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MICHAEL immediately shoved Coraline behind his back as the door swung open. She tried to push her way past him, but the bond made him stronger, and him simply holding his arm in front of her felt like she was ramming her whole body into a brick wall. Coraline quickly fixed the top of her dress when she recognized the two women entering the suite, knowing that from the looks of their faces, this could mean nothing but trouble.
Venable walked in carefully, allowing her cane to guide her. Ms. Mead, of course, was trailing behind her, lips pulled into a wicked grin. Coraline realized she couldn't hear any music coming from downstairs, nor did she hear the happy shouts of partying survivors. It was quiet – too quiet.
"Ladies," Michael sneered, recovering from their surprise visit, "I'm a little busy right now."
Venable hummed, "This won't take long." Ever so slowly, her eyes slid to Coraline's, hiding beneath Michael's towering form. Venable's brows knitted together when she noticed the protective arm he had in front of the brunette woman. "Coraline Avery," she called, mouth contorting into a frown, "why didn't you stay for ... for the festivities? You missed our little treat."
Coraline knew then that she had been right. Could she have prevented it? Maybe, but the future is hard to reverse, and fate wants things to stay in place. If she hadn't gotten so distracted ... maybe she could've saved someone – anyone. Maybe she could've saved Gallant, or Mallory. The quietness coming from downstairs became deafening. She refused to go down there now; she refused to see the mess of apples and bloody vomit that she wanted to counteract.
Eventually, Coraline cleared her throat, glancing to Michael for a moment, before turning back to Venable. "Langdon wanted to see me," she replied. "He ... wanted to congratulate me on being selected for the Sanctuary."
From the corner of her eye, she saw Michael rub at the bridge of his nose and sigh heavily. Both Venable and Ms. Mead's expressions became muddled. Michael finally turned back to the two women with a huge smirk.
"Miss Avery is lying," he stated proudly, making Coraline's eyes grow wide. "She has been coming to my suite every night for weeks now. We have been engaged in copulation." Michael clicked his tongue and paused between his next few words, "Every. Damn. Night."
Coraline gripped his arm tightly, mouth twisting into a tight frown. "Michael, stop it –"
Venable was shaking with anger. She hadn't even noticed Coraline's slip of Michael's real name. Venable was too distracted by her own rage. Her whole body vibrated, and not even Ms. Mead's hand on her shoulder could help contain her fury. "Mr. Langdon," she spoke with gritted teeth, "is this your admittance to seducing one of my survivors?"
"You do not own the inhabitants of this Outpost, Ms. Venable," Michael spat. "You have tried time and time again to make this place over in your image, when that was not in your place to do. Especially, when you thought that no one who knew any better would ever be around to notice these new rules. You were to follow the directives I drafted."
