SKIN

Two guards entered Kian's bedroom. They held a firm grip on his arms, locking him in place. "Don't let them touch you, Via. I'm gonna find you again." 

A tear slowly slid down my cheek at the sight of my brother. All this time, I thought of him as my savior. I never knew how pathetic he truly was. 

Apollo threw me over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes. He carried me downstairs while his brothers followed suit. 

"Let me down!" I exclaimed before slamming my fists into his back. But my punches didn't land the way I expected them to. They meant nothing against Apollo, he didn't even flinch. 

As we stepped out of the house, the cold air bit into my skin. "Help! I'm being kidnapped!" I yelled into the air and earned a chuckle from Atlas. 

"Nobody's coming to help you, Love," Atlas assured me in a cold tone. 

I raised my head and saw how my neighbors closed their curtains. 

They were scared of the Graves triplets. Still, these people watched me grow up. Together, they could have easily overpowered them. 

Unless they were in on this too...

"How long have you been planning this?" I asked, my fists pounding into Apollo's back. He roughly placed me into the car before tying a piece of rope around my wrists. 

Ares got in behind the steering wheel. Apollo and Atlas joined me in the backseat, their knees pressing into my thighs. 

I should have gotten on that plane. I never should have come back home. I glared at Atlas before pushing his knee to the side. I did the same with Apollo before letting out an angered huff. 

"Is this what you wanted when we were kids? To treat me like a piece of property?" I asked, frustration building inside my chest. "How much was I worth, Apollo?" 

Apollo's gaze slowly raked over my trembling form. He paused on my lips. "You were the interest, Livia. The principal was the neighborhood. You're just the profit." 

I felt Atlas's hand slide an inch higher on my thigh, his thumb tracing slow circles on delicate skin. "And what do you do with profit?" I asked, anger rising in my voice. "Reinvest it? Or do you just use it until it's spent?"

Atlas leaned in, sandalwood and pine, filling my senses. "We keep it," he murmured. "We lock it in a vault and never let it see the light of day again."

The car came to a stop in a beautiful driveway. Apollo answered a call before stepping out of the car. Atlas jumped out of the car before holding his hand out to me. 

"I can do it myself," I whispered under my breath before sliding off the expensive leather seat. 

Atlas shut the door behind me, and I curiously stared up at the glass mansion towering over us. 

A massive infinity pool served as the centerpiece of the house, translucent blue water spilling over the edge of the cliffside.

A garage filled with expensive sports cars was visible through a transparent wall. Palm trees and bollard lights decorated the entire estate, emphasizing their wealth. 

Ares threw his arm around my shoulders before leading me into the house. The air inside the house was sterile, but the faint smell of sandalwood lingered. 

Atlas came up to me and lifted me onto a barstool in the kitchen. I hopelessly looked down at the rope still tied around my wrists. I only looked up once Apollo entered the kitchen. 

They started circling me like hungry predators, and my heart hammered against my ribs. Apollo spread my legs, and a soft whimper escaped my lips. 

"You do not speak unless spoken to. You do not touch a door handle without permission. You belong to the collective now. What one Graves has, all Graves have." Apollo stated, his dark eyes burning into my skin. 

Atlas's chest pressed into my back. He rubbed slow circles on my arm, comforting me against Apollo's harsh words. Until he started sliding his hand closer to my inner thigh. 

"We've shared a face and a soul since the day we were born. Did you really think we wouldn't share you, Love?" Atlas whispered into my ear, his lips brushing the shell of my ear.

"You'll forget whose hands are whose, Beautiful," Ares said, before sinking his teeth into the soft skin on my neck. A stinging pressure bloomed across my neck, but it was quickly replaced with a rhythmic suction that made my toes curl. 

"We are going to ruin you for any other man, Princess," Apollo uttered. His voice was gravelly as he joined Atlas in a race of who would get to my throbbing core first. 

Ares slowly slid his hand into the pocket of my pants. He pulled my phone out before snapping it in half. The sound made me flinch. 

In the midst of the chaos, I completely forgot about my phone and that I could call 911 for help. 

Apollo grabbed a knife from his pocket. He expertly flicked it open before cutting the rope around my wrists. He pressed the edge of the knife against my neck, and I became paralyzed with fear. 

"Get up," he commanded coldly, and I slowly rose from the chair, before standing on wobbly legs. 

He signaled something to his brothers. And Atlas moved first, he slowly started undoing the buttons on my shirt. 

Then I remembered. I wasn't wearing a bra.

Apollo pressed the knife deeper into my skin, not enough to draw blood but enough to remind me of what would happen if I made a wrong move. 

My shirt soundlessly dropped to the floor, leaving me completely exposed to their predatory gazes. I squeezed my eyes shut before covering my chest with my arms. 

A dark chuckle escaped Atlas's mouth. He roughly grabbed my arms before pinning them to my sides. 

Ares placed a kiss on the mark he left on my neck before wrapping his hands around my waist. He unbuttoned my pants from behind, and the loose black material slid down my legs, leaving me in nothing but my panties. 

"Welcome home, Princess. You're never leaving again." Apollo said, his lips brushing against mine.