Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 167204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 557(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 557(@300wpm)
“Well, I don’t want you hanging out with the Blue Bloods,” I tell him. “So, you listen to my advice, and I’ll listen to yours.”
“It’s not the same thing,” he says.
“You’re right. The Zetas aren’t psychopaths and killers.”
He’s annoyed, but it takes him a minute to formulate a response. “Not necessarily, but they’re no angels, either. And there are certain Zetas that I can’t easily protect you from,” he says, the words seeming to hurt on their way out, “so I’d prefer to keep you out of their path.”
I frown. “I don’t think I need protecting from sorority girls, Killian.”
“Can you just trust me on this? If you like Addison and you want to be friends with her, fine, but do it away from the Zeta house, please. Bring her here or meet her somewhere on campus. Meet her at a coffee shop, I don’t care, but… follow Aubrey’s example on this and don’t get pulled into their bullshit.”
Since I can tell his objections are rooted in genuine feelings of concern, I ease up a little. “Before the auction, Addison and I were talking to Ryan and that Vanessa girl came over. Addison said she was a legacy, and her parents met in college.”
“Yeah. Her dad’s a Blue Blood. Like a lot of girls raised by Blue Bloods, she wants to marry one. It can go the other way. After being raised by a Blue Blood, some girls would rather die than date one. All depends on the girl’s personality, the example her father set, whatever. But in Vanessa’s case, she came to Calhoun set on two things: being a Zeta and marrying a Blue Blood. The Zeta part was easy. Her mom was one, so she was a legacy. That’s pretty much a guarantee. It’s not the same for us. If a Blue Blood has a son and he wants him to be a Blue Blood, we certainly take that into account, but if the guy’s a fuck-up, we’re not going to pollute the group for everyone else by taking him. Legacy status does not guarantee entry, and they know that. It has to be that way, or the group would get watered down a couple of generations in—especially these days. The world is different than when Vanessa’s dad walked these halls. And girls who come here looking to marry a Blue Blood, they’ve been bred for us. They appreciate the unique qualities we possess, our willingness to do what needs doing. Your Zeta girlfriend whose dad is a Blue Blood grew up with a ruthless man in her life. You kill a guy for her, she’s not going to get upset and flip out about it, she’ll rub your shoulders and give you a kiss wherever you want one to express her appreciation. They may not be psychopaths and killers, but they’re raised to be very good girls who are very comfortable being in the proximity of psychopaths and killers.”
“Oh,” I murmur. “Well, they didn’t mention that during rush.”
“I bet,” he says lightly. “Vanessa’s a freshman, so in her case, her dad let us all know she was coming and she was interested in marrying a Blue Blood, but, unfortunately, none of us wanted her. Then we tapped Dare, so we had new blood and she thought, okay, maybe this one is the one for me. But he came with his girlfriend from high school. We let him know, if he wasn’t that attached to Aubrey and he was open to other options, there is a Blue Blood marriage on the table, and those come with perks. It tends to be a dowry situation, and you’re marrying into an established Blue Blood family so… it’s just very advantageous, especially if you’re marrying a more traditional Blue Blood who only had daughters, or who had a son but… he passed before he could take over. That’s like inheriting a kingdom. Obviously, Dare wasn’t interested either, but he was the one she pinned all her hopes on after the rest of us passed, so… she couldn’t let go, I guess. Maybe next year when they tap someone else, she’ll lay off Dare and set her sight on one of them for a husband, or she could marry an older Blue Blood who has already graduated. But there’s always the chance she just doesn’t get what she wants. Not everyone gets picked. The trouble is, because these girls are raised by ruthless fathers and that kind of thing is more normalized to them, they tend to be a different breed. They’re more tolerant of ruthless acts, and therefore it’s not off the table they’ll perform some themselves if they must in order to snag the Blue Blood husband they’re after. It’s a long-term investment; if she snags him, he’ll be doing the dirty work for her for the rest of their lives. There have been instances where there isn’t a Blue Blood husband available, or the particular husband a girl wants is with someone else, so the girl decides to… free him up.”