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In the centre is a raised glass table. That’s where my sister will meet Maximus for the first time. We only see warriors when they are brought here. The rest of the time, they’re kept in separate bunkers beneath the village.

Once everyone is seated, my father stands and takes Summer by the hand. He leads her to the centre and unzips her lace dress, slipping it from her body, leaving her naked. The fear and uncertainty in her eyes makes me want to scream. This is barbaric .

If it was such an honour, it wouldn’t feel so wrong.

He lifts her to sit on the glass table, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead before laying her back.

She slides up a little, raising her feet onto the table and parting her legs.

My father takes her wrists and guides them above her head, taking the silk cuffs and securing them there.

Then he sits back beside my mother, who offers a proud smile his way.

I glance around at the other families, seeing if the daughters amongst them are feeling the same horror I am. But they don’t, making me wonder whether they’re all great actresses or if they truly believe in this ‘honour’.

The door opens, and we all turn to stare. Maximus is huge. His cuffs clank as he walks along the red carpet to where his new sacrifice is laid out. He’s naked too, his huge erection standing proudly, and I can’t hide my anxiety. How the hell will he even fit there?

The other families look on eagerly, excited to watch the impregnation of my sister. Poor Summer.

Maximus looks eager too, fisting his erection like a fucking animal as he moves closer.

I wince in disgust as his chains are loosened enough for him to approach Summer, while the guard remains by the side.

It’s a reminder that Maximus is animalistic.

Otherwise, why would the guards carry cattle prods?

Maximus climbs onto the table, crawling over Summer while pressing his nose to her stomach, dragging it up her body, continually sniffing her.

She turns her head to one side and a small squeak of panic leaves her as her eyes connect with mine.

I sense her terror as she silently pleads with me to help her.

I bite my lip until I taste blood, trying desperately to stay quiet.

The monster lines his erection up before surging forward, so fast and hard that Summer screams out in shock.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see my father sit straighter with his fists clenched tightly by his sides.

He’s angry because she made a noise. She’s embarrassing him, and if he could, he’d yell at her to shut up.

Maximus groans. It’s an animalistic sound that only causes more fear in my poor sister’s eyes.

He slowly withdraws from her, and I feel myself relaxing.

Maybe this is it. It’s over. She must think the same because she releases a long, shaky breath.

I give her a small reassuring smile, and then Maximus surges forward, impaling her again.

This time, it doesn’t stop, and he continues his onslaught, ignoring Summer as she openly cries out in pain and distress.

Father nudges Mother. “Get up there and shut her up,” he hisses.

Mother rushes up to the raised podium and strokes a hand over Summer’s hair. She whispers into her ear, and to the rest of the congregation, it appears to be words of encouragement, but I see the evil sparkle in my mother’s eye as she hisses threats of worse things to come.

“It hurts,” Summer replies. “It really hurts.”

Mother gently places a hand over Summer’s mouth and continues to hiss in her ear.

All the while, the monster fucks her, taking no notice of what’s around him.

I don’t blame him—it’s how he’s trained.

The warriors fight and fuck. They aren’t free to roam or join with the village.

They are treated like animals, raised like dogs.

They serve their masters in this sick game we’re all complicit in.

Without thinking, I push to my feet. My mouth opens a few times, but no words come out. Not until I see the blood smeared over my sister’s legs. “Stop,” I yell angrily. Father is glaring at me, and I swallow the panic ripping through me. “She’s hurt,” I cry desperately.

“Sit down,” he hisses.

“Don’t you care that she’s hurt?”

He tries to discreetly make a grab for me as everyone’s eyes turn our way. But no one is attempting to stop this charade. I run towards the podium, dodging a guard who also makes a grab for me, and I jump on the monster’s back. “Get off of her,” I yell, squeezing his neck as hard as I can.

“Jesus, Wynter. What the hell are you doing?” Mother screams.

Summer watches, almost smiling as I pummel the monster with my tiny fists while he tries to remove me, growling and bucking.

Then, I feel a sharp pain in my back, and I stiffen before falling from the podium with a thump. I stare up into Father’s furious eyes as he stands over me with the guard’s cattle prod. “Get her out of here,” he hisses angrily.

I wake, groaning out loud as I roll onto my back and find myself back in the ceremony room. It’s now quiet, and without moving an inch, I glance around to see everyone has gone. I sigh with relief and slowly push to sit, wincing as pain radiates through my body.

“Finally, she’s awake.” Father is sitting on the first pew, his cruel eyes trained on me. “Tell me, Wynter, what was the plan today?”

I swallow, but my mouth is so dry, my tongue sticks to the roof. I notice through the brightly stained glass windows around the top of the room that it is now dark outside, which means I’ve been passed out for some time. “He was hurting her,” I manage to croak out.

He sneers, pushing to stand, and I see he’s still holding the cattle prod. “After everything we have done for you,” he says, his voice dripping in anger, “this is how you repay us?”

He drags the cattle prod tip across the floor, and I eye it warily. “You have embarrassed your sister,” he suddenly roars, “but worst of all, you’ve embarrassed me.” He swings the prod, striking me across the head, and I fall onto my side. “You’ve made the Sanchez name a laughingstock,” he bellows.

When I try to sit up again, he presses his foot onto my thigh.

“Stay down,” he orders. “Now, remember what happens to girls who cannot follow the rules?” I feel a lump forming in my throat as he presses down harder on my thigh.

“You have disappointed so many people today, Wynter. Your punishment will be great, and it will be long.”

He removes his foot, and I stop myself from rubbing the painful area, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’s hurt me.

He reaches down, pushing his hand into my hair and curling it into a tight fist. Each hair feels like it’s ripping from my scalp as he pulls me to my feet.

I grab his wrist and stand tall on my tiptoes to try and lessen the pain.

“Girls who do not behave need lessons in how to please the heads of the families. Recite the words.”

“I don’t want to,” I whisper, tears betraying me as they fall down my cheeks.

He presses the cattle prod to my thigh. “Now,” he warns.

“We will honour our families. We are righteous and free. Bound to our fathers, we will serve until our last breath. Our fathers will protect and guide us along the path they have chosen, keeping us from evil.”

Wrath

I snarl, curling my fists into tight balls of anger. The pain stick is pressed to my side, and I hiss through gritted teeth, spittle leaving my lips. “Next time I tell you to fucking move, you move,” my guard growls.

The door to my room slides open, and he shoves me in, causing me to stumble. Fuck . If he didn’t have that stick in his hand, I’d rip him apart limb by limb. He’s half my size, just a man with anger issues and a God complex.

He lingers in the doorway, smirking. “And, mute,” he adds, “just for your attitude, you’ll be going hungry tonight.” Sneering, he steps back as the door slides closed. Fucking prick.

I glance around the room, noting it’s still a mess from when I lost my shit earlier.

I ignore it and drop down on my bed, closing my eyes.

I’ll never sleep without my meds, but there’s no way I’ll get them from that fucker.

At least if he thinks I’m sleeping, he might leave me alone for a few hours.