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Mason

“Mr. Ashwood?”

I looked up from my seat to see a young man standing by me, a hesitant expression on his face.

“Yes?” I said, stifling a yawn.

“Prophet Chastain would like to see you. Now, please.”

“Did he say what it’s about?” I asked, immediately on high alert. Fuck. What if he’d discovered the true nature of my stay?

The young man shook his head. “No. Follow me, please.”

He led me to some sort of meeting room in the men’s section, not far from my suite. Jacob was inside, sitting by a small table. Jolie was there too, a downcast expression on her face. She didn’t meet my eyes when I entered the room.

“You wanted to see me, Prophet Chastain?” I said.

Jacob smiled up at me. “Mason! Thank you for coming.”

I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Whoever was in trouble here, it wasn’t me. But that meant…

Shit.Jolie.

I cast a worried glance her way, but she didn’t look back at me.

“Take a seat,” Jacob said, patting the table. “We have some things to discuss.”

“Okay. Shoot.”

Jacob flashed Jolie a dirty look before returning his attention to me. “My daughter came to me this morning to admit her latest round of sins.” He sneered over at her again. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her. Every time I think she’s finally trying to be good, she finds a new way to disappoint me.”

“I’m sorry, Father,” Jolie murmured.

Jacob slammed a hand down on the table, making her jump. “I did not grant you permission to speak!”

Fuck, I wanted to knock this fucking prick’s teeth out so badly.

He looked back at me. “I’m not sure you know this, given you’ve only been here for a couple of weeks, but I’ve been set on marrying Jolie to Danny Miller for a while. Unfortunately, I’ve had some disappointing news.”

I lifted a brow. “What’s that?”

“Jolie has informed me she has been having immoral thoughts about Danny. Lustful thoughts.”

Oh, really?I stared over at Jolie again, both brows raised now. Her cheeks were pink, and she still wouldn’t meet my gaze.

Jealousy trickled like poison through my veins as I pictured her fantasizing about this other man. I knew who he was now. Met him at breakfast this morning. He was about Jolie’s age. Tall blond string-bean of a guy with a long hawk nose. Apparently he was the son of Thomas Miller, a former Elder who died of a heart attack a few years ago.

“She has also admitted to having sinful thoughts about you, Mason,” Jacob went on. “But not of lust. Of loathing. Most likely because of how you got her in trouble as soon as you arrived here. While I can understand that, it is still unacceptable for a woman to view a man in such a negative way. Women must love and worship men as they love and worship God.”

My lips were in a thin line now. What the hell was happening here? Was Jolie seriously that pissed at me over my first day here? Did she really want to screw this other asshole?

“Anyway,” Jacob went on, leaning forward. “As admirable as it is that Jolie would come forward to admit these sins, rather than let herself get caught for them once they begun to rot her soul, she must still be punished.”

“Of course.” I nodded.

“We can kill two birds with one stone here. As a woman is not supposed to feel any thoughts of lust, let alone sexual pleasure, I am nipping this in the bud by changing my marriage plans for Jolie. She will no longer marry Danny in the spring, given her inappropriate feelings toward him. I will pair him with our widow Lauren instead. And you, Mason… you will be paired with Jolie. Provided you want to stay after your trial period is up, of course.”

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