Chapter 7: You Were Bought by Faye
Lucy's POV
I knew Lucian and Thor had served Faye together through the entire night.
My room was right next door. The villa's soundproofing was decent enough — but not decent enough. The three of them were loud enough that I lay awake until dawn, listening to every last second of it.
I wasn't jealous. Not really. Lucian had only ever been a tool to me — proof that I could beat Faye at her own game. The fact that he'd gone crawling back to her didn't sting the way people might assume.
What burned was something older than that.
I hated my sister. I had hated her for as long as I could remember. From the time we were children, every good thing seemed to find her first — opportunities, praise, attention. I was always the footnote. The shadow standing just behind the main subject of the photograph. And no matter what I did, I could never close that gap.
Why? We were equal in every measurable way. Same body, same face, grades just as sharp. So why did everything flow to her?
That was why I wanted to strip her of it. All of it. Whatever Faye had, I would take. Whatever she didn't have yet — that would belong to me, and only me.
Lucian had been so close to the finish line. I'd spent weeks reeling him in, inch by careful inch, until he was practically kneeling at my feet. Then Faye came home with that lowlife beast-man of hers, and with nothing more than that clumsy, graceless move, she'd undone everything I'd built.
Fine. Then I'd take him, too.
I looked at the two glasses of ice water on the table in front of me — both clear, both colorless. The one farther from me had the drug in it.
I smiled, and slipped one strap of my sheer negligee off my shoulder.
I'd hooked Lucian once. I could do the same to this Thor.
Thor didn't keep me waiting long. He came out of the room alone and sat down across from me. His ears were pricked straight up, his tail rigid behind him. Still on guard — I could read it easily enough.
I slid his glass toward him and curved my lips into the smile I'd practiced in the mirror more times than I could count. Soft, guileless, the kind that made most beast-men forget what they were doing.
"You three were pretty loud last night," I said, keeping my voice light.
Thor's face didn't move. "You said you had something important to tell me about Faye. That's what this is?"
"What — did listening get you all worked up?"
The disdain in his eyes was obvious. So was the edge in his voice.
I nearly lost the smile.
Crude. Uneducated. Nothing like Lucian.
I drew a quiet breath, reset myself, and rolled one shoulder in a lazy shrug — letting the second strap fall. The neckline gaped open just enough. I leaned forward over the table, letting the fabric fall away from my chest.
"Relax," I said, with a soft laugh. "I slept fine. I just — I feel a little sorry for you, honestly."
I tilted my head. "Doesn't it bother you? I've heard beast-men have strong territorial instincts. So how exactly do you and Lucian manage, sharing her like that?"
Something flickered across his face. His jaw tightened.
"Nobody likes that, do they?" I pressed, gentler now. "You're both good. You're both worth more than that. The way Faye's handling this — it's not exactly respectful to either of you."
I paused.
"Are you really willing to spend the rest of your life sharing her with Lucian? Is that honestly what you want?"
His cheek twitched. His arms, crossed over his chest, clenched tighter.
"That's Faye's decision to make," he said, flat and final. "I'm her beast-man. I respect whatever she chooses." He pushed back his chair. "If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."
"Don't you want to know about Damon?"
He stopped.
He sat back down — and this time his arms unfolded. One hand rested near the water glass, fingers tapping a slow, deliberate rhythm against the table as he watched me and waited.
I picked up my own glass and took a sip, unhurried.
He watched. And, just as I'd expected, the mirror instinct kicked in — he reached for his glass and drank.
The drug was fast-acting. Within moments, his eyes glazed with heat.
I rose from my seat and came around the table to his side.
"You and Faye haven't signed a contract yet, have you?"
His pupils were shifting — the vertical slit bleeding into something rounder, less focused.
"Not yet," he said, his voice dropping to a rasp. "Why is it so hot in here — did you turn off the air conditioning?"
I rested my hand on his shoulder and pressed my chest against his arm, bringing my lips close to his ear.
"You're burning up, aren't you?" I murmured. "I'm nice and cool. Want to touch me and find out?"
He grabbed my wrist.
One hard pull, and I was standing in front of him. I made a soft, wounded sound and bit my lower lip, looking up at him through my lashes with the right amount of uncertainty — just shy, just startled enough.
Beast-men. Desire always wins. Especially one like him, never contracted, never properly claimed. All I needed was for him to take me — the camera in the corner would catch every second, and even if Faye still wanted him afterward, she'd never be able to look at him the same way.
He pulled me onto the table with both hands, leaning over me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, hooked my legs around his waist, and let my voice drop to something slow and suggestive.
"It hurts to hold back, doesn't it? All you have to do is push my skirt up and slide inside me. That's all. You'll feel so much better."
He was panting, eyes half-focused and glassy.
His hand moved up my thigh and pushed under my skirt.
I closed my eyes.
Then he tore my dress open, shoved my legs down, and bound my wrists and ankles before I understood what was happening.
I screamed. "What the hell are you doing — are you insane?"
I froze.
Blood was running from the corner of his mouth.
He bit his own tongue. Stayed conscious through it.
"You drugged the water," Thor said, teeth clenched.
I scrambled for the ground I'd lost. So what if he knew? I lifted my chin.
"And if I did? Are you seriously going to spend the rest of your life as one of two, trailing after Faye? I live alone — no other beast-men, no competition. Isn't that better?"
"I was bought by Faye," he said. The words came out like something carved in stone. "I belong to her."
He shoved me back against the table, staggered to his feet, and made for the front door. He was halfway to the entryway when the door swung open.
Faye walked in. Lucian was right behind her.
They both stopped, taking in the scene — the overturned chair, my torn dress, the cloth binding my wrists.
Thor didn't hesitate. He walked straight to Faye, lifted her into his arms, and carried her upstairs without a word.
Lucian looked like he was about to follow. I got there first.
"Lucian — help me—"
He turned back. He came to me, tore the cloth away from my wrists, and I flung myself against his chest before he could step back.
"Thor went into heat," I sobbed, clutching the back of his neck. "I was so scared — he almost— he almost forced himself on me—"
A growl built low in Lucian's throat. I felt it more than heard it.
"That filthy piece of—" He went rigid. "He's not done enough fawning over Faye, and now he's going after you? I'm going up there right now and telling her exactly what kind of animal she's keeping in her house."
He pulled back to go. I grabbed his arm.
If he went up there now, it would fall apart. Faye would ask questions. The camera would come up. Everything would unravel.
"Please," I whispered, pulling him back. Tears still wet on my face. "I'm still shaking. Can you just — stay with me? Just for a little while?"
Lucian always crumbled at this. Tonight was no different.
He carried me back to my room.
I lay curled against his chest, asking him the same question over and over in the dark: You're not going to leave, are you? You won't leave me alone?
Every time, he patted my back and gave the same answer. I'm not leaving. You're safe.
He didn't leave. Not until well after the house had gone completely quiet.
I waited until I was certain he was asleep. Then I got up, stepped out onto the balcony, and lit a cigarette.
I exhaled hard.
"Damn it."
My fist came down on the railing.
Why did so many people stay loyal to her? What was it about Faye that made everyone orbit around her like she was the only fixed point in the universe?
I pulled out my phone. Scrolled to the contact — Damon — and pressed call.
It picked up almost immediately.
I smiled into the receiver. "Daddy. It's been a while. I've moved in with Faye now." A pause. "You should come visit. Both of us."
The voice on the other end was short and direct.
"Address."
