The devils hunt a dark l.., p.1
The Devil's Hunt: A Dark Legacy Romance, page 1
THE DEVIL’S HUNT
A DARK LEGACY ROMANCE
THE BROTHERHOOD
BOOK 1
E.L. EMKEY
Copyright © 2024 by E.L. Emkey
All rights reserved.
ISBN 979-8-89298-068-5
ISBN 979-8-89298-069-2 (ebook)
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the author.
E.L. Emkey
Authore.l.emkey@gmail.com
The Devil’s Hunt is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Editing & Proofreading: C. Hanan Editing
Discreet Cover Art: Acacia at Ever After Cover Designs
Limited Edition Cover Art: Designs By Charly
Interior Formatting: Designs By Charly
Book Promotion: Jordan at Euphoric Promotions
PR Box Exclusive Art: Such A Good Girl Book Art
PR Box Exclusive Art: Allie Maddox
PR Box Exclusive Melts: Haunted Delights
For all the girls that want to be devoured by the devil. Get on your knees and pray to your savior…
FOREWORD
“You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. I have loved none but you.”
-Jane Austen-
CONTENT WARNINGS
The Devil’s Hunt is a DARK legacy romance. It is meant to be read standalone; however, there will be additional books in The Brotherhood Series with cameos by all characters. The content of this book is heavy and may be triggering for some readers. Please do not take your mental health lightly. It is never my intention as an author to cause distress, so please do not go into this book blind. If you feel that there are content warnings that I should add to my book, please reach out to me through my email or Instagram DMs. To avoid spoilers, I have created a document with trigger warnings on Instagram at the link in my bio. However, if you treat trigger warnings as a shopping list, I’ve shared some of them below…
Graphic sexual content, which includes, violent sex, choking, adult toys, praise kink, voyeurism, exhibitionism, masturbation, edging, consensual non-consent, non-consent, dub-con, primal play, mask play, murder, death, mention of torture, mutilation, mental illness, drug use, alcohol use, being drugged, somnophilia, stalking, attempted SA, kidnapping, mention of human trafficking, cult, profanity, forced sexual relations, restraints, knife play, blood play, ass play, clit spanking.
PLAYLIST
“Lacuna” By LOWBORN
“Power” By Isak Danielson
“Killer” By Valerie Broussard
“Love On The Brain.” By Rihanna
“Renegade” By Aaryan Shah
“The Summoning” By Sleep Token
“Dark Signs” By Sleep Token
“Dethrone” By Bad Omens
“Fire On Fire” By Sam Smith
“The Death Of Peace Of Mind” By Bad Omens
“Bad Decisions” By Bad Omens
“River” By Bishop Briggs
“Desire-Slowed” By Hucci
“Do It For Me” By Rosenfeld
“The Kill (Bury Me)” By Thirty Seconds To Mars
“Afterlife” By Hailee Steinfeld
“Give” By Sleep Token
“Big Bad Wolf” By Roses and Revolutions
“Dirty Mind” By Boy Epic
“Fade To Blue” By Roniit
“You Should See Me In A Crown” By Billie Eilish
“My Eyes” By Toby Mai
“Easy To Love” By Bryce Savage
“Too Much Faith In The Devil” By Bleed The Wicked Menace
“Blank Space” By I Prevail
“I Found” By Amber Run
“Fire On Fire” By Sam Smith
“All This Time” By Toby Mai
“Grave Half Empty” By Diggy Graves
“Alkaline” By Sleep Token
“Just Pretend” By Bad Omens
“Wicked Little Monster” By Veda
“Rain” By Sleep Token
“On The Hunt” By BertieBanz
“Obsessed” By Zandros, Limi
“Ritual” By AWAY, Echos
“No More Hiding” By Gina Brooklyn
“The Bad Angel” By Nikki Idol
“Arsonist’s Lullabye” By Hozier
“Ghosts” By Colorblind
“In My Mind” By M86 & Susie Q
“Shut Up And Listen” By Nicholas Bonnin, Angelicca
“So Cold” By Breaking Benjamin
“Formaldehyde Footsteps” By BertieBanz
“In The Dark” By Bleed The Wicked Menace
“Transparent” By Elysion
“Eyes On Fire” By Blue Foundation
“Hallelujah” By Underoath
“I Would Die For You” By In This Moment
“Fool” By Nostalghia, Tyler Bates
“Wicked Gonna Come” By Blues Saraceno & Nine One One
“Follow You Into The Dark” By Alan Wake & RAKEL
“Sinner” By Of Virtue
“GODDESS” By Written By Wolves
“Wicked Game” By Witchz
“Plastic Heart” By Nostalghia, Tyler Bates, & Joel J. Richard
“Watch Me Die” By Martin Wave & ASHBY
“The Ghost Of You” By The Veer Union
“Killing Strangers” By Marilyn Manson
“Skin And Bones” By David Kushner
“Cigarette” By Shaya Zamora
“Ride For You” By Sani Knight, Bosquet
“No Mercy” By Austin Georgio
“Higher” By Sleep Token
“Gasoline” By Halsey
“Caves” By CLANN
“Glass Houses” By Bad Omens
“Whore” By In This Moment
“Stay” By Colorblind
CONTENTS
1. One
Mila
2. Two
Mila
3. Three
Mila
4. Four
Archer
5. Five
Mila
6. Six
Mila
7. Seven
Archer
8. Eight
Mila
9. Nine
Archer
10. Ten
Mila
11. Eleven
Mila
12. Twelve
Archer
13. Thirteen
Mila
14. Fourteen
Mila
15. Fifteen
Archer
16. Sixteen
Mila
17. Seventeen
Archer
18. Eighteen
Mila
19. Nineteen
Archer
20. Twenty
Mila
21. Twenty-One
Mila
22. Twenty-Two
Mila
23. Twenty-Three
Mila
24. Twenty-Four
Archer
25. Twenty-Five
Mila
26. Twenty-Six
Archer
27. Twenty-Seven
Mila
28. Twenty-Eight
Mila
29. Twenty-Nine
Archer
30. Thirty
Mila
31. Thirty-One
Mila
32. Thirty-Two
Archer
33. Thirty-Three
Archer
34. Thirty-Four
Mila
35. Thirty-Five
Mila
36. Thirty-Six
Archer
37. Thirty-Seven
Mila
38. Thirty-Eight
Mila
39. Thirty-Nine
Mila
40. Forty
Archer
41. Forty-One
Mila
42. Forty-Two
Archer
43. Forty-Three
Mila
44. Forty-Four
Archer
45. Forty-Five
Mila
46. Epilogue
Kai
Sneak Peek of Book Two in The Brotherhood Series
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by E.L. Emkey
1
ONE
MILA
“Come on, Mila, you have to go out tonight. This is one of St. Mary’s biggest parties of the year.” Lacey, my overzealous and beautiful blonde roommate’s voice rang through my ears like a siren as she tried to coerce me into attending the social event of the year at St. Mary's University—a private college full of prestige, and a place where the rich and powerful sent their children, competing in an unspoken battle for power. It was a Catholic college everyone dreamed of going to. We were the ones that everyone wanted to be, the ones that the outside world couldn’t touch. There was so much money wrapped up in this school, it was like Hogwarts. You had to get a special letter of admittance to attend, which only meant that Daddy had to fork out a pretty penny to get you on the waitlist, and then even more money to
My father had spent most of his life working hard so he could one day splash his money around at parties and have something to brag about to his wealthy buddies. That he had a child attending one of the most exclusive universities in existence just gave him more fuel for the fire. He dreamt of having a son who would follow him into the world of stocks and bonds, but instead, he got a daughter who refused to break rules and was a pink-wearing, animal-loving book nerd who had no interest in joining the corporate world of assholes and pricks. When he realized his dreams of passing on his trading business were doomed, he found St. Mary’s—a place where his cash could buy anything…including my freedom. He paid exorbitant amounts of money just to put me on the waitlist—enough money to wash his hands clean of me, but also boast about the esteemed school his only child was attending.
He was running for governor of New York, so as of late, he liked for me to attempt to try and win over the rich and famous old guys or their sons in order to gain their favor. I hated every second of it. But I knew that he could ruin my life with a snap of his fingers. Send me away to a place far worse than St. Mary’s without even batting an eye. The walls of privilege around me were impenetrable, imprisoning my freedom and crushing my dreams of living the life I wanted—the life I would choose.
As Lacey whined in my ear about how I had to attend, that in my two years of attending St. Mary’s, I had gone out only once, and that disastrous night ended with me retching endlessly until my stomach felt as though it had been wrung inside-out and cast aside. Even the memory of that night made my stomach churn and bile rise in my throat.
“You can’t stay cooped up, hovering over your books for four years. You are literally my only friend who is a virgin, and you’re about to be twenty-one on Halloween. Which just so happens to be the best time to dress up like a slut, fuck somebody random, and do the walk of shame back to your dorm room, like every other girl here,” she argued.
“Hey, leave my virginity out of it. And for the record, I like my books, and I like doing my homework.”
“Ok, virginity aside,” she huffed and sat next to me, cradling my hands in hers and pouting her lips, determined to change my mind. “Will you please go to the bonfire with me tonight? At the very least, you can babysit me and make sure I don’t end up in Chad’s bed again.” She grimaced and exaggerated a shiver like she was disgusted at the thought.
We both knew she wasn’t.
Chad was her vice and usually who she went home with when she couldn’t find anyone else. With her peppy personality and his lack of brains, they oddly fit really well together.
“Also, you know that the next couple of weeks is where they scope out prospects for their Halloween Hunt. If you don’t go, you won’t even be considered.”
They were the elite of the elite at St. Mary’s, protected by more money and status than a celebrity. The Halloween Hunt, better known as The Devil’s Hunt, was an event that was talked about every year. This was a cult-like, fucked-up Halloween event that included a masked hunt where, when you were caught, you were either Chosen or sent home. There were rumors that those who were Chosen became sex slaves for several of the elite, and that there was some sort of perk to being their slave. You got to be part of the best parties, the status, the money, and the mind-blowing sex—or so I heard. To me, it just seemed like a way for powerful men to fuck around and have someone at their beck and call, objectifying the female gender just like old times.
What could possibly be the perk of being used as a sex slave?
Along with the rumors of this brotherhood cult engaging in orgies, the rumors of murder and sacrifice to appease whatever dark deity they worshiped spread rapidly, and when people went missing in town or girls disappeared, everyone on campus assumed it was because of this mysterious society that went by many names. The one that seemed to stick, however, was The Brotherhood of Darkness—the masters of fear and enslavers of souls.
I didn’t want to be considered as a prospect, but at the same time, I was curious about what happened to the Chosen. If that meant I sat through one of the bonfires to not only make sure Lacey didn’t get murdered in the cornfield, but also see if she was chosen to attend The Devil’s Hunt, then I would. If only to know if the rumors were true or if it was all just urban legend, because I loved that girl, but one thing she couldn’t do is keep a secret. And this super-secret brotherhood cult bullshit, I was sure, would have stories her big mouth wouldn’t be able to keep to herself—especially when it came to her best friend.
“What do you say, Mila? Will you be my date to the bonfire?” she begged insistently, her perfect face contorted into a pout.
She was committed, I’d give her that.
A sinking feeling settled in my stomach, but I bit back my apprehension and nodded.
“Fine. I’ll go,” I sighed and slumped down into my chair.
Her eyes widened in delight, and she jumped up, letting out a squeal that made my ears ring. “Yay! You’re the best friend ever!”
“But only to make sure you don’t get killed by an ax murderer,” I protested half-heartedly.
“Yes! Now, let’s get you dressed in something more modern,” she said, sweeping her gaze disapprovingly over my plain black sweater, dark jeans, and toes tucked into black cat-printed slippers.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” I asked defensively, crossing my arms over my chest and tucking my feet farther beneath myself.
“Nothing if you are going for the frumpy cat-lady thing. This doesn’t scream ‘sexy, young, studious babe ready to have a good time and maybe make out with a hot college boy at one of the hottest parties of the century.’”
“But I am not trying to make out with a hot college boy,” I insisted weakly.
“The night is still young!” she declared with a mischievous glint in her eye. “To my closet, young Padawan. Let me transform you.”
She yanked me up and dragged me to the vanity of her boudoir, where she lathered my face with more makeup than I had ever worn before. Bottle after bottle and tube after tube was caked onto my skin, but she refused to let me look in a mirror until she was finished. I expected to look like a circus clown by the time she finally stepped away. She curled my hair and then started pulling dresses over my head. I objected to every single one, but there was no use arguing with her; besides, I didn't have the heart to crush her spirit, and my protests fell on deaf ears, anyway. I think she had me try on over twenty dresses before she clasped her hands on her mouth and was speechless for the first time in her life.
“What?” I exclaimed.
“Mila, girl, you look hot as fuck.” She grasped my shoulders and gently spun me around to face the full-length mirror.
I didn’t recognize the girl looking back at me. My waist-length black hair cascaded in thick curls down to my mid-back, while my amber eyes were lined with heavy black eyeliner that truly made them glow under the light. My already long lashes were thickly coated with mascara and a smoky eyeshadow that made them appear feline-like. The finishing touch was nothing less than scandalous: deep red lipstick across my full lips and a skin-tight, long-sleeved, little black dress revealing every curve of my body before flowing loosely down to mid-thigh. I wasn’t sure I had ever shown this much leg before in my life, but I’d never felt so beautiful.
“Wow,” I whispered and ran my hands down my body, marveling at the curves I didn’t realize I had.
“Now, to finish off this ensemble. Put these boots on.” She handed me black, knee-high boots with a flat sole. “Sexy, but practical. You don’t want to get a heel stuck in the mud out there. Trust me, it’s a lady boner killer.”
Adrenaline surged through my veins as I zipped up the boots and watched her finish getting ready, snapping what felt like a hundred pictures of the both of us and posting on her Instagram with captions like, “Cinderella is ready for the ball,” and “Look who I convinced to come out. She’s hot, right?”
