84 ball to the wall

Ball to the wall

The annual syndicate ball was a yearly event that was designed to allow each family to enter an almost completely neutral stance with one another while also flexing their own power. It was considered one of the most important events in the pursuit of becoming a family head as it allowed for connections to be made and power to be portrayed

Cane himself had spent a large amount of his free time in the past few months taking care to organize nearly every facet of his own plans for the ball, carefully organizing his own resources and supporters so that they could optimally provide the message that he was to become the next family head. And with only a few members of his generation vying for the title and most of them no longer living it wasn't that hard.

And because of the sheer importance that he was placed on the event and the relative enormity of what Jasmin was asking for Cane simply stared at her for a second before eventually speaking, his voice absence of humor and instead taking a much more serious tone

"Do you understand what you are asking for?" He demanded, keeping his tone level as he looked at the woman sitting opposite him, as Jasmin stared back at him, smirking

"I know what the event entails" Jasmin nodded, before lifting her blood bag and taking a sip, and then licking her lips "and i understand what taking me as your partner would mean…"

"That I have no plans to marry into another branch or family, and that I will instead be courting women from outside the syndicate… something frowned upon by a fair portion of the older members and elders" Cane answered, frowning as he looked at her, picking up his pen and laying it on the table

"Once you met me you never had a chance to anymore anyway" Jasmin shrugged as she got up and walked over to him, actually coming over and taking a seat in his lap and wrapping her hands around him in an embrace before whispering in his ear "you are mine"

For a moment Cane simply sat there, both enjoying the feeling of Jasmin's body against his own and letting the cogs in his mind swirl and churn as he searched for an answer to the problem in front of him

He had promised Jasmin a reward and this was what she had asked for. He couldn't deny her without breaking his word, and that was something he refused to do, his pride as a member of the Barlow main family. He cast his mind back for a moment to think of the past few family heads, had any of them married from outside the family?

His father and his mother were both members, although his father came from the main branch and his mother from the South African Branch and royal family. His grandfather was a steadfast traditionalist, whether ruling or at home and so had his mother before him

Tradition and Customs were an extremely important points of the Syndicate; he could only think of two heads who had ever married from outside. Derik August and Seren Drake, Leandro's father

Derik August had an arranged marriage that was supported by the Syndicate to create ties between the families of August and the royal family of China, and Seren Drake had married an outsider out of necessity as most of the families looked down upon the Drake family

Was he going to marry Jasmin or one of the girls? Probably, he didn't have much choice on that, they weren't going to take no for an answer. Meaning if he was going to announce that publicly he needed to do what Seren had done

"We'll need to provide a front of complete Authority and Strength" Cane said, addressing the woman in his lap, who hummed in response, but he felt the room get colder by a few degrees as Jasmin realized what that meant "you know what that means"

"You need more "employees" to show strength," Jasmin said, her voice colder than a frozen lake

"You need Alice, Akari, and… Kira" She growled

****

[Alice pov]

"That BITCH!" Alice yelled internally as she felt her body slam across the roofs of the city's residential area, Wolfey was of course, in control at the moment. She had gotten so caught up in torturing that damn false prophet that she hadn't even noticed the others leave the building "She's stealing my personal time with CANE!"

"WELL IT'S YOUR FAULT FOR MAKING US TAKE SO DAMN LONG!" a much louder voice yelled back from the depths of her mind as her body once more launched across the buildings, instinctively chasing the scent of Cane, Straight in the direction of his apartment "YOU WERE SO BUSY RIPPING OUT HIS INTESTINES THAT YOU FORGOT THE LOVE OF OUR LIVES" Wolfey growled back angrily

"You were the one who wanted us to make him remember us! That was a complete waste of time!" Alice snarled back, remembering the hours she had spent trying to "Jog" Lazarus's memory, only for it to be a fruitless endeavor

"I miss Cannnnne…" Wolfey whined, howling in sadness as they flew at high speed

…

"Me too" Alice agreed sadly, sadness filling her heart for a moment, they hadn't had any real time to talk since their date, and even during their therapy sessions they had been forced to keep the flirting to a minimum as Cane insisted that they keep a relatively professional tone during sessions, seeing as they were meant for her mental health "I'm so going to have my way with him one of these days" she grumbled

"No" Wolfey answered back, her voice silky and slightly lewd sounding

"WE will have our way with him

****

[Kira pov]

"Is this Heaven?!" Adina asked as Kira walked her into the luxurious front office of a certain apartment building

"No" Kira shook her head, mildly amused by the girl's antics, despite the fierce pinch of rage in her chest that had yet to disappear "this is Cane's home"

"Same thing" Adina whispered as she ran into a nearby elevator, leaving her behind