Page 27 of His Obsession
“What about right now?” he asks.
“I want to believe that you were brought into my life for a reason. I want to believe that she left everything to me as a way of guiding me where I needed to be, but I’m scared I’m wrong.”
“I don’t think either of us are wrong,” he says. “Everyone in this room is under the common belief that you and I are destined to be together.”
“Is that part of the cult thing?” I ask and Bradley cackles.
“Partly,” Lucian smirks.
“What is the rose for?” I ask.
"Sit with me and I’ll explain,” he says. When I nod, he sits down, but grabs my hips and pulls me into his lap to straddle him. “Trust me when I say you’ll want to just focus on me for this.”
“Okay,” I say simply.
“For generations, we have celebrated various things in different ways. We celebrate the winter solstice and spring equinox. Birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings are also celebrated. And Halloween. Every Halloween, the men get to choose a partner to participate in the celebration with. Within three weeks prior, they will court this person in whatever way is the most fitting. During this, their partner will give consent as time progresses.When given consent, the chosen partner will drink an herbal tea that acts as a sedative to allow him to do as they please while they sleep. One week before, they leave a single black rose on this pillow with a note to show that they wish for this person to participate in the offering. Traditional the man picks the woman, but it is widely accepted that anyone can pick anyone. Last year, Mallory chose Derrick.”
“Uh… I have a lot of questions,” I say.
“Start with one at a time,” he says.
“What is the difference between a black and red rose?” I ask.
“Black indicates that it is for one Halloween only,” he says. “Red is a proposal of marriage.”
“Uhm… I’ll come back to that,” I say, making him smile. “What is the offering for me specifically?”
“It’s simple. If you consent, it’s like a game of hide and seek. You will be my prey for the evening. If I find you, you are mine forever. If I don’t, you have your freedom, and I won’t pursue you anymore,” he says.
“How do I consent?” I ask.
“You submit,” he says. “You present yourself in any outfit of your choosing, or no outfit if you prefer. All of the predators for the evening will be masked so you are required to have complete faith that not only will I keep you safe from others, but that I will uphold your boundaries. Giving consent and presenting yourselfmeans no safe word. No way out. I can do whatever I want without limitations.”
“You said I would have to have faith that you will keep me safe from others. Does that mean that someone else could get a hold of me?” I ask.
“Absolutely,” he says. “The entire town will be here the night of Halloween. The entire gated community is available, but houses that are not your own or your predators are off limits.”
“So there are a select number of predators and prey paired with others?” I ask.
“They can trap the prey and do as they please. They can sabotage either of them to ensure pairing or that the prey isn’t found,” he says. “If you are trapped by someone and they choose to fuck you, they are required to wear a condom no matter what they are doing. If you have any question as to if someone is supposed to be wearing a condom, you may ask them to reveal their face if they’re not wearing one.”
“So, say that they reveal themselves and it’s not you,” I ask.
“Then there will be severe consequences. It is held to the same standard as rape at that point. You are consenting to sex unprotected with your predator but protected with anyone else who traps you. Anything outside of that is nonconsensual.”
“Can other predators trap prey that is not their own?” I ask.
“Absolutely, as long as they have not captured their prey,” he answers.
“So, I could get a train run on me by the whole town?” I ask.
“If you suck that badly at hide and seek, sure,” he laughs.
“Okay,” I say. “So, if I don’t consent to the game, what then?” I ask.
“You’ll be asked to stay inside during the game or to plan to not be home, so you are not mistaken for a player,” he says. “Also, I will then stop pursuing you if you don’t consent to the games.”
“What if I’m better at hide and seek than you, but I want to be caught?” I ask.