Chapter Six

The silence that followed the announcement was deafening.

No one expected the turn of events.

The mobsters mouths hung in circles, eyes a globe of astonishment.

"Did he just say that?" Loud muttered, voice low.

"You heard right." Nikolai replied monotonously beside him.

"Something seems off," Poe said, expression acrid.

"Who cares? He's in!" Jinx shrugged excitedly.

Kimberly is unsure of how to feel.

Everyone in this clan is aware that Madden is cautious and calculative to a fault. He never does anything without a profitable reason.

As for Malik, he's busy wondering why Madden suddenly changed the rules all for Adeline.

Is there something he doesn't know?

This only made his hatred for him wax stronger. He might just kill him faster than he had planned.

Trixie left the grounds wordlessly.

Sin followed her.

Adeline looked up slowly, sweat still cascading down her face to her neck.

Her eyes met with Madden's. She surely saw him smirk darkly again.

It's like the smirk is part of his face whenever their eyes meet.

This would be the third time she'd be witnessing it, and she wondered why, even in her spent position.

"To your feet." he ordered.

She gulped.

Will she really be able to stand up with the way her legs and arms are aching and shaking right now?

She started trying to stand, but she fell back.

Igor who has been silent and furious finally spoke up...

"Are you seriously taking him in? HIM? look how weak he is, and he didn't even pass the simple trial!"

He was giving Adeline a 'bitter than gall' look as he said each word.

"You know you seriously don't have to talk, Igor," Madden faced him.

"Oh?" Igor scoffed.

"I am the head trainer here, and this is my ground. On my grounds, you follow my words, my rules!" Madden spat authoritatively, his eyes lit.

Igor went silent, and Madden smiled—that poisonous one.

"You have the full authority at the clinic, and you don't see me complaining. Push yourself off my business." he stated.

"This isn't over" Igor replied, storming madly out of the grounds.

Andrei immediately followed him, and the mob crowd started thinning as mobsters began leaving too.

Adeline tried standing again.

This time, she did it successfully, facing Madden who's like a mountain top in front of her.

She couldn't help but smell his scent in the chilly morning air.

He smells woody like this season—like winter.

He smells like snow, and it's cold.

His arctic eyes levelled her up, and she moved uncomfortably under his scrutiny, catching sight of that thin scar on his chin again.

His eyes are like infernos, staring right into her soul. It's uncomfortable, but she never for once looked away.

She stared back at him—eyeball to eyeball. Madden's brows tightened meaningfully, squeezing her in.

She jerked like she remembered something immediately.

"Thank you—for taking me in." she smiled a bit before bowing.

"Properly." his chilly voice rapped, and she looked back at him quickly.

He's glaring now, and it's not friendly.

He has never looked friendly. In fact, his expressions could compete with the devil's, but this one is scorching.

"I mean...I—

She stopped talking at this stage so she won't blabber rubbish. Her eyes found Loud and Nikolai in the crowd.

Loud mouthed something to her, and thanks to her sharp instincts, she got it and faced Madden fast.

"Thank you, Master." she bowed.

Madden looked down at her through his lids. "Your training starts tonight."

Her eyes stretched. "But... But...I—

He was already walking away before she could finish.

She had to bite her lip so hard.

She has not recovered from her aching limbs ands legs. Starting training tonight means death.

"You made it, bro!" Loud joined her with Nikolai.

Loud hugged her excitedly before she knew it, and she reciprocated instantly, smiling big.

"Thanks for the support."

"What are friends for?" Loud chuckled, releasing her.

"Welcome to the clan." Nikolai talked surprisingly.

"Thank you, Niko." Adeline smiled, and then Jinx and Poe joined them.

"Hey pretty boy!" Jinx beamed.

"You're the matching ladies from yesterday," Adeline said delightedly.

"Matching?" Jinx frowned.

Poe stayed silent. Seems she's an introvert like Nikolai.

"You both love wearing same thing, and your auras match. You look like twins." Adeline shrugged.

"We're besties," Jinx replied.

"I knew it." Adeline mused.

"But hey, you're so damn hot" Jinx said bluntly.

Adeline smiled awkwardly. "Thank you."

"Can we have him all to ourselves? He's our roommate." Loud pulled Adeline to his side.

"But he'll be training with us. He's our master's boy anyways." Jinx winked meaningfully at Adeline.

"See you at night, will be fun!" She added, leaving with Poe.

"They must be really good" Adeline mumbled as she watched their retreating backsides.

"Yeah. They're the best snipers in this clan. Whenever they hold a gun, they don't miss. You're lucky you'll be getting trained by them." Loud said.

"Seriously?" Adeline's eyes brightened.

"They'd teach you about guns, Master Madden will take care of the fighting part." Nikolai spoke

"But my body still aches from the press-ups, and he told me training starts tonight," Adeline replied.

"Then you need a massage, and I'll help with that." Loud held her shoulder from behind.

Adeline grinned, leaving the ground with him and Nikolai.

On their way out, they walked past Kimberly. No words were exchanged, but Kimberly's eyes communicated with her, and she got it before going out of sight with the boys.

--

[Clan Pool]

The blue pool was designed for everybody, but Trixie took over as the only user, so no one has access to this place except her.

It's her favorite place to be—even more than her suite. She spends most of her time here.

There's a dartboard glued to the wall at the other end of the room, and she practices her arrow plays there.

Every child of the Orlov family has something they're specifically good with since they were kids ...

While she's good with arrows, Maya handles knives.

Sin handles the hacking, Igor handles needles and guns.

And as for Madden...

Apart from pottery, there's hardly anything he can't handle.

No one trained Madden like the rest of them.

Madden only woke up one day when he turned ten and decided to become untouchable, and he did it.

He trained himself, that's why she'll always respect and look up to him.

Just like everyone else, Madden is her favorite sibling.

She released the third arrow from the bow. It flew to the dartboard with a whistling sound, hitting the center.

She smiled satisfactorily, water dripping from her bikini bra.

"Bravissimo!" A playful voice said behind her.

She twirled with a scowl to see who she expected.

Sin.

Sin definitely has something against clothes. He's still wearing his shorts, and it's hugging his midsection tightly, cock protruding.

"Go wear something, asshole!" Trixie rolled eyes and started walking her way out of the pool.

Sin stood by the edge.

She raised her hand up.

He took it and helped her out, then he picked a towel immediately, throwing it at her face.

"Sinclair!" She shouted, taking the towel off her face with a glare.

"I hate my full name and you know it. Sin is hotter." he winked.

"Oh, please," she wrapped the towel on her waist and sat on the recliner, fingering her wet hair.

Sin settled beside her.

"What do you think Madd is gonna do with the new guy?" He said.

"Michael? I think he took him in because he tried. Come to think of it, he did forty-nine out of fifty. It counts." Trixie shrugged, taking another towel to dry her hair.

"Madden? Come off it, Trix. We both know he never bends his rules for anybody or gives anybody a chance. He's a tricky bastard." Sin said.

"Whatever. I just hope he didn't take him in to kill him." Trixie stated.

Sin took the head towel from her and started drying her hair for her. She relaxed and enjoyed his hands

"Is there any mission tonight?" She questioned.

"Yeah. Madden is meeting the Wild Boars with Jinx and Poe." Sin replied.

Instead of drying her hair, he suddenly tied the towel on her face.

"Sinclair!" Trixie spranged up.

Before she could control her feet, she fell into the pool with a loud splash.

"Enjoy the rest of your day, Trix!" Sin grinned, walking out.

Trixie struggled for a short minute before she was able to untie the towel. She tossed it away, cursing Sin under her breath.

"Can't believe he's two years older than me, thak skunk!"