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The sash of leather in her father’s hand came from nowhere as he beat her with the belt. The sting of contact across her cheek, arms, and neck made her cry out. The metallic tang of blood could be smelled in the air as she strained to get away from him.
“Please stop, Father.” Her cries fell on deaf ears as he continued the assault.
Her clothes were in a tattered mess, hanging off her body when he finally finished. “Tomorrow you will be tossed into the pit. The snakes will decide your fate.” As the door closed behind him, Sage struggled to understand what had just happened. Why he would beat her so severely.
The locking of the door was like a nail in her coffin.
She might as well be dead.
Loch made a trip out to where Sage lived every night, hoping for just a glimpse of the girl. Craving to see her bright eyes. A young woman wanting to be accepted; dare he even say loved.
As he approached the gates to the property, the sun had just gone down, and he could make out plenty of lights illuminating the dark sky as men and women moved around. Unsure if they had a security system or not, Loch kept to the shadows.
Chanting caught him off guard, but he couldn’t make out what was being said. The tone and intensity of it caused him to worry. Not only about Sage, but others on the property. He watched and listened until late into the night. When nothing happened, he finally left. Giving up hope of seeing the object of his affection.
Feeling defeated, Loch drove the hour back home to an empty house he’d only bought eight months ago. After moving out of his mom’s house, he felt more alone than he ever had. Seeing Nox and Levi find their girls, he was as impatient as ever now.
His brothers had always referred to him as a different breed of man because when it came to women, he was either too shy to interact or disinterested altogether.
Before their father passed away, the man had been insistent that Loch wouldn’t settle for anything less than what was his. That when he found the one girl meant for him, she would become the passion he often felt was missing from his life.
Until he’d spied Sage, he thought there was something wrong with him. That he was defective in the love department. He’d feared never being so consumed with someone that he couldn’t breathe. Miraculously, from the moment their eyes met, he’d known she was it.
Staying away from her was making him miserable, and not knowing her age only made things worse. Just the idea of running his fingers through her silky snow-colored hair was enough to turn him on. He was obsessed with her uniqueness, her beauty. He couldn’t imagine another girl in the world gathering his attention like she had.
After Hayes’ graduation on the weekend, he was going to figure shit out. He was going to learn as much about Sage as possible so he could create a plan of action. He needed her in his life, and there wasn’t a soul that could stop him.
Entering his home, Loch walked up the stairs, stripping as he went. Saddened as he made his way to his room.
Wanting.
Needing.
Craving a girl, he couldn’t yet have.
Chapter Three
Worry looks around. Regret looks back. Faith looks forward.
“I can’t do this. Please, Lord, I beg of you. Don’t make me do this.” Sage didn’t know why she bothered to pray when her call was never answered. God had abandoned her in her time of greatest need.
She would have no savior. No forgiveness. The snakes would feed off her open wounds and poison her soul.
Sage was beyond saving, and as she passed other members on her way to confession before the cleanse, she saw the truth in their eyes. She was doomed. Soon to be sent to the meanest man in their village to do with as he pleased. She would never be free. She could seek guidance and forgiveness, but never would she be allowed to leave.
“Confess your sins,” her mother hissed from beside her as they entered the church in the field. The building, so tall and formidable, was supposed to be a place of light and peace, not degradation and damnation.
With her eighteenth birthday looming in less than a week’s time, Sage had convinced Joss not to seek outside help from Lochlan. With fear that her parents would somehow get him in trouble, she knew from Ashley that everything they were forcing on her was illegal. She could go to the police for help. Joss, Porter, and Tru could leave too.
“Kneel,” her mother hissed again, uncaring of Sage’s feelings.
On her knees in front of the altar, her father standing to the side, he was ready to listen to her sins.
“Confess,” he demanded as the doors closed. Her mother left.
Sage’s knees on the hardwood floor protested from the lashing she’d been given the night before. Her entire body burned as she struggled with what to do. She didn’t feel like she had done anything worth confessing.
Taking a deep breath and bowing her head, she said, “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.” The man stood there and waited. He always watched, never giving her what she so desperately sought. “I disobeyed again. I talked back and fought. My father punished me with a lashing, and soon, I’ll be cleansed. Bless me, oh Lord, before I am to be taken as Morgan’s bride into a marriage I do not seek.” Taking a deep breath, she continued. “Give me strength as I enter the pits. Give me resolve as I take to a life I cannot freely commit.” She purposely left out anything about Lochlan because she didn’t feel it was a sin. He was temptation, yes, but she knew in her heart of hearts that she was to be his bride. Therefore, she couldn’t beg forgiveness for anything she felt for him. “In thy name, I seek forgiveness and repent. Amen.” Sitting back, she waited on her father’s decision. Already knowing he was going to condemn her.
