Typhon

Chapter 9

Stone~

This wasn't part of the initiation; I knew that.

So, whatever this was, it was Alexander's way of intimidating the girls. They'd been asking too many questions, and just like I'd been wondering, I knew that Alexander was questioning why Kincaid was among the girls. So, he was feeling challenged, and that was the only explanation for what happened next.

We all remained silent as Alexander took his seat on stage, his Plan B taking effect right in front of us. "See, ladies," he began, "our dear Arlene got comfortable in life, and that's a no-no." I looked over at the woman, and she stood tall and still with Jacob and Donovan on either side of her. "Her birthday is in two weeks." Alexander smiled at the girls. "Just two weeks," he repeated. "Arlene will be thirty and free from The Order if she so chooses."

"What's your point?" Kincaid bit out, and she was only provoking the bastard more.

"I'm pointing out her error, Ms. Black," Alexander answered. "She got complacent and ignored sound advice that'd been given to her by her sponsor. Me."

"And what advice was that?" Rylee asked, and the girl kept making me proud. Though I knew that she was going to be a hard sell, I was secretly thankful for it; it showed that she had fire within her.

Alexander's blue gaze shot towards Rylee. "Arlene had the world at her fingertips, Ms. Madden," he said. "However, instead of focusing on a successful career and making a name for herself, she chose to fall in love, get married, and start a family."

My gut turned as it dawned on me what this reptile was about to do.

I wanted to fucking kill him.

"That's the one sincere piece of advice I can give all you ladies," he continued. "Do not forget your life is not your own until that favor is paid in full or you've reached the appropriate age." He swept his arm out towards the trio standing by the settee. "All your dreams in exchange for your patience. Every opportunity at your disposal as long as you are disciplined enough to wait until after you are thirty to fall in love and do the family thing."

I heard gasps, and when I turned my head, Jennifer had her hand cupped over her mouth. Her eyes were round with shock, but hers weren't the only ones.

Turning back towards the trio by the settee, I saw that Jacob's lips were on the right side of Arlene's neck, and Donovan's lips were latched onto the left side, but his hand was also caressing her left breast, the dress that she was wearing doing very little in the way of protection.

"I was fortunate enough not to need Arlene's favor all these years," Alexander went on. "So, I'm calling upon it now as both a lesson to her and everyone else in this room."

"You're a pig," Rylee spat, and I wondered if shit was about to get violent.

Alexander just smiled at her. "Why? Because I'm asking her to honor her commitments? Because I'm asking her to keep her word?"

"Because that's not necessary," Rylee clarified. "You don't need to make her do that. You don't have to make her betray her husband and family just to prove a point."

Alexander leaned forward in his chair with all his attention centered on Rylee. "But I'm not making her do anything, Ms. Madden," he countered. "She has a choice in this. She can say no. She can leave. Arlene's choice-the choice that she's making now-is the one where her life gets to remain blissfully domestic. Don't paint me as the villain simply because Arlene's finally paying the price for her perfect life, Ms. Madden. A life that was given to her by The Order."