Rage (Blue Rose Series Book 1)

Chapter 9

Jessica and I walked side by side into the hotel. Even though Jessica's family were already members Jessica herself hadn't officially joined. Two women dressed in blue dresses and wearing white masquerade masks greeted us. We gave one woman our roses, and the other woman gave us similar red masks, but these had lace trim around them. Jessica and I put our masks on. 

"Good Evening." a man in a black suit and a black mask greeted us.

Only white attire was for new members joining in, blue was for what they deemed 'servants,' and everyone else was allowed to wear what they wanted, minus the four families who wore the colors that represented their family.

"Good Evening." Jessica and I said at the same time.

"I will be escorting you, ladies, in."

We followed behind him, and I put my hands in front of me to stop them from shaking. No matter how often I went over this part in my head, I was still nervous. This was the beginning of the end. The man took us to a large conference room where members in black tie attire were sitting at round tables. There was a long table facing the stage, and he led us there. On the stage were four sets of chairs that looked like thrones. Those I knew were for the four families that started this all—the Waltons, The Baldwins, The Harrisons, and finally, The Grants.

The man pulled our seats out for us and pushed them in once we were seated. In front of us were knives with a blue rose carved into the hilt. I was not looking forward to that part of the ceremony. He wordlessly walked away. I looked at all the other members joining. All are our age and in their 20s. We all stayed silent as the last few new members sat down and waited for the High Court to walk on stage. It didn't take long, and they all filed in one by one . Each one took a seat that represented their family. Walton took the ivory throne, Baldwin took the blue throne, Harrison took the dark green throne, and Grant took the burnt orange throne. I looked at each of them closely. I've been studying them for the past four years.

Randall's grandfather, Robert Walton, inherited his father's oil company that made billions every year. He was wearing an ivory-colored suit, with a mask to match. Randall looked just like him. Fair skin, minus the gray hair, and those menacing green eyes. His skin looked too tight for his age, showing signs of Botox. It was not like the botched ones, but it was noticeable. Randall walked up and stood behind him, wearing a similar suit. Randall looked straight ahead. He wasn't wearing a mask. Next was Charlotte Baldwin, the only woman. Baldwin's family had one of the top investment firms in the world. I'll never understand why they planned to give Avery the keys to the kingdom. He'll end up snorting all that money up his nose in the next few years. Avery stood behind his grandmother, looking bored, and even from my seat, I could see him visibly shaking and probably wondering when he was getting his next hit. As far as I knew, his grandmother hadn't taken away anything from him. But she seemed like the type to have the mindset of 'boys will be boys.'

I looked at Fredrick Harrison; his family has had their hands in real estate for generations. They own the majority of large properties in both the states and several countries. Dark skin and brown eyes take in the crowd before him. Scott limped up behind him, wearing a dark green suit. His hair looked freshly twisted. He must have gotten his ass beat. There wasn't any visible evidence that I could see.

Finally, the moment came, and my ass was at the edge of my seat. Noah walked in and stood behind his grandfather. Wallace Grant. Noah towered over the throne, and I took him in. His dark hair was pushed back, and he wore a burnt orange suit with no tie. A  few buttons were opened showing his bare chest, and he looked mouth-watering. Nope. Not here. I definitely could not be seen drooling over him here.

A black woman walked up and looked at the crowd. She was wearing dark green, which meant she was a part of the Harrison family.

"Good evening. Today is the Blue Rose welcoming ceremony for our new members. It's an honor for the Harrison family to host you all this year. I ask that the second successors please begin to welcome each new member."