Deviant

Chapter 27

Rowen

The next morning, we all reunite over the same dining hall table for breakfast.

I’m not really hungry, but I force myself to take a few bites out of my spinach omelet to keep my strength up. Of course, I only start eating after Five has taken a few bites from my plate to reassure me that the food isn’t poisoned.

This will probably be a custom we will all keep while we’re here.

Paranoia at its finest.

“Where the fuck is Henry? Did anyone see him this morning?” David grunts, looking too preoccupied with the mansion’s butler to eat his meal.

“Why? Are you that eager for the games to start?” Andy asks lightheartedly. “I don’t know about you, but last night’s mindfuck was enough for me.”

“That’s because you’re a little bitch, Scott,” Big Mike taunts, putting a slice of bacon in his mouth and slicing it in two with his teeth.

“Oh, like you’re such a big man,” Harper says sternly in Andy’s defense. “I wonder if you’d be such a fucking big man picking on someone your own size?”

“I’ll let you know if I ever find anyone that fits that description,” he goads her.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Elias interjects calmly, as he slices into his pancakes. “I think if you looked hard enough, you could find someone who could take you on. Maybe even someone at this very table.” He smiles threateningly at Big Mike, making the jerk cower in his chair.

Harper throws Elias a grateful smile before mouthing to me, “He’s a keeper.”

I lower my gaze from her, not wanting to start blushing at the dining table where everyone can see.

“I hate to admit it, but I’m with David on this one,” Lucas says, looking every bit as agitated as David. “Henry not showing his face all morning can’t be a good sign.”

“Thank you!” David shouts, happy that at least someone around this table is on his wavelength of thinking.

“I wouldn’t worry about Henry too much. He’s probably sharpening the knives or cleaning whatever torture device they are going to use to kill us with,” Mackenzie suggests with a shrug.

“Well, that went dark fast,” Ruby says.

“Christ, Mackenzie,” Lucas reprimands. “Don’t say shit like that.”

“Why not? We’re all thinking it. I’m just saying it,” she says before popping a grape into her mouth.

“Do you really think she’s right?” Abbie whispers beside me, true fear in her voice.

“No, Abbie,” I try to comfort her, placing my hand over hers. “Don’t listen to a word Mackenzie says. She’s just trying to scare us. That’s all. Some people in this world live off the misery of others. Don’t let her get to you.”

Abbie nods, but I can still see how frightened she is with the way her hands are shaking.

I throw a menacing glare over to Mackenzie at the end of the table, but she just pops another grape into her mouth, completely unfazed by it.

We go back to eating our meal in silence, and it’s only when we finish it, that Henry appears. In his usual butler garb, he stands proudly by the door and greets us.

“Good morning. I trust that you all slept well.”

“You bet we did, Henry,” Chris says excitedly. “This place feels like a five-star hotel. I slept like a baby.”

My heart hurts at how happy he sounds.

“I’m glad to hear it, Master Wilson. Your comfort is of most importance to me,” Henry replies with a tender smile.

“How the fuck does he know Chris’s last name?” Andy mumbles to the group.

“I think the better question is how did he know that it was Chris talking,” Harper retorts, just as incredulous.

“I hope your breakfast was also to your liking,” Henry adds, just as the twins enter the room to clean off the dining table. “Now, if you’d be so kind as to follow me. The day’s events await. Please follow me.”

“Yeah, like that’s not creepy at all,” Ruby mutters as she gets up from her seat.

We all proceed to do the same, following Henry out of the dining room, through the entry hall, and down a long corridor.

“I don’t like this,” I hear Lucy whisper to Lucas.

“It’s okay, babe. I got you. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise,”

I feel Elias’s protective hand at the small of my back as his jaw clenches, staring at Lucas.

“He’s just trying to comfort her,” I whisper over to Elias. “You can’t fault him for that.”

“He’s giving her false hope. Instead, he should be preparing her for what’s to come.”

“What’s so bad about trying to hold onto hope?”

“Hope makes you weak. Vulnerable. Attributes that will get you killed in a place like this,” he explains, with a harsh, even tone.

“I’m not sure if that’s true,” I disagree with him. “There’s a certain strength that comes with hope… that comes with allowing yourself to be vulnerable… It can empower a person if they let it.”

“If you say so,” he retorts, officially putting a stop to the conversation.

The corners of my lips dip into a frown as Henry ushers us into another strange room. My anxiety shoots up to the ceiling, wondering what fresh batch of hell are we about to face now.

But as we step inside, I’m surprised to see that this room looks completely misplaced from the rest of the house. It looks like it should be in an office building where high-pressure meetings take place instead of in a mansion of doom.

“Are we about to have some kind of board meeting?” Andy jokes, trying to lighten everyone’s mood. But aside from Harper, no one even cracks a smile.

We are about to take our seats around the oval table when Henry lifts up his hand to stop us.

“Before you sit down, have you all chosen your partners?”

“We have,” Lucas answers for the group.

“Then please, take a seat next to your respective partners.”

Confused, we all follow his instructions and sit down next to the people we chose to be our ride-or-die during this whole horror fest.

“The choice has been made,” Henry says as if he’s talking to someone else instead of us, and when he tilts his head up and nods, I realize he actually is. There are four cameras strategically placed in each corner of this boardroom.

“He’s blind. How the hell does he know where to look?” Andy says a bit too loudly. “Am I the only one freaked out by this?”

No. He is not.

I swallow hard when I feel my watch start to vibrate around my wrist, a loud ring signaling a new message.

You have been selected to attend your first game.

Play well.

A cold shiver runs through me at the ominous text.

When I look at Elias’s watch, I verify he received the same text.

However, when I lift my head up and look around the room, I verify that not everyone was as unlucky as we were to get one.

By the looks of Lucas’s and Lucy’s pale expressions, and David’s and Mackenzie’s smug ones, they were the only couples selected for this first trial with us.

“You have been chosen,” Henry says, his tone void of any emotion. “I will return within the hour to fetch you and take you to your first game. I suggest that you all say your goodbyes, as it is very unlikely that all of you will return.”

“Fuck,” Andy blurts out, eyeing Elias. “You okay there, E?”

Elias just smiles.

Not because Andy is concerned for him, but because, without knowing it, he just used Nora’s nickname for him.

“We’ll be fine,” I reply for him, my hand lacing with his under the table.

“Really? You’re not worried at all?” Harper questions in amazement since she looks like she’s about to throw up on my behalf. “Because I’m freaking out for you.”

“Like Roe said, we’re fine,” Elias says evenly as he stands up from his seat, tugging my hand so I stand up with him.

“Where are you going?” Lucas asks, his usual kind eyes now replaced with fear and trepidation.

“You heard Henry. Some of us might not make it. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have a proper send-off than waste an hour on saying goodbye to these motherfuckers,” Elias says, pointing his thumb to David and company.

I look over at Harper and Abbie, mouthing a sheepish ‘I’m sorry’ while Elias drags me out of the room. Once we’re in the hallway, Elias tries to open every door knob he sees, eager to find a room for us.

“We don’t have time for this,” I scold.

“We have an hour. Plenty of time for what I have in mind.”

“Elias, will you please stop? We should go back in there and spend time with our friends. Who knows if we’ll ever see them again.”

This gets his attention.

He stops in the middle of the corridor and wraps his large hand around my throat.

“They’re dead, remember? They are all dead. They just don’t know it yet.”

My throat clogs at the intensity in his eyes.

I hate that he’s right.

If I want Elias to win The Scourge, then that means none of them will survive the games. Immense guilt and sorrow starts to weigh on my chest, as I think about all the people I care about in that room and how, sooner or later, my goodbyes to them will be the last ones they’ll ever hear.

“No,” Elias growls, tightening his hold on my neck. “Stop that shit. You are not to blame for their deaths. You hear me?”

Hot tears start to sting my eyes, but I pull them back, knowing that he’s right.

The only death I’m responsible for is Nora’s.

I can’t take on the weight of theirs too. I’d suffocate under the pressure of it.

“Good. Glad that’s settled,” he says before trying to open another door.

When we both hear a little click, Elias swings the door open, a wolfish grin appearing on his lips.

“It’s a broom closet,” I taunt.

“It’s privacy. It’ll do.”

“What about the cameras?” I point to the two cameras at the end of the room.

“I know a way to prevent them from seeing anything.” He winks before tugging me inside.

Once we’re both in the small room, he closes the door and then slams me against it.

His eyes are as dark as this room, and the small window above is the only thing that brings a smidge of light into it.

“Okay, you got me here. Now what?” I ask, knowing exactly where his mind is at.

“There’s one thing I’d like you to do before you die,” he says, reminding me that my life is the only one in real peril here.

“And what’s that?”

“I want you on your knees.”

My cheeks heat up as they always do when Elias shells out such commands.

“Did you hear me, Roe?” he questions, running the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip.

I nod.

“Then what are you waiting for?”

With my gaze locked on his, I lower to the floor until I’m on my knees just like he wants me.

The back of his knuckles caress my cheek as he lets out a pleased growl.

“There she is… my sweet doe-eyed girl.”

My heart skips a beat at the endearment as I crane my neck back to look at his majestic face. From here, his eyes look pitch black, but they don’t scare me as they once did. Quite the contrary. They have me squirming with need for him to do his worst.

“Be a good girl and take my cock out,” he orders, still softly caressing my cheek.

I lick my parched lips as I stare at the large bulge in his pants, hard and eager for me.

If his cock almost split me in two the first time we had sex, I shudder to think how it will feel to have it in my mouth. Still, either by bravery or sheer curiosity, I do as he commands and pull down his zipper, followed by his boxers.

When his cock springs free, I gasp at the sight.

This close, it’s even more intimidating than I’d expected it to be.

“Don’t look so scared. It won’t bite,” he teases. “Much.”

I swallow dryly, his long length and wide girth a thing of nightmares.

“What… what if I gag?” I ask.

His hands cup my cheeks, pulling my gaze up to his.

“Aw, sweet Roe… there’s no ifs about it.”

The threat in his voice shouldn’t excite me as much as it does.

“Now… be a good girl… and make me cum in your mouth.”

Yep.

That’s all it takes to have me wetter than Niagara Falls.

I’m a sick, sick girl.

Once he releases his hands from my face, I know it’s his silent command to start. I place one hand to keep me steady on his hip while tentatively grabbing the base of his cock with the other. When Elias hisses at my light touch, I add more pressure, gaining a low groan from him next. Encouraged by the little noises he makes, I stick out my tongue to see how good he tastes. But nothing could have prepared me for the velvety smoothness of his skin, the musky scent or the savory taste of him. Forgetting any previous fear, I begin to lick from root to tip, one languid stroke at a time. With my free hand, I start to jerk him up and down in the same slow tempo.

“Fuck,” he groans, weaving his fingers into my hair. “I see what you’re doing there,” he hisses again with another lick.

“Does it feel good?” I coo, teasing the crown of his cock with the tip of my tongue.

“Yes,” he groans, but then grabs hold of my hair and tugs it tightly. “But if you think sweet little licks will get the job done, you’re wrong. Now give me that mouth,” he says before thrusting his full length inside me.

Tears sting my eyes as his cock hits the back of my throat over and over again. I’m suffocating as he continues to fuck my mouth with abandon. Tears stream down the corner of my eyes as my head repeatedly hits the door behind me. I have to dig my nails into his ass cheeks to prevent a concussion.

“That’s it. Hurt me back,” he growls when my nails dig further into his flesh.

And that’s when it hits me… he wants me to fight back.

Even our foreplay is a war to him.

So I do. I fight back.

I begin to breathe through my nose until air finally reaches my lungs. Once I feel like I’m no longer on the verge of passing out, I try to relax my throat by humming, knowing the vibration will wreak havoc on his senses while giving me back my control.

“Oh, fuck, baby. That’s it. Just like that,” he moans out, the praise encouraging me to breathe in harder, just so I can take him all the way in, until my lips are fully wrapped around his base and his cock is deep in my throat.

“FUCK! How the fuck are you doing that?” he roars, using his knuckles to caress my cheek ever so softly. I lock eyes with him and do it again, while adding my tongue to the mix to drive him mad.

“Fuck. You win. You fucking win,” he shouts, thrusting into me two more times before the salty sweetness of his cum fills my mouth. Without wavering my gaze from his, I pull his cock out of my mouth and swallow his essence.

Elias doesn’t waste time; he pulls me up, grabbing me by the nape of my neck to kiss me.

“Now that was a fucking send-off,” he whispers, placing his sweaty temple against mine.

“And what about me?” I say, breathless. “Don’t I deserve an appropriate send off?”

“Survive today, and you’ll get whatever you desire. I’ll make fucking sure of it.” He winks.

Clever.

He’s giving me something to live for, just in case I go rogue and decide that dying by The Scourge is as good a death as any.

Once Elias has wiped all my tears away and has made sure that my hair is in place, he grabs my hand and walks me out the door.

I’m still flustered, hot and horny when we both enter the board room, all our friends knowing perfectly well what we’ve been up to.

“Cutting it kind of close, aren’t you? Henry should be here at any second,” David reprimands.

“Stay in your lane, Hall. What I do with my time is my business,” Elias responds, his tone thick and threatening.

When Elias pulls out my chair for me to sit down, everyone gasps.

“The fuck? Did you lose your balls when you were getting your dick sucked?” Big Mike laughs loudly as I take my seat.

“I’d be more concerned with keeping your own intact, if you make another comment like that again,” Elias says, unfazed, taking his rightful seat beside me.

Big Mike shuts his mouth, not wanting to push his luck by saying something that might piss Elias off even more.

Harper throws me a conspiring wink across the table, while Abbie whispers that she’s glad I’ve come back.

“Of course I’d come back. Did you think we were going to make a run for it?”

She turns her attention to the two empty seats in front of her.

“Where did Lucy and Lucas go?” I ask, surprised that they aren’t here.

“They left after you did. They looked scared. I don’t think they’ll be coming back,” Abbie explains worriedly.

“Can they do that?”

“No, they cannot,” Henry responds loudly, with a disheartened Lucas and a petrified Lucy trailing behind him.

“Shit! What happened to you two?” Andy asks, voicing what all of us are wondering.

“What else? Mr. Know-It-All thought he and his girl could bail on us to save their own skin. Isn’t that right?” David chastises, crossing his arms over his chest and giving Lucas a snide look.

“I’m sorry, you guys, but we had to try,” Lucas explains, sounding both defeated as he is ashamed.

“Don’t even sweat it. If these assholes thought they could get away with it, they’d flee for the hills, too,” Ruby says in Lucas’s defense. “Or are you all going to honestly say you didn’t think about doing the exact same thing last night?”

I stare around the table and see many guilt-ridden expressions. It really never crossed my mind to leave, and maybe it should have.

“So what happened?” Harper asks. “How far did you get?”

“Only to the gate,” Lucy explains sullenly. “But it was locked, and no matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t get it open. We thought about jumping over it, but when Lucas grabbed the bar, he got such a nasty shock that he flew backward to the ground.”

“We had no option but to turn around and come back,” Lucas explains, discouraged.

“And most fortuitous that you did, Master Mitchell. Count your blessings that the dogs were having their breakfast at the time. Otherwise, I fear you would have been their meal,” Henry scolds.

“It won’t happen again, Henry. Promise,” Lucas says, patting Henry on the back before walking back to his seat.

“Actually, Master Mitchell, no need for you to sit down. I’m here to take the three couples that were chosen to attend the first games, you and Lady Wright included.”

“How the hell does he know Lucas was going to sit down?” Andy mouths silently to all of us.

“That’s just damn creepy,” Harper says, not bothering to keep her commentary to herself.

“Shall we?” Henry says, looking at the six of us before strutting out of the room.

“Might as well, seeing as there is no way to avoid it,” Lucas mumbles, wrapping his arm around Lucy’s shoulders. “See you guys in a bit.”

“Not if you die first,” Big Mike says, giving Lucas a thumbs up.

Asshole.

I squeeze Abbie’s hand before getting up and mouthing a goodbye to Harper and Andy.

“Don’t try to be a hero, E. Just do enough to survive whatever shit they send your way, yeah?” Andy hollers over at Elias.

Elias gives his friend a curt nod and, with his hand on my back, leads me out the door with the others.

“Please, follow me,” Henry instructs, ushering us down the hall.

My chest is so tight that it feels like it’s about to burst. Elias, however, doesn’t seem to be afflicted with a shred of anxiety or nerves. He is the epitome of cool and calm in the face of certain calamity.

We remain silent as Henry opens a door and starts walking down a flight of stairs toward the basement.

“A little cliche, don’t you think, Henry? I mean, taking us down to the basement? Your bosses couldn’t come up with something more creative?” Mackenzie says, sounding bored.

“Shut up, Mackenzie. Some of us are actually not looking forward to this,” Lucas reprimands.

Mackenzie throws her head over her shoulder to look at Lucas and rolls her eyes at him. “Yeah, well, not all of us are cowards.”

“Shut it, Mackenzie. Keep your head on the game,” David says beside her.

These two… this really is just a game to them… one they think they can win. I hope I’m there when they have their rude awakening.

When we finally reach the basement, it’s not an open space as we figured. In fact, it looks like just another level to the house, with its separate rooms and living areas. Henry urges us to follow him down another long hall until we come to its end. Immediately, my eyes widen at what I see, and I grab Elias’s hand to give it a tight squeeze.

“What?” he leans down to whisper in my ear.

“Look,” I order, pointing to the three doors surrounding us.

The door to our left is painted black, while the one on the right is white. And right in front of us stands another door in a blood-chilling red. Instantly, I’m reminded of the nonsensical gibberish the old priest had been blabbing about whenever I saw him. It wasn’t nonsense at all. It was a warning.

“What is it?” Elias insists as I try to recall the priest’s warning.

“Father O’Sullivan warned me about these doors, only at the time it didn’t make sense to me,” I whisper back. “I distinctly remember him talking about colors. At the time, I just thought it was nothing, just nonsense, but now I see that it wasn’t. He was trying to tell me something. To warn me. I just need to remember. God, what was it?” I mumble the last part to myself. I shake my head, trying to remember his exact words. “He said something about red being true. True. Honest. Not white. Never white. Never white. I remember that part perfectly.”

“What about black?” Elias questions.

“I think black is okay,” I mutter as I try to recall. “Yes, black is definitely okay.”

“Good to know. It was always my color anyway.” He winks.

“How can you make jokes at a time like this?”

“Because…,” he lowers his voice, “I would rather chew my arm off than let these motherfuckers see me sweat.”

And when his eyes lift upward, I realize that we’re being watched even here, cameras positioned in each corner of the hallway.

“Okay, you brought us here, what now?” David grumbles, annoyed that Henry hasn’t given us any further instruction.

“Now you chose your fate,” he replies, with that same even tone of his.

“Who goes first?” Lucas asks just as Henry pulls out three sticks, each of a different length, holding them in his hand in a way that makes it impossible for us to tell which is which.

“Guess whoever gets the short stick is shit out of luck. Typical,” Mackenzie yawns before pulling out a stick. Lucy follows her and pulls one out, leaving the last one for me.

As we bring our sticks together, we note that Mackenzie has the largest one, followed by mine, and Lucy has the shortest.

“David and I choose the black door,” Mackenzie announces, staring at me with an arrogant, smug grin.

Damn it, she must have overheard Elias and me talking. I’m really starting to dislike the girl.

“Fine, then we choose the red door,” I state, giving her my own version of the evil eye.

“I guess that means we get the white one,” Lucas whispers to Lucy.

I want to tell them to be careful. To be wary of whatever is behind that door, but Elias gives a curt shake to his head, silencing whatever warning I want to give them.

“Your choice has been made,” Henry informs. “Six of you will walk into these rooms, but not all will return. Play well, as for some of you, this game will be the first and last you ever play.”