Page 38 of Reign of the Queen
“WHAT! Have you lost your mind? My dad is a married man and nothing like you scum.” Raegan seethes from the end of the table, color rising on her face.
With a nod from Theo, Finn pulls out his phone and turns the screen to face us. A video starts to play with its sound on; it’s a bit dark, but we can see two figures. They are both naked—a tall, thin male and a slim, shorter female. The video zooms in, and we can see it’s Raegan’s dad, Vice Principal Dunnville. He’s fully naked and pounding recklessly into a young woman whose face is turned away from the screen. It’s obvious they don’t know they are being recorded. He’s going at her so vigorously that the school desk she’s laid on is shifting backward with each forward motion, creating a screeching noise along with their combined panting and grunting.
Suddenly he grabs the female by the hair and pulls her face backwards, wrapping a hand around her throat. She gazes at him in worship, wholly enthralled, and shouts, “Fuck me harder, daddy.” She turns toward the camera’s direction, and we visibly see it’s Samantha Highpark.
Raegan’s out of her seat and lunging forward to grab Finn’s phone. I move to help her, and Mateo grabs my arm, pulling me back firmly into my seat and keeping me trapped against his large frame.
“It’s no use, Rae. Even if you take that phone, there are other copies of the video; we made sure of it,” Theo points out calmly.
“No, oh my god, no!” Tears track down Raegan’s cheeks; she is suddenly very pale and looks like she’ll vomit any second.
“You are a bunch of sick fucks” I screech, pulling away from Mateo’s grasp and moving to wrap both my arms around a trembling Raegan. “I will destroy you for this!” I direct my glare at Theo.
“You can try, of course, but by the time you do, this video will be everywhere, and Raegan’s dad will most likely be in jail for statutory rape of a minor. After all, Samantha is seventeen, and he’s an authority figure. Not to mention his career will be over, and their family will be shunned in Casbury.” Theo crosses his arms against his chest. “You can pull together your family’s resources to try to stop it, but we have Samantha ready to come forward and go to the police.”
“Ame...Mia, please, please, you have to do something! My dad can’t go to jail!” Raegan grabs onto my arms tightly, tears cascading down her beautiful face.
I stare at her in pure horror, my resolve to rip each of them apart strengthening but the feeling of a noose falling around my neck makes me break out in a panic. Pivoting toward Theo and then Carter, I say, “I will fucking end you if that video sees the light of day. Do you hear me?”
“Oh, we’re not done yet, princess.” Carter rubs his hands together in giddiness, baring his teeth at me like a wolf about to eat his prey.
“How is Isabella’s little coke problem, Mia? We hear she likes to fuck her dealers for a taste, allowing them to film her while they fuck her brains out, high as a kite? Is grandmother Stratford in the dark about her precious princesses’ activities?” Mateo casually asks from my side. I let go of Raegan abruptly and turn entirely in his direction, climbing back into the booth quickly and without warning and lunging for his nuts. I get a firm grip on his balls through his track pants and twist as hard as I can until he’s screaming shrilly in the booth.
“MY SISTER’S NAME IS NEVER TO FUCKING CROSS YOUR MANWHORE MOUTH!” I squeeze tighter before Carter’s hands wrap firmly and painfully around my waist as he tries to drag me away from Mateo.
“You see, Mia, we are not the only ones with secrets here. We can play the same games as you can, and we have access to the same information if the price is right.” Theo leans across the table and grabs my hand roughly, squeezing the bones in my hand painfully, forcing me to relinquish the hold I have on Mateo’s family jewels.
“We are not asking you to give up power Mia, just to choose a king to stand by your powerful side and rule. The rest of us will maintain our crowns too but will act as enforcers of yours and whichever king you pick to rule.” Theo’s cloying breath is so close to my face that I can smell his vanilla latte coffee breath. I’ve never been more repulsed by the smell of something I love to consume.
I sit back on my knees, body shaking with adrenaline and rage. I contemplate Mateo in front of me, who is cupping himself protectively, face red, and sweat glistening on his forehead and in immense pain if his moaning is anything to go by.
I’m at a damn impasse. I can’t give in; to do so would be destroying everything I’ve done so far, all the planning, sacrifices, and terrible sins I’ve committed to destroy the kings of Casbury.
I also can’t ignore their threats. They will put Raegan’s dad in jail and ruin his reputation, and as much as I am repulsed by what I saw on that video, I can’t let Raegan and her mom be tainted by association. The information about Isabella can’t see the light of day if it’s true; my grandmother will have her shipped off to a hospital somewhere in Europe before I can even get on a plane back home if the news breaks.FUCK, FUCK, FUCK.
“Mia...” The desolate sound of my name coming from Raegan has me spurring into action. I turn and grab Theo by the throat, immediately embedding my nails into the soft flesh of his throat and slightly crushing his Adam’s apple with my vise-like grip. His jawline flexes and grows taut, but he makes no move to dislodge my grip. I drink in his sinful but hateful features, those arctic blues just taunting me to squeeze tighter.I could end his life; I think in my mind.They would be leaderless then.
“I will not choose. You want a king to stand beside me, fine, but in order for all of you to keep your worthless crowns, I will have all of you or none of you.” I squeeze tighter, his face turning a shade of blush with his airway being constricted.
“I will rule, not you, and if you ever try to strong arm me again like this!” I apply pressure. “I will decimate all of your dynasties and wipe them from the earth; consequences be damned.” I give a final, hard squeeze and release him, wiping my hand on my pant leg as if it’s covered in disease.
“What? How exactly will that work?” Finn questions looking from Theo to me.
“All of us, you naughty bitch.” Carter chuckles, biting his lip.
I try quieting my inner voice, which is screaming for us to run and save ourselves. I look only at Theo, again getting the sense that if he agrees, the other three will fall in line.
He raises his hand to his neck and rubs the puncture wounds from my nails that are now filling with blood. Pulling back his hand, he looks at the smeared blood on his fingers and grimaces, his lip curling in revolution.
“That’s twice you have bloodied me in one sitting, Mia, be warned; I will not tolerate a third without retribution.” He leans back into the booth; hands folded neatly on the tabletop.
“I will do far worse to you without regret if you keep trying to threaten me and mine, Theo.” I snort.
“How do you propose this work? There are four of us; you must choose a mate amongst us.” Mateo says, finally getting himself under control but also backing as far away from me as the booth and wall will allow.
“A mate? You expect her to want to be with one of you psychopaths?” Raegan questions in outrage.
“For this to work efficiently and protect all of us, yes. Mia must be in a relationship with one of us, a real one for all intents and purposes,” Finn counters.
