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“Don’t—” I began. “Rhyder wouldn’t like that—he—”

But she stopped me with a quick slap to my face, making my teeth chatter in my head.

“Stop talking, cunt.”

Then with a swish of her skirts, she was gone.

For several moments, I leaned against the building, holding my throbbing cheek.

What would my brother do when he found out?

He couldn’t find out!

I was not Rhyder’s Helpmeet. Officially, I was no more than a camp whore, and she as Enforcer’s Wife could punish me any way she chose. Even kill me.

Was that what she planned for me?

I hurried home, trembling, to put a cold cut of meat on my face, and luckily it seemed to work to decrease the swelling.

Rhyder came home later, excited about the progress against Ronan, reporting that they had sent different groups of Congregants to attempt to cut or damage more segments of the strong electrical fences that surrounded his Congregation.

“You have to promise me one thing,” he said later in bed.

“What?” I asked sleepily.

I didn’t want to admit to myself how fucking my brother was the only thing that distracted me from my terror about what would happen to me now that he had shown his love and devotion to the entire Congregation.

Rhyder couldn’t save me from Generosity. According to the Holy Writ, she had every right to punish me.

“Promise me you won’t leave the house on the night of the Bloodmoon Ritual.”

I rolled over sideways, causing Rhyder to groan as he stroked down the curve of my waist and hips.

“Why?”

“Promise me. It’s not safe, and I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“How is it not safe?”

“Promise me,” he growled, his fingers biting into the soft skin of my hips.

“OK, godsdamn, Rhyder. All right, all right.”

His fingers dug in like a bruise.

“I promise.”

Only then did he relax, but just barely, and his release was still wet and sticky on my thighs, when he flipped me over on top of him, moving my hips over his cock with hypnotic drugging waves.

I was filled with trepidation going into the next Spiritual Guidance session.

This time, the Prophet did not say anything to Rhyder about me, and my brother’s hand rested on my neck. Big. Warm. Comforting.

It didn’t happen until the end of the session.

“And now,” Eli said. “Helpmeet Generosity, do you have any discipline to enforce among the Congregation’s whores?”

She looked stunning, wearing a long petal pink dress and a delicate pink headscarf shot with silver to match.