The four hulking figures stand in front of me. I know immediately that they are the Hayes brothers by the fact that they look like fucking Gods. Rippling muscle, sharp jawlines and eyes that seem to glow.
They’re all slightly different, however. There are two identical men, albeit opposite in the expressions of their faces. One is Beau, still smirking as he grips my chin. The other is glaring down at me. I recognize him as the man I met earlier, Archer. He still holds the same anger I left him with.
The third is chewing on his lip. He stands behind Archer and looks timid. He darting his eyes back and forth between the twins. He’s just as beautiful as the twins but has a different nose and shocking, glowing grey eyes.
The fourth stands next to the Archer wearing the same sneer on his face. He’s slimmer than the other three and his hair is long enough that it’s curling around his ears. His freckles are much more prominent than the other brothers.
Beau drops his hand and motions towards me. Archer darts out. He moves like light, so fast I can barely see him. Next thing I know, his arms are wrapped around me, bolting me to my place. I wriggle slightly but there’s no give. I’m not going anywhere.
The other angry brother pulls out a pile of photos. He flips through them, arching an eyebrow before handing them off to the long-haired brother.
“That conniving bitch,” Beau says. He shakes his head, hands on his hips. “She really thought this through, huh? Marry Jones. Get her kid into Moonriver and then repeat the whole process.”
The long-haired brother pauses in his review on the photos to rake his eyes over me. It’s the same skin-crawling look Kathy gave me on day one. He looks back down at the photos once more.
“At least her mother had looks,” he says before passing the photos off to the next brother. “This chick looks like she just crawled out of a sewer.”
“Oh fuck you!” I shout, finally regaining my voice.
Archer snickers. His breath is hot on the shell of my ear. It lights a fire across my body.
“What?” he says. “You mad we caught you before you were able to entrap a golden boy just like mommy?”
“My mother didn’t trap anyone!” I spit back. “She and Isaac actually love each other.”
“Maybe she’s right,” the fourth brother says. The timid one. He’s finally received the pictures. “Maybe Jones did really fall in love with the local nanny.”
Beau scoffs. “Please,” he says. “Jones is not dumb enough to do that. You really think he can’t sniff out a gold digging whore?”
The last word resonates in my ears and I see red. “Fuck you!” I shout again. “You rich assholes all think money is the only thing that matters!”
Over the whole situation, I wriggle again. The arms locked around me barely move so I decide to use other options. I sink my teeth into the arm belted around my chest. Metal floods my mouth and I hear a yelp from behind me. The arm drops immediately.
I drop to the floor with a gasp. I scramble backwards, keeping my enemies in front of me. They’re all looking at me with a mix of shock and disgusting. The long haired brother scoffs.
“Careful, Archie,” he says. “She may have infected you with her nasty scavenger disease.”
Archer shakes his arm and curses. The blood has stopped dripping and the only thing that remains is a sight imprint of my teeth in his skin. He growls at me.
“To think I was going to let this lunatic watch the child,” he sneers.
He stands up straight and glares down at me. My heart stutters in my chest. Despite all of the assholes I’ve endured in my life, this one is the most menacing. He looks back at his brothers.
“Boys,” he says. “I think we’ve got ourselves another Untouchable.”
The brothers laugh amongst themselves. I look at all of them with an indescribable level of disgust. “The fuck is an untouchable?” I scowl.
“The lowliest of the school population,” Beau says. “Anyone who’s anyone will refuse to talk to you. Also, you get to live in the basement.” His lips stretch into a menacing smile. “Hope you enjoy the cold.”
“Oh come on,” I throw back at them. “You can’t possibly expect me to go along to that. You think just because daddy owns the school you can get what you want?”
“We don’t think,” Archer says. “We know.”
I shake my head and scoff. This entire situation is preposterous. I’m sick and tired of men. I’ve been dealing with assholes since I was seven. A whole eleven years of complete and utter male bullshit. At least everyone in Greendale knew not to mess with me after I slashed that one guys arm open with my dagger.
My dagger.
My hand immediately goes to my pocket. The iron dagger sits under my palm and feels like my savior in that moment. Slowly, I get to my feet. I make sure to stagger a bit to make them think I’m weak. Then, I strike.
I yank the dagger out of my pocket and lunge at Archer. I’m quick but he’s quicker. He jumps out of the way as I slash through the air. The other brothers immediately start growling in my peripheral. I flip the blade in my hand and take up an offensive stance. I throw my arm through the air again. Archer pedals backwards out of my reach. He’s dangerously close to the wall. I know I have him pinned.
I go to deliver my final blow and my wrist is caught. Before I can even register what’s happening, I’m flying through the air. My back hits the ground and pain shoots up my spine. Archer’s full weight pins me to the ground. I feel cold against my neck. My hand is empty and I immediately know he’s got my dagger.
Hot air hits my ear again and the fire is back across my skin. My nipples pebble and I struggle against him. Is it not embarrassing enough that we just got bested? We have to be aroused now too?
Archie laughs in my ear. “You’re so young,” he coos. A shiver scales down my bruised spine and beats at my bruised ego. “You haven’t learned that it’s not a weapon that makes you a hunter. It’s skill. Something that you clearly lack.”
His weight leaves my chest and I huff out all the air within my lungs. I am confronted, for the first time, with a sense of not being enough. The power that I pride myself so deeply on, cannot overcome the strength that is embedded in the Alpha blood of the Hayes brothers.
“Oh sweetheart,” Beau coos from my side. “We haven’t even give you a taste of what it is to live on our campus and you already look this pathetic. You’re ruined.”
I look at him and try to keep the tears from welling in the corner of my eyes. I turn it into rage and spit at his feet. It only makes him laugh more. Someone else drags me to my feet. They throw a grey vest at me and force me to put it on, all while laughing.
Archer positions me against the wall and takes out his phone. He snaps a picture of me as the brothers cackle behind him. He turns the phone and shows me the picture. I look positively awful, disheveled and muddy. Below my picture the caption reads “SAVAGE WOMAN. BEWARE OF THIS UNTOUCHABLE!!!!” Archie pulls his phone back and I can see him smirking as he uploads the picture to I*******m.
"Welcome to the world of the Untouchables." He says and smiles with malice.
I look up and make eye contact with Wyatt, who’s been watching all of this. He tuts and breaks into a smile so devious, it sent a shudder down my back.
