking Gods. Rippling muscle, sharp jewlies and eyes that seem to glow. They all slightly different, however There are two ardentical men, albeit opposite in the expressions of their faces. One is Beau, still senrking as he grips my chin. The other in ring down at me. I recognize him as the man I met earlier, Archer. He will holds the same anger I left him with. The third is chewing on his lips. He stands behind Archer and looks timid. He darting his eyes back and forth between the twins. He¡¯s just a beautiful as the twins but has a different nose and shocking, glowing grey eyes. The fourth stands next to the Archer wearing the same sneer on his face. He¡¯s slimmer than the other three and his hair is long enough that it¡¯s curling around his ears. His freckles are much more prominent than the other brothers. Beau drops his hand and motions towards me. Archer darts out. He moves like light, so fast I can barely see him. Next thing I know, his arms are wrapped around me, bolting me to my ce. I wriggle slightly but there¡¯s no give. I¡¯m not going anywhere. The other angry brother pulls out a pile of photos. He flips through them, arching an eyebrow before handing them off to the long¨Chaired brother. ¡°That conniving bitch,¡± Beau says. He shakes his heard, hands on his hips. ¡°She really thought this through, huh? Marry Jones. Get her kid into Moonriver and then repeat the whole process.¡± The long¨Chaired brother pauses in his review on the photos to rake his eyes over me. It¡¯s the same skin¨Ccrawling look Kathy gave me on day one. He looks back down at the photos once more. ¡°At least her mother had looks,¡± he says before passing the photos off to the next brother. ¡°This chick looks like she just crawled out of a sewer¡± ¡°Oh fuck you!¡± I shout, finally regaining my voice. Archer nickers. His breath is hot on the shell of my ear. It lights a fire across my body. ¡°What?¡± he says. ¡°You mad we caught you before you were able to entrap a golden boy just like mommy?¡± ¡°My mother didn¡¯t trap anyone?¡± I spit back. ¡°She and Isaac actually love each other.¡±Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. ¡°Maybe she¡¯s right, the fourth brother says. The timid one. He¡¯s finally received the pictures. ¡°Maybe Jones did really fall in love with the local nanny? Beau scoffs. ¡°Please,¡± he says. ¡°Jones is not dumb enough to do that. You really think he can¡¯t sniff out a gold digging whore?¡± Thest word resonates in my cars and I see red. ¡°Fuck you!¡± I shout again. ¡°You rich assholes all think money is the only thing that matters!¡± Over the whole situation, I wriggle again. The arms locked around me barely move so I decide to use other options. I sink my teeth into the arm belted around my chest. Metal floods my mouth and I hear a yelp from behind me. The arm drops immediately. I drop to the floor with a gasp. I scramble backwards, keeping my enemies in front of me. They¡¯re all looking at me with a mix of shock and disgusting. The long haired brother scoffs. ¡°Careful, Archie,¡± he says. ¡°She may have infected you with her nasty scavenger disease.¡± Chapter 4 Archer shakes his arm and curses. The blood has stopped dripping and the only thing that remains is a sight imprint of my teeth in his skin. He growls at me. ¡°To think I was going to let this lunatic watch the child,¡± he sneers. He stands up straight and res down at me. My heart stutters in my chest. Despite all of the assholes I¡¯ve endured in my life, this one is the most menacing. He looks back at his brothers. ¡°Boys,¡± he says. ¡°I think we¡¯ve got ourselves another Untouchable.¡± The brothersugh amongst themselves. I look at all of them with an indescribable level of disgust. ¡°The fuck is an untouchable?¡± I scowl. ¡°The lowliest of the school poption,¡± Beau says. ¡°Anyone who¡¯s anyone will refuse to talk to you. Also, you get to live in the basement.¡± His lips stretch into a menacing smile. ¡°Hope you enjoy the cold.¡± ¡°Ohe on,¡± I throw back at them. ¡°You can¡¯t possibly expect me to go along to that. You think just because daddy owns the school you can get what you want?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t think,¡± Archer says. ¡°We know.¡± I shake my head and scoff. This entire situation is preposterous. I¡¯m sick and tired of men. I¡¯ve been dealing with assholes since I was seven. A whole eleven years ofplete and utter male bullshit. At least everyone in Greendale knew not to mess with me after I shed that one guys arm open with my dagger. My dagger. My hand immediately goes to my pocket. The iron dagger sits under my palm and feels like my savior in that moment. Slowly, I get to my feet. I make sure to stagger a bit to make them think I¡¯m weak. Then, I strike. I yank the dagger out of my pocket and lunge at Archer. I¡¯m quick but he¡¯s quicker. He jumps out of the way as I sh through the air. The other brothers immediately start growling in my peripheral. I flip the de in my hand and take up an offensive stance. I throw my arm through the air again. Archer pedals backwards out of my reach. He¡¯s dangerously close to the wall. I know I have him pinned. I go to deliver my final blow and my wrist is caught Before I can even register what¡¯s happening, I¡¯m flying through the air. My back hits the ground and pain shoots up my spine. Archer¡¯s full weight pins me to the ground. I feel cold. against my neck. My hand is empty and I immediately know he¡¯s got my dagger. Hot air hits my ear again and the fire is back across my skin. My nipples pebble and I struggle against him. Is it not embarrassing enough that we just got bested? We have to be aroused now too? Archieughs in my ear. ¡°You¡¯re so young,¡± he coos. A shiver scales down my bruised spine and beats at my bruised ego. ¡°You haven¡¯t learned that it¡¯s not a weapon that makes you a hunter. It¡¯s skill. Something that you clearlyck.¡± His weight leaves my chest and I huff out all the air within my lungs. I am confronted, for the first time, with a sense of not being enough. The power that I pride myself so deeply on, cannot ovee the strength that is embedded in the Alpha blood of the Hayes brothers. ¡°Oh sweetheart,¡± Beau coos from my side. ¡°We haven¡¯t even give you a taste of what it is to live on our campus and you already look this pathetic. You¡¯re ruined.¡± I look at him and try to keep the tears from welling in the corner of my eyes. I turn it into rage and spit at his feet. It only makes himugh more. Someone else drags me to my feet. They throw a grey vest at me and force me to put it on, all whileughing. Archer positions me against the wall and takes out his phone. He snaps a picture of me as the brothers cackle behind him. He turns the phone and shows me the picture. I look positively awful, disheveled and muddy. Below my picture the caption reads ¡°SAVAGE WOMAN. BEWARE OF THIS UNTOUCHABLE!!!!¡± Archie pulls his phone back and I can see him smirking as he uploads the picture to Instagram. ¡°Wee to the world of the Untouchables. He says and smiles with malice. I look up and make eye contact with Wyatt, who¡¯s been watching all of this. He tuts and breaks into a smile so devious, it sent a shudder down my back. Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Archer and Beau literally threw me out of their temple. Inded in the dirt with a thud and immediately turned on my back to curse out my assants. Fortunately for them, they¡¯d already shut the door and were hidden from my view. I stood up and brushed myself off. I¡¯d had enough of this new school for today and was ready to retire to sleep. I marched back over to the student center. One of the guards gave me my ID and pointed to the dorm I was supposed to be in. I thanked him and got a wary nod before he buried himself back in his work. Weird. This whole ce was fucking weird. I walked all the way across campus to my dorm. Apparently my luggage had been brought there by some of the other guides. There was a pit in my stomach slowly sinking down into my toes. Something about it didn¡¯t feel right. Esther Hall was one of the smaller dorms on campus. Nevertheless, it was still just as beautiful as the rest of the buildings. I held my ID in my hand and pushed into the building. There was a small turnstile waiting for me, I pressed my ID into it and held my breath. DENIED. Right. Of course. I tried again, almost out of disbelief. This could not be happening. How was this happening? DENIED. I tried again and again and each time, a bright red word appeared and a sour buzzing noise that made me want to sink my fist into the key card reader. DENIED. DENIED. DENIED.Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. ¡°It¡¯s not going to change,¡± a voice says. I snap my head towards the sound of it. A guard is sitting behind a desk to the right of me that I missed when I walked in. His legs are up on desk and crossed at the ankle. He¡¯s slightly overweight andpletely disheveled. ¡°What?¡± I say. He taps his finger on the desk out of my line of sight. ¡°Chloe Kissimet, right?¡± he says. ¡°Just got your name on the newest Untouchables list.¡± ¡°Oh for fuck¡¯s sake-¡°I mumble under my breath. I suck in a lungful of air. ¡°Look, my shit is upstairs in the dorm that was assigned to me. If you¡¯re not going to let me up can you please go get it?¡± There was a ttering outside the dorm. I look out the window and see a bunch of fabric swaying in the wind. It increases in capacity until a suitcasees barreling out of the sky and thuds on the ground. My eyes widen in horror when I notice the bright green luggage tag with my initials on it. I look back at the guard, absolutely aghast. He smirks at me andzily points out the window. ¡°That yours?¡± 13 Chapter 3 I bust out of the dorm and into the madness. My things are everywhere. They¡¯re all stained with some blotchy grey ink. Even the new Chanel suit that Isaac got for me. All grey. I crumble to the floor and begin sifting through the wreckage, hopeful to find something that¡¯s not grey. I find no such thing. For the first time since arriving on this campus, I¡¯m unsure of what to do next. Utter despair creeps up into my brain like a parasite. I hold the shreds of my favorite tee and feel tears pricking in my eyes. Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I whirl around and immediately take an offensive stance. To my surprise, the girl in front of me is small and poses no threat. Her eyes are big behindrge framed sses. Her ears are slightly too big for her head, making her look a bit like a frightened mouse. ¡°Excuse me?¡± she squeaks. ¡°Yes?¡± I say back, still unsure of everyone. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to take you to your new room,¡± she says. Her voice shakes slightly. ¡°Oh,¡± I drop my stance and look at the mess of a suitcase surrounding me. ¡°Let me just-¡°I start to collect all my belongings and throw them in the suitcase. One of the wheels is busted so it¡¯s going to be a pain to tote it wherever this girl is taking me. I pack up all my tattered things and look back at the girl. She nods once before scurrying off into the campus. She winds me through the school to the other side of the property. I feel a shred of hope when we reach arger building than Ester Hall. The hope is destroyed when she brings me around the side of the building to a cer door. She pulls the door open and walks down dimly lit steps. I feel like I¡¯m entering a prisoner¨Cof¨Cwar camp as I walk into the room. It¡¯s a dirt shell with a few cots scattered throughout it. Everyone in the room is wearing grey and looks absolutely miserable. It¡¯s a sickening sight to see. ¡°Well,¡± the small girls says and shoves her sses up her nose. ¡°Wee to the Cave.¡± I look around again in awe. ¡°Are you all- ¡°Untouchable, yes,¡± the girl says. She motions me towards an empty cot and we both sit down on it. I drop my suitcase on the floor. It feels so out of ce in a setting like this. ¡°The Hayes brothers all marked us as Untouchable in some way or another,¡± the girl continues. ¡°They all tend to do the same thing to our belongings after we¡¯ve wronged them in one way or another.¡± She gives me a sad smile. ¡°Unfortunately the sight of your clothes flying through the air is one I¡¯ve seen a lot.¡± She sighs. ¡°For all intensive purposes, we¡¯re still students here. We still attend all of our sses and get to graduate at the end of it all. But no one talks to us. The only people who can even address us are the Untouchables themselves. Even professors tend to ignore us in ss.¡± ¡°Gods damned,¡± I breath. ¡°That¡¯s inhumane.¡± The girl shrugs. ¡°It¡¯s kind of nice to be ignored. Better than being picked on. Oh, I¡¯m FA by the way.¡± ¡°FA?¡± I question. ¡°Is that short for something?¡± She immediately turns pink in the face and gives me an awkwardugh. She adjusts her sses again. ¡°Yes, unfortunately. Fat Ass.¡± ¡°Fat Ass!!¡± I gasp. ¡°That¡¯s your name?!¡± She tips her head. ¡°Not, governmentally, per say but, yes. Here it is.¡± ¡°It¡¯s those fucking brothers, isn¡¯t it?¡± I snap. ¡°They¡¯re such assholes. 2/3 Chapter 3 ¡°They¡¯re in charge.¡± FA sighs. ¡°What¡¯d they call you?¡± ¡°Savage Woman,¡± I hiss. ¡°I tried to put that Archer guy in his ce and he over powered me. How is no one doing anything about this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not too bad,¡± Another girl says. She¡¯s broader than FA and has rippling shoulder muscles. Her long hair is braided down her back. She has a slight ent. ¡°We get food. We get our education. Sure the cave sucks but no one really bothers us down here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Peacey,¡± FA says. ¡°Short for Pretentious Cunt.¡± I immediately grimace and look at Peacey. She smiles back at me. ¡°I told Neil his recreation of Starry Night was shite the second day of sses. He told me I was a pretentious cunt and now I¡¯m here¡± ¡°So you¡¯ve all had issues with the Hayes brothers?¡± I say as I look around. Everyone nods at me. ¡°Why don¡¯t you fight back? ¡°The Hayes brothers run the school,¡± A dark skinned girl says as she shakes her head. ¡°Even the staff is eating out of their palms in order to get in the good graces of Alpha Hayes, their dad. Anyone who even attempts to fight them is beaten down.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re justcent?!¡± I say, frantically. ¡°We have each other,¡± Peacey says. ¡°We take care of one another and we make sure anyone who does face the Hayes. wrath feels like their part of our family. You included.¡± I sigh. I don¡¯t know what else to say at this point. The day was exhausting enough as it was but adding in the political nonsense was even more draining. I let my suitcase fall to the floor and slump into the bed next to FA. She rubs my shoulders. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay!¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯ll still get your education and be a functioningdy of society.¡± But I don¡¯t want to be ady. I want to be a warrior. I¡¯m half tempted to tell FA that but I just smile at her sadly. She smiles back. ¡°Lights out in twenty. Do you need anything? I shake my head. FA pats me on the back once more before stepping away. Twenty minutester, the lights are out but I¡¯m still wide awake. My mind is churning with the events of the day. I can¡¯t even process them at that moment. It takes me a good three hours to finally start to fall asleep. Just when my eyelids are fluttering shut, I feel something warm and soft between my arms. I try and brush it off but then I hear a giggly coo. My eyes fly open and I look down into the bright blue eyes of a baby. SENDE Chapter 6 Chapter 6 ¡°How the fuck do you lose a baby!!! ¡°Ohe on, why is it my fault?? I left her with Steve!¡± ¡°And I gave her back to you while I went to ss!¡± ¡°Well I had things to do ¡°More like people¡± ¡°Oh fuck off, Neil. Sorry you¡¯re a prude.¡± ¡°At least I¡¯m not a slut-¡± ¡°ENOUGH¡± Archer barks. He loosens his grip on Beau¡¯s cor and watches as his twin brother slinks to the floor. ¡°This is everyone¡¯s fault. We were supposed to keep an eye on her.¡± ¡°I did my job,¡± Archer¡¯s younger brother, Steve, says. He jabs a thumb at Beau. ¡°Someone was having chicks in his room while he was on baby duty.¡± Beau, still on the floor, holds his hands up in defense. ¡°Listen, I just wanted to talk to her about the nanny position.¡± He says. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault she had great tits and those fuck me eyes-¡± ¡°You¡¯re disgusting¡± Archer snaps, ¡°Do you ever think of anything besides pussy?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Beau says, getting up. ¡°My dick.¡± The two other brothers groan in response. Archer seethes. He brushes past Beau, mming their shoulders together. He stops in front of the crib where a little girl was supposed to be. ¡°Alright, so maybe just maybe! ¨C 1 fell asleep while watching her, Beau says. ¡°You really are insufferable,¡± the fourth brother, Neil, says. ¡°You all know how much she cries,¡± Beau went on. ¡°She finally shut the hell up so I thought she was asleep. I closed my eyes for, like, five minutes and I look up and she¡¯s gone. I thought Steve was doing his creepy experiments on her again!¡± ¡°They¡¯re not creepy, Steve protests. ¡°Im trying to see if I can harness her asleep wolf to try and lead us back to her mom. You only think they¡¯re creepy because you and your wolf have never had a conversation behind who to fuck!¡±This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Beau scoffs. ¡°We¡¯ve had plenty of meaningful convos!¡± ¡°Enough,¡± Neil, the eldest, snaps. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter which one of you idiots actually lost the child. It matters that we find her. She¡¯s only a year old and I don¡¯t want her out there on her own.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s split up.¡± Archer says, crossing his arms over his chest. ¡°Check all parts of the campus. She can¡¯t have gotten far.¡± ¡°Neil and I will get Wyatt toe with us to south campus,¡± Steve says. ¡°Beau and I will get north campus, Archer agrees. ¡°Meet at the temple in an hour.¡± The brothers all nod at their leader before darting off in different directions. An hourter, they reconvene at the Hayes temple on campus. It¡¯s ck marble exterior is shining in the moonlight. A massive blonde wolf emerges from the woods, it shakes and slowly turns into Neil. He pushes his long hair off his forehead and marches towards his other brother, perched on the steps of the temple. 12:45 PM Chupter 6 ¡°Any luck?¡± Steve says. Neil shakes his head. ¡°After we split by south road, I traveled the perimeter west. No one had seen the kid.¡± ¡°Fuck, Steve hisses. Two more wolves emerged from the east side of the temple. The dark brown one nips at the grey one. They both shake and transform into their human selves. Beauughs at Wyatt Jones, campus beta, while Wyatt sneers back at him. *Goddamn it, Beau,¡± Wyatt snaps. ¡°Is nothing serious to you?¡± ¡°Just a love bite, baby, Beau coos back. Wyatt lets out a low growl. The biggest of the five wolves emerges from behind the temple. He¡¯s a deep, chocte brown and stockier than the other four. He lets out a warning bark at Beau before shaking into the human form of Archer. He scowls at his twin brother. ¡°Focus,¡± he hisses. He looks at hispanions. ¡°Any luck?¡± The group is quiet. Archer lets out a low growl. He turns and sails his fist into the trunk of a nearby tree. It snaps in half immediately, sending a deafening crack into the air. Slowly, the tree aches and falls to the ground. Archer¡¯s shoulders are still hunched in anger as he looks back to the group. ¡°Someone call grounds keeping, Beau snorts under his breath. Steve smacks him lightly on the arm. ¡°We¡¯ve looked everywhere,¡± Neil says. ¡°I¡¯ve even sent out a distress call to some pack members to keep an eye out. No one¡¯s seen anything.¡± ¡°Did we check the Cave?¡± Wyatt says. All of the brothers sharply turn to look at him. Steve looks nervous. Neil and Beau wear curious expressions. Archer cracks his knuckles. ¡°What about the Cave?¡± he snaps. Wyatt shrugs. ¡°I dunno,¡± he says, tentatively. ¡°Is it possible one of the Untouchables got hold of the baby?¡± ¡°Oh like your bitch step¨Csister?¡± Beau chimes in, ¡°Feral animal that one is.¡± Archer raises an eyebrow at Wyatt, pushing him to answer the twin¡¯s question. Wyatt shrugs. Archer¡¯s face falls into an amused and contemtive smirk. ¡°She¡¯s defiant enough, that¡¯s for sure,¡± he adds. ¡°No one¡¯s ever attempted to strike me. I apud her audacity.¡± ¡°She¡¯s got fire in her eyes, that¡¯s for sure,¡± Beau snorts. He pauses. ¡°Stirs something deep within me.¡± Neil sends him a look. ¡°Right then,¡± he says. ¡°Let¡¯s get cross campus to the Cave. Even if the kid¡¯s not there, maybe the idiots saw something.¡± ¡°They¡¯re such cowards,¡± Wyatt added. ¡°If they saw anything they¡¯d give it up without a fight.¡± ¡°You better hope it¡¯s not that sister of yours,¡± Archer says. ¡°Or she¡¯s fucking done for.¡± Wyatt nods. ¡°Agreed. I don¡¯t even think my father can get her out of that mess,¡± With one final nod of agreement, Archer took off and bolted into the woods. He darted behind some trees and a secondter, the massive brown wolf was sprinting across the campus. The rest of the brothers and Wyatt all split Chapter O exchanged looks before that all took off after Archer. Each of their own wolves sprouted from their skins and chased after the alpha It only took them a few moments to get across campus. They all stopped in front of the rickety doors. Each human form emerged from the wolf form with a tenacity in their eyes. Archer gave a half a human growl at the door. It was locked from the inside. With another huff. Archer mmed his heel into the lock. It shattered in half and the doors flew in. With Archer in the lead, the five walked down the stairs of the Cave and into the dimly lit cavern. Several giggles and voices were hear from farther down the passageway. Archer put his index finger to his lips to keep the group quiet. They stalked through the Cave like hunters. As they emerged into the more well lit room, theughter got louder. All of the voices were quiet when the brothers set their eyes on the scene in front of them. Each of their eyes went wide. The Untouchables were all surrounding Wyatt¡¯s step¨Csister, Chloe. In her arms, was their missing baby. Chapter 7 Chapter 7 The baby is out of my arms for a half a second before she bursts into tears. The dickwad, Archer, is holding her protectively to his chest. His brothers rush to his sides, Wyatt stands in the doorway to the Cave, ck jawed. ¡°You bitch!¡± Archer snaps. The baby wails louder. ¡°You think this is funny? Bringing the baby into your little game of being the most difficult person on campus!?¡± The baby is screaming now, eyes welled with tears. I try and reach for her but I¡¯m immediately held back by two of the other brothers. Beau and the one with long hair pin my arms to my sides. ¡°You¡¯re hurting her!¡± I cry. Archer ignores me. ¡°This was a mistake,¡± he snaps. ¡°Mark my words, I¡¯ll make your life a living hell from now on.¡± I try and lurch forward again, out of the brother¡¯s grasp. I manage to get off the seat and onto the floor. I¡¯m grappling along to the floor. Beau snatches my wrist and forces me to my knees. I¡¯m looking up at Archer and the baby, hate and malice burning within me. ¡°I didn¡¯t steal her!¡± I yell. ¡°I woke up and she was in my bed and ¨C and I didn¡¯t know where she came from but she was happy and I was going to tell you and ¨C ¡°Enough!¡± Archer bellows. ¡°I know you took her. Our pyramid is about a mile from here. Are you telling me the kid walked? Archer clenches his grip on the baby. His arms ripple around her and she wails louder. He¡¯s suffocating her without even knowing it. I fight against the other brothers, ¡°You¡¯re hurting her!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Archer snaps. His arms tense even more around her. ¡°Archie,¡± The brother not holding me down warns. He¡¯s nervously looking back and forth between me and the baby. ¡°I cannot believe you¡¯d try and take something from the Hayes pyramid!¡± Archer goes on. He¡¯s ranting now, ring down at me and screaming. I wriggle again. ¡°Archie,¡± the same brother warns. ¡°Arch,¡± Beau grunts, fighting to keep me still. ¡°Ease up on the kid.¡± The baby gurgles, her face bing a bit purple from the exertion of sobbing. The light against Beau, knowing his grip is loosening. ¡°Archer!¡± The other brother holding me down says. ¡°The kid¡¯s freaking out. Let her down.¡± ¡°She¡¯s suffocating!¡± I screech. ¡°FUCK!¡± Archer yells. His biceps rx and he shifts the baby to the nervous brother. He immediately wraps his arms around the kid and starts to hush her. He looks entirely out of ce. ¡°How do I make it stop?¡± he says, hurriedly. ¡°Rock it!¡± Beau says. The nervous brother starts swinging the baby in the air. The movement is erratic and makes her even more upset Chapter 7 ¡°Gods damned it, Steven,¡± the long haired brother snaps. ¡°Not like that. Give her to me. He lets go of my one and Beau captures it in his hands, I wrench my arm out but I¡¯m locked in. The baby girl is absolutely inconsble now. The long haired brother takes her into Arms and rocks her gently. He soothes a hand over her head. The rest of the brothers watch one. The nervous one, Steven, chews on his lip. ¡°Give her to mel¡± I snap. ¡°Absolutely not,¡± Archer sneers over the wails. ¡°You¡¯re not getting your dirty hands on her anymore than you already have.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not calming down,¡± the long haired brother says. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do.¡± Wyatt finally pops in. He¡¯s finally managed to snap out of his daze. ¡°Maybe she needs food,¡± he says. ¡°We don¡¯t have any fucking food, Wyatt,¡± Archer snaps. ¡°Go get some, Beta,¡± Beau hisses from behind me. Wyatt darts off out of the Cave. ¡°She¡¯s not hungry!¡± I say. ¡°She¡¯s scared. You¡¯re scaring her.¡± ¡°She¡¯s gonna cry herself to death,¡± Beau chirps. ¡°Shut up, Beau!¡± The long haired brother says. ¡°I¡¯m trying¡± ¡°Well try harder, Neil, Beau throws back.This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org. We¡¯re getting absolutely no where and the baby is not calming down at all. The Untouchables are all gathered in a corner, anxiously watching along at the baby they were just giggling with. I try one more time. ¡°Give. Her. To me,¡± I grit out. Neil looks down at me then up at Archer. Archer is ring daggers at him. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare.¡± ¡°Give her the damn kid!¡± Beau finally cries, releasing his hold on my wrists. 1 stagger forward and catch myself on my hands. As soon as I regained my bnce, I¡¯m reaching for the baby. Neil puts her in my arms gently then backs up. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Archer seething in rage. He goes to scream at Neil just as the baby hups. I look down at her and we make eye contact. Her eyes are so big, so blue. They seem to glow under the dim light of the Cave. She blinks twice and the tears collected in the corner of her eyes stream down her cheeks. She gives a slight whimper and I immediately coo back at her. The next noise she makes is a bit happier, followed by another giggly gurgle. Shockingly, the kid starts to break into a smile. I boop her nose yfully. She giggles back and wraps her tiny hand around my index finger. I stroke her back with my other thumb and let her nestle between my arms, full of happy baby noises. Finally, I allow myself to look up. The other brothers look shocked. ¡°Alright,¡± Archer says. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Give her back.¡± He goes to grab her from me and I immediately shield her. Neil grabs Archer¡¯s wrist. He looks at his brother and shakes his head. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± he says. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen that kid smile. And in her arms. That can¡¯t be a coincidence.¡± Chapter 7 ¡°She looks so at peace,¡± Steven says from behind Neil. ¡°It¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s luck,¡± Archer snaps. ¡°I dunno, Arch,¡± Beau says from besides me. ¡°I gotta admit, she may be the only one at this school fit to take care of Mia ¡°Mia!¡± I look up at Beau. ¡°Is that her name?¡± He nods. ¡°That¡¯s the only thing it said in the card when we found her.¡± ¡°Mia.¡± I repeat and look down at the kid. She squeals in delight. ¡°Gods above,¡± Neil hisses in disbelief. There¡¯s some thudding from the hallway leading to the room. Wyattes in like a bat out of hell holding a massive jar of applesauce. ¡°I got this,¡± he huffs. Beau stands up and crosses the room. He pats Wyatt on the shoulder. ¡°Good work, Beta,¡± he says. ¡°But I think your baby sister is doing juuuust fine without it.¡± I look back down at Mia. Her big blue eyes are now closed. Her tiny fist is locked around my finger still. I look up at the brothers and swallow thickly. This may be worse than being an Untouchable. É« Chapter 8 Chapter 8 41 ¡°This isn¡¯t happening.¡± Archer says. He¡¯s still protesting and has been since we left the Cave. Mia is still asleep in my arms. She looks so soft, bundled up like this. Myself, Wyatt and the Hayes brothers are all walking back to their pyramid. They insisted we take her back there after Mia¡¯d been out of her crib for so long. The walk is short but I¡¯ve barely been able to say anything. In fact, I think I¡¯ve said three words since she was put into my arms. They¡¯ve been bickering back and forth the whole time. ¡°Give it a rest, Arch,¡± Beau snaps. ¡°You¡¯ve given us no solid reason as to why she shouldn¡¯t take care of the kid.¡± ¡°You all saw how she drew the knife on me!¡± Archer says. ¡°She¡¯s insane just like her batshit step¨Cdad.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Wyatt chirps. ¡°That¡¯s my dad your talking about.¡± Archer whirls around and jabs his index finger into Wyatt¡¯s chest.. ¡°Your dad suggested this psychopath be allowed in Moonriver,¡± Archer sneers. ¡°Among all the people of high society who actually deserve to be here.¡± ¡°I deserve to be here!¡± Wyatt protests. He throws a hand towards me. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault she¡¯s insane!¡± ¡°We keep saying she¡¯s insane,¡± Beau drawls. ¡°Yet we know nothing about this chick. Is it possible we just got off on the wrong foot?¡± ¡°For Gods sake, Beau,¡± Archer says. ¡°She tried to kill me. What about that is getting off on the wrong foot??¡± I¡¯m about to pipe up and remind them I¡¯m right. Fucking. There. The quietest of the brother¡¯s, Steve, I think, cuts me off. ¡°She¡¯s not a nobledy,¡± he says. We don¡¯t know what health care they have where she¡¯s from. She could have some sort of disease and pass it onto the baby.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°It would be risky to even attempt to give her the kid.¡± ¡°She also hates us,¡± Beau adds with a quirk of his head. ¡°Which means she may have another motive besides taking care of the kid. We did make her Untouchable.¡± We reach the pyramid. The brothers, and Wyatt, are quiet a moment. They linger outside. Finally, Neil, the long- haired one, speaks. ¡°We have to look at what we know,¡± he says. ¡°Mia stopped crying as soon as she was in her arms. None of the girls we interviewed could do that. Sure, she hates us. But she can¡¯t hate the baby. It¡¯s a baby. Plus, if her story is true, the kid crawling into her arms. Something drew Mia to her. She didn¡¯t have that reaction with anyone else.¡± The other brothers and Wyatt are silent. None of them cane up with any sort of rebuttal. Neil chews his bottom lip. Finally he nods once. ¡°She¡¯ll take care of the baby,¡± he says. ¡°Under our watch,¡± ¡°Under our watch?¡± Archer repeats. ¡°You mean in the Pyramid?¡± He almost growls as he looks me over. ¡°Fuck no.¡± ¡°What other option do we have?¡± Neil says. ¡°None of us have time to take care of a miserable kid.¡± ¡°Yeah, but live in our house?¡± Beau looks nervous. He shakes his head sharply. ¡°I don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be the best way for us to all watch over her and make sure there¡¯s no funny business,¡± Neil says. ¡°Bullshit,¡± Archer snaps. ¡°She¡¯ll probably try to kill us in our sleep.¡± 12:45PM Chapter 8 ¡°Lock her in her room?¡± Beau says. ¡°How¡¯s she going to take care of the baby then?¡± Neil says. ¡°We can take shifts,¡± Archer says. ¡°Like we do with watch.¡± Neil shakes his head. ¡°We tried that. She wouldn¡¯t stop crying¡± ¡°I can watch her,¡± Wyatt tries.Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. ¡°You¡¯re campus Beta,¡± Archer snorts. ¡°You have much more important things to be doing.¡± ¡°I can do both?¡± ¡°No you cannot,¡± Beau snaps. ¡°You barely can do your own duties. Need I mention the incident at homing?¡± ¡°Our only option is this girl,¡± Neil says. ¡°I refuse, Archer. ¡°You don¡¯t get to,¡± Neil. ¡°¡ªand then the incident at promst year?¡± Beau is still rattling off Wyatt¡¯s offenses. ¡°Gods, Beau. Do you have a running list of all my wrong¨Cdoings?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still refusing, Neil.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn. She¡¯s doing it.¡± ¡°Her diseases?¡± Steve says, bbergasted. ¡°Is no one thinking of her diseases?¡± They all look at me. My head is spinning with the constant bickering. In my arms, Mia stirs slightly. I immediately look down at her. Sure enough, she¡¯s still asleep. Her hand is flexing against my index finger, squeezing and pulling. I look back up at the men in front of me. ¡°I¨CI don¡¯t know,¡± I say quietly. ¡°I don¡¯t know a single thing about this kid. She just crawled in with me, I swear. I can¡¯t be expected to be her caretaker because she came to me. I don¡¯t even know if the bullshit story you told everyone is even true!¡± Beau looks at Archer, who¡¯s lip twitches. Steven slinks back in on himself. Wyatt¡¯s eyes wander. Neil keeps a straight face. He clears his throat. ¡°The story behind how she came to us is unimportant,¡± he says. ¡°What is important is that someone takes care of her.¡± ¡°But who are you to ask this of me?¡± I snap. I¡¯m beginning to feel angry again. The mes of disgust and my rage towards these rich, douchebags. ¡°We¡¯re just three men who don¡¯t know how to raise a kid,¡± Neil says. ¡°We need you¡¯re help just as much as Mia needs you.¡± I scoff. ¡°Sure you do,¡± I say. ¡°You¡¯re all a bunch of arrogant, pompous pricks. You couldn¡¯t raise a kid if you tried.¡± ¡°Charming. Beau deadpans. He nudges Neil. ¡°You sure about this?¡± ¡°Very sure,¡± Neil says. ¡°Chloe, please.¡± It¡¯s the first time someone has used my actual name on campus and not sounded disgusted to be doing so. I look up at Neil and then back down at the baby. Chapters A baby. It¡¯s a lot of responsibility. I¡¯m only neen and I¡¯m supposed to raise another wolf to be her own person? In unfathomable. Besides the fact that not one of these brothers have given me anything but the absolute worst since I showed up here. Mia is still asleep. She¡¯s so small, so helpless. I think of my mom. I think of what¡¯d she do if given a baby in my position. Cam Kissimet would never let a child go unattended. It was one of the best features about her. She was a saint amongst sinners. Especially in Greendale. With a heaving sigh, I looked up and met Neil¡¯s ¡°What¡¯s in it for me?¡± eyes. Beau immediately groans and Archer breaks into a horrific growl. Steven looks like he¡¯s about to have a nervous break down. Wyatt stands behind them all, shaking his head as if this is something disgraceful. I try to keep my face as neutral as possible. I lock eyes with Neil again and arch my eyebrow. He nods once then licks the front of his teeth. ¡°I will free the Untouchables.¡± SEND GUT Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Limmediately made up my mind. The baby reminded me, not only, of my mother but of my childhood. My mother would often skip dates she was asked on in order to watch the kids she was hired to take care of. It wasn¡¯t until thirteen that I finally noticed how lonely my mother was. So I told her I¡¯d watch the kids for a few hours while she got ready and went out. I¡¯d spent my nights holding diapers and feeding bottles while my mom sifted through dickwad after dickwad. It wasn¡¯t until Isaac that she finally came home happy. She blushed when I asked her how it was. That kind of joy was the reason I kept watching after the kids. I¡¯d picked up a few skills myself and managed to turn out as a pretty good. care taker. Plus, I had lived the life of an Untouchable for only a few hours and it was so brutal. I couldn¡¯t how those people spent their entire schooling in that dingy cave. I wanted FA and Peacey to live lives without the constraints of the Untouchables. I wanted to know their real names, learn their aspirations. They deserved that kind of peace on campus. It was wolf rights, I looked back up at the brothers, whipping me out of my memories and thoughts. They all looked varying degrees of angry and cautious. They all were rippling muscles and violent stares. It immediately made me wary. What was I getting myself into? ¡°Why should I trust you?¡± I ask. ¡°Because I¡¯ll give you my word,¡± Neil says. Archer immediately flinches. I furrow my brows in confusion. He gives me a look before sighing and rolling his eyes. ¡°The word of Alpha is their rule.¡± he says. ¡°It is one of the Five Alpha Tenants to honor their word.¡± ¡°Five Alpha whats?¡± I say,pletely confused. ¡°I don¡¯t know what that means. In my world, verbal agreements mean nothing. They¡¯re the easiest to break.¡± Archer scoffs. ¡°Of course you¡¯d dishonor the word of an Alpha. None of the lower packs follow the Tenants. Clearly, yours was one of them.¡± ¡°Are you sure this isn¡¯t some snotty upper ss bullshit?¡± I throw back. ¡°It¡¯s written in the tomes of the Great Alpha,¡± Archer says. ¡°How snotty does that sound?¡± I have nothing more to say to that. Everyone knows the Great Alpha. In his tomes are the stories of how werewolves came to be. How we all were created and ced down on this Godsforsaken. Each of the three Gods gave us one of their powers and created werewolf kind. It¡¯s a story every werewolf knows. Clearly, some were taught more than others. ¡°So, will you?¡± Beau chimes in. I can sense his annoyance at our bickering. Archer also seems to be pretty annoyed but I don¡¯t care either. ¡°The offer doesn¡¯tst forever. We need an answer now.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± I start. ¡°Well know,¡± Archer snaps. ¡°We¡¯ll make a written agreement if it truly means that much to you. But Neil¡¯s word is enough of a contract as a flimsy piece of paper.¡± I nod tersely. ¡°I want it written. Once it¡¯spleted then I¡¯ll make my final decision.¡± 10 Chapter ¡°I can start it,¡± Steven says, ¡°Til get it down on my phone and then I can send everyone copies once it¡¯s signed.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Archer groans. This is ridiculous.¡± Steven immediatelyunches into a bunch of jargon that I don¡¯t understand. Archer spits corrections at him and Steven tentatively makes the switch. All the while, Neil trantes into in speak for me. ¡°You agree to live inside our pyramid for the duration of your job,¡± Neil says at one point. ¡°Woah, woah, woah!¡± I cut him off. ¡°I need more on that. Do I have a room? Is it locked? Do you have keys?¡± ¡°What, you worried you might find up with a Hayes in your bed?¡± Beau smirks. ¡°You¡¯re not bad on the eyes, Princess, but we have far lovelierdies to take to bed than a former Untouchable.¡± Archer and Wyatt snicker. I scowl at them and point to Steven. ¡°I want that as a use. No nonconsensual sexual encounters. Or encounters of any kind!¡± ¡°Oh, be serious,¡± Archer hisses. I look him in the eyes and muster all the rage I can into my voice and my eyes. ¡°I am. Deadly.¡± Archer narrows his eyes. He looks back at Steven and motions for Steven to add the use into the contract. A few other uses get added to the contract. I have three months to watch Mia. After which, I am to have no contact with her. It¡¯s just until they can secure ady of ¡°noble taste¡± toe watch her. I try and stille a snort at that line but ites out anyways. I can see Wyatt shaking his head at me from behind Beau. Thest use deals with my reward. It states that after the three months, the Untouchables will all be released from the Cave. They will be given the right to use their names again, their own dorm rooms and be allowed to use any of the extra facilities on campus. They will be allowed to live like they¡¯d never been Untouchables. I was included in the deal as long as Iplied. If I broke the contract in any way, I¡¯d be punished more severally than I had when I was an Untouchable. ¡°And,¡± Archer adds. The Untouchables will be punished as well.¡±Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. ¡°What?¡± I snap my head towards him. He¡¯s wearing a smug grin. ¡°They don¡¯t have any part in the contract.¡± They didn¡¯t,¡± Archer understand, don¡¯t Is his head. He smile bes more sinister. ¡°Until you brought them in. Liability. You I almost break the skin of my tongue as I fight to keep my words in. Archer just continues to smile at me with that viinous look on his face. I want to punch his teeth in. I ball my hands into fists and look back at Neil. He¡¯s waiting for some kind of response from me. ¡°Fine,¡± I grit out. ¡°If I break the contract, me and the Untouchables are punished. If I fulfill the contract, we all go free.¡± ¡°Done,¡± Steven says. He holds his phone towards me and points to a box with an ¡°X¡± in the corner. ¡°Sign here.¡± ¡°You first,¡± I throw back. Archer mumbles something unintelligible under his breath and rips the phone from Stevensnds. He scribbles away with his index finger before pping it against Beau¡¯s chest. Beau takes his time signing, drawing swirls on the phone. Neil signs it next, quick and concise. Steven signs it and hands it back to me. The line and the ¡°X¡± look at me like the Devil looks at sinners going down to hell, It knows I¡¯m about to sign my soul to some sort of force that I know little to nothing about. I try to imagine a peaceful experience at the pyramid. All I see in my head is chaos and anger. Mia cries through all of it. I close my eyes. I have to be good for her. Something about this baby is special and a deep pit inside me knows it. Without a second 10 Chapt guess. I scribble my name on the line. The phone bleeps and blinks green. I hand it back to Steven. He says it¡¯s being sent to my email as we speak 1 look up at the four of them. I¡¯ve just transferred to a new school, and somehow, I¡¯m the nanny for the kid of four Alphas, Four Alphas that could be the biggest assholes on the. Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Neil makes me give him Mia. He kes her into the pyramid and the door ms shut behind him. I immediately feel a pit in my stomach. Somehow, I¡¯ve grown attached to this baby despite only being near it for a few hours, I¡¯m protective of her and it hurts me to know that she¡¯s gone. As soon as the door closes, Archer is on me like a hawk. He grabs my wrist and wrenches me towards him. We¡¯re chest to chest again. He looms over me, almost a foot taller than me. His eyes are licked with fire. I try and pull away but his grip on me is iron. ¡°I need you to know,¡± he says, low and taunting. It¡¯s terrifying. It¡¯s a threat. ¡°I don¡¯t agree with this fucking idiotic idea. I will be watching you. Your every move. And I¡¯ll be waiting for you to fuck something up. Then, I¡¯ll step in and ruin you.¡± He annunciates the word so sharply that I feel it in my toes. Despite the menacing look he¡¯s giving me, the feeling of our chests against another is oddly intimate. I take a shallow breath and feel it hit his lips and bounce back at me. His own lips part and his eyebrows furrow, I take the opportunity to wrench myself out of his grasp I stumble backwards slightly and rub at my wrist. Archer lets out a low growl. At that point, Neil has returned and is eyeing us. He gives Archer a weird look before addressing me. ¡°Let¡¯s get your stuff,¡± he says. We walk back over to the Cave. The second appearance of the Hayes brothers in the Cave sends the Untouchables into a frenzy. They all drop what they¡¯re doing and crowd around the brothers. Each of them dips the heads towards the floor. It¡¯s oddly cult¨Clike and sends a wave of disgust over my body. I stand behind the Hayes with Wyatt, arms crossed over my chest in defiance. ¡°I know you¡¯ve all been here for varying degrees of time,¡± Archer says. His tone is different than any of the ways he¡¯s spoken to me. It¡¯s the voice of an alpha. He paces back across the Cave in front of the Untouchables. ¡°For varying reasons, of course. But all because you¡¯d made the unforgivable offense of disrespecting my brothers or 1. Archer goes on. ¡°However, we¡¯ve been asked to spare you. We¡¯ve been asked to be kind to people who were not kind to us.¡± I resist the urge to snort. I think of FA rejecting Archer. Yes, cause being uninterested in dating a man is ¡°not kind.¡± Archer¡¯s still pacing across the floor. He stops and looks at the group. ¡°We¡¯re releasing you early.¡± There¡¯s a collective gasp from the Untouchables. I can feel each of them on edge. I know they¡¯re waiting for him to pick out the ones lucky enough to be let out early. Pride swells in my chest when I realize, I¡¯ve done this. I¡¯ve set them all free. ¡°All of you,¡± Archer says. There¡¯s another collective gasp then a plethora of cheers. Some of them begin to cry. Some get down on their knees and try to kiss Archer¡¯s shoes. He lets them. Once again, I¡¯m disgusted. I clearly am showing it on my face when Beau turns around and starts to walk out the entrance to the Cave. Heughs and pats me on my shoulder. ¡°Better not fuck this one up, Princess,¡± he says. ¡°You¡¯ve got a whole group of people you made promises to.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± I swipe his hand off me. ¡°I¡¯ll follow the contract as well as you do.¡± Neil walks past me next. ¡°Get your things and meet us outside.¡± Steven shuffles past me without a word. Archer follows after him, smug smirk on his face. He watches me the entire time and licks the front of his teeth as he passes me. I can¡¯t help but think of how much I hate him. Chapter 10 As soon as they¡¯re all gone. I look up and see FA lunging at me. She brings me into a hug and squeezes me. Herughter echoes in my ears. I can¡¯t help butugh with her. ¡°What¡¯s that for?¡± I ask. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you did,¡± she says. ¡°But it can¡¯t be a coincidence that the Hayes leave here with you and next time theye back. Archer lets us know we¡¯ve been freed. Tell me you did that!¡± I shrug. ¡°Thad a hand in it.¡± FA squeals. I see Peacey and a man I haven¡¯t met beforee up behind her. He¡¯s scrawny with thick rimmed sses. He waves at me. Peacey scoffs in disbelief, hands on her hips, ¡°Well done, Savage.¡± she says. ¡°I knew you were a force to be reckoned with.¡± Thanks Peacey,¡± I say. ¡°Er I guess I can use your real names now right?¡± FA squeals again. ¡°Debbie!¡± ¡°I¡¯m Anna,¡± Peacey says. She jabs a thumb behind her at the scrawny kid. ¡°This is Timothy. Formerly Girlboy.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even wanna know,¡± I say, thinking of the horrors that would result in such a name. ¡°Better you didn¡¯t,¡± Timothy says, cheeks pinking. I shake my head and smile at them. ¡°But I¡¯m d you¡¯re all happy.¡± ¡°Ecstatic!¡± FA¨CDebbie says. ¡°I finally get to live in a Moonriver dorm. Ooh, I hope my rooms is in Heston House!¡± ¡°One can dream, Peacey¨CAnna says with a chuckle. Myself, Anna, Debbie and Timothy start to pack up our things. Luckily for me, my suitcase never really became fully unpacked. I shoved my greyed clothing back into it and hoist it up into my arms. The wheels being busted mean I¡¯m lugging this thing back across campus to the pyramid. I¡¯m the first one to leave the Cave. Archer is waiting for me out front. He notices me struggling with my suitcase. ¡°Let me I stare at him for a second. I¡¯m shocked by the offer and wonder what I¡¯ve done to deserve such a thing. I put my suitcase into his arm, ignoring the little spark of electricity I felt when our skin touched. Archer holds it like it¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m still marveling at his strength when he takes me suitcase and chucks it into the nearest dumpster. ¡°What the fuck!¡± I screech. He¡¯s brushing his hands on the sides of his pants when he looks back to me. ¡°What? You can¡¯t possibly think I¡¯d let you bring this load of shit into my house. Did you?¡± I scowl at him. I bite my tongue to keep from out. I really, really wish I could punch the stupid smirk off his face. Archer takes out his phone when it pings. He sighs and shoves it back in his pocket. ¡°You¡¯re due at the student infirmary in ten,¡± he says. ¡°Better get going.¡± ¡°Infirmary?¡± I question. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t look fine,¡± Archer says. His eyes rake over me. ¡°You look like a mess. I want every hair on your head checked for diseases. Plus, as a daughter of a whore, who knows what sort of sexually transmitted diseases you have.¡± 2.3 Chapter 10 I stare at him with a w jaw. He cannot possibly be serious. He gives me one more look before he walks off, back to the pyramid. The gall of this man is unimaginable, ¡°Sexually transmitted diseases are transmitted by sex!¡± I yell after him. ¡°I¡¯m not having sex with a baby!¡± Archer turns and shrugs at me. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t put it past you to try,¡± he calls back.This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org. I flip him the middle finger. He smirks at me before taking off in a sprint. I watch as his skin fades away into a rippling brown fur. The wolf sprints across campus and into the dark. O Chapter 11 Chapter 11 I storm after the wolf, unable to change into my own wolf. Because I don¡¯t fucking have one, of course. I walk across the campus to the student center and see the big brown wolf out front, sitting on it¡¯s haunches. It barks augh at me. I scowl at it and it shimmers back into Archer¡¯s form ¡°Took you long enough,¡± he says. ¡°I walked.¡± I say sternly. I don¡¯t need to tell this dickwad I don¡¯t have a wolf yet. It¡¯ll be yet another thing for him to. pick on me for. ¡°This is stupid, by the way.¡± Archer shrugs. ¡°Give me a negative test panel and then we can say it was.¡±This text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org. I march up the stairs to the student center with another scowl. I pause on the top step and press my index finger to my lips. I hum. ¡°You know,¡± I say. ¡°If you wanted me to apany you to your own STD test then you could¡¯ve just told me. If the gossip I hear around this ce is true, lots of women find themselves in your bed. Archer narrows his eyes. He walks up to the top step and pushes up and door. He gives me a bitter smile. ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot. I wear fucking rubbers, he holds an arm towards the inside. ¡°Now stop procrastinating. Contract states you have toply with any thing health rted. I¡¯d say this covers it. ¡°Fucking contract, 1 grumble under my breath as I walk into the building. This damn contract is causing me issues already. I¡¯m almost wishing I didn¡¯t bring it up. I follow Archer past the ce where I met Kathy this morning. We wind through the archways of the building and 1 can¡¯t help but marvel at it¡¯s beauty. This ce is a damn castle. Royalty itself must¡¯ve walked this halls in the old days. I catch Archer looking at me with a smirk. I scowl at him and he shakes his head with another barkingugh. We make our way into the room marked ¡°Cline¡± in big, bold, red letters. Archer rapts lightly on the door before pushing in. There¡¯s a small, greying man standing near arge examination table. He turns towards Archer and breaks out into a wide smile. ¡°My, my! If it isn¡¯t our star football yer!¡± He says. He has an ent straight out of a history book. All olden and posh. It wouldn¡¯t surprise me if he was as old as this castle. He brackets his hands on his hips. ¡°How¡¯s the ankle?¡± ¡°S good, Doc,¡± Archer replies. ¡°Good! Good! Now how can I help you?¡± The doctor scuffles out from behind the examination table. He gives me a cheeky grin then looks back at Archer. ¡°Let me guess: littlete night romp? Little missing period? Not to worry. I¡¯ve got a pill that solves all.¡± My jawespletely unhinged. I let out a strangled noise and look at Archer. He¡¯s grimacing slightly. ¡°No!¡± we say in unison. Mine¡¯s a bit more of a yell. Archer¡¯s is slightly incredulous. I look at Archer and his eyebrows furrow in confusion. He shakes his head once before looking back at the doctor, ¡°She needs a detailed physical exam,¡± He says. He side nces at me. ¡°I don¡¯t even know if she¡¯s ever had one.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± I protest but the doctor beginsughing over me. He waves a hand in my direction. ¡°Not a problem,¡± the doctor says. He pats the exam table in a motion to get me on it. He points his finger at Archer. ¡°Still, daily reminder to use contraception! Babies are tough.¡± ¡°Thanks, Doc, Archer deadpans. 5 Chapter 11 The doctor thenunches into a full physical exam of my entire body. He draws blood, pokes me with random tools. and prods me about mundane shit like my menstrual cycle and otherplete nonsense. It takes a good two hours toplete the whole thing, all with Archer ring at me from the corner of the room. I wonder if he ever takes a break from being an absolute raging douche. The doctor disappears behind a door thenes back with a piece of paper. Hepletely ignores me and hands it to Archer, who¡¯s eyes dart across the page. ¡°Now, everything seems to look good,¡± The doctor says. ¡°I have to send a few tests out that will take a few days to get back. Once I have them, I¡¯ll email you them.¡± ¡°Great,¡± Archer folds the paper and sticks it in his back pocket. ¡°Don¡¯t I get to see?¡± I prod. Archer tilts his head with a malicious look. ¡°Don¡¯t ask stupid questions.¡± He looks back at the doctor. ¡°Thanks, Doc. We¡¯ll be going now.¡± ¡°Pleasure, child.¡± the doctor says. Archer opens the door and I hop off the table. As the door¡¯s about to shut behind us, I hear the doctor cry out. ¡°Keep up with that ankle physical therapy! And use condoms!¡± Archer grimaces and I can¡¯t help but snicker. ¡°Clearly the rumor wasn¡¯t just a rumor.¡± ¡°Fuck off,¡± Archer growls. ¡°Come on. Kid¡¯s probably awake now.¡± This time, Archer walks next to me all the way back to the pyramid. He¡¯s silent the entire time and barely even acknowledges me. He opens the door to the building and all I see is ck. He winds me down a pitch ck staircase and through a second door. It opens up to a gleaming gold room. Without even an acknowledgement of the room, he goes to the right and to another door. I¡¯m still ncing around the room, ck¨Cjawed as I walk into the second room. It¡¯s much smaller than the first but still massive in size. With one sweep, I can tell it¡¯s the baby¡¯s room. There¡¯s so much baby shit everywhere. Diapers and toys and three cribs and a couple different moving things. I turn towards Archer. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to get her everything, you know.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t know which one was the best,¡± Archer runs a hand through his hair. He looks visibly stressed for the first time since I met him. ¡°So we just got it all.¡± I turn back towards the room and survey it again. I look back at Archer. ¡°Good to be prepared, I guess,¡± I say. He says nothing and his mouth forms into a hard line. He juts his chin towards the back wall of the room. ¡°You¡¯ll be staying here,¡± he says. ¡°We¡¯ll put a bed in that back corner once you tell us what stuff to keep.¡± ¡°With Mia?¡± I ask. Archer¡¯s lip curls up in disgust. ¡°No, not yet,¡± he says. ¡°We¡¯ll rotate between ourselves each night until we decide we can trust you. Then you¡¯ll move into her room with her.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I say because I¡¯m not sure what else I can say. The clutter within in the room reminds me of when my moin used to squeeze in my bed at night, hiding away from Chuper il the world. She¡¯d hold me tight and whisper in my ear that everything would be alright. It was soothing and the thought of being within this clutter soothes me as well. ¡°Good,¡± Archer nods. ¡°With that in mind, I want to show you where everything you need to help Mia is.¡± I nod back and we leave the room that would soon be mine. Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Archer takes me through the pyramid like he¡¯d rather do anything else. He points at doors and tells me what they are and adds if I have ess to them. Neil¡¯s room Off limits. Gym andbat facilities. Off limits. My room. So, so off limits. Library. Off limits. ¡°Is anything actually on limits?¡± I say at one point. Archer rolls his eyes and pushes one of two kitchen doors open. It brings us into arge kitchen. There¡¯s three people working who pay us absolutely no mind. Archer moves to one of three fridges, in the back corner. It¡¯s smaller than the other two, only one door. He swings it open and I have to hold in a gasp. It¡¯s filled to the brim with fruits and vegetables. Nothing looks wilted or rotten. They¡¯re all lush and bright colors. There¡¯s some liquids in fancy pitchers and then little packs of pre¨Cpackaged snacks. It¡¯s not like anything I¡¯ve ever seen before. Even the potatoes my mom used to get for soup (if that¡¯s even what you could call it) were brown and bruised. I¡¯d never even seen a cherry in real life and these boys had a whole basket of them. ¡°This is our fridge,¡± Archer says, snapping me out of my daze. ¡°The other two are for the chefs. They¡¯re- ¡°Let me guess,¡± I cut him off. ¡°Off limits.¡± I say in a gruff tone, trying to mimic him. ¡°Off limits,¡± Archer repeats, sickly sweet. ¡°We don¡¯t even touch them. Yvonne has a particr way of organizing things that I¡¯d rather not fuck up. I¡¯ve seen her nearly beat Beau after he drunkenly rampaged through one.¡± He snorts. ¡°Not pretty. But this is the fridge they stock for snacks and such. It¡¯s always open and near always full. If something¡¯s missing just tell one of the chef¡¯s and they¡¯ll refill it.¡± I look back at the fridge and it¡¯s gleaming array of fruits and veg. ¡°I can use it?¡± I say, timidly. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t abuse it,¡± Archer ms the silver door shut. The food disappears. ¡°You¡¯re in charge of Mia. If you¡¯re not fed and nourished, how do we expect the baby to be?¡± ¡°Touch¨¦,¡± I say. Archer leads us back into the gold room we walked into. Beau and Neil are there. They wait our arrival with indifferent stares, I swallow thickly. Nothing about this seems easy. Between the brothers and their rules and the actual process of taking care of a baby, I have a feeling my first few days at Moonriver will be tough. ¡°Take it you¡¯ve seen the ce?¡± Neil asks. I nod. He looks at Archer. ¡°Good work.¡± ¡°Pleasure,¡± Archer drawls. He looks down at me. ¡°Also, that will be the only time you enter using the ck stairs.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t have someone see you allow the campus skank in, can you?¡± I jeer. ¡°Precisely,¡± Neil cuts in. ¡°There¡¯s a service tunnel that the employees use. Given that you are an employee, it only seems fit. ¡°We can¡¯t have people thinking you¡¯re an actual inhabitant of the Pyramid,¡± Beau says. ¡°It¡¯s hard enough to get in here, let alone live here. Even our biggest allies aren¡¯t afforded that luxury¡± I think of Wyatt and snort. He would be the kind of guy to beg to live in the Pyramid. I lift my chin high before 18 Chapter 12 addressing Neil. ¡°Noted, I say. ¡°Take the service entrance Abruptly, the door to the right of us opens. Steven scuffles into the room with Mia. He looks distraught, ¡°She won¡¯t stop crying again,¡± he pants. ¡°I¨CI¡¯ve tried everything! She doesn¡¯t need a diaper change, won¡¯t eat food and I rocked her for, like, an hour and she wouldn¡¯t go to sleep. I don¡¯t know what to do!¡± Beau smiles at me. None of it feels warm. He motions to Mia. ¡°Come on, nanny,¡± he says. ¡°Show us what you got.¡± Steven rushes over to me. He gently slips Mia into my arms. She¡¯s so soft and warm, all bundled in a fuzzy nket. Her cheeks are pink with exertion and her eyes sses with tears, I shush her gently and rock her as my hand rubs soothing circles over her little tummy. She hups once, then twice then the tears stop. She looks up at me with her big, blue eyes and coos. Her lips twist into a smile and she squeals in excitement. I coo back at her and marvel at her innocence. In a massive ce with four brutal men and she still finds delight. ¡°Gods be damned,¡± Neil breathes. I look up and see him shaking his head, amazed. ¡°I didn¡¯t believe it the first time. But this time, I see it¡¯s true. The idiot from the slums has a way with kids,¡± ¡°With the way the mothers in the slums abandon their kids,¡± Beau adds with a sigh. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect it to be so. But it is I feel fire stir deep within the pits of me. The brothers are once again talking about me as though I¡¯m not here. Furthermore, they¡¯re spewing more hieratical bullshit. As if someone outside their ss could ever seed in life. I shake my head in fever. The anger is licking the pits of me and threatening to escape out of my throat. I open my mouth to speak when I feel something touching my cheek. I look down at Mia, small perfect Mia. Her hand is against my face, her eyes wide. Her expression has changed from happiness to worry. I press my lips to her check, super quick, and pull back. She smells milky and fresh. Like cottonwood in the summer. I breathe in her scent. Here I am thinking I¡¯m going to a school to be a warrior and I¡¯m trapped as a nanny because of this baby, School. The thought reminds me why I¡¯m actually here. I look up at Neil and clear my throat. ¡°Um,¡± I start. ¡°So am I supposed to take Mia to ss? Because I¡¯d have to email my professors and such if so.¡± ¡°No,¡± Steven says with a shake of his head. ¡°The school strictly is anti¨Cdistractions in ss. We¡¯re not even supposed to have phones out.¡± ¡°So am I supposed to skip ss?¡± I say.Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. ¡°You¡¯re allowed to go to ss,¡± Neil says. ¡°We¡¯ll take Mia when you¡¯re there.¡± Beau¡¯s mouth opens. Neil shoots him a look and he immediately ms it shut. Neil turns back to me. His face is stoic again. ¡°We all have flexible schedules. We run most of the extracurricrs so we can adjust those to revolve schedule,¡± he says. ¡°Plus, save for this little blip, Mia is staring to enjoy ourpany¡± around your ¡°Please,¡± Archer scoffs next to me. ¡°She probably doesn¡¯t know what an extracurricr even is.¡± ¡°We had them at my school!¡± I say. ¡°What?¡± Beau teases. ¡°How To Turn Dirt Into Food?¡± ¡°Em on the rugby team. Archer says before I can even reply. ¡°Neil¡¯s the president of the student council. Beau has his bale motorcycle club- Beau mutters something under his breath.¡°¨Cand Steven¡¯s preparing to submit for his Ph.D. so he¡¯s doing a bunch of research¡± He turns and gives me a sickly sweet, fake¨Cass smile, ¡°We¡¯re all trying to learn more about things we¡¯re passionate about. Are you passionate about anything other than childcare?¡± Stripping, maybe!¡± Beau says from behind his hand. Neil and Steven snicker. I clench the fist not wrapped around Mia. I scowl at Beau. ¡°You wish I¡¯d be a stripper that way you¡¯d have a chance with me,¡± I snap. Archer lets out a low whistle. I turn and re at him. ¡°But even then. You couldn¡¯t afford it.¡± Archer¡¯s face twists into something full of malice. He looks like he¡¯s about to lunge at me when he sees Mia in my arms. He retracts in on himself. ¡°Watch yourself, he says, low and angry. I look back at Neil, doing my best to try and remain unphased. Mia coos in my arms. Her hand reaches for my nose and I kiss it tenderly. ¡°So?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll watch her when you have ss. Neil repeats. Stevens scratches at the back of his neck. ¡°Obviously we¡¯re not great at it,¡± he says. Beau tries to elbow him in the ribs but Steven darts out of the way. He gives Beau a look. ¡°But worse case, we can get some other girls to help us.¡± ¡°Oh like Addie?¡± Beau says. Steven looks like he¡¯s gonna put Beau¡¯s head through a wall. ¡°Addie is a friend,¡± he grunts out. ¡°Not that you¡¯d know what that is.¡± ¡°Oh I know what a friend is.¡± Beau says. He wiggles his eyebrows. ¡°In fact, ones on her way over. So with that, I bid you all adieu!¡± He saunters out of the room and leaves me with his three brothers. Archer and Neil are both rolling their eyes as the door ms behind Beau. Neil looks at me. He gently picks Mia out of my arms and starts towards the same door Beau left through. ¡°I need to get her to bed,¡± he says. ¡°It¡¯s like an hour past her bedtime. I¡¯ll see you all tomorrow! Archer and Steven wave at their brother. He leaves the room and then there¡¯s two. Steven gives me a small smile. ¡°Goodnight, Chloe,¡± he says softly. It¡¯s a rare bit of kindness but it still feel good about it. I wave at him and he waves back before he leaves through a different door. I turn to say something bitchy to Archer and find he¡¯s gone. Even better. I settle into my bedroom sh utility closet and shut my eyes for the night. They¡¯re ripped open when I start to hear the cries of the baby in the dead of the night Chapter 13 Chapter 13 I sprint through the halls of the pyramid and into Archer¡¯s room. I decide now is not the time to be screamed at for not knocking. Mia sounds like she¡¯s hurt and my instincts are kicking in and telling me to find her. Sure enough, she¡¯s squirming away in Archer¡¯s arms. He has a bottle in his hand and is trying to feed her. He looks so awarding holding her and I can tell her head isn¡¯t supported properly. I reach out to take her and Archer gives easily. He sighs and runs his hand through his hair again. It¡¯s clearly an anxious tick. her up ¡°I didn¡¯t realize how many times babies wake up in the night,¡± he says. ¡°I¡¯ve got practice tomorrow and it¡¯s two in the morning and she¡¯s sobbing. If it fucks up my performance I¡¯ll have her head.¡± ¡°She is a baby,¡± I spit, annunciating each word. ¡°You can¡¯t expect her to adapt to your schedule so easily. Babies are neither convenient nor are they obedient because you want them to be. She¡¯s not one of your little minions.¡± Archer threw his hands up and started walking away from me and Mia. With a few rocks, she was calm again, sipping from the bottle with ease. I bobbed her gently in my arms as I fed her. ¡°Babies need two or three night feedings,¡± I said. ¡°Then maybe a diaper change. But always a burping after each feeding. They need more food than you or I because they¡¯re growing so fast. They also won¡¯t sleep a full eight hours but in spurts of three or four throughout the day. It won¡¯t be until she¡¯s a year or so old that she can sleep most of the night I look up from my rant and see Archer staring at me. His face is set in a hardline and his eyes are not linking with mine. I look down and realize I had forgotten to change in my duress. My shorts are almost panties, the sear disappearing in the crease between my crotch and my thigh. My nightshirt is almost sheer and is bunched around my hips, revealing a sliver of skin. I attempt to pull it down with Mia in my hands but it sends my shorts higher up. ¡°What?¡± I snap at Archer. I feel heat creeping up my cheeks despite myself. ¡°Never seen a girl in her night things before?¡± Archer¡¯s eyes continue up my body and to my face. He blinks twice and he¡¯s back to normal, snarling and chomping at me like a rabid beast. ¡°I¡¯ve seen far more beautiful women in less,¡± He sneers I roll my eyes. The door to Archer¡¯s room ms open and the other Hayes brotherse bustling in their own sleep clothes. Beau doesn¡¯t have a shirt on. My face heats up more when I notice it. I keep my head turns down at Mia. ¡°What happened?¡± Neil shouts. ¡°She woke up and wouldn¡¯t stop crying. Archer shakes his head. ¡°She only was okay when the idiot got her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nanny idiot to you,¡± I hiss. Archer looks at me with eyes zed with anger. ¡°Maybe we should just let her sleep with Mia,¡± Steven says nervously. ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one earlier saying she could have diseases?¡± Beau says. He shakes his head. ¡°It¡¯s too soon. We don¡¯t know if we can trust her.¡± ¡°She¡¯s the only one that knows what the kid needs,¡± Neil protests. ¡°We can take measures to ensure Mia is safe. But when things like this happen, Chloe is the one who knows what to do The four brothers all look at each other. They look back at me, holding a now sleeping Mia. Archer groans and runs a hand over his face. ¡°Fine,¡± he grunts. ¡°But I¡¯m looking into additional security.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± Neil says. He looks at me. ¡°Come on. I¡¯ll take you to her room.¡± 1241 PMThis text is property of N?/velD/rama.Org. Chapter 13 We leave Archer¡¯s room and go to the one down the hall. It¡¯s the only one Archer had deemed ¡°on¨Climits¡± when he Took me on a tour. Neil pushes the door in and I¡¯m weed to a beautiful baby pink room. There¡¯s a crib in one corner and a rocking chair in the other. ¡°We¡¯ll get your bed in here tomorrow,¡± Neil whispers as to not wake the sleeping Mia. ¡°But for now, goodnight.¡± He closes the door behind me and I¡¯m left with a sleeping baby. I ruck her in before I pass out in the rocking chair, sitting up right The next morning, my neck is stiff as I wander into the kitchen to get breakfast. I get an apple and delight in the crispness of it. It¡¯s like nothing I¡¯ve ever had before. I¡¯m still munching on it as I walk back to the utility closet to see about moving my bed. I¡¯d rather not ask the d¨Cbag boys so I figured I could do it myself. I pass through the gold room just as I hear voices. The door from the ck stairs opens and Beau and Wyatte marching in, in a fit of giggles. They stop as soon as they see me. Beau winks at me and I scowl back. Wyatt, however, has a sort of evil glint in his eye. ¡°d to see your aptitude for being a nanny payed off,¡± he says. Beauunches into a fit of cackles. He ps Wyatt on the shoulder. ¡°Her whore mother taught her something, huh?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all her mother ever did for her,¡± Wyatt sneers ¡°Taught her how to raise kids and steal people¡¯s lives. I¡¯d watch out for her. She maybine the two one day.¡± I know he¡¯s talking abour Mia¡¯s disappearance and making not¨Cso subtle hints that I was the one who took her. I cross my arms over my chest and re at him. I bite my tongue to avoid giving it back to him. Beau smirks and winks at me again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Jones,¡± he says. ¡°Archie¡¯s looking into some new technologies as we speak. We need to keep the kid safe somehow. I swallow thickly and try to not think of what that means. Without another word, the two men leave and I¡¯m left holding my half eaten apple. I toss it at the garbage bin in the corner of the room. It plinks off the side thennds on the ground. I scowl at it and storm off to my room. The rest of the day is uneventful and un¨CHayes brother filled. I walk Mia up and down the service tunnel a few times before I tuck her into a nap. I start on my studies for my sses but mind everything utterly confusing and almost wake Mia by shredding the pages of one of the books. After bathing and getting Mia in bed, I try one more time to study and wind up with the same results. I climb into the bed that I had dragged in that morning and huff as I get under the covers. Truthfully, the chair wasfier than this b of metal. It takes me a good two hours of scrolling through my phone to finally get me tired enough to fall asleep. However, I¡¯m abruptly woken up in the middle of the night when I find I can¡¯t breathe. My hands scramble to my neck and try and pull whatever is around my neck off. I find another set of hands and follow them up to Archer¡¯s face. É« Chapter 14 Chapter 14 I scramble back away from Archer¡¯s grasp. His handse flying off me and I curl into the corner of the bed, sandwiched between the walls. My heart is beating in my throat. I touch one hand to my neck, trying to see if it¡¯s tender from Archer¡¯s grasp. What I find pisses me off even more. ¡°What the fuck?¡± I gasp. My fingers toy with the cor around my neck. I pull at it to try and get it off me but it¡¯s no use. It¡¯s a very thin leather band, taught to my skin. There¡¯s a metal bit where the ends of the leather are supposed to meet. A red light shes up at my chin. ¡°What the fuck is this?!¡± I shout, finally regaining my voice from sleep. ¡°I told you I was looking into additional security measures,¡± Archer says. He shrugs as if this is nothing. ¡°This was the best solution. It¡¯s a GPS. We can track your movements to make sure you don¡¯t run off with Mia.¡± I tug on the leather again. ¡°It¡¯s a fucking tracking cor? What am I a dog?¡± ¡°You look like a frightened puppy,¡± Beau¡¯s voice hits my ears. I whip my head towards him. He¡¯s standing next to his other brothers closer to the door. I didn¡¯t even notice them in my terror. Beau cocks his head. ¡°All curled up like that. It¡¯s tragic¡± I growl at him, low and threatening. He doesn¡¯t need to know why I tend to sleep all curled up. That it reminds me of being safe within my mother¡¯s arms. The rage inside me is hitting an all¨Ctime high. Quickly, I scramble across the bed in a mess of limbs and grab the first thing I see. Iunch it at Beau. The diapers ding off the side of his face. He blinks, shocked. I hurl another pack of diapers at Archer. He swats them out of the way like they¡¯re nothing. He res at me in response. I take up a defensive stance as he walks towards me. Once again, I¡¯m trapped in a corner and feel like a puppy amongst wolves.N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. ¡°Do that again,¡± Archer says slowly. ¡°And I¡¯ll chain you to the floor like you are a fucking dog¡± Beau cackles over Archer¡¯s shoulder. I can¡¯t get eyes on him around Archer¡¯s massive frame. I do see Steven¡¯s slightly frightened look, however, and hope there¡¯s some sort of future ally within him. I look back and lock eyes with Archer. We¡¯re locked in a staring contest, re to re. I muster all the courage I have to get out of my crouch and tilt my chest and chin up high. I keep our gazes locked, forcing him to stare down at me. I know he¡¯s tempting me, telling me to do something and see what happens. But I won¡¯t give into the predator that easily. I¡¯ve yed this know how to win it. game before. I With a final snort of air out of his nose, Archer turns on his heel and storms across the room. He leaves and the other brother¡¯s follow behind tentatively. The door ms shut and I¡¯m alone again. I let out a sigh of relief before I sink to the floor, utterly exhausted. I hear quiet gurgles across the room and bounce to my feet immediately. I look into the crib to see Mia staring up at me. Her big blue eyes are staring up at me. I tenderly pick her up and bring her into my arms. ¡°Hi babygirl,¡± I whisper to her. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± She coos back and I sigh. I look at the door and feel a weight on my shoulders. I¡¯m not only worried for me, but I¡¯m worried for the child in my arms. I feed her and quickly put her back in bed. She falls asleep immediately. I find sleep not shortly after, utterly exhausted. The next day, I try my best to hide the stupid cor. The brothers are gone from the Pyramid all day and the thought allows me some sort of peace. Mia¡¯s fairly easy to take care of, not too fussy. The staff in the Pyramid look at me warily, unsure of what I¡¯m doing there in tattered clothes, taking care of a baby swaddled in Gi. It¡¯s a weird 27 ·¿ Chapter 14 sensation I made sure to wear my highest sweater to cover the cor. Truthfully, it looks like some sort of ugly ne. The fact makes it easier to hide and eases the stress of wearing it. I¡¯m starting sses the next morning and I know I¡® already caused quite a scene on campus. Thest thing I need is people seeing a blinking red tracking cor on my neck At the end of the day. I¡¯m doing Mia¡¯s finally wash and diaper change before bed. I situate her in her pajamas and look up at the mirror. The cor is boldly staring back at me. A mixture of humiliation and rage wash over me for the hundredth time since I¡¯ve arrived at this school. The cor is not only a mark of service but it¡¯s also a way for the Hayes brothers to let me know I¡¯m a lesser ss than them. I feel like a farm animal, being wheeled to ughter. It¡¯s a disgusting feeling within me and makes my entire body curdle. I jerk my face away from the mirror. I won¡¯t let this stifle me. I came to this stupid fucking school to be a warrior. That¡¯s what I am here to do. Not to nanny. Not to be bullied by idiots who think money solves everything. To train. I¡¯ll be damned if the Hayes brothers stop me from doing so. I settle Mia in bed. She¡¯s exhausted tonight as I¡¯ve been ying with her all day save for one nap before dinner. Not only am I trying to keep this kid alive, but I¡¯m trying to raise her. She needs mental stimtion and to be taught manners and all that. Seeing her this young exhausts me. It means I have so much more to do. I pull the side of the crib up and lean down to give her a final goodnight kiss. She¡¯s already asleep under my lips. I get myself into my own bed. I curl up, tangle myself beneath the sheets, Tomorrow¡¯s the first day of sses. The first day that I actually get to train to be a warrior. To change my fate from lowly nothing to high ss weapon. I knew I could do it, but the idea of my first ss being a formalbat ss terrified me. I¡¯ve never had any sort of formal training, just whatever bullshit Navis and I got up to. I gnawed my lip with worry. Finally sleep washed over me. 0 Chapter 15 Chapter 15 The next morning. I dropped Mia off with Steven. I taught him how to correctly hold her and feed her. He gave me half a smile and told me he¡¯d been looking things up all night. It was the first time he was going to be left alone with her and he was so nervous, he could hardly sleep. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do great.¡± I reassured him. He blushed slightly at mypliment. I was beginning to actual look forward to hispany and the mere thought shocked and confused me all at once. I was stirring over it on my way to ss when I hear someone call my name over my shoulder. I turned to see Debbie running over to me. Sheunches herself into my arms and weaves her arms around my body in a hug. I let out a small ¡°oof¡± as we collide, not prepared for the impact. She pulls back and shakes like a rattlesnake. ¡°First day of ss!¡± she shouts. ¡°Are you excited? I know I am. I¡¯m a sophomore this year but I¡¯m taking freshman can¡¯t imagine. Also, how¡¯s your new dorm? Is it nice? Mine is gorgeous ugh! I mean- ¡°Slow down,¡± Iugh at her. She smiles back at me, pinking in the cheeks. ¡°Sorry,¡± she says. ¡°I¡¯m just so jazzed about all of this. I mean, I wasn¡¯t supposed to be a non¨CUntouchable for another semester! And now I¡¯m free! It¡¯s insane!¡± She pauses then looks at me. ¡°You don¡¯t know why they let us all out, do you?¡± I stiffen. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean it can¡¯t be a coincidence.¡± Debbie goes on. ¡°You show up. You wake up with their kid in your arms and next thing you know, the Untouchables cease to exist.¡± She shakes her head. ¡°You did something, didn¡¯t you?¡± I shrug but can¡¯t help but let the smile creep across my lips. ¡°Nah. Nothing at all.¡± Debbie shoots me a knowing smile and I let my own deepen. She looks back across campus and her smile immediately drops. I follow her line of sight and wind up seeing my guide, Kathy. Her long blonde hair is swept into a perfectly poised ponytail. She talking hurriedly to the girl next to her. The girl is oddly familiar and I look back swept high at Debbie and immediately clock the resemnce. ¡°Sister?¡± I ask Debbie. She nods. ¡°Laura,¡± she says. ¡°She¡¯s a year older than me. She¡¯s in with the mean girls. Stopped all contact with me when I became an Untouchable. My parents were so miffed. But they don¡¯t get the way things work here. I know it¡¯d be social suicide if she ever got caught talking to me. I look back across campus at Laura. Her eyes are wide as sheughs with Kathy but I sense a bit of sadness behind them. We get close enough to them where Kathy spots us. ¡°Kissimet,¡± she calls. ¡°I heard you were an Untouchable for a day. Way to start on campus.¡± ¡°Untouchables don¡¯t exist anymore,¡± I throw back. ¡°Not sure if you got the message.¡± ¡°I got it,¡± Kathy drawls. She looks at her nails then back at us. ¡°But once an Untouchable, always an Untouchable. Isn¡¯t that right, Deborah?¡± Debbie pales at her name. I suspect there¡¯s some history between the two that I haven¡¯t been made aware of yet. I put my hand on Debbie¡¯s back and guide her past the two girls and into the Combat facility. I hearughing behind me and turn to re at Kathy. She wiggles her perfectly manicured fingers at me in a petnt way. I think about biting them off. ¡°God, she stinks,¡± Debbie says under her breath. 1/3 Chapter 15Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. You can say that again, I agree. Debbie chuckles and smiles up at me. ¡°Thanks, Chloe.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± I bump our hips together. ¡°Us Untouchables stick together, yeah?¡± Debbie nods, still smiling. We walk into the gym and make our way up to the bleachers to sit with the rest of the ss. There¡¯s about forty or so kid sitting around. They¡¯re all different colors and sizes. Some 1 immediately track as jocks and some are scrawny and must be the campus nerds. They¡¯re all dressed impably, a change from Greendale. I sigh and look forwards. The man in front of the ss ps his hands together. Everyone bes silent. He smiles at group. He looks to be a few years older than us, maybe early thirties. His hair is dark and coiffed perfectly off his handsome face. It¡¯s a blueish¨Cck that glisters like the night sky under the fluorescent gym lights. He¡¯s wearing a pressed track suit and I silently roll my eyes at the look. the ¡°Wee,¡± he says. ¡°To Freshmanbat.¡± There are a few whoops and hollers behind us. Debbie shrinks slightly. I know she¡¯s a bit embarrassed she¡¯s in a freshman ss. I squeeze her hand gently. She smiles at me. The man raises his hands to signal silence. ¡°I¡¯m Coach White.¡± he says. ¡°I¡¯ll be teaching you the basics ofbat then deciding your cement. There are three sses. The first is basics for those who just need the bare minimum. The second is for those slightly advance. The fights aren¡¯t until next week. Today, we¡¯ll be setting up your foundation. I wanna see how you work as a team member and also get a general scan of your agility. Sound good?¡± More whoops and hollers. Debbie looks at me with fear in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m terrible at paintball,¡± she says under her breath. ¡°I was always the target in high school because I was so slow. This is going to be awful.¡± I squeeze her hand again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I whisper back. ¡°Just stick with me. I¡¯m pretty scrappy but I¡¯ll keep you safe.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Debbie sighs in relief. ¡°Okay so we¡¯ll divide into teams.¡± Coach White booms across the ss. ¡°We have captains from the higher sses to lead you and show you how it¡¯s done. Boys,e on out.¡± To my absolute horror, my goddamn, asshole roommatese marching out. Beau and Archer stand all high and mighty in front of the ss. I catch Archer¡¯s eye and he breaks out into a malicious grin. I turn towards Debbie and hiss under my breath. ¡°What are they doing here?¡± ¡°They alwayse to the first day of ss,¡± Debbie whispers back. ¡°They¡¯re the demonstrators and have been since they got to campus. Coach makes them captains and they lead the paintball war¡± I look back up. Archer is still staring at me. His gaze stirs a hurricane in my gut. I pray to the Gods that I¡¯m not pitted against him. I can only imagine the fallout. Instead of breaking our staring contest, I re right back at him, challenging him. Come and get me, I¡¯m saying. You¡¯re on, his re says back. 2/3 Chapter 15U COMMENT SIND GIFT Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Coach White lectures us for at least a half hour while we get suited up in gear. We¡¯re all dressed in helmets and chest protectors and all sorts of nonsense I don¡¯t think we need. We¡¯re all wolves with the ability to heal ourselves. Finally, he breaks us off into teams. I¡¯m on Archer¡¯s team and I can sense the dread behind his eyes. He knows if we lose, Beau will never let him live it down. We¡¯re lined up across from Beau¡¯s team. He¡¯s ring daggers into my soul. Debbie¡¯s to my right. The gear doesn¡¯t fit her properly. The gun looks awkward in her hand.. ¡°Alright!¡± Coach White shouts from the stans. ¡°All things go. Work together and don¡¯t get shot!¡± He blows the whistle and everyone darts off. Debble and I take a few seconds to kick into gear. I try and fly behind a barrier. There¡¯s a pinging noise and I feel pain radiate up my arm and into my shoulder. I scowl and my hand flies to it. Ites up blue. Less than thirty seconds in and I¡¯ve already been shot. My head thuds against the barrier. Around me, there¡¯s more pinging and some shouting. I¡¯vepletely lost sight of where Debbie went. I look around the corner of the barrier and fire a few shots off. I get one of the guys in the chest. Coach whistles him out. I¡¯m still peering around the corner when I feel a prescence behind me. Hot breath tickles the back up my neck and sends a shiver down to my toes. I whip back around to face the person. Of course, it¡¯s Archer. ¡°Beginner¡¯s luck,¡± he says, low and tempting. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t run off yet.¡± I readjust my hands on my gun and fly back to face the field. Ping! Ping! I catch two of Beau¡¯s guys right in the sensitive bit of their chests where the armor doesn¡¯t cover. I turn back to face Archer and hear their strangled cries of pain. I reload my gun with one hand and re at Archer. I can sense he¡¯s slightly surprised. ¡°I may not have traditional training.¡± I snap. ¡°With fancy coaches and the best equipment money can buy. But I¡¯ve built up my own endurance and my uracy is near spot on.¡± I sh my teeth at him. ¡°I¡¯m not running.¡± Archer sends an eyebrow up. He looks, dare I say it, impressed? ¡°Fair enough,¡± he says and moves past me. ¡°Just don¡¯t make us lose.¡± With a nod, he¡¯s off. He moves through the field like lighting, rolling and dodging from barrier to barrier. He gets five of Beau¡¯s team out, all sniping them in the chest. The number of out yers is growing. They all stand next to Coach White above the field.. A body flies into the barrier next to me. I whip around and find it¡¯s my own teammate, a muscled woman with ck braids. ¡°He¡¯s insane,¡± she breathes. ¡°He¡¯s like a liquid, just flowing between obstacles. It¡¯s exactly how he ys rugby. He¡¯s damn near unstoppable.¡± I snort. ¡°He¡¯s shy,¡± I say, ¡°Too shy.¡± The girl shrugs. Her eyes widen and I hear yet another ping as she¡¯s nailed once in the shoulder. Another ping and it¡¯s the chest. She goes down in a grumble of pain. I point my own gun at the enemy and rail off two shots. He goes down just like my own teammate. 10 17:10 Fri, 21 Jun G BG Chapter 16 46%Õ“ Thop the barrier and begin to run up the side of the field, close to the wall. I watch Archer take down two¨Cthree more men. We both wind up behind a fake looking shrub. ¡°You¡¯vested a long time,¡± Archer heaves through heavy breaths. ¡°Have 12¡± I say as I peer over the shrub to get two guys. They go down, ping ping! ¡°I feel like it¡¯s been thirty second since we started.¡± ¡°Around five minutes, Archer corrects. He shoots a guying up on our left. ¡°Beau bet you wouldn¡¯tst a minute. I said half of one.¡± I get a guy who¡¯s not looking at us in the ankle. The I hit his breastbone as he goes down in pain. ¡°Thanks for the vote of confidence.¡± Archer says nothing as he whirls off to the left. I hear pinging in the distance and the curses of the fallen. Two guys limp off past me. Judging by how many students are in the wings with Coach, there¡¯s only Beau left now. I slide right and watch as Archer and Beau do this weird tango. Archer flies up and fires, Beau goes down. Then the opposite. I watch as Beau sticks down behind a fence and tries to reload. His gun¡¯s all jammed up and he can¡¯t fix it. He curses just as Archer sails over the top and nails him in the groin. Beau howls in pain and covers up his junk. I can¡¯t help but smile. Coach White blows the whistle. ¡°Team Archer wins! Guns down!¡± Tease up on my gun as I see Archer beginning to cross back to me. Then, I hear aping to my right. I¡¯m in the worst position, gun at my side andpletely open to the air. I see the ball hurtling through the air at me. It¡¯s not colored like the other balls. It¡¯s a deep, dark grey. I¡¯m watching in slow motion as the ball hurtles through the air, directly at my elbow. I wait to feel the shattering pain throughout my arm but it neveres. I look down and see that Archer has stepped in. He¡¯s deflected the bullet with his gun. It ricochets off into the field, skimming into my skin. I It burns me. I look up at my assant.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. She immediately drops her gun and throws her hands in the air. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± She says. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear the whistle and you dropped your guard! I had to take my shot!¡± The whole thing seems insincere. It had been a good bit after Coach blew the whistle that I heard her fire. I scowl at her but it¡¯s broken up by Archer stepping in between us. ¡°Watch yourself, Evans, he growls. ¡°I don¡¯t stand for unsportsmanlike conduct.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Laura sputters. She frowns at me. Then it twists into a sadistic smirk as Archer looks back at me. Laura darts off into the field. I look up at Archer. ¡°What was that for?¡± ¡°You okay?¡± Archer says,pletely ignoring my question. I nod. He sighs. ¡°That arm belongs to Mia. Anything that happens to it, is my problem.¡± ¡°I could¡¯ve handled it,¡± I say. ¡°You were a sitting duck,¡± he snaps. ¡°Never let your guard down. Even when drills are over.¡± He starts to walk off. I watch him walk into the facilities and the door m behind him. Theck of his presence feels odd. It pains me to admit, but i feel more exposed like this. I shake my head and walk up to the bleachers. My 2/3 3/3 Chapter 16 46%4 team ps me on the back and Coach patches up my arm. Archer neveres back out to the field. An hourter, I¡¯m back at the Pyramid. I¡¯ve managed to shower and apply a new wrap to my bullet wound. I have Mia sitting on the floor, in al y pen. She keeps handing me animals and gurgling something in babytalk. I haven¡¯t heard anyone else in the Pyramid since I¡¯ve been back. It¡¯s eerily quiet. Mia hands me a giraffe and says something, ¡°Giraffel¡± I say back to her. She ps her hands together and squeals. I think about my wound. Clearly, I¡¯ve made enemies on campus. I¡¯ve only been here a few days and today was only the first ss, yet I feel like everyone¡¯s gunning for me. Maybe it¡¯s because of my mom. Maybe it¡¯s because of me. I can¡¯t help but feel on edge. Then, there¡¯s Archer¡¯s protection of me. He could¡¯ve easily let Laura¡¯s bullet shatter my bones. But he didn¡¯t because¡­. Because who knows.. All I do know is people want me hurt. I think of the dagger Navis gave me. Luckily, I kept it on my person when Archer trashed my suitcase. I don¡¯t know where I put it though. As Mia continues to y with the animals, I start trying to look through my stuff. I go through the pockets of my clothes and find nothing. Then, it dawns on me. Those assholes probably took it! I scowl and pluck Mia off the floor. I march my ass down the hall to their doors, ready to rage and bang my fists against the doors until they give it back. Surprisingly, all the doors are open. Each of their rooms beckons me into it. I nce over my shoulder, Mia still in my arms. The hallway is silent. I look back at the open doors. It feels like a trap. I can¡¯t help but let myself give into it as I step into the first room. 0 COMMENT Jun G B Chapter 17 Chapter 17 The first room I walk into has to be Neil¡¯s, I know because the artwork hanging up screams Neil¡¯s entire personality. It¡¯s clean, neat and immacte in all it¡¯s glory. His sheets are pressed into perfect lines on his bed. The wood around the room is light and refreshing. There¡¯s one window that looks out into ake next to the pyramid. Fish swim by like the window doesn¡¯t exist. Mia points them out and coos ¡°Yes, Mia,¡± I say ¡°Fishies!¡± She says something back that sounds mildly like my words. Iugh at Iser. I give the room a once over and don¡¯t see my dagger. I am too worried of messing up the perfection to dig through anything. Quietly, Mia and I leave Neil¡¯s room and head into the second room. It¡¯s most definitely Archer¡¯s. It¡¯s littered with trophies out the wazoo. Medals hang from the shelf that contains all of them. The bedspread is so ssically boy: navy blue. There¡¯s several posters hanging up. I recognize a few of the men as warriors. I scoff at the thought of having such a ridiculous poster. I look a little deeper for the dagger in Archer¡¯s room. Still, I find nothing The next room is Beau¡¯s judging by theck of order. There¡¯s shit everywhere. Most of it is piles of leather jackets or leather pants. There¡¯s a few random spikey jackets. The posters in this room are women in lewd positions and minimal amount of clothing. I shift Mia in my arms so she doesn¡¯t see it. There¡¯s a few band posters of bands I¡¯ve heard the guys in Greendale talk about. I go through the piles of shit, hoping to find my dagger and only find a pair ofcey ck panties. I shudder and drop them then all but sprint out of Beau¡¯s room. I¡¯m half convinced I just got some sort of disease by touching them. Thest room is Steven¡¯s. It¡¯s neat and orderly but very small. I¡¯m confused until I turn the corner. There¡¯s a giant wall of windows that leads into what looks like ab. Random bubbling potions are set on the counters. There¡¯s also a coat hung out next to the ss wall,beled with ¡°S. HAYES Ph.D. I snort at it. Of course they¡¯d have to make sure everyone knew who they were. I shift through a few of the drawers outside theb and still, no dagger. ilet out a frustrated cry. Mia touches my face, as if she knows I¡¯m upset. I kiss the center of her palm. I need that damn dagger. It¡¯s the only thing I have to protect myself. I¡¯m determined to survive the rest of my time in the Pyramid and my time after. I will be a warrior if it almost kills me, toughpetition and grueling training be damned. I¡¯m back in the hallway that has the brother¡¯s rooms when I hear a bell ring, I quickly scamper back off to mine and Mia¡¯s rooms. I guess won¡¯t be doing a second pass to look for my dagger after all. I sigh and set Mia in her crib. She yawns and rubs at her eyes. She must be exhausted from our adventure. I soothe her to sleep and settle back in the rocking chair. I fiddle with my phone before it starts buzzing in my hand. I nce at Mia then s outside to take the call.. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Chloel How are you, love?¡± I sigh in relief. It¡¯s my y mom. I wipe my hand over my face. ¡°I¡¯m good. How are you?¡± ¡°Splendid!¡± she says. ¡°But enough about me, I wanna know about this new school. Is it really as affluent as Isaac says it is.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± I try and put into words the nonsense I¡¯ve endured the past few days. ¡°Something.¡± Mom Laughs. ¡°Sounds interesting.¡± 1/4 ReelShortProperty ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. 4.4 FREE Google y INSTALL 17:10 Fri, 21 Jun GB G Chapter 17 _____¡°That it is,¡± I sigh. ¡°And Wyatt? He¡¯s being nice to you? Helpful 46% I frown. I contemte telling my mom about how much worse Wyatt has made this for me. I think about her and Isaac in their little blissful bubble of happiness. Who knows what kind of argument that would cause. ¡°Yeah,¡± say Better to keep it as vague as possible. But Mom knows me. ¡°Okay?¡± she halfughs. ¡°How¡¯s ss?¡± ve.¡± I say Informative,¡± say Momughs again. I can almost hear her shaking her head. ¡°One word answers,¡± she says. ¡°Who are you and what have you done with my Chloe ¡°I¡¯m just tired,¡± I say. Not a lie. If anything, it¡¯s the only truth I¡¯ve spoken. ¡°Okay.¡± Mom says. She pauses. ¡°You¡¯ll tell me if you don¡¯t like it there, right? Isaac knows p could send you back to Greendale- knows people. He can pull some strings for you. Or we ¡°No!¡± I shout, almost frantically. I clear my throat. ¡°No. I don¡¯t want to leave. It¡¯s good here. This will be good for me.¡± ¡°As long as you u think so,¡± Mom says. ¡°I just want you to be safe.¡± ¡°I¡¯m safe, Mom,¡± I say. I try and switch the conversation, eager to get me away from telling more lies. ¡°How was Prague with Isaac?¡± ¡°Oh, Chloe,¡± Mom gasps. ¡°It was beautiful.¡± She goes on for another while about the trip and all the nice stuff they did. Her whole closet is designer now, she says. She¡¯s also into snorkeling now, something I never could picture my mom doing. It¡¯s nice, hearing her happy. With the amount of dickwads she dated before. Issac, it¡¯s rare she¡¯s this at peace. S ugh a story about the sales associate at Chanel when I hear stirring within the room. Mia must¡¯ve woken up for her night he¡¯s halfway through a feeding. ¡°Mom,¡± I cut her off gently. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I have to go.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± she sounds disappointed. ¡°Okay. We¡¯ll be safe. I love you!¡± ¡°I love you too,¡± I say and let the phone hit it¡¯s dial tone. I make my dreams I look down at the phone somberly. I miss my mom more than anything. But I know this is the ce for me. This is how reality. Even if it means ying babysitter to some kid that apparently appeared from thin air. Another noisees from inside the room and I go back in. Mia kicks her legs and giggles inside the crib. I gently pull her into my arms and get a bottle warming for her. I rock the two of us in the rocking chair and wonder what life would be like if I was still in Greendale. Certainly not like this. The next morning, Mia¡¯s awake and fussy. She won¡¯t take her bottle and keeps trying to eat my hair. I sigh and make my way into the kitchen. I n on cutting up some berries, super small, and giving them to her. My n is thwarted when I look into the kitchen and see someone! didn¡¯t expect to be there. 2/3 ReelShort 44 FREE Google y INSTALL 3/3 Chapter 18 Chapter 18 ¡°Coworkers?¡± I say, still slightly incredulous. Laura groans and stands up. ¡°Are you daft? I just said yes.¡± I blink, still a bit confused. I shift Mia on my hip. ¡°Did they swindle you into this too?¡± I say. Laura raises an eyebrow. ¡°Swindle?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I confirm. ¡°They basically told me if I don¡¯t watch the kid for them, they¡¯d make my life miserable.¡± I snap my fingers. ¡°We should team up! Bring them down together. They wouldn¡¯t see iting from inside their own home.¡± Laura tosses her head back andughs. I have a sinking feeling I¡¯ve just fucked up. She gives me a Cheshire grin. ¡°I wasn¡¯t ¡®swindled into this,¡± she snaps. ¡°Being Chief of Supplies is an honor. You¡¯re out of your mind if you think I¡¯d work with you to bring them down. This position is a fucking dream. I beat out a looot ofpetition to be here.¡± I¡¯m a bit bbergasted at that moment. My jaw opens and closes a few times as I try to figure out what to say. I shift Mia higher on my hip. ¡°But your sister-¡± ¡°What about her?¡± Laura cuts me off I sense I¡¯ve hit a bit of a sore spot. ¡°She¡¯s an Untouchable,¡± I go on. ¡°You can¡¯t tell me you¡¯d subject yourself to the same brutality that she received.¡± ¡°I got it too,¡± Laura says. My jaw unhinges again. ¡°I used to be an Untouchable.¡± ¡°Then why are you such a bitch to Debbie?¡± I hiss. Laura sneers at me. ¡°You were in her position! You know how much it blows!¡± ¡°I do,¡± Laura says. ¡°But I paid my time just as Debbie will pay hers. I know you had something to do with getting them out early.¡± She looks at me like I¡¯ve just spit on her shoes. ¡°It¡¯s despicable, I did a year in the Cave. Debbie gets out a semester early because of what? A whore who¡¯s managed to weasel her way into the Hayes pyramid?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t weasel anything,¡± I snap. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be here. I¡¯m only here for her.¡± I shift Mia in my arms. She¡¯s looking at me waril knows something bad is happening. ¡°Oh fuck off,¡± Laura a snaps. ¡°You think you¡¯re better than us? Because you¡¯re all s¨¦ about this? You¡¯re not. You¡¯re no better than any skank who made her way into the pyramid. You all want one thing: power.¡± I furrow my brow. ¡°I don¡¯t-¡± ¡°Whether it be family name, ability or ss,¡± Laura goes on. She takes a step towards me. ¡°You all try and get something from your arrangement. But not me, no.¡± other She takes another step. I take one backwards. Mia gives a soft cry in my arms. Her palm touches my face. I¡¯m acutely aware of how close I am to the kitchen ind. Laura stalks me like I¡¯m pray. ¡°Are you a devil?¡± Laura asks with a cock of her head. 1/3 17:10 Fri, 21 Jun a BG Chapter 18 ¡°What?¡± I gasp. ¡°No, Gods-¡± ¡°It¡¯s the only rational reason why you¡¯re here,¡± she says. Another step. I take a half one back. Mia is stirring now, babbling frantically into my ear. ¡°Some little Gods less trick to make them lose their minds, Pick up the scrubby little brat who¡¯s mommy got her in here.¡± She takes another step and I can feel her breath on my skin. I take another step back and my ass hits the ind. I¡¯m trapped in the pit of a viper. Mia¡¯s squealing in duress. I try and shush her gently but she keeps screaming. ¡°My mother didn¡¯t get me in here. I have a stepfather. One who will be very upset if something happens to me ¡°Shut up.¡± Laura hisses. ¡°Your mother seduced Mr. Jones. Just like you¡¯re trying to do with the Hayes. It¡¯s disgusting. Being a nanny sh mistress must run in your family.¡± Herst statement ignites a me within me. Mia is violently screaming in my arms. Her face is as red as mine feels, burning with rage and anger. I stand up taller, so I¡¯m nose to nose with Laura. I want to hit her¨Coh do I want to hit her. But I stifle it. I know violence will get me nowhere. My ass is still firmly pressed against the kitchen ind but the trap doesn¡¯t feel as intense. ¡°I am not a nanny mistress. Nor is my mother,¡± I hiss, low and threatening, ¡°I don¡¯t work for a devil. I work for myself. It¡¯s not something I¡¯d expect you to understand. You don¡¯t know anything but pleasing people who will never see you as an equal. The only thing that¡¯s disgusting in your ability to turn your back against your family. You should be ashamed. I¡¯m ashamed for you.¡± Laura lifts her chin, defiant and licked with anger. She opens her mouth to say something. It may be to curse me out, but she¡¯s hurled backwards and out of my view. I let out a quick breathe of relief before I¡¯m immediately trying to calm Mia down. She¡¯s still crying a bit from the whole interaction. I soothe a hand over her head then look back towards Laura. She¡¯s hidden, however, behind the hulking frame of a man. I recognize the ripple of shoulder muscles immediately. Archer hase to my rescue. ¡°What the fuck is wrong with you?¡± Archer growls. ¡°Are you losing your mind?¡± ¡°She started it!¡± Laura points at me. ¡°She tried to coerce me into teaming up against you! The conniving bitch!¡± Archer looks over his shoulder at me. He narrows his eyes but then turns back to Laura. ¡°Enough!¡± he snaps. ¡°You were hired to be Chief of Supplies not Chief of Drama.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not being dramatic!¡± Laura whines. ¡°I promise everything I said is true!¡±N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. ¡°The Pyramid is bitch¨Cfree,¡± Archer says. ¡°Beau¡¯s rules. You¡¯ve validated the reasoning with this little act. You¡¯re fired,¡± ¡°Fired?!¡± Laura screeches. I cover Mia¡¯s ears with my hands. ¡°But¨C1¨Cplease! I- ¡°Enough, Laura,¡± Archer demands. ¡°This is all her fault!¡± ault!¡± Laura cries. ¡°She should be fired tool¡± Archer turns and looks at me again. His eyes soften slightly. They ping back and forth between me and Mia. She¡¯s calmed down considerably and has wrapped her hand around my thumb. A suspicious sparkle twinkles in Archer¡¯s eyes and I can¡¯t help the way my breath hitches when I see it. He gives me one final look, locking our eyes together for a mere second, before he turns back to Laura. ¡°Chloe stays,¡± Laura starts to speak but Archer speaks over her. ¡°Unlike you, she¡¯s unique.¡± Chapter 19 2/3 Chapter 19 My throat clenches and my heartbeat is loud in my ears. Unique. No one¡¯s ever called me unique before. I wonder if it¡¯s some sort of backhandedpliment. The way he said it however, it felt real. It felt real. I feel a rush of happiness swell over me like a gust of air. Being praised by an asshole like Archer isn¡¯t going to fix any of the big problems here. But, I can¡¯t help but smile a bit. It¡¯s a juxtaposition to the two people in front of me, emanating rage like it¡¯s steam. I catch Laura¡¯s eye and see her re deepen. My smile falls immediately. She gives Archer and I another look before storming out of the kitchen: I don¡¯t miss the way her eyes sparkle with the hold of unreleased tears. She bustles out of the kitchen. The doors m behind her. I look at Archer and heave a sigh. ¡°Thanks, I say. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± Archer says inly. He shoots me a look. ¡°Like, really, don¡¯t.¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°I was looking for you,¡± he says. ¡°Did you get what you needed here?¡± I look down at Mia. She seems content but still hasn¡¯t had a snack. I look back at Archer. His gaze is sharp. ¡°I was going to get her a snack,¡± I say, ¡°But I can just grab something to go if you need me else where.¡± ¡°Feed her,¡± Archer says with a tip of his chin. ¡°Then meet me in your room.¡± I nod in agreement before Archer takes off. The doors close behind him and Mia begins to babble happily. I look down at her and sigh. ¡°What could he possibly want?¡± I ask the baby. She smiles and ps her hands together. I chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s anything good, Mee.¡± A few minutester, I¡¯ve given Mia some applesauce and walk back into our room. I tuck her in a y mobile and look up to see Archer standing in front of my closet. I frown. What could be possibly want with my clothes? They already stained most of them grey. Archer sees me and turns towards me. ¡°Oh, hello,¡± ¡°Hi,¡± I say, warily. ¡°Everything okay?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Archer clears his throat and stands taller. ¡°The boys and I have talked. If you¡¯re staying here, you should be outfitted as such. We¡¯ve had another employee go get the appropriate attire.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with a tee shirt and jeans?¡± I say. Archer¡¯s lip twists in disgust. I look down at my outfit. My shirt is full of holes. There¡¯s also stains all over it. Some are from training in Greendale, some are Mia¨Cmade. My jeans are also ripped and tattered. It¡¯s not in aesthetic way either. It¡¯s in a sloppy, this¨Cis¨Call¨Ci¨Chave¨Cso¨Cl- make¨Cdo way. Neither garment fits me well, both hanging off my skin in a way that makes me look sickly. I look back up at Archer, still disgusted. I shrug. ¡°Okay, so I could use some new clothes.¡± 1/3 17:10 Fri, 21 Jun GB G Chapter 19 ¡°I¡¯ll say,¡± Archer agrees. ¡°These should fit you better.¡± He opens up the wardrobe and I gasp. Everything inside is beautiful. There¡¯s silks and satins and knits that must be cashmere. They¡¯re all in dull, muted colors. Nothing is as vibrant as my old style but these clothes seem better made and much, much more expensive. I swallow thickly. ¡°These are all mine?¡± I say, I cringe at how small my voice sounds. Archer nods and motions towards the wardrobe. I step closer and begin to shift through the items. They all feel expensive under my fingers. The material is thick and lush. I breathe out in wonder. I feel the tickle of augh on the back of my neck. A tingle rushes over my entire body and my skin twitches. ¡°Try it on,¡± Archer breathes into me. ¡°I wanna see if it¡¯s the right size. I won¡¯t have you in ill¨Cfitting clothes anymore.¡± I run my hand over a sweater then furrow my brow. My actual clothes are gone. I whirl around. Archer and I are chest to chest. He blinks twice and steps back a bit so were no longer touching. ¡°Where¡¯s my stuff?¡± I snap. ¡°The grey stained rags?¡± Archer scoffs. ¡°Please. You¡¯re not wearing those.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± I push. ¡°It¡¯s my choice.¡± ¡°Not if you¡¯re watching Mia,¡± Archer grits out. ¡°It¡¯s my choice. Besides, these clothes are better for skin. It¡¯s more suitable for babies.¡± I frown. He has a point. I snatch a skirt and a sweater from the closet. ¡°Fine,¡± I say sharply. ¡°But just know I don¡¯t like it.¡± Archer rolls his eyes. ¡°Do you like anything I make you do?¡± I don¡¯t dignify that with an answer before marching the dresser across the room. ching off u to the bathroom. Archer clears his throat. I turn back around, confused. He points to ¡°Panties,¡± he says. ¡°And bras. Unless you¡¯re goingmando?¡± I flush slightly and scowl at him, grumbling a curse his direction under my breath. He doesn¡¯t say thing as I open the drawer and pull out the first items I can touch. I storm back to the bathroom and shut the door. I immediately start to make work of my clothing, getting all the way down to my own underwear when I pause. I toy with the hem of the panties Archer got me, unsure if I should put them on. I hold them up and immediately decide against it. Of course, he only got me thongs. I drop the panties and pull the skirt on over my bri green boyshorts. The sweateres next. I turn around and look at myself in the mirror. I look better immediately. The shapeliness of the clothes has ttered my frame in a way that the baggy clothes didn¡¯t. I looked like the clothes looked. I looked beautiful. I sighed and opened the door to go back into the room. I nervously shuffled in. Archer stood in the same ce as before. Mia cheered when I walked back in and I blushed slightly. Then I shook my head, she was just excited to see me. In cashmere or cotton, she didn¡¯t care. were raking over every piece of I looked at Archer. His face was set in a line. He walked over to me and stalked around me in a circle. His eyes the fabric. He brushed the shoulder of the sweater then continued to analyze me. Abruptly, I felt a prescience on my hip. I gasped, oh¨Cso quietly, as the warmth spread. His hand smoothed over the curve of me, his pinkly skimming the top of my ass. It lit goosebumps across my skin and my brain. 2/3 IMICTAL | 45%Á¿ Chapter 19 ¡°These fit perfectly,¡± he whispered. It almost sounded like a purr in my ears. His hand skimmed across my lower back to my other hip. Hel turned me towards him. I looked up at him with wide eyes. ¡°The homing dance ising up,¡± he said, still low and soft. ¡°I¡¯ll have the tailor make you a dress with these measurements. You¡¯ll bring Mia and we¡¯ll formally introduce you to the school.¡± ¡°Formally?¡± I ask. Archer nods. He retracts his hand from me and I jerk back at the sudden loss of contact. His eyes dart back and forth, searching for something in mine. He nods, tersely. ¡°Yes,¡± he says. ¡°All member of the Hayes Court must be.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I say, softly, I turn towards the mirror in the corner of the room. I notice a patch on the breast of the sweater that I hadn¡¯t before. MyN?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. hand traces over it gently. ¡°Is this the mark of the Hayes Court?¡± I ask. Archer stands behind me and nods. ¡°It is,¡± he says. ¡°The Hayes Court of ves.¡± Chapter 20 Chapter 20 I whip around and re at him. ¡°ves?¡± I growl. ¡°What the fuck?¡± Archer merely shrugs. ¡°It¡¯s an ancient Hayes tradition,¡± he says. ¡°All employees are members of the Hayes Court of ves. It¡¯s a highest mark of honor ¡°Fuck you,¡± I hiss and shove his chest. ¡°I¡¯m not wearing this shit.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have choice,¡± Archer says, unamused. ¡°I¡¯ve tossed all your other shit. It¡¯s either that or be naked. Not that i give a fuck.¡± I seethe. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m running around this campus naked. It¡¯d give the pretentious, misogynist Hayes b want my tits and ass out for everyone to judge. boys too much joy. Plus, I didn¡¯t ¡°I¡¯m not going to the fucking dance,¡± I throw back.. ¡°Again, you don¡¯t have a choice.¡± ¡°Why do I need to be there? Mia and I can stay home instead of being paraded around like show ponies.¡± Archer scoffs. ¡°You¡¯re not good looking enough to be paraded around, I jerk back in shock. It¡¯s a massive difference from thepliments he was just throwing my way. From the way he was touching me. ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡± I grit out. ¡°All freshmen are required to attend their first homing,¡± Archer says. I can sense he¡¯s starting to get annoyed. ¡°Plus, the boys and I are going as well. No one¡¯s home to watch the baby.¡± 1 growl at him. He¡¯s making my escape impossible. He nods once at me ¡°Great,¡± he says. ¡°Can¡¯t wait to see you there.¡± His voice is thick with sarcasm. His eyes, however, are hot on me. They¡¯ve been like that since I left the bathroom in his bougie clothes. I open my mouth to tell him to stop staring at the help. Just as I speak, he turns on his heel and leaves. The door ms shut behind him and I¡¯m locked in my room in clothes that I don¡¯t want. I miss my holey tee¨Cshirts. I sigh and look back at Mia. She¡¯s asleep despite themotion, knocked out in her y thing. I scoop her up and gingerly put her lock the crib in ce and sigh. I step back and watch her stretch and groan, smack her lips together then pass back out This baby is the only thing keeping me calm. For a whole three months, I¡¯ll be here. I¡¯m enduring the assholes of all assholes and biting my tongue to stop fromshing out. But then, I get to see her beautiful little face and watch her develop into a whole little baby wolf. I¡¯m stepping into my second week now. Only two and a half months left. I sigh andy down in my own bed, looking up at the ceiling and praying to the Gods I make it out alive. I wake up as Mia does. I look over at her and she is, undoubtably, the cutest baby of all time. Her cheeks are fat and red and her eyes are wide and blue. When she giggles, little dimples curl in her cheeks and I can¡¯t help but giggle back at her. I scoop her in my arms and blow a raspberry on her stomach. She squeals and I giggle back at her. She¡¯s wonderful, this little baby. I look down at her and wonder if she¡¯s had all of her newborn vines. I take out my phone and sigh. Time to call the assholes. 1/3 ReelShort D 4.4 FREE Google y INSTALL You¡¯re pregnant by your new boss and Chapter 20 I whip around and re at him. ¡°ves?¡± I growl. ¡°What the fuck?¡± Archer merely shrugs. ¡°It¡¯s an ancient Hayes tradition,¡± he says. ¡°All employees are members of the Hayes Court of ves. It¡¯s a highest mare of honor.¡± ¡°Fuck you,¡± I hiss and shove his chest. ¡°I¡¯m not wearing this shit.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have choice,¡± Archer says, unamused. ¡°I¡¯ve tossed all your other shit. It¡¯s either that or be naked. Not that I give a fuck¡± I seethe. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m running around this campus naked. It¡¯d give the pretentious, misogynist Hayes boys too much joy. Plus, I didn¡¯t want my tits and ass out for everyone to judge. ¡°I¡¯m not going to the fucking dance,¡± I throw back. ¡°Again, you don¡¯t have a choice.¡± ¡°Why do I need to be there? Mia and I can stay home instead of being paraded around like show ponies.¡± Archer scoffs. ¡°You¡¯re not good looking enough to be paraded around,¡± I jerk back in shock. It¡¯s a massive difference from thepliments he was just throwing my way. From the way he was touching me. ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡± I grit out. ¡°All freshmen are required to attend their first homing,¡± Archer says. I can sense he¡¯s starting to get annoyed. ¡°Plus, the boys and I are going as well. No one¡¯s home to watch the baby.¡± I growl at him. He¡¯s making my escape impossible. He nods once at me. ¡°Great,¡± he says. ¡°Can¡¯t wait to see you there.¡± His voice is thick with sarcasm. His eyes, however, are hot on me. They¡¯ve been like that since I left the bathroom in his bougie clothes. I open my mouth to tell him to stop staring at the help. Just as I speak, he turns on his heel and leaves. The door ms shut behind him and I¡¯m locked in my room in clothes that I don¡¯t want. I miss my holey tee¨Cshirts. I sigh and look back at Mia. She¡¯s asleep despite themotion, knocked out in her y thing. I scoop her up and gingerly put her to bed. I lock the crib in ce and sigh. I step back and watch her stretch and groan, smack her lips together then pass back out. This baby is the only thing keeping me calm. For a whole three months, I¡¯ll be here. I¡¯m enduring the assholes of all assholes and biting my tongue to stop from out. But then, I get to see her beautiful little face and watch her develop into a whole little baby wolf. I¡¯m stepping into my second week now. Only two and a half months left. I sigh andy down in my own bed, looking up at the ceiling and praying to the Gods I make it out alive. I wake up as Mia does. 1 look over at her and she is, undoubtably, the cutest baby of all time. Her cheeks are fat and red and her eyes are wide and blue. When she giggles, little dimples curl in her cheeks and I can¡¯t help but giggle back at her. I scoop her in my arms and blow a raspberry on her stomach. She squeals and I giggle back at her. She¡¯s wonderful, this little baby. I look down at her and wonder if she¡¯s had all of her newborn vines. I take out my phone and sigh. Time to call the assholes. 17:11 Fri, 21 Jun G BG Chapter 20 I call Neil first. The phone almost rings to voicemail when he picks up. ¡°Hello?¡± He sounds breathless and nervous. ¡°Hey! Does Mia have ¡°Is she okay?¡± ¡°Er,¡± I pause and look down at her. She smiles up at me. ¡°Yeah she¡¯s fine but ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Chloe,¡± Neil says hurridly. ¡°There¡¯s a bit of an emergency on campus. Can you call one of my brothers?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I say, slightly disappointed. I rub the back of my neck. ¡°Yeah, of course.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± The phone disconnects and starts to beep. I grumble to myself and think of the next vtile brother to call. Steven¡¯s call doesn¡¯t even ring. I goes Great, that leaves the twins. dead as soon as I call the number. I call Beau first. He may be a dick but he¡¯s less of a dick than Archer. The phone rings a few times then a woman picks up. ¡°Hello?¡± She sounds mad. I blink a few times before speaking. ¡°Hi, is Beau there?¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± I hear in the background. Most definitely Beau. ¡°who the fuck is ¡®Nanny¡®?¡± the woman sneers. ¡°Babel Babe, ?¡±Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Archer sounds genuinely concerned. ¡°But is this something that needs to be done now? I just got to the gym.¡± ¡°Not really but we shouldn¡¯t dy it,¡± I give Mia my finger. She wraps her palm around it. ¡°Not re Archer sighs. ¡°If it¡¯s not urgent we can do itter. Or call my brother¡¯s.¡± ¡°They¡¯re all busy,¡± I say. ¡°Me fucking too, Chloe. We¡¯ll do itter.¡± The line goes dead. 45% I feel anger spark inside me again. Maybe I should start smoking weed or something. I¡¯m angry so often and it can¡¯t be good for my blood pressure. I chuck my phone at my bed and look down at Mia. She¡¯s dozed off again, hand still curled around my thumb. I gently pry it free and kiss the top of her head. ??? 17:11 Fri, 21 Jun G GG Chapter 20 45% I set up the baby monitor and march my way through the Pyramid. I sit in the gold room until all the brothers show up. It¡¯s about two hours after my calls. They all walk inughing and prancing about as if they don¡¯t have, care in the world. They stop as soon as they spot me, standing in the middle of my room with my hands on my hips. ¡°What the fuck?¡± I hiss. ¡°Cool your jets, Nanny,¡± Beau drawls. ¡°I smoothed it over with my girl. She knows I¡¯m not interested.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck about your side bitch,¡± I snap. ¡°You¡¯ve all been gone for hours. Half of you didn¡¯t pick up your phones and the other half was too busy to care!¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± Steven mumbles. He looks ufortable. ¡°I was at a hedge fund meeting. I had to keep my phone on silent or the investors get mad.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit!¡± I snap. ¡°Are you all really this unwilling to take on fatherly responsibilities? Did you grow up like this? Without a parent? Clearly, you must¡¯ve with the way your acting.¡± The brothers all look at Archer. His shoulders heave with his breathes. He steps towards me and I swallow thickly. I may have fucked up. COMMENT 17:11 Fri, 21 Jun GBG Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Chapter 21 ¡°I can¡¯t believe you all!¡± I shout. ¡°You¡¯vepletely tossed aside this baby now that I¡¯m here.¡± Beau snorts. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the point? We got you to take care of her so we can go about our normal lives?¡± ¡°No!¡± I say. ¡°A proper home needs both maleandfemale influences. Children learn separate things from their mother and father. Having both is imperative. Can¡¯t you see that?¡± ¡°Our mother was barely around,¡± Steven says softly. ¡°I think we turned out alright.¡± I¡¯m half tempting to ask if he¡¯s kidding but instead I just snort. I shake my head. ¡°I don¡¯t know where this baby came from- ¡°And you don¡¯t need to know,¡± Archer snaps. I gnash my teeth together behind my lips. ¡°But if you care about her, which I think you do, you need to step up,¡± I shake my head. ¡°You can¡¯t expect me to do this all on my own. I¡¯m only one person. Plus, she needs to develop a bond with you. Or else she¡¯ll forget you ever even were around.¡± The Hayes brothers all get quiet. They look at each other with looks that I interpret to mean that I¡¯m right. For some reason I can¡¯t understand, theyloveMia, She¡¯s this little beacon of light to them. I continue on my tirade because I know I¡¯m making progress. ¡°Think about your own childhoods,¡± I say. ¡°Think about what you there and give Mia what you didn¡¯t have.¡± had. Think about what you were missing. Now think of how you can be ¡°I don¡¯t believe that¡¯s any of your business,¡± Archer says, all malice. ¡°You work forus. We don¡¯t work for you. Therefore, you takeourorders on what is good for Mia. If we say she¡¯s good with you then she¡¯s good with you.¡± I shake my head, defiantly. ¡°You¡¯ve never taken care of a baby,¡± It¡¯s more of a statement than a question. ¡°You don¡¯t know that,¡± Beau says, arms crossed over his chest. ¡°I could have ten secret babies? ¡°Wouldn¡¯t put it past you,¡± Steven mumbles under his breath. Beau turns and sails his fist into Steven¡¯s shoulder. There¡¯s athwackas skin collides with skin. Steven curses and rubs at his arm, ring at Beau. The childishness enrages me. ¡°This isn¡¯t a joke!¡± I snap. ¡°This is someone¡¯s life. She¡¯s not like a doll you can¡¯t y with her until your bored then throw her away!¡± ¡°Watch yourself, Nanny,¡± Archer hisses. ¡°First you try and question my authority. Now you¡¯re saying we¡¯re not taking this seriously? Treading on thin ice.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just stating facts,¡± I say, eyes narrowed at Archer. ¡°And factually, none of you are pulling your weight.¡± pinch the space between my eyes. I¡¯m growing a massive headache with the amount of arguing I¡¯ve been doingtely, I sigh and rub my hand down my face, eyes fluttering shut. I¡¯m shocked no one¡¯sshed out at me. ¡°The baby may be better with her mother,¡± I say softly. itly. ¡°Is she around?¡± 1/3Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. Re¨CShort A FREE Google y INSTALL 17:11 Fri, 21 Jun GB G. Chapter 21 µÚ45%•þ Again, I¡¯m greeting with silence. I open my eyes and see all of the brother¡¯s looking away from me. Steven¡¯s staring off in space. Archer¡¯s staring at the floor with fire behind his eyes. Beau is gnawing at his lip, foot bobbing against the floor. The only one actually looking at me is Neil. He smiles sadly. ¡°We can¡¯t tell you that,¡± He murmurs. ¡°Her origin and anything that¡¯s rted to where shees from is a secret. It¡¯s for her safety. Please just trust that.¡± ¡°And stop fucking asking,¡± Archer adds, Neil shoots him a look and then sighs. ¡°I think you¡¯re right,¡± He says. ¡°We¡¯ve been neglecting Mia. Wedocare about her. We just weren¡¯t prepared for this. We expected that by finding you and having you take care of her would allow us to live our lives as we normally have.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°That was wrong od us and bad of us to Mia. We¡¯ll make an effort to help out more.¡± ¡°How?¡± Steven gasps. ¡°I¡¯ve never been around a baby before Mia. Everything I know is from what I¡¯ve learned on the inte or in books. All that stuff¡¯s hit or miss anyways. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I know a lot.¡± I say. Beau chuckles and nudges Archer. ¡°Fucking whore mother probably taught her.¡± ¡°Do you want my help or not?¡± I snap. ¡°We do,¡± Neil res at Beau. He looks back at me and his eyes are soft. ¡°We really do. We want to be good caretakers. ¡°Okay,¡± I sigh. ¡°Then I¡¯m starting sses. Just the five of us and Mia. Nanny school will happen twice a week and then you will still continue to care for Mia while I¡¯m in ss.¡± ¡°School is in session, boys,¡± Beau says. Steven and Neil snort slightly. Archer, however, looks like he¡¯d kill me just for suggesting ¡°Great,¡± Neil cuts the tension in the room. ¡°So let¡¯s meet up tomorrow. see how it goes.
  1. w. We can start out with Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings and
His eyes I nod once. All the brothers silently acknowledge me before slipping off into different parts of the pyramid. Archer is thes watch me like a hawk before he slips off towards his room. I heave a heavy sigh. I make my way back to my room. Mia¡¯s up at that point, gurgling as ever. I scoop her into my arms and cuddle her to my chest. She¡¯s such a lovely child. Not very fussy and oh¨Cso gentle. Most of the day she just sleeps but when she¡¯s up she¡¯s the light in the room. Not many babies I¡¯ve met are like that. It shows me that Mia must be special. That plus the fact she¡¯s just beautiful to look at. Her tuft of hair is white blonde and her eyes are this electric icy blue. She could be a baby model if someone put her into the field. But instead, she¡¯s sitting in the arms of someone from the slums in the house of four men that cannot be bothered to change for her. Or maybe they will, I think. Maybe Nanny training will be helpful for the Hayes. Maybe they¡¯ll learn how to actually give a shit about her. I hold out my hand and Mia wraps her hand around my index finger. She coos and then reaches out to touch my other fingers, I sigh again. ¡°I¡¯ll watch after you, babygirl,¡± I say softly to her. I promise.¡± Mia squeals back in delight and my heart swells as big as the moon. Chapter 22 Chapter 22 The next morning. Mia and I are the first ones up. It¡¯s a brisk winter morning and I can see frost on the ground outside Mia¡¯s room in the pyramid. I scoop her up and get her changed into her clothes for the day before feeding her. I make her some applesauce. It¡¯s usually her favorite. Today, she¡¯s oddly tentative with it. Then, she sticks her whole fist in it and shoves it to her face, squealing and trying to speak to me. I smile back at her, worries all gone. Slowly, each of the brotherse into the kitchen. Beaues in with a girl who he¡¯s far too handsy with. I¡¯m tempted to shield Mia¡¯s eyes but then they leave. Archer takes a protein shake from the fridge and doesn¡¯t acknowledge us before he leaves. Neil and Steven are thest two in. They sit and eat with Mia and I before going back to Mia¡¯s room. Beau¡¯s already there, rocking in Mia¡¯s chair. He barely looks up from his phone as we walk in. ¡°Amiya leave?¡± Steven asks Beau. He grunts. Steven¡¯s shoulders sag in relief. ¡°Thank Gods. I heard you both all night.¡± Beau smirks and finally looks up at us. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Stevie? Jealous I was getting some while you you were eye fucking some chemistry set?¡± ¡°No,¡± Steven scowls. ¡°I could get some. If I wanted.¡± Neil pats him on the shoulder. ¡°Sure, buddy.¡± ¡°Eugh,¡± I say. ¡°Enough. We¡¯re here for Nanny training not Hayes Sex¨Ccapades. Where is Archer?¡± he devil himselfes barreling through the door. The first thing I notice is that he¡¯s slick with sweat. The protein shake then sneaks in my mind and I realize that he¡¯d been training before Nanny school. I rake my eyes over his frame and feel something stir within me. He¡¯s sweaty, yes, but the sheen on his skin makes him glow. His hair is slightly damp and flopping over his one eye. His shoulders ripple with the post exercise shiver. He looks¡­good. Very good actually, I can¡¯t help but let my jaw fall slightly as I continue to watch him. I finally meet his eye and his stare is intense. But, unlike every other time we¡¯d made eye contact, it¡¯s not full of anger. It¡¯s full of something else. I clear my throat and tip my head down. The intensity sent goosebumps over my skin and gave me this unnerved feeli cheeks. I hope no one notices, but of course, someone does. ¡°You okay?¡± Neil asks. ¡°Yeah¨Cuh¨Cyeah,¡± I clear my throat again and look up. ¡°Okay so Nanny school.¡± ¡°Yay.¡± Beau deadpans. Neil shoots him a look. ¡°So first thing we¡¯ll do,¡± I pluck Mia out of her crib. She babbles happily. ¡°Is learn how to hold the baby.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Beau says. ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous. I know how to hold something.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I challenge. I put Mia into Beau¡¯s arms. ¡°Hold her then.¡± ishes into my Mia babbles more but Beau immediately looks like he¡¯s panicking. He holds Mia under her armpits, about a foot away from his chest. Iugh softly at him and go to correct him, *So put one arm here and ¨C yep and then the other to support her neck and,¡± I step back and survey my work. ¡°Wow. That¡¯s pretty good.¡± ¡°Told you,¡± Beau says. It¡¯s all soft and gentle though, no teasing. He rocks Mia gently and a soft smile cuts into his face as she babbles louder Chapter 22 45% ¡°So hand her to Neil,¡± I say. Beau does. Neil shifts her slightly in his arms. He¡¯s a bit awkward at first and doesn¡¯t support her bum enough before he shifts and gets it right. He still looks entirely unsure as he looks back at me. I nod. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± I say. I motion next to him. ¡°Now, Steven.¡± Steven holds Mia with about as much ease as trying to eat a rack of ribs without getting the sauce all over your face. He¡¯s much more awkward than Neil and Mia starts to squirm in his arms. She screeches once and Steven looks like he¡¯s about to pass out. Even still, he supports her neck and butt properly and looks pretty good doing it. ¡°Also good,¡± I look at Archer. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Archer picks Mia up out of Steven¡¯s arms like she¡¯s a rugby and not a tiny human. He belts one arm around her middle and holds her tight to his chest. It¡¯s none of what I¡¯d just told them to do. It¡¯s bad and Mia isnothappy. She squirms and screeches and seems super uftable. ¡°You¡¯re not supporting her neck or butt,¡± I say to Archer. ¡°She won¡¯t stop ¨C ugh¨Cmoving!¡± Mia is squirming violently now. She¡¯s about to slip out of Archer¡¯s grasp when I swoop in and snag her. She immediately rxes in my arms. She presses her palm to my cheek in a silent thanks. ¡°You weren¡¯t supporting her,¡± I say. ¡°She¡¯s a baby not a ball. Plus, if you hold a ball that way you¡¯ll drop it if you get hit.¡± ¡°Are you telling me how to y sports?¡± He snaps. ¡°I don¡¯t tell you how to Nanny. Maybe if I did, you¡¯d actually begoodat your job and not need us to do this stupid training!¡± by arms. I look down at her. She¡¯s much more content now and her eyes are Though his words have no basis, they still hurt, I shift Mia in my starting to shut. Her cheeks are bright pink. She¡¯s so at ease in my arms. I can¡¯t bring myself to believe I¡¯m bad at this. I hand Mia to Steven. He holds her gently and perfectly and she settles into him. I turn to Archer, hands on my hips. ¡°Yousaid you wanted to be involved,¡± I snap. ¡°Then you show up with this bullshit ass attitude and start getting pissy because I corrected you.¡± greedto be involved,¡± Archer corrects. ¡°I didn¡¯t agree to you being in charge. This ismypyramid and I don¡¯t take kindly to being undermined in it.¡± ¡°Undermined?!¡± I squeak. ¡°I corrected your form. Not knocked you off your throne. You¡¯re insanel¡± Archer¡¯s nostrils re and his eyes widen. Neil notices it and steps in between us with his hands up. Archer looms over his head and res down at me. ¡°The Hayes brothers are in charge in this school,¡± Archer growls. ¡°It¡¯ll do you well to remember that.¡± The threat applies to much more than just Mia and I feel it in that moment. I hold Archer¡¯s re as Nell tries to calm him down. ¡°Okay, okay,¡± he says. ¡°New rules. Nanny school is Chloe¡¯s time to critique. All other times, we¡¯re all in charge. But for one hour, Chloe gets to speak her mind without repercussions.¡± Archer whips his head to Neil. ¡°You give a snake like her an inch and she¡¯ll take a mile,¡± he hisses. ¡°She¡¯ll think she rules us all the time.N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. P Chapter 22 Fri, un ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± I snap. ¡°We had a deal, remember?¡± 45%̨ ¡°Deal didn¡¯t include Nanny school,¡± Beau drawls from his chair. I want to throw something at him but don¡¯t. Instead, I use my eyes. He shrugs. ¡°Just saying- ¡°Enough!¡± Neil shouts. ¡°We said we¡¯d help with Mia and so we will.¡± His hands finally drop to his sides. Archer steps back and leans against the wall. His arms cross over his broad chest. ¡°Plus, I¡¯ve worked out a schedule for us based on our sses,¡± Nell goes on. ¡°Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays will be Chloe¡¯s full day to watch Mia. The rest of the days will be split up between the four of us. I want her to have the most even time between her Nanny and us as Dads. This should be a pretty good split.¡± ¡°Aw, man,¡± Beau groans. ¡°Saturdays? That¡¯s my fun night.¡± I wrinkle my nose. ¡°I don¡¯t want to know what that means.¡± Beau wiggles his eyebrows at me. ¡°You couldn¡¯t handle it sweetheart.¡± ¡°Beau, shut the fuck up,¡± Neil snaps. ¡°We¡¯ll rotate who takes her each Saturday so we still have free time.¡± He turns back to me. ¡°Mia is important to us,¡± he says. ¡°Please, remember that and stop implying she¡¯s not.¡± I nod once. I look back at Mia in Steven¡¯s arms. Immediately, my face drops. Her cheeks are now not only red, butpuffy. She looks like she¡¯s having a hard time breathing, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her mouth is twisted into a frown and tears are welling in her eyes. I grab her out from Steven¡¯s arms and start looking her over. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong,¡± I say, hurriedly. All the brothers are on their feet in an instance. Steven lifts her jumper slightly and we see a patchy red rash has bloomed on Mia¡¯s chest. ¡°Anaphctic shock,¡± Steven whispers. He locks eyes with me. ¡°She¡¯s having an allergic reaction.¡± I whip my head towards Neil. ¡°Take us to the hospital,now.¡± É« 0 Chapter 23 Chapter 23 We arrive to the hospital in a flurry. I¡¯m positive Archer was twenty miles over the speed limit with how fast he was driving. I rush through the double doors with four massive alphas behind me. Everyone in the hospital seems to know who they are and immediately runs over to us. The doctor is a shorter, slim man with thick framed sses. His forehead is creased in worry when hees over to us. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He tries to take Mia from my arms and I immediately pull away, shielding her from him with my back. He frowns and puts a hand on my arm. ¡°Ma¡¯am,¡± he continues. ¡°I need to see her in order to treat her I look back at the brothers. Neil gives me a nod I hand Mia over to the doctor, still tentative. He swaddles her perfectly and begins to do some poking around and looking at her. ¡°Who¡¯s the parents?¡± he asks. Everyone stills. I open my mouth to say I am, just to get him tohurry upbut then Archer¡¯smand booms over
  1. me.
¡°We are Hayes,¡± he says, all bark and alpha. ¡°That¡¯s all that matters.¡± The doctor seems to understand this. He nods at Archer and then looks to Mia¡¯s skin. Her rash is worsening and it¡¯s making me panic. it ¡°She seems to be having an allergic reaction the doctor says. ¡°It should be easy to quell it if that¡¯s what it is. Then we can do a few prick tests to see if it¡¯s any of the big ones¡± ¡°And what if it¡¯s not?¡± I ask, not really wanting to know the answer. The doctor shoots me a look then turns and hands Mia over to a nurse. I ¡°Then I will work in overdrive until we figure out what it is,¡± he says. ¡°For now, please wait here. We will update you when we know something¡± He the nurse take Mia behind tworger doors and into the hospitalit leaves myself and the brothers in a room that smells of bleach and old people. We all stand in the same ce for a few minutes, watching the doors where Mia disappeared behind swinging aimlessly. Finally, Neil slumps into a seat. Beau is quick to follow. Steven stands nervously next to me, grawing on his fingers and giggling his leg I feel Archer at my back and turn to face him. His chest is all puffed up and his face is red with anger. He seethes through his nose and jabs a finger at me. ¡°This better not be your fucking fault,¡± he snaps. ¡°My fault?!¡± I scoff ¡°its probably somethingyoudid. You can¡¯t even fucking hold her correctly!¡± Archer sucks in another hot breath. He¡¯s more red in the face than I¡¯ve ever seen him. I know I¡¯ve overstepped. Quite frankly, I don¡¯t know give a shit anymore. ¡°If you did this,¡± Archer says, low and warning ¡°I have your head on a post for everyone on campus toe and defile.¡± ¡°Fuck You¡± I spit through gritted teeth. Archet steps forward but is cut off by a bark from Neil. ¡°you are driving me insane,¡± he snaps. ¡°Stop fighting for one fucking second. The only thing that matters is that Mia is safe, Chlor Caught it warty enough that she should be Thats what we should be talking about Not who¡¯s fucking fault it is.¡± 19:17 Sat, 22 Jun R Chapter 23 ¡°If Chloe wasn¡¯t here, we wouldn¡¯t have caught it.¡± Beau says quietly. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen him look serious. He shakes his head. ¡°Maybe we¡¯re not the right people to be watching her.¡± ¡°Take that back.¡± Archer hisses. ¡°We are thebestpeople for her. One trip to the hospital won¡¯t disprove that.¡± He turns to re at me. ¡°Nor willProperty ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. an ipetent Nanny.¡± ¡°Give it a rest, Arch,¡± Steven sighs. Archer blinks at Steven, shocked at his younger brother. I blink at him a few times too. Stevens usually quiet, reserved. He rarely speaks let alone says something in spite of another brother. Archer finally gives up. He leans against the wall and shakes his head silently in disbelief I slump in a chair next to Neil. He barely notices, too busy staring at the ground between his legs. I curl up into the chair and stare at the door, longing for someone toe back and tell me that my baby is okay. It¡¯s about an hourter that someone does show up. The doctor breaks into the doors and all five of us are on our feet. Neil speaks first. ¡°Is she okay? Is she going to live? What happened?¡± The doctor holds up a hand. She is okay,¡± The whole room sighs in relict. The doctor continues ¡°We want to keep her another hour or so for observation. You are wee to go sit with her in her room,¡± the doctor says. ¡°We did a few tests and it turns out that she did have an allergic reaction. To nuts, specifically. This one was likely brought on from a peanut exposure.¡± Neil frowns. ¡°Peanuts?¡± he asks. ¡°We don¡¯t keep peanuts in the house for this reason. We wanted to make sure she had no allergies before we brought them m. We just didn¡¯t get to it before this happened.¡± ¡°I see,¡± the doctor muses. ¡°Is there anyone who¡¯s new to the household who could¡¯ve brought them in unknowingly?¡± All four pairs of eyes are on me in a second. They feel like razor des against my skin. I open my mouth to speak and immediately Archer is in my face, screaming at me with a pointed finger. The words ricochet through my brain and I wince. *YOU!¡± ¡°Archer,¡± Neil warns. ¡°You¡¯re making a scene.¡± I try and speak but the words get lodged in my throat at the sight of Archer, fuming in front of me. let my eyes flutter shut ¡°I didn¡¯t bring anything in,¡± I manage to get out. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Archer hisses. ¡°She¡¯s only been given stuff from the snack fridge,¡± My voice sounds so small. So afraid. ¡°I promiset 1-1- ¡°Are you sure?¡± Beau says. He doesn¡¯t have anger in his voice but it still puts me on edge. I nod and chew on my lip. All the brothers are staring at me. My mind is reeling, trying to find something that was off. The morning was fine. I used all the diaper products I used yesterday. She didn¡¯t have a bath so couldn¡¯t be that. Breakfast was fine though she was a little tentative on the applesauce- The applesauce. B 0 19:17 Sat, 22 Jun R Chapter 23 ¡°This morning.¡± I swallow thickly. It feels like sandpaper. ¡°She had applesauce. She was weird about it.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t she always have that?¡± Steven asks. ¡°It¡¯s the prepackaged one.¡± 61% l ¡°Yes,¡± I say. I¡¯m still trying to even out my breathing. ¡°But she was making funny faces at it today. I don¡¯t know who would¡¯ve been able to tamper with it.¡± I pause. I look at Neil with wide eyes. ¡°Unless they were in charge of the supplies.¡± ¡°Laura?¡± Beau says, incredulous. ¡°You thinkLauradid this?¡± ¡°It makes sense,¡± Neil muses.. ¡°I didn¡¯t think she was that malicious,¡± Stevens adds. He seems disappointed. ¡°We have no proof,¡± Archer says. He¡¯s calmed down considerably and has be more inquisitive than usive. ¡°Suspect number one is still the Nanny.¡± ¡°It couldn¡¯t have,¡± Neil says with a shake of his head. ¡°We never told Chloe about the allergies.¡± ¡°Which is a whole other issue on its own,¡± I mumble. I rub my neck. ¡°Listen,¡± Beau says. ¡°The kid¡¯s okay. That¡¯s what matters. This is all so ridiculous. Let¡¯s go get her and take her home. Then, we can talk to Laura about it.¡± Neil and Steven nod in agreement. Archer¡¯s ring at the floor. His expression keeps rocketing back and forth between anger and concern. I look at the doctor. He looks concerned too. I smile gently at him. ¡°Can we see Mia now?¡± I say.. He nods once. ¡°Let me take you to her.¡± Chapter 24 Chapter 24 It¡¯s almost midnight by the time we get Mia home and in bed. The day has flown by in a flurry of hospital gowns and panic. I tuck Mia in her crib and she falls asleep almost instantly. The doctor said the anti¨Chistamine they gave her would make her sleepy. I just didn¡¯t expect it to bethatfast. I¡¯m exhausted and realize the only meal I had today was breakfast. My stomach lurches. I get myself out of my bed, grab the baby monitor for Mia and gently open the door. When I turn around, the brothers are waiting for me. I flinch when I see them. ¡°Gods,¡± I breath. ¡°You scared me.¡± Beau frowns. ¡°Am I really that hideous?¡± I scowl at him. He smiles and then jerks his head towards the kitchen. ¡°Come on,¡± he says. ¡°We¡¯ve got investigating to do.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t this wait?¡± I say, ¡°I¡¯m exhausted.¡± ¡°A member of the pack was assaulted,¡± Archer says. So serious. ¡°No it cannot.¡± I sigh and give in. The five of us march off to the kitchen. The staff is cleaning the kitchen when we all bustle in. They¡¯re slightly confused when they see us. Neil tells us to divide and conquer. I start in the fridge and begin looking on the top shelf for any peanut butter. Beau and Archer take the dry food cabs. Steven Interviews on chef while Neil interviews another. I find nothing in the fridge and the twins we gather. ¡°Tell them what you told me,¡± Neil says. Right,¡± the chef itches the back of his neck. He looks nervous. ¡°We got a request for peanut butter sandwiches in the snack fridge the other day.¡± ¡°From who?¡± Stevens asks Chef shakes his head. ¡°Dunno. Was an unsigned sticky note left on the counter. Saw it the other day when I walked in. Figured it was one of you. ¡°We put the no nut specification in ce,¡± Archer says. ¡°Why would we break our own rule?¡± ¡°Well,¡± the chef shifts, visibly ufortable. He looks at Beau and blushes. ¡°Alpha Hayes asked for the same thing ago when a girl was over. We figured it was him.¡± ¡°What the fuck, Beaul?¡± Archer hisses. Beau merely shrugs. ¡°You ever had a PB BJ? Life changing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re disgusting¡± Isnecr ¡°Thanks, princess,¡± Beau says with a wink. I feel my stomach stir dangerously despite the disgust I feel. I shake my head and turn back to the chel. ¡°So you made sandwiches and put them in the fridge, right?¡± 19:17 Sat, 22 Jun RVO Chapter 24 ¡°We put them in Sunday night,¡± Chef says. ¡°They were gone by Monday morning.¡± I feel a pull in my gut and know it has to be Beau. I turn towards him and find the brothers looking at him as well. He shrugs. ¡°I was hungry, okay!¡± ¡°Fucking Gods, Beau,¡± Neil says, swiping a hand over his face. ¡°You didn¡¯t think to tell us?¡± Beau groans. ¡°You¡¯re all such rule sticklers, I didn¡¯t want to get in troublel ¡°We¡¯re rule sticklers because Mia¡¯slifedepends on it, you asshole,¡± Archer snaps. He thwacks Beau on the arm. Beau yelps and rubs it. 61%ºÐ ¡°Okay, okay,¡± I say, bringing the attention back to the matter at hand. ¡°So there was at least one jar of peanut butter in the pyramid. How did it get in Mia¡¯s food?¡± ¡°Well,¡± Steven muses. ¡°Some allergies are so severe that even the proximity of an allergen to something consumed can set off a reaction.¡± He looks at me. ¡°Did you check the applesauce for outside contaminants?¡± I shake my head. Steven leads us all to the snack fridge. He opens the bottom drawer and meticulously checks each of the apple sauce packets. He stands up and brackets his hands on his hips. He ¡°humph¡¯s in a confused maner. ¡°Nothing,¡± he says. ¡°Doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± ¡°Did you ask the dishwasher?¡± Neil says. ¡°Maybe someone took a dirty spoon and ran it over the package or touched Mia¡¯s cutlery with it.¡± We find the dishwasher and question him next. He says he didn¡¯t see anything with peanut butter on it in the sink. ¡°I know the rules,¡± he says. ¡°I use separate sponges for everything. Meats is one. Dairy is another. Even if there was some contaminated spoon, I¡¯d used the contaminated sponge for it.¡± ¡°Is this how all rich people live?¡± I mumble to myself. Unfortunately, Archer hears it. He rolls his eyes. Neil turns back to the dishwasher. ¡°So nothing out of the ordinary?¡± ¡°Mm,¡± he hums. ¡°There was a freshly washed syringe in the drying rack when I came in this morning. Thought it was strange but then assumed it was one of Alpha Hayes¡® weird sex things.¡± I don¡¯t need to see where the dishwashers eyes are leading to know were talking about Beau. I turn and watch him pout. w feels very ¡°You leave a dildo in the drying rackone timeand everyone¡¯s out to get you!¡± he cries. He crosses his arms over his chest. ¡°This day ¡®fuck you Beau¡± to me.¡±N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. ¡°Shut up,¡± Archer says. His eyes flutter closed with disgust. ¡°Just stop. Talking¡± ¡°Syringe?¡± Steven says. He taps hips finger to his lips in thought. Then his eyes go wide, he gasps. ¡°What?¡± Nell asks. Steven says nothing. He darts back over to the snack fridge and pulls out an applesauce. He inspects the package diligently then gives a soft ¡°ah ha¡± when he spots something. He shows the rest of the group. Sure enough, there¡¯s an almost microscopic hole on the packaging. It looks like the exact same size of a syringe. My heart thuds in my chest 19:17 Sat, 22 Jun R@ Chapter 25 Chapter 25 ¡°Laura,¡± I say immediately, shaking my head. ¡°It had to be her. She was the only one who had ess to everything.¡± ¡°Her,¡± Archer says. ¡°Andyou.¡± ¡°Seriously, Archer?¡± I sneer. ¡°You¡¯re still trying to put the me one me? Even after all of this evidence?¡± ¡°What evidence? Archer snaps. He throws a hand towards the fridge. ¡°All we know is someone spiked the applesauce,¡± ¡°Why would I go to the effort of spiking it if I was going to give it to her?¡± I throw back. ¡°Maybe you and Laura are in on it together,¡± Archer says back. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t surprise me.¡± ¡°Arch,e on,¡± Neil says. ¡°No!¡± Archer shouts back. He jabs a finger at me. ¡°Shehas been trying to sabotage us since she fucking showed up on campus. You¡¯re all to blind to see it.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve made her life a living hell,¡± Steven says. ¡°She was an Untouchable. How was that sabotaging us?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯d ever hurt a kid,¡± Neil says. This makes Archer pause. He looks at me and his expression changes.Finally, he¡¯s gotten it through his head that I¡¯m not the bad guy here. Still, his words are eating at me. It¡¯s all been too much. Too much change, too much time. I feel fear boiling up within me. The urge to fight or fly is so strong it¡¯s over powering. As Archer¡¯s one arm breaks lose, I crumble down any resolve. Ifly out of the kitchen like a bat out of hell. I sprint through the pyramid and back to my room. I m the door behind me and lock it before! crumble down to my knees. Sobs over take my body as Ipletely and entirely break down. It¡¯s all too much. The constant berating from the Hayes. Being away from home. Having this extra responsibility in taking care of a whole other human. My body can¡¯t take it. The sobs shake me to my core. I hup and gasp between hysteric tears. I want to give up. I want to go back to my little slum with Navis and live the life that I¡¯d always lived in Greendale. It was far from perfect, yeah, but it was something I was used to. I could handle it. This new school is uncharted territory. That, along with the patriarchal douchbagery that is the Hayes family is so overwhelming. Greendale had assholes but not ones that were this entitled. The Hayes brings a new meaning to the word. It¡¯s a kind of fuckery that I¡¯d never had the displeasure of being introduced to. I wipe the tears off my face with the back of my hand. I hup a few times and then try and steady my breath. I hear cooling and look up. Mia is standing at the edge of her crib. I gasp. She¡¯s standingl I rush over to her immediately and flood her with words of praise. She giggles and squeals back at me. I pick her up into my arms and squeeze her to my chest. She smells so soft and fresh and I inhale her deeply. She presses her palm to my cheek again and I look into her eyes. They¡¯re so wide and blue and full of possibilities. It¡¯s then that I know I cannot give up. Mia depends on me. She needs me to help her grow up. I¡¯ve been with her for only a few days now and she¡¯s already progressed so much. The sight of it is magical. 19:17 Sat, 22 Jun Chapter 25 ¡°You and me, baby girl,¡± I whisper to her gently. ¡°We¡¯ll get through this together.¡± 61%0 I sit down in the rocking chair, Mia still in my arms. I gently push my feet off the ground and swing us back and forth. The dull movement is enough to lull Mia back to sleep. I¡¯m not much farther behind her. The next time I see the Hayes is Thursday at Nanny training. They¡¯d been scarce on Wednesday and had let me and Mia have time to ourselves. I don¡¯t know if it was out embarrassment or distaste but I was happy to be alone regardless. I¡¯m waiting for them in Mia¡¯s room for Nanny training that evening when Neil walks in. He gives me a sheepish smile and a tentative ¡°hello.¡± gives me a sheepish smile and a tentative ¡°hello.¡± ¡°Hi,¡± I say back, annoyed that my voice sounds small. I clear my throat and try again. ¡°Hello, I mean.¡± ¡°How¡¯s Mia?¡± Neil asks.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. I shift her on my hip. ¡°Good,¡± I say. ¡°She was standing in her crib two nights ago. Again,st night.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± Neil breathes. He pinches Mia¡¯s hand between his fingers. ¡°Pretty impressive, littledy.¡± Mia gurgles something unintelligible and smiles widely at Neil. I rock her gently in my arms. The door creaks and both Neil and I look up to see Steven shuffling in. ¡°Sorry I¡¯mte,¡± he says. ¡°Night ss went over.¡± ¡°No worries,¡± I say, gently, ¡°The twins aren¡¯t even here yet.¡± As if I summoned them, the opens again. Beau slips in first then Archer. His head is down. He doesn¡¯t acknowledge anyone in the room. Beau waves at us. ¡°Good evening nanny and daddies,¡± he says. I expect Archer to say something or roll his eyes or doanythingbut he doesn¡¯t. I silently wonder if he¡¯s ashamed of his actions the other day. ¡°Oh! Uh,¡± Neil rubs the back of his neck. ¡°I spoke with Laura.¡± My eyes almost pop out of my head. ¡°You did? What did she say?¡± ¡°She denied any involvement,¡± Neil says, solemnly. ¡°That¡¯s bullshit I say, louder than intended. Mia squeals in agreement. I shush her gently. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Neil says. ¡°Maybe it wasn¡¯t her. Regardless, we need to figure out which staff did it and fire them.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ve dropped me as a suspect?¡± I say. ¡°Yes,¡± Neil says ¡°We¡¯re all in agreement.¡± ¡°Good,¡± I say, sighing in relief. I¡¯m still suspicious of Laura but I keep my mouth shut to avoid a fight. ¡°Okay, today were feeding Mia dinner.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Beau hums. ¡°Mommy¡¯s milk?¡± ¡°Ew, no,¡± I scoff. ¡°She¡¯s old enough for solid food.¡± 61% Chapter 25 Steven lightly smacks Beau. ¡°Yeah that¡¯s why were in this whole applesauce debacle.¡± ¡°Milk from the teet sounds better,¡± Beau drawls. Everyone collectively groans. I put Mia in her highchair that I pulled from the kitchen. She gurgles and ps her hands, knowing it¡¯s time for dinner. I pull out some crackers and some grapes from my bag, dutifully prepared by me earlier that day. I hand some out to each of the men, ¡°Now, it¡¯s important to make sure the food is small enough so she doesn¡¯t choke,¡± I say. ¡°That¡¯s why the grapes are cut in half and the crackers are broken, Feeding her is fairly easy you just have to keep your eyes on her.¡± ¡°No milk?¡± Beau chirps. ¡°Bummer. Would love to catch a view of you shirtless.¡± ¡°Enough, Beau,¡±es the booming voice of Archer. It¡¯s amanding tone, his alpha voice. I I flush immediately. Archering to my rescue is not something I ever envisioned. Especially not today with the way he sulked into the room. It mak Chapter 26 Chapter 26 The remainder of the week goes by slowly and, somehow, without conflict. I haven¡¯t seen Archer much since Nanny school on Thursday. He¡¯s been hiding out in his room or bolting through the Pyramid to ss. Nell and Steven have been home the most. I¡¯m strangely starting to enjoy theirpany. Steven is shy but sweet. He also knows so, so much about everything. He¡¯ll sometimes ramble on and get lost in his words and then flush in the face when he realizes it. Neil is creative and kind. He¡¯s not once raised his voice at me. He¡¯s always covered in paint and I mainly see him cleaning his brushes in the kitchen sink. He usually has headphones on but he¡¯ll always give me a quick wave or half smile. Beau is still a misogynistic prick. I¡¯ve counted three girls in the Pyramid since Thursday evening. It¡¯s Friday afternoon. And Archer, well, he¡¯s Archer. Elusive and angry. sses are going well. I¡¯ve managed to get into the grove of things. The technology at Moonriver is far superior to anything I had at Greendale. Debbie¡¯s been good about helping me in the sses we share together. It¡¯s what she¡¯s currently doing as I fumble with setting up the circuitry for my robot. *Red to red and ck to ck,¡± she says as she clips the final wire in. She gives a happy cheer before leaning back in her chair. The robot whirs to life and beeps a few times before going to set up the task it¡¯d been assigned to. ¡°Gods,¡± I sigh, exhausted. ¡°How do you remember all this?¡± Debbie shrugs ¡°My dad¡¯s an engineer. Must be in my gics.¡± I can¡¯t help but snort. Look where my gics have gotten me. Debbie¡¯s quiet for a minute, fiddling away with her notes before she looks back at me. ¡°Soooo,¡± she draws it out long like a kid asking for more cookies. ¡°Homing is Saturday. Please tell me you¡¯re going.¡± I groan. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going.¡± ¡°e!¡± Debbie squeals, shaking her hands in the air. ¡°But I¡¯m not going to ignore how miserable you sound about doing so.¡± I consider telling her about the fact I¡¯m being forced to go for some weird ceremony thing. I see Archer¡¯s face beet red with anger in my brain and decide against it. ¡°I hate dances,¡± I fiddle with my pen. ¡°I hate dresses, I hate awkward small talk. I hate looking like a doll and I actually hate dancing.¡± ¡°Ohe on,¡± Debbie says. ¡°No one can hate dancing¡± ¡°They can,¡± I protest. ¡°And I do.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be such a sour puss,¡± Debbie scowls. ¡°Did you get a dress yet? We can go into town and get you one after ss!¡± I think about the closet of uniform clothes I have at home, all branded with the Hayes crest. They¡¯re all modest and aren¡¯t my style at all. It wouldn¡¯t surprise me if Archer had something simr for me for the dance. I grit my teeth as I speak to Debbie. ¡°I do,¡± I say. I give her a soft smile. ¡°Thank you, though.¡± 19:18 Sat, 22 Jun Chapter 26 ¡°No problem,¡± she says. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see it.¡± Dread fills me as I grumble under my breath. ¡°Me too.¡± Áã61%”à One illy put together robotter, I leave ss and start back to procure Mia from Archer. It¡¯ll be the first time we¡¯re speaking since the nut issue. He was silent most of Thursday¡¯s ss and has been avoiding me since. The thought causes a pit of anxiety in my chest. I rub my hand over my heart to try and rid myself of it. I take the tunnel into the pyramid and B¨Cline to Archer¡¯s room. When I get there, I knock gently on the door. There¡¯s silence before it¡¯s whipped open. I¡¯m expecting Archer to be angry that I¡¯m in his presence but, he¡¯s not. His face is oddly stoic. Something about him seems¡­ changed. He holds Mia in his arms. She squeals when she sees me. ¡°Hi, babygirl!¡± I coo at her. I pluck her gently from Archer¡¯s arms and cradle her to my chest. She babbles back at me. ¡°She just woke up from a nap,¡± Archer says. He hands me her diaper bag. ¡°She should be good until bed.¡± Inod once. Mia¡¯s hand goes to my cheek and I nt a kiss on it. She says something unintelligible with a screech of happiness. I shift her sol can throw the diaper bag over my shoulder. Then I look back at Archer. ¡°That all?¡± ¡°No,¡± he says, t. It¡¯s still, somehow, soft. ¡°I have something for you. It¡¯s in Mia¡¯s room.¡± My eyebrows furrow. I start to get worried about it but then look at Archer¡¯s face. He¡¯s not wearing the devious smirk I¡¯ve seen before when he¡¯s ¡°gifted¡± me whatever bullshit he wants to put on me. ¡°Oh,¡± I say quietly. ¡°Okay.¡± Archer brushes against me as he leaves his room. He shuts the door behind his back and then walks down the hall to mine and Mia¡¯s room. He tentatively opens the door and I mentally prepare myself for the worst. Pile of dirty diapers. Leash for the cor. Full on ankle monitor. What I see is none of that. I actually gasp when I see my present, shimmering in the sunlight streaming through the window. My hand covers my mouth. Hanging up by my wardrobe is a beautiful midnight blue dress. It sparkles but not as if it¡¯s covered in rhinestones, as if stars themselves are embedded in the fabric. It¡¯s strapless with a slit up the leg. It¡¯s honestly the most wonderful piece of clothing I¡¯ve ever been gifted. ¡°For the dance,¡± Archer says. ¡°You¡¯re representing us now. That means your representing opulence and luxury.¡± My hopes and wishes fall as I remember why I¡¯m going. ¡°Does it have a crest on it?¡± I ask. Archer shakes his head. ¡°Looked too tacky,¡± he says. ¡°I couldn¡¯t have that.¡± Of course he couldn¡¯t have that. I set Mia in her crib and slowly walk over to the dress. The fabric feels like water in my hands. I look back at Archer. Something within 19:18 Sat, 22 Jun R Chapter 26 361% himhaschanged, I don¡¯t know what sparked this or why but he feels gentler. Kinder. I look up at him with a burst of hope in my eyes. Maybe he¡¯s realized I¡¯m not the bad guy ¡°Thank you,¡± I say. Archer nods once, sharply. ¡°For the dance.¡± He says it like he¡¯s trying to justify it to himself, I ignore it and look back at the dress. It¡¯s so beautiful. I can¡¯t wait to see how it looks on me. I look back at Archer. ¡°Can I try it on?¡± ¡°You have to,¡± he says. ¡°I need to make sure it fits.¡°¡± I think aboutst time we did this little song and dance. Archer¡¯s hands sliding across my hip. My face feels hot and I turn back to the dress. I gingerly take it into the bathroom with me and slip bare before sliding it on.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. It feels better on my body than it did in my hands. I pause a moment to just look at myself in the mirror. The dress looks out of ce on my scarred body with messy hair. But still, I feel wonderful in it. I try and yank the zipper up but it gets stuck. I groan. With it halfway up, I shuffle out of the bathroom and back into my room. Archer is ying with Mia when I walk in. He stops immediately and turns towards me. ¡°Um,¡± I say, sheepishly. ¡°The zipper¡¯s stuck. Can you help?¡± Archer nods, silently, and strides across the floor to help me. I spin around so my back is towards him and I suck in a breath as I wait. His hands tentatively touch me, skimming my back ever so lightly. However, the heat transfers from him and radiates across my body. I gasp quietly as it hits my brain. Slowly, Archer ces his hand on my hip. His thumb strokes over the front of my hip bone. I can¡¯t help the slight whimper that escapes my throat. Everything about him is warm and dangerous. I feel like prey for the taking. He drags the zipper up, finger still pressed to my skin. It hits the top and he lets go. His hand is still on my and fans down towards my other hip. I turn around like time has stopped. His hands are still on me and I press my chest to his. He gasps lightly. There¡¯s something drawing us together, knitting our threads up so tightly. I tip my chin to look at Archer. His staring down at me, lips slightly parted. I can¡¯t believe this. I¡¯m melting in his arms. The door is thrown open and immediately Archer shoves me back. I jerk my head towards the door and see Beau standing in the door frame. He looks confused then it twists into something slightly possessive. His eyes rake over me and turn dark. He whips his head towards Archer. ¡°I was looking for you,¡± he says. ¡°Wanted to train. Clearly, you¡¯re busy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Archer snaps. The fa?ade of him is gone. The Archer I knew is back. ¡°Let me change and I¡¯ll be ready.¡± Quick as a hare, he¡¯s out of the room. Beau still stands in the door frame, watching me like a hawk. I swallow and nod at him. ¡°Something you need?¡± ¡°No,¡± Beau shakes his head. ¡°You look lovely, by the way.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I squeak. ¡°Thank¨Cthank you.¡± 19:18 Sat, 22 Chapter 26 He nods once and then closes the door behind himself. I turn back to look at myself in the mirror. This dress, this life is something I¡¯ve never encountered. I wonder what it¡¯s like to live like this every day. Chapter 27 COMMENT Chapter 27 The afternoon on the day of the Homing dance, I¡¯m rudely awakened from my nap by banging on my door. Mia had also been napping. She stirs in her bed before opening her mouth and letting out a retched cry. I sweep her into my arms and stagger over to the door. I wrench it open and see a man in front of me. He has silver hair and electric purple eyeliner on. His skin is nearly wless save for one dimple in his cheek. His clothing is all sorts of electric colors that match his eyeliner. He looks at me like I¡¯m covered in mud. ¡°Oh dear,¡± he says to himself. ¡°We have our work cut out for us, don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Can I help you?¡± I snap. Mia wails. The man extends a hand. ¡°Gabriel,¡± he drawls. ¡°Hair Car Extraordinare, Beau sent me.¡± I furrow my brows. ¡°Beau.¡± The manughs and pushes into the room. He gives it a look before looking back at me. Disgust is prevalent in his mouth. ¡°For the dance?¡± He continues. ¡°They didn¡¯t expect you to know how to do your hair so they hired me.¡± ¡°I can do my hair,¡± I grumble. Mia is still screaming on my hip. The man, Gabriel, tuts at her before he procures a lollipop. He shoves it in her mouth and Mia immediately stops, shocked at the intrusion. My jaw unhinges as I stare at him. He shrugs. ¡°I¡¯m great with kids, darling.¡± Somehow, Gabriel gets Mia out of my arms and back into her crib. He ushers me into a chair that he¡¯s dragged into my room. In front of it is a Large mirror. Immediately, he goes to working out the knots in my rats nest of a mane. There¡¯s another knock at the door and a woman Her make up is even more entric than Gabriel¡¯s. It¡¯s all swirling red and shy blue. Her skin is a deep brown, eyes a rich hazelnut. She smiles at me. ¡°Hello, love,¡± her ent is thick. ¡°I see Gabriel already got to you.¡± Gabriel aggressivelybs through a particrly bad knot. ¡°Thank Gods I did. We have much to do.¡± ¡°Well,¡± She sets a trunk of things down next to Gabriel¡¯s desk. Her hands go to my shoulders. ¡°We should get started then.¡± The next hour or so is a flurry of them preparing me toactuallydo my make up. The woman¡¯s name winds up being Athena. She¡¯s very sweet and doesn¡¯t admonish my looks like Gabriel or any of the Hayes. She puts a bunch of masks on my face and these weird pads under my eyes. The whole time, Gabrielbs my hair with tenacity. He its and curls and puts so much product in it. I think he¡¯s done when my hair falls in tight curls around my face only to be told that it¡¯s ¡°just the beginning.¡± The nextthreehours is filled with Gabriel primping and clipping and brushing and molding my hair. Athena starts to apply make up about an hour into the primping. It feels thick on my face. I normally don¡¯t wear any make up, let alone this much. Make up wasn¡¯t something we needed in Greendale. We didn¡¯t have such luxuries as looking good when it was either kill or be killed. Mia¡¯s primped by Gabriel as well. Her hair is neatly curled. She doesn¡¯t get any make up besides a smear of lip gloss from Gabriel. She looks 1/3 61%8 Chapter 27 fabulous by the time she¡¯s put in myp. Athena blocks the mirror as she continues.Finally, Mia is plucked out of myp by Gabriel. Athena spins my chair around for the grand reveal. ¡°Ready?¡± she asks, I shrug, too scared for words. What if I don¡¯t recognize myself? The chair swings around and I¡¯m met with the most beautiful women I¡¯ve ever seen. It takes me a few seconds to realize that it¡¯sme. BehindContent ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. the thick make up, I am still me. I have the same brown eyes, blonde hair and cherry red lips. Only I look the best I ever have. I touch my check to make sure it¡¯s real and Athena catches my hand before it hits my skin. She smiles. ¡°No touching my masterpiece.¡± I can¡¯t even bring myself tough. I¡¯m still staring in awe at the reflection in the mirror. My hair is coifed so beautifully, with a deep side part and beautiful big curls billowing down my back. A gold barrette is fastened to one side. ¡°Mmm,¡± Gabriel hums from behind me. I spin in the chair to look at him. ¡°From Tiffany¡¯s. My favorite touch.¡± I don¡¯t dare ask who Tiffany is and why we have her barrette. I look back at Athena with big eyes. ¡°Thank you,¡± I say, ¡°I look amazing.¡± ¡°Well let¡¯s get youdies dressed,¡± Gabriel stands, Mia in his arms. ¡°Andplete this transformation.¡± I shimmy into the dress. Athena helps me zip it this time. Gabriel dresses Mia. I¡¯m amazed to see her dress is the same midnight blue mine is. We match perfectly. Mia grabs fistfulls of the skirt and giggles. She looks as beautiful as I do, if not more. Athena sets down a pair of red soled shoes for me and Mia. I step into them and wobble slightly on my feet. I¡¯ve never really worn heels. Again, not much of a need in Greendale. My Doc Martens got me everything I¡¯d ever needed. Athena steadies me and I feel a bit better. Mia¡¯s shoes are t. She wobbles despite that. There¡¯s a blunt knock at the door and I turn my head. Neiles in. He¡¯s in a ck pressed suit. It looks silk. The shirt he wears under it is a deep read paisley. His long hair is swept into a neat bun at the nape of his neck. ¡°Wow,¡± he says. ¡°Don¡¯t you both look nice.¡± Heat floods my face. Athena gives my arm a light squeeze. ¡°Just what you needed,¡± she whispers. ¡°A bit of blush.¡± I smile at her and look at Neil. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Neil says curtly. ¡°I was justing to let you know the car leaves in five.¡± ¡°Let me get Mia¡¯s bag and we¡¯ll be good,¡± I reply. Neil nods once more then he¡¯s out the door. I hug Gabriel and Athena and thank them heavily for their work. Gabriel hands me a gold diaper bag for the evening. It¡¯s been loaded with everything I need. I hoist Mia up to my hip and walk down the hallway to the gold room in the pyramid. The boys are chatting as I walk in. They all immediately go silent as they take in Mia and myself. The first one to speak is Beau when he lets out a low whistle. 61% Chapter 27 ¡°Gods be damned, nanny,¡± he says. ¡°You clean uprealgood.¡± I smile at him softly. Steven speaks next. His face looks as red as mine feels. ¡°You look great, Chloe and Mia.¡± Irock Mia slightly. ¡°Say thank you Steven.¡± Mia babbles and everyone giggles. I look up at the only brother who hasn¡¯t yet acknowledges me. Archer¡¯s jaw is hard and set. His face, however, is devoid of any emotion. He looks down at his phone then back up at the group. ¡°Car¡¯s here,¡± he says. His voice cracks slightly. Beau ps him on the back. ¡°Good there, Archie?¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Archer snaps. ¡°Come on. We can¡¯t bete.¡± The drive to the auditorium is quick. It¡¯s only a little bit across campus. The boys are silent on the ride over as am I. When we arrive, the outside is lit up in gold and purple, the Moonriver colors. As we walk in, all eyes are on me and the boys. It feels so intimidating being watched by all these people. I hear a few incredulous whispers about my appearance and the fact that I¡¯m holding Mia. Some are mean but most are just shock and awe. I keep my head down as we get into the auditorium. There¡¯s more purple and gold streaming from the ceiling and draped across tables. I catch myself gawking and then look up to see that all the Hayes have disappeared into the crowd. I look around for them and find Debbie instead. She bolts towards me and smiles brightly. He jaw unhinges as she notices my dress. ¡°Gods, Chloe!¡± she gasps. ¡°This is beautiful! Is it Givenchy? Gi? No, no, it looks like Prada.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ something,¡± I say, swishing the skirt. Mia giggles and presses her hand to my cheek. ¡°And ¨C wait a minute,¡± Debbie says. ¡°That¡¯s the baby right? From the cave?¡± I freeze. ¡°Uh, well-¡± ¡°Chloe don¡¯t tell me you took her again!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t take her the first time!¡± I hiss. ¡°Nor did I this time. I¡¯m well ¨C I¡¯m-¡± ¡°There you are,¡± ¡°I hear in my ear. I feel the warm of a chest pressed to my back. A hand wraps around my bicep and turns me away from Debbie. I look up at the person and see Archer. I turn back to say something to Debbie and Archer spins me around again. ¡°It¡¯s time for the ceremony.¡± Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Archer drags me behind the stage of the auditorium. His grip is strong and bruising on my bleep. He guides me into a chair next to a bunch of other seated people. ¡°Stay here,¡± he barks. Despite the alpha way he says it, I roll my eyes. He narrows his own at me before darting off. Mia st in myp. She reaches to my right and I turn my head. The row of people sitting next to me are all wearing stoic, serious expressions. Each of them has the crest of the house Hayes. Some wear it on their pants, others on their tops. Each item, however, is meticulously pressed. I look down at my own garb. It¡¯s much fancier than anything the other people are wearing, I feel slightly self¨Cconscious of my attire. xt to me. They don¡¯t seem to mind her but something a I shift Mia in myp so she stops grabbing at the person it doesn¡¯t feel right. I try and take another side nce at the people next to me. Their uniformity is a bit disturbing. I wonder if I¡¯m being inducted into a cult. The thought intensifies as I notice that each of the people next to me has a strange ck mark on the back of their hands. I open my mouth to ask about it when I hear Beau¡¯s voice. ¡°Ready?¡± I turn and look at him. Unsurprisingly, he¡¯s standing next to a woman. He¡¯s always surrounded with women. However, this woman¡¯s different. Sharp, pointed ears poke out from behind her hair. Her skin has a slight blue tint to it and her eyes are near white. A mage. I¡¯d never seen one in real life before. I sense myself starring and immediately look back to Beau ¡°Ready?¡± I question. ¡°For the ritie ¡°For the ritual,¡± he goes on. He motions to the mage. ¡°Armanda will be performing it.¡±This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. I furrow my brows. ¡°I wasn¡¯t told about a ritual,¡± ¡°The induction to the Hayes Court is a simple ritual,¡± the woman says. She smiles. ¡°Just follow my lead and it¡¯ll be easy.¡± She tips her head. ¡°It¡¯s a high honor to be in the Court. You must be excited.¡± I don¡¯t speak the bitter thoughts going through my mind about beingforcedto join this bullshit ve organization. I simply smile at her and bounce Mia in myp. ¡°So excited,¡± my voice drips with sarcasm that Beau immediately picks up. ¡°The Courts changed a lot over the years,¡± Armanda goes on. She, too, must¡¯ve sensed my disdain. ¡°It used to be ves and servants but now it is the most important Hayes members. Alpha Hayes¡¯s closest advisors.¡± I give her a weird look. The way Archer made it seem was that the Hayes Court was a way to bully the employees more. This random mage is making it seem like I¡¯m being inducted to high society. I¡¯m suspicious. ¡°Come now,¡± Armanda says. Her ears twitch slightly. ¡°It is time.¡± I follow her and Beau to the side of the stage. The people lined up in chairs with the crest on their clothes march out on the stage. Immediately, the auditorium goes quiet. Ngil steps up to a podium. 19:18 Sat, 22 Jun Chapter 28 60%•þ ¡°Good evening,¡± he says into a microphone. ¡°Tonight is a very special homing. The Hayes Court will be inducting our newest member.¡± Polite apuse choruses through the auditorium. It stops as Nell leans back into the microphone. ¡°As eldest of the next generation of Hayes,¡± Neil goes on. ¡°it is my honor to induct people into the Court. However, tonight, Archer Hayes has requested to induct this person into the court.¡± I stiffen up like a board. Archer requested? Everything about that seems wrong. Especially because the aforementioned man is missing in action. I tap Beau on the shoulder. He turns around and raises his eyebrow in question.. ¡°Where is he?¡± I mouth. Beau smirks. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± Back on the stage, Neil is telling the history of the Hayes Court. He repeats what Armanda repeated earlier. The Court used to be ves and is now full of advisors to the most powerful family of alphas. He lets the audience apud more before I steps to the microphone and speaks again. ¡°This newest induction was a bit of a surprise for us,¡± Neil says. ¡°It ismonly known across campus that we are the new caretakers of a child. The child was given to us and we needed to find someone who could care for us while we continue our duties.¡± I almost want to snort. I keep it in. ¡°This woman has the correct background and has proven to be a fine caretaker,¡± Nell says. ¡°The Hayes Brothers thus would like to induct Chloe Kissimet to the Hayes Court of ves.¡± The audience erupts into apuse. Beau gives me a gentle push onto the stage. I stumble out, Mia still in my arms. The lights are blinding. 1 squint out and only see shapes in the darkness. I look at Neil and he motions across the stage. Archer walks out from the wings He looksbeautifulin the light of the stage. He looked good earlier but the way the light is hitting him makes him look like his entire body is shrouded in a halo. His hair is curling just right and his eyes shine under the light. I swallow thickly and continue to walk towards him. Neil moves to the side and the podium disappears under the stage. It¡¯s just Mia, Archer and I front and center. The other members of the Court stand behind us. Beaues out and gently pulls Mia out of my arms. The action leaves me even more nervous. Now it¡¯s just Archer and L. Armandaes and stands between us like she¡¯s wedding us. She takes Archer¡¯s hand in her own. ¡°Blood of Hayes, pure and strong,¡± she chants. She takes out a knife and gently slices through his palm. A pool of crimson liquid gathers th Archer¡¯s hand. I look at his eyes for any sense of pain and see nothing. Armanda coats the knife in it. ¡°Court of ves, shall do no wrong¡± She takes my hand and presses the knife on the back of it. Instantly, pain shoots up into my brain. I wince and tense my hand, watching as the blood on the knife magically pulls off. ¡°Bound to thee through service of life,¡± Armanda continues. The pain gets stronger and I look up at Archer, whimpering slightly. His eyes hold some sort ofpassion I¡¯ve never seen. It¡¯sforting and makes the hurt feel less horrible. Chapter 28 ¡°Take this bond all through my knifel¡± There¡¯s a sudden sh of blue light that radiates through the auditorium. Then, the pain is gone. I lift my hand and see the same ck symbol on the back of it that all the other members of the Court have. It¡¯s a beautiful, arching ¡°H¡± that looks more like a mash of shapes than a letter. I trace my hand over it and look back up at Archer. He looks proud. ¡°It has been done,¡± Armanda says. ¡°Chloe Kissimet is now a member of the Hayes Court.¡± The auditorium erupts into raucous cheers. All of the current members smile brightly at me as they p. There are some ¡°whoops¡± from the crowd. Archer takes my brandished hand and walks me forward, showing me off to the crowd. They holler louder and louder and I¡¯ve never felt better. I allow myself to smile. It feels like I finally belong. I search through the crowd for Debbie. She¡¯s pping wildly in front, cheering every so often. My eyes continue to wander and settle in on the back. There, arms crossed over her chest and a pout on her face, is Laura. Chapter 29 Chapter 29 Archer helps me off the stage. He follows behind me as I walk the line of members waiting for me. Each of them shake my hand. A jolt of energy courses through my body as our tattooed hands touch. I¡¯m almost to the end when I run into an younger man. He has kind, green eyes and hair as ck as night. He almost seeing to be my age if not for the deep smile lines next to his mouth. ¡°Congrattions,¡± he says. ¡°Thank you,¡± I answer. ¡°Tyler Lancaster,¡± he continues. ¡°I¡¯m the personalbat trainer for the Hayes. I teach basicbat to all the members of the Court.¡± I feel Archer¡¯s hand on my hip. It¡¯s possessive. My heart flutters. ¡°Oh,¡± I say to Tyler. ¡°That¡¯s okay.Wow.¡± Tylerughs, ¡°I¡¯ll be in touch soon,¡± then he winks at me. Archer¡¯s hands clench into my skin. Then immediately rx. ¡°See you tomorrow, Lancaster,¡± he says. Tyler nods at Archer. He smiles brightly down at me. Archer almost pushes me off the stage. I expect him to say something snarky to me but instead, he storms off. I¡¯m left alone near the refreshments tables. The space where his hand was on my skin suddenly feels cold. I sigh and brush my hand through my hair. I wonder if Mia¡¯s okay with Beau. As I turn to grab a drink, I hear heels clicking on the floor angrily, I turn and see Laura standing in front of me. Her hands are on her hips, covered by an atrocious pink sequin dress. I raise an eyebrow at her before I speak. ¡°I know what you did,¡± I say. ¡°Why do you think you¡¯re so special?¡± Laura snaps. Shepletely ignores my usation. J blink at her. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You think you¡¯re better than the rest of us, huh?¡± She goes on. ¡°Think that just because your whore mother got you into this school, you deserve to be here? Some of us have been raised from the start to be here. You waltz in like you own the ce thenmagicallyare good enough to be in the Hayes court. What did you do? Use ck magic? Seduce one of them like your mommy did with Isaac?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in the Hayes Court,¡± I snap. ¡°Because I¡¯m good at my job.¡± Laura sneers at me. ¡°Good at your job? I can take care of a kid. I was good atmyjob. Until you ripped it from me. What did you do to get into Archer¡¯s head? What did you mom teach you?¡± ¡°She taught me how to be a good caretaker,¡± I throw back at her. ¡°And know that babies are helpless especially when you fucking poison them.¡± Laura tosses her head back and cackles. She sounds like a witch. ¡°It was a good n, wasn¡¯t it?¡± she says. ¡°No one could take the me but you. No one else takes care of her, do they? And with the kid gone-¡± sheughs. ¡°I could step in and finally win Archer over. He would have nothing to worry about but me.¡± I open and close my jaw like a fish, appalled as to what I¡¯m listening to. This woman actually tried to kill a kid in order to try and make a man fall in love with her. I¡¯d never heard something so crazy. ¡°You¡¯re insanel¡± I say. ¡°Actually insane.¡± 19:18 Sat, 22 JunRB Chapter 29 I¡¯m not a whore,¡± Laura says. ¡°Not like you.¡± ¡°At least I¡¯m not a murderous, conniving bitch!¡± Before I can even clock what¡¯s happening, I feel wet. Something cold and wet and a bit stickyes over my entire body. I close my eyes when I feel it starting to drip down my forehead. All of Gabriel and Athena¡¯s hard work is now ruined. I wipe my hand across my face then open my eyes. Laura¡¯s maliciously grinning at me. ¡°Under all that make up and hairspray,¡± she says, fake gently. ¡°You¡¯re still a slummy girl from Greendale.¡± Anger takes over me. I lunge at Laura and tackle her to the ground. I shove her once then twice then dig my hand into her hair. I pull strong enough that I rip a chunk of the fake blonde out and then go back to trying to pummel her to bits. Laura gets the leg up on me and rolls me onto my back so she¡¯s on top. She gets a few hits against me but I dig the heel of my shoe into her hamstring. She yelps and falls backwards. I grapple over to get on top of her. I think about taking the dagger from Navis and plunging it between her eyebrows. Or maybe even into her fake tanned sternum. I go to grab it and am stop short as arms belt around my waist and rip me off of Laura I kick my legs in the air and dig my nails into the skin of the arm. The person holding me grunts in exertion but continues to hold me back from getting at Laura again, Finally, I¡¯m whirred away and put back down on my-feet. I¡¯m only wearing on heel at this point and stillpletely sticky. I go to bark something mean at the person who took me off her when I realize it¡¯s Archer. He seethes down at me. I shrink in on myself in response but then remember who poured the drink on me. ¡°Let me at her!¡± I lunge at her again and Archer¡¯s arms wrap back around me. He bolts me down but still I struggle. ¡°She tried to kill Mia! She admitted it! She attempted murder!!¡±This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Gods dammit, Chloe!¡± Archer grunts. ¡°Stop it! I heard. I heard all of it.¡± I stop. ¡°You did?¡± ¡°I did,¡± Archer responds. He turns and looks at Laura. ¡°Never mind the fact that she assaulted a member of the Hayes Court.¡± We both watch as Laura shoves what¡¯s remaining of her hair off her head. She huffs then tries to stand on her feet. Her one heel is broken and she wobbles on it. She jabs a finger at me. I ¡°She swindled her way into it!¡± She screeches. ¡°That was my spot! I deserved it! I¡¯ve been head of supplies for three years now!¡± ¡°You think because you dealt with our garbage that you deserved a ce in the Court?¡± Archer barks a shockedugh. He shakes his head. *You were never going to be in the Court. This proves it.¡± Laura¡¯s face falls. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You know the rules better than anyone,¡± Archer snaps. ¡°To assault a member of the Court is to assault a Hayes.¡± He sounds, dare I say it. proud of me. ¡°You¡¯ve been demoted back down to an Untouchable. Starting immediately! People around us whisper in response. Tears well in Laura¡¯s eyes. She takes off down the hallway, sobbing as she goes. The rest of the crowd filters back into the party. I¡¯m still slightly sticky and my feet burn from these fucking shoes. However, the first thing on my mind is the fact that Archer stood up for me. 22 JUI QU% Chapter 29 I turn on my heel to look at him. ¡°I could¡¯ve handled that.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Archer says, eyebrow raised. He makes eye contact with me. ¡°You¡¯re a Hayes now. That means it¡¯s my problem too. No one¡¯s allowed to be mean to you.¡± He pauses. He looks down over my red stained, sopping wet face. Gently, he reaches forward and pushes a wet tendril behind my ear he leans in close so our noses are almost touching. It¡¯s the same sort of stance we were in the other day when I tried on my dress. Only, there¡¯s people around. I can taste the whiskey on his breath as it ghosts over me. ¡°No one,¡± he says. ¡°But me.¡± A shiver curls down my body. I let my eyes flutter shut.W Chapter 30 Chapter 30 Beau finds me quickly after my scuffle with Laura. He ps me on the back and tells me good job for fucking her up. Mia squeals in response. Iugh as I tell Beau to stop swearing around Mia but ept thepliment all the same. He asks if I want to dance and I consider for a second before declining. The fight took a lot out of me. I find a table and sit Mia down before sitting down myself. I give her one of the snacks that I packed for her as I rest my head in my palm and scope out the room. It¡¯s nice getting away from all the bullshit of the evening. My hand still stings slightly but not enough that I feel like doing anything about it. Truthfully, my feet sting more and my shoulder¡¯s aching at bit from where Laura tossed me on my back. Mia quietly eats her Teddy Bears as I watch the people in the auditorium.Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org. I spot Steven in the corner. He¡¯s talking energetically with a particrly nerdy group of boys. His hands are moving all over the ce. I can¡¯t help but smile as I think about him doing the same thing we speaking with me earlier. Unlike Steven, hiding in the shadows, Beau is out on the dance floor. He has a crowd of girls gathered around him. He takes a turn with each of them, twirling them across the floor like blooming flowers. He¡¯s grinning the entire time. Neil is speaking with a group of men. He¡¯s gesturing to one piece of art and keeps pressing his fingers to his chin in thought. The men speak alongside him. Another joins in an shakes all their hands. Neil shakes them back like a true politician. Then there¡¯s Archer. He¡¯s sulking in the corner opposite to Steven. He keeps bringing something metal to his lips. I assume it¡¯s a sk judging by the way he looks like he¡¯s pained with every sip. Its confuses me. I would¡¯ve thought he¡¯d running around trying to intimidate people or flirting like Beau. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s up with him, but I think it¡¯s something to do with me. I frown and go back to watching Mia. We finish our snack then Mia yawns. I scoop her up and walk into the quieter part of the venue. She falls asleep on my shoulder within minutes. I take the time to wander around the building aimlessly. The name Hayes is on almost everything. It¡¯s crazy to me. I don¡¯t know how long it is until I get back to the main auditorium. Archer spots me in an instance. He abruptly walks away from the girl he¡¯s talking to andes to me. ¡°I was looking for you,¡± he says. ¡°Sorry,¡± I whisper, shifting Mia on my shoulder. ¡°She was dozing off. I wanted to give her a bit of quiet.¡± He nods once at me. Something seems¡­ off. His eyes are dark and his cheeks are flushed. His hair is a bit more mused than normal and his tie is slightly ck. I narrow my eyes at him. ¡°Are you drunk?¡± Archer rolls his eyes. It¡¯s so dramatic and petnt I can¡¯t help but snort augh. He stares nkly at me. ¡°It¡¯s a party,¡± he drawls. It¡¯s less graceful than usual. ¡°What else is there to do besides get drunk.¡± I shrug. I don¡¯t attend many parties but I suppose he¡¯s right. He takes the bag off my shoulder and soothes a hand over Mia¡¯s back. ¡°Come on,¡± he says. ¡°We¡¯re going home.¡± 19:18 Sat, 22 Chapter 30 I follow out to the car. The other brothers are waiting for us. Each is holding a ss of champagne. They give one to Archer. Then they turn and try and give one to me. I¡¯m shocked but refuse anyways. It felt wrong to be drinking with Mia in my arms. She stirs lightly then goes back to sleep. The boys cheers without me and the car lurches to a start. Beau takes a sip of his drink then nudges. Steven. ¡°Saw you talking to Melina,¡± he says. He wiggles his eyebrows seductively. ¡°She wanna give you one of her famous bathroom suckies?¡± Steven flushes. ¡°No but she offered to show me her tits,¡± he says quickly. ¡°I told her I¡¯ve already seen them from when she sent Neil nudes.¡± ¡°They¡¯re so fake,¡± Neil chimes in. ¡°They don¡¯t even bounce when you fuck her.¡± ¡°¡®Cause she¡¯s got so many CCs pumped into her skin suit,¡± Beau drawls. He sounds genuinely annoyed. He snaps his fingers. ¡°I did get an invite from Kelly to her Sunday orgy.¡± ¡°I was disappointedst time,¡± Archer sighs. ¡°Too many cocks. They we¡¯re all groveling for pussy. I wish we had orgies where women begged for us.¡± ¡°They should beg for us,¡± Beau sips his drink. ¡°I fucked Wendy Hu so hard she couldn¡¯t walk out of my room. She told everyone on campus I was the best sex she¡¯s ever had and ever will have. That¡¯s ground for begging.¡± They go silent and my jaw unhinges at the fucking audacity. The way these men talk about women isdisgusting. My skin crawls thinking about it. Having Mia asleep in my arms made it worse. One day she¡¯ll grow up and be one of the girls the brothers talk so poorly of ¡°You guys are appalling.¡± I hiss, ¡°You talk about women like they¡¯re objects.¡± ¡°Are they not?¡°Beau says. The brothers all snicker and clink sses. ¡°Mia is going to grow up into one of those objects you speak of,¡± I continue my rampage. ¡°Does that not disturb you?¡± Archer sets his ss down. He turns and res daggers into my eyes. He clears his throat. ¡°Just because you¡¯re a part of the Court,¡± he says, sharp and biting. ¡°Does not mean you¡¯re an equal to us.¡± ¡°You¡¯re being disgusting,¡± I snap. ¡°I don¡¯t need to be your equal to tell you what you¡¯re doing is wrong.¡± Archer looks at Beau. They hold eye contact for a second then Archer nods. Beau leans up and says something to the driver through the window. The car slows down immediately. Neil leans across and takes the sleeping Mia out of my arms. I panic. The car stopped and Beau leans over. He grabs my arms and wrenches me out of my seat He swiftly deposits me outside the car. I tumble down into a ravine. My dress snags and rips, exposing more of my thigh. I look up as I¡¯m pushing brambles out of my hair to see Beau¡¯s face. ¡°Ta, ta Nanny!¡± he cries as he ms the door. The door ms shut the tires screech as the car drives away. I¡¯m left alone with an aching body and a good mile walk home. I carry my ripped dress in my hands as my feet pad across jagged rocks. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!