8. ~Mason~

8

~Mason~

Lev leaned against the doorway of the guy's locker room, his arms and legs crossed as he stood there in a casual stance, despite the blood dripping down his fists.

Their blood.

"Efficient and appropriately ruthless," I commended him as I passed on by.

He gave me a chin lift, looking mighty pleased with himself.

More than that.

There was a sadistic gleam in his eyes mixed with excited anticipation as he watched me venture further into the space where five guys were sprawled out, two groaning as they laid on their sides naked and bloodied, while the other three were on the floor between the lockers and the benches incapacitated, yet possessing enough awareness for me to communicate my message.

Despite this being the first burst of violence that Lev had partaken in for Hex in over a year, he hadn't lost control or taken things too far. He'd actually followed my orders precisely.

None of the punishment he'd dealt out was life-threatening and he'd only gone after the five targets I'd specified, not going beyond that, and even luring the five to this location at the same time through some impressive manipulation of their communications via their phones and social media.

"Your attempts at a power grab are over," I spoke, walking amongst them, my voice booming through the still room and echoing nicely off the walls, adding to the ominous nature of my words. "Fraternities and football stars don't rule Stonewell U. Hex does."

Wide-eyed expressions followed at my declaration, a couple of them even shuddered.

The power of eliciting those reactions rolled through me in a way I hadn't felt in too long.

I'd missed the taste like no other.

"Now, this was merely to get your attention."

"With a little punishment and humiliation thrown in," Lev spoke.

"That too." I kicked the thigh of one of the frat heads in the shower. "After all, you all deserved a taste of your own medicine after the twisted operation you had running in regards to making victims out of the sophomores here."

"Third years too, I heard," Lev chimed in.

I nodded. "Word was spreading, giving Stonewell U a bad reputation. But you didn't consider the big picture at all, did you? It was all about instant gratification."

"Thinking solely with your dicks," Lev said, shaking his head. "Amateur hour."

"You're going to assist us with turning things back around. I know what you're thinking: why should we? You've taken your beatings and once you walk away from this you'll make plans to come at us en masse, yes? Something along those lines?"

"More shortsightedness," Lev chimed in. "Piling on the pathetic."

"The thing is, that won't be happening." I pulled out my cell phone and scrolled to a video I'd had one of the sorority heads secretly make with the tech I'd outfitted her with. I played it and held it out to one of the frat heads in the showers. It depicted him and the two others who were also in the room arguing with the sorority head as she'd confronted them as per my instructions. They'd thought so little of her power compared to theirs, believing themselves to be untouchable that they'd arrogantly ended up confessing they not only knew about what she'd been accusing their fellow frat members of, but that they'd actually orchestrated it together to both get pussy and wield power over the girls who'd all been chosen for their parents' connections that the frat heads had planned to use to their full advantage under the threat of revealing the girls as cheap sluts for our boys.

The only sluts were them.

Curses sounded from two of them, a defeated groan from another.

"That's right. We own you. Effective immediately, the three of you are the property of Hex." I leaned down and jerked on the blond hair of the football captain draped at an awkward angle over a bench beside his starting quarterback. He hissed as I pulled at his pretty boy roots. "As for you and your quarterback here, fixing games against our very own Stonewell Lions just to line your pockets, and trying to elevate your own standing in spite of that by undermining your own team members through fucked-up means like rigging drug tests and manipulating them into unsavory situations. That's over and done with. You'll help to undo it all, in fact. I'm certain you'll be highly motivated to do so after Hex obtained evidence of you both testing positive for performance enhancing drugs multiple times last year and during your return this year too."

"That's not true," the captain grunted.

"You know what they say, the truth is what you make it," Lev called over.

"What Hex makes it," I clarified. "Like I said, boys, we own you." I took a moment to enjoy their pathetic states and having them at our mercy, and then I turned and walked back to Lev, throwing my hand over my shoulder as I ground out, "Spread it around. Hex is back in power."

As Lev and I walked out of the locker room and made our way through the back exit of this side of campus, he smiled at me. "Nicely done, brother. It's the first glimpse I've seen of Scourge in a long while since you shut down Hex shortly before I left. How did it feel to go there again?"

"Good," I admitted. "Really fucking good."

His smile widened and sadism danced in his eyes. "Glad to hear it."

We stepped out of the building and Lev's phone buzzed. He pulled it from the pocket of his hoodie. In the next moment, he was grinning devilishly as he took in the message, then typed back. "Well done, cupcake," he murmured to himself.

"What was that?" I asked, as he pocketed his phone, his whole being now brightened.

"Just Colt seeing to that favor for me."

"With the girl?"

"Brianna, yes."

"And?"

"And what?" he asked innocently.

That was a dead giveaway that something was off, because there was absolutely nothing innocent about Lev.

"Why are you going to all this trouble for her?"

"Trouble? Asking Colt to get her to the mansion isn't trouble. It's nothing."

"It is for you. You don't chase, you're the chased when it comes to women."

"Maybe I'm looking to chill."

"You mean, settle down?"

He lifted a shoulder.

"I'm not buying it, Lev."

He didn't say anything and we just continued walking through campus in silence for a while.

It gave me time to think back to the night of the homecoming party when I'd seen him with her, to analyze every little thing.

It took me time to weed through everything that had happened, given what a busy night it had been for me through orchestrating those takedowns.

But then I had it.

"The girl… Brianna… she was having an episode… what we used to call your anxiety attacks."

I noticed him tensing.

"Wasn't she?" I pushed. He was the best person to recognize those signs.

"Yes," he hissed through his teeth. "Your point?"

I rounded on him, forcing him to pull up short. He blew out a breath of frustration—another sign that I was getting to him and hitting at something real with him for once and not just the fa?ade he put on. "That's why you made a connection to her out of seemingly nowhere. You recognized in her the same thing you used to suffer through."

He stared at me for a moment.

"Well?" I pushed.

"Yeah, you got me, Mason. That's what got under my skin about her."

"It's a dangerous connection to make, to pull on, Lev. Especially with your history."

"I'll be fine. Besides, I haven't had an episode in forever."

"It doesn't mean—"

"Leave it. I've got it under control."

"I guess we'll see when she comes by the mansion in a couple of days."

I saw him register the challenge I was throwing down.

As usual, instead of backing down like he should have, he rose to it, grinding out, "I guess we will."

Son of a bitch.