Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 114936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Keaton, Kyrin, and Kill are noticeably closer to the stage than they were moments before. A single light beams on me, and my mouth twitches up in a smirk before I can fight it away. The stage seeps into your pores and ignites a power deep inside of you that you don’t realize you have if you’re Kiznitch, and in this moment, I wish I were in the show. This will have to do. People whisper among themselves, but you can see the divide of those who have already heard of who I am, and those who are confused.
“Eight.” I turn to the curtain and watch as the first girl shuffles out from behind, wearing a shimmering glitter gown with her hair in a fancy up-do. Following behind her is a young guy around her age, smiling and winking at people who will look at him. Agh. We don’t need another him… another fucking Killian. The next is another girl, and another. When four girls and four guys are lined across the stage, I turn back to the mic. Grabbing it off the stand, I flick it onto the ground before circling the first boy who came out smirking, my fingers on his chest. Heat rises to my face when I feel Keaton’s anger radiate from below, but I continue my task at hand. This is my first initiation, and I won’t fuck it up just because he’s here, though I wish they all weren’t. This is usually Delila’s job, but oh well…
His abs are tight, but his skin is too clean. I rest my hand on his abs from behind, running them up to his throat and squeezing. “Knees.” He falls to his knees in front of me, but I remain focused on the crowd.
“What the fuck!” Kyrin’s voice shocks me and my eyes fly up to him. He’s making his way onto the stage. I didn’t expect them to actually interrupt it.
“Kyrin…” I pull my arm away from his grip before he can snatch it, but it’s no use because he’s faster.
“Don’t fucking Kyrin me. Everyone who had something to do with Cartier hosting, get in the fucking back now!” Pretty sure spit flies out of his mouth before he’s dragging me from the stage and down the aisle, straight to the exit.
“Fuck, Kyrin!” I try to pull myself out of his grip again, but it doesn’t work. The frosty air slaps me across the face once we hit it, and I spin around as soon as he releases me, smacking him in the chest. “I am not a fucking child anymore!”
People slowly follow us outside, and I can see in my peripheral that they all surround us. I’m guessing it is, as he put it, those who decided I was hosting. Truth is, no one decided but me. I wasn’t supposed to do it, it was a last-minute decision to reclaim my power that always gets taken from me any time The Brothers are around.
“Kyrin, let your sister go!” My mom puts her hand on his arm, but he flinches away from her.
“Was this your idea?” He turns his rage to her. “Hmmm? Because I’m pretty sure you damn well know that I don’t want to see her fucking anyone, much less all eight of the recruits!”
My mother’s anger reverberates off her and she takes a step toward Kyrin. “You think I would—” She stops herself quickly before her face relaxes and she turns back to me. “No, it was my idea. She wants more time, Kyrin, and you’re going to need to start giving that to her.”
My knees weaken and I fall backward, only I stammer into a hard wall. I close my eyes and my arm falls to the side, as my fingers find his. My panicking subdues when he squeezes me gently, tucking me farther back into him.
With Keaton in my hand, I open my eyes onto my brother, making sure he can’t see mine and Keaton’s hands together. “Ky, you need to get over this. You’re not the first Brother to have a sister in Mayhem.”
“No.” Kyrin glares at me finally, and for the love of God, my brother needs to find another hobby. “But I’m the first who isn’t into incest, so…”
Keaton’s thumb caresses the palm of my hand, lighting a fire beneath my skin that I want to feed until I take my final breath.
“Well, you guys can fight this out. I won’t continue as the host, but if you’ll excuse me…” I give Keaton one last squeeze before passing my father, keeping my eyes locked on his as I round the corner of the tent. I can still hear Kyrin and my mother bickering, but now that I’m hidden in the shadow behind the tent, I can handle them. They are both fire signs, so any time they fight, they explode, which is why my mother makes it so she doesn’t do a lot of mothering as far as Kyrin goes—which is exactly why he thinks he’s not only my brother, but my mother and father too.