The memory of her naked body was forever seared into my mind. I was weak, so fucking weak. I’d thought forcing her to stand on the table was a show of strength, some way to teach Teddy the realities of our lives. Instead, I’d made myself almost blind with lust and gave Lucius a reason to torment Stella. She was mine to torment, no one else’s.

I wanted to destroy every fucking thing in the house, then rage through the grounds like a tornado before lighting the woods on fire. Instead, I stepped out the front door and into the cool air. I needed a ride. Something to clear my mind and get me focused on the Acquisition trials.

I walked the few hundred yards to the shop out back. It was two stories of distraction. Fast cars, even faster bikes, and all the tools needed to repair each one of them. I ran my fingers down the McLaren, thinking it might be the one to take me far away from here—and as quickly as I needed. But the air was too nice to miss.

I snagged my leather jacket from the wall and chose Emelia instead. She was a revved up American stunner, a motorcycle my father and I had brought back to life years ago. I threw a leg over and cranked her up. She rumbled and purred beneath me. I tore from the shop, taking the road deeper into the Vinemont property.

The helicopter waited on the pad to my left as I cruised by. It wasn’t an option. I had to keep my feet on the ground. It would be a simple feat to climb into the cockpit and simply fly away from this house, my responsibilities, and my Acquisition. I wouldn’t. I needed to stay, to shepherd Stella through the trials.

Despite the setbacks, breaking her would be a singular treat. What I’d shown Teddy had only been a taste, just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. She had no idea what was in store. I wasn’t even sure how far I’d go, but I knew I had to win. Losing wasn’t an option.

I gunned the engine harder, rushing past the lake, the scattered cattails bleeding into a brown and green blur as I drove to the levee.

But the way she’d looked, the way she’d reacted to me in the grass, her smell, the way she fought. Fuck. I was screwed. I had to stop thinking about her as a her. She was an Acquisition—my Acquisition—and nothing more. If I didn’t get my head on straight, and get her outbursts under control, tomorrow night would be a disaster. The Sovereign needed to leave the party knowing that my Acquisition was the one to beat, literally and figuratively.

I’d never actually attended an Acquisition Ball, but Mother had told me plenty in her attempts to strengthen me. The depravity in her tales had shocked me, intimidated me. She didn’t go easy, telling me exactly what I’d have to do to win. In the process, she’d told me what she’d had to do to win during her Acquisition year. How a piece of her had died. She’d wanted me to endure, to make it through unscathed. To be even stronger than she had been.

I slowed to a stop in the middle of the levee, water sparkling on either side. My thoughts strayed back to the scars on Stella’s wrists and the knife she’d hidden in her nightstand. I’d almost taken it from her as she slept. My fingers had traced the handle, the blade. Somehow I knew it was the same one she’d used on herself. Ultimately I’d left it there. I shouldn’t have. Another mistake.

The engine roared to life beneath me and the bike ate up the smooth road through the woods and over the waterways. Wild turkeys scattered as I raced through their territory. I made the entire loop around the property before cruising down the winding lane and out to the front gate.

Approaching the bottleneck of woods and metal, I saw the glint of something metallic through the bars. A car sat on the outside, foolishly seeking entrance to my territory. I grimaced at the idiocy of the attempt, the sheer lack of understanding this visit revealed. Still, I knew he’d come.

I pulled to the right so I could stand broadside against the wrought iron. When I killed the engine, a heavy silence fell.

“Mr. Rousseau. Nice to see you.”

He peered through the bars and vines, his eyes red and watery. There was nothing to see. Only me.

“Let her go.” His wavering voice made me sick.

“No.”

“You, motherfucker!” A younger man leapt from the car and rushed over. “Bring her out or we’re coming in.”

I laughed. “That’s adorable. If there’s nothing else, I’d best be going. Pressing matters and all.”

He gripped the bars and tried to shake them. Nothing. This fence could withstand a lot more than some prep school prick in lacrosse gear.

“Dylan, stop. We can’t win that way.”

“Listen to the old man, Dylan.” I let the venom that had welled up inside me over the past twenty-four hours infect my words.

“Please.” It was a teary plea from Mr. Rousseau. “Just let her go. I-I’ll go to prison willingly if you’ll just let her go.”

Pathetic. “Too late. The deal’s done. If that’s all the business you have to transact, I’m sorry to say you wasted your trip. Goodbye, Mr. Rousseau.”

Dylan erupted in yells and a respectable amount of profanity.

I cut off his cries with the fire of my engine, and left them standing at the gate as I screamed along the smooth road toward the house.

They were fools.

She was mine. No one could take her from me. Not even her own blood.