I lean forward, getting a better look at her. She’s even more stunning up close. There’s hardly any makeup on her face, only a few touches to exaggerate her natural beauty. She really doesn’t have any scars that I can see anywhere on her exposed skin.
“Have you ever had any injuries or gotten sick?” I ask.
“No.”
As though her close proximity has woken them from their stupor, Ty and Seth both lean forward eagerly.
“Are you a virgin?” Seth asks in a husky whisper.
Angel’s head rears back, her entire face and neck turning a delicate shade of pink.
“Excuse me?” She snaps, straightening to her full height. She’s a good head shorter than me but by no means is she short, I’d put her height at roughly five-six, maybe even five-seven.
“That question is irrelevant.” I reassure her, trying not to let my excitement show in my tone. I really want to know the answer but virgin or not, she’s pure perfection.
She leans over the table so she can hiss the words at us, “What’s irrelevant is this whole farce. I don’t know who or why but someone messed with my test scores. I got-.”
“Oh?” I say interrupting her. Her face goes red, but unlike most blushing girls, it only makes her more beautiful. She’s an enigma, one I’m determined to figure out. I start counting down from ten in my head, expecting her to lash out, let her temper shine, but she shivers and straightens her back, looking me directly in the eyes and says, “I know for a fact-.”
“Yes?” I ask, interrupting her again.
“…that I got ten questions incorrect.” She continues as if I hadn’t interrupted her. I see one of the male candidates shifting on his feet while shooting worried glances at Angel. When she glances back at him out of the corner of her eye, I practically see red.
“You wouldn’t happen to be wanting to avoid coming with us to our most prestigious school over a boy now, would you?” I growl. I’m not sure why but I can’t stand the thought of her with that boy. He’s beneath her in every way. My fists clench without thought as I glare over at him.
To my utter disgust, she glances back at him more obviously then tries to act like she didn’t.
“You know, we haven’t chosen any candidates yet. We could bring the two of you with us.” Seth suggests. I cut him a glare, trying to warn him, but he doesn’t take his eyes off Angel. There’s a hopeful look on his face as though he too would do anything to get her to come with us.
“No, the girls and I want one of the boys we saw earlier. We agreed we’d select only one.” Nyssus snaps.
“If you get to select one from here, then so do the guys.” I growl back at Nyssus.
“What part ofI don’t want any part in this, did you miss?” Once again Angel shows more backbone than any other human I’ve ever encountered. It only endears me to her more.
“We heard you, beautiful.” Seth laughs. “We just don’t care what you want. We choose from the best of the best and from what I’ve seen so far, you check every box.”
I know my brothers are feeling the same attraction as me and if the way Danny and Corey’s interested stares are anything to go by, we’re not even going to have to vote on this group. All I need is to confirm Zane’s interest and we’ll have a clear winner. Not that I’d ever let any of the others near her. She’s mine, whether she likes it or not.
I lean around Seth and peer down the table at Zane, he’s staring at the girl like he’s never seen anything so precious in his life. My smirk turns into a full-blown smile.
Seth leans closer to her and talks in an even quieter voice, “You’re right about one thing, you did get ten very obvious questions wrong, but those exams only count for one percent of the final score that makes you a candidate. We take into account every test score you have. You tried so hard to keep your grade at a B level that it was so obvious you’re much smarter than that. Not to mention the fact that you also answered those ten “wrong” questions on an earlier exam and got them all correct.” Seth even uses air quotes for the word wrong, making me laugh.
“Are we done here?” Ty groans. This isn’t how these events are supposed to go, we’re supposed to ask them the questions, watch them strut across the stage like peacocks, dance and enjoy the evening, then right before midnight, we announce who we’ve chosen, but….
“Yup.” Nyssus chirps walking over to the group on the stage. To my utter horror she grabs the arm of the guy who was watching Angel. “We’ve chosen.” She announces, pushing him to stand beside the podium a step behind her.
With a small shake of my head, I plaster a smile on my face, round the table and grasp Angel’s arm, towing her along behind me. It doesn’t feel right having her behind me so with another shake of my head, I pull her up to walk beside me.
As we mount the steps, her entire body shivers. I love the vulnerable look on her face, but I’d rather see her smile. Leaning down so my lips brush over the shell of her ear, I whisper, “Smile or the first sacrifice we make when we get to the school will be your boyfriend.”
“I don’t have a boyfriend.” She growls through her clenched teeth.
“Good. Keep it that way.” Ty snaps under his breath as he joins us on the stage. The moment all of us Gods are on stage, the crowd starts cheering and clapping. I lean closer to Angel and press my lips to the shell of her ear, “You will stay by my side for the rest of the night or I’ll make sure yourfriendis sacrificed.” A slight incline of her head is all the answer I get as music and dancers begin filling the floor below us.
With a gentle but firm grip on her arm, I steer her back to the table, pushing her into the seat I vacated earlier. My brothers drop into the seats on either side of her as I remain standing. Keeping a silent vigil over my newest obsession.
THREE