Beautiful Lies (Breaking Belles #2) - Alta Hensley Page 0,31

your problem.”

“The Elders won’t get mad?”

“Nowhere in the rules does it say you have to keep the cloak or tail. They may not like the fact you don’t have any of it still on, but they can’t claim you did anything wrong or it being worthy of failing the Trial.”

The sound of the hounds was getting louder, and I knew we had to act fast or risk the night ending. As much as I wanted a hot shower, our bed, and the Oleander walls protecting us from this barbaric ritual, I meant it when I said I wanted the members to have to suffer a bit. It had rained earlier. The ground was a muddy mess, and the mosquitoes were out for vengeance. Muggy hunting wasn’t a fun activity, and no doubt they all were dreaming about a bourbon and a blowjob right about now.

I sure as fuck wouldn’t mind a good ol’ B and B. But since I had to carry a muddy girl to a hidden cave and had to be uncomfortable, they sure as fuck would be too.

“How did you find me?” she asked me again as we made our way to the ridge.

“You’re smart. I figured you’d come to the cellar.” I repositioned her weight so that I could make sure the jacket kept her covered as much as possible.

“Am I getting too heavy?” She wrapped her arms around my neck as if that would help.

“I’m in shape now because of you. All our morning exercise has helped with my so-called pudgy gut,” I said with a smirk. “And no, you’re not too heavy.” I sped up my pace just to prove my statement, plus I wanted to reach the cave before our lantern light was spotted from afar.

“Do I stink?” she asked. “Because I really feel like I stink.”

I laughed out loud and shook my head. “No, you don’t stink.”

“I may never get this mud out of my hair.”

“If I remember correctly, there’s some water that drips into the cave. It forms stalagmites or stalactites or whatever they’re called. But there should be enough for you to be able to clean off once we get there.”

We walked the rest of the way in silence, the only sound being the barks of far-off hounds. So far off, that I knew we would have a couple of hours of safety before the hunters began to retrace their steps. When the cave appeared, I couldn’t help but smile at the memories that washed over me.

Montgomery, Beau, Rafe, Walker, Emmett, and I loved coming to our secret clubhouse. No one knew about this place—at least that we knew of—and we liked that it was all ours to explore and hang out in. Some of the parties we were brought to at the manor were so stuffy that we couldn’t wait to run out and play in our special cave. The Oleander wasn’t all bad. In fact, there was a time when all of us boys couldn’t wait to be a member of The Order of the Silver Ghost. It was a rite of passage like losing our virginities. It wasn’t something any of us dreaded but looked forward to.

I had admired my father so much. We all did. We all wanted to be them when we grew up. My father could do no wrong in my eyes although I rarely got to see him. Which was why I loved coming to the Oleander as a boy. At the manor, I would at least get to be in the same room with him, or at the very minimum, the same house. He worked all the time and was rarely home. So, to me, the Oleander was better than home. It meant I had my father near. And he enjoyed having me there. All the fathers liked their sons to be present at all the appropriate parties and rituals. We were their lineage. We were their legacy. And there wasn’t one of us boys who didn’t want it more than anything. I used to dream about the day of joining The Order of the Silver Ghost.

Of course, then we grew up and opened our eyes.

Either that, or something changed. It was hard to imagine generation after generation of highly-educated, Ivy League men would condone all of these sexist, animalistic, and perverse acts. It wasn’t just money that seemed to take over the secret organization, especially since everyone who joined the Order had money. It was the need for more money. The