Page 71 of Be My Sinner

“It is right to give thanks to the Lord, my God, and to the Brotherhood which keeps its order.”

“Brothers, those of you who are husbands, love your wives and daughters, just as the Lord loves the Brotherhood and his people. In his ultimate sacrifice, he gave himself up for her to make her holy and worthy, cleansing her and making her sacred by the washing with water through his word and his laws, so that one day she would be able to present herself to him as a radiant sacred vessel, without tarnish or wrinkle or any other human blemish, but holy and blameless.” The Holy Father’s voice rises and becomes more forceful in tone, and no other sound can be heard around us, almost as if everyone has just forgotten to breathe.

“It is right to give thanks to the Lord, my God, and to the Brotherhood which keeps its order.”

He steps forward and places one of his large hands on the forehead of my mask over the veil and the other on Ezekiel’s against his mask. “The Lord requires that you come to him masked in your holy orders, one amongst his loyal members of the Brotherhood. On the day of your death, you will enter the Kingdom, and he shall call you by name in rewardment of your loyal service to his cause. It is then that you, too, shall be blessed and anointed. All of your sins will fade with the mask you no longer wear. For this is the word of the Sacrament and the Brotherhood which keeps its order.”

My eyes meet the Holy Father’s through the eye holes in his mask. Their immense, deep darkness calls to me, and tries to pull me into their depths. I feel a tremble start throughout my limbs, one I can’t seem to stop, and a small gasp leaves my mouth. Ezekiel’s fingers tighten on my arm, but even that feels insignificant.

“Child, I, as your representative of God and your male kin, give you in honor to Ezekiel David Rothesay, a Brother of the sacred Order of the Sacrament, so that he may glorify you before our Lord. Ezekiel, commence your vows.”

With the Holy Father’s hand pressed against the mask, I swear that I actually feel the heat from his palm, as if a warm light were trying to push its way into me. That fog sensation starts to crawl through my mind, and I want desperately to fight it, to leave this room with all these men who mean harm to me. My chest heaves with strained breaths, and my mouth dries up like a desert.

Ezekiel turns toward me, the Holy Father withdrawing his hand from Ezekiel’s forehead while still gripping mine, ensuring I remain steady and immobile. “Dinah Maria Camrose, you come before the Order as a Sacred Daughter, ready to become a Sacred Wife. As a female, you are steeped in sin. To be absolved and brought into the light, you must agree to be my sinner so that I may cleanse and purify you with my seed, and make you holy. Do you agree to be my sinner before all our brethren, so that one day you may enter the Kingdom of Heaven?”

Emerald eyes lock onto mine, causing my heart rate to quicken, until the only sound I can discern is the echoing thud of my own heartbeat in my ears. My hands tingle and grow clammy, almost losing their grasp on the bouquet. The heat sensation from the mask continues, but now it seems to radiate throughout my entire body.

What is happening to me? Something is not right here. Did they drug me?My mind is becoming sluggish, and all I want to do is agree with what they are asking me for. Agree, and I can be saved.I want to be saved, don’t I?

DINAH! Dinah, snap out of it!My mind screams, but it’s too late. “I, Dinah Maria Camrose, a Sacred Daughter, agree to be your sinner and become your Sacred Wife, so that I may be saved and glorified by the holy Order of the Brotherhood.”

“The Lord in his wisdom has brought this sinner to be glorified. As two become one, both shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This Sacred Daughter now becomes a Sacred Wife. In your commitment to strengthen the Order of the Brotherhood, you shall bear its sons and daughters, and be rewarded with the cleansing of your human sins.” The Holy Father’s voice wraps itself around us, shrouding us in its powerful embrace.

Zeke takes my left hand away from the bouquet, and slips a ring on my finger. I’m too stunned by what I have just done to even look down at it. His fingers squeeze mine before releasing them. “With this ring, I bind you, Dinah Maria Rothesay, to me until the moment you take your last breath on this earth, and we meet again in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

The choir starts chanting again, and I hear the members of the Brotherhood clapping all around us. The Holy Father finally releases me of his grip, and an instant cold sensation flies through my body, and brings me back to the here and now. Ezekiel offers me a sad smile, one that reaches those stunning eyes of his.

My fate is now tied to his.What the fuck have I just done?

Chapter 36

The Sinner

Dinah

Therestoftheceremony was a blur, of actions and words that I have very little recollection of. The only thing I do remember is the slicing of my palm, and then Ezekiel mixing his blood with mine in our joined hands, in some bullshit Brotherhood blood ritual, further tying us together. Then it was done, and I was indeed his in the eyes of the maggots before us.

I must have zoned out because when I blinked, Noah and Esther Rothesay stood before me, their fake smiles on their masked faces welcoming me into their family. Noah leaned forward while Esther embraced her son and whispered in my ear, “it is done; you are ours,”which was cryptic as fuck.

Esther could barely hold back the dissatisfaction and sneer, when it was her turn to embrace me as she called me daughter. Her whispered threat to“behave or else”made me chuckle.Trust me, bitch, I am no happier than you are about this whole mess.

Then Abraham stood before me, anguish and fury etched into his chiseled features, his mouth set in a harsh slant. His unmasked face offered no concealment for the thoughts or emotions tormenting him. His typically amber eyes now appeared dark and menacing as he leaned in, whispering into my ear. “I’m going to enjoy fucking you to death, Atasi. All this pain I’m enduring, get ready to feel some of it.”

He drew back and fixed his gaze on Ezekiel, a tumultuous storm of emotions sweeping across his face and body. His hands clenched at his sides, a struggle evident as he fought the urge to reach out and seize the man I was now destined to call my husband. I almost felt pity stir within me as I bore witness to the devastation and anguish he was experiencing due to Zeke’s actions.

Was he feeling betrayed, just like my brother must have felt before his death? When the two people who loved him left him to die? Karma is a cruel and terrifying mistress who will not be denied her comeuppance.

“You and I’ll have words after this is done. Forgiveness will not be readily given, and you had better have a damn good explanation.” He pivoted away from us and stalked up the nave, ignoring calls from Brotherhood members.

I heard the whispered‘Fuck’from Ezekiel at my side, but I ignored it. If he was having issues with his lover, that was his fucking problem. He dragged us all into this mess, where now I’m a possession of his.Well, at least until I can stab him to death.Which I prayed would be sooner rather than later.

My eyes search the cathedral for Sammy, but I never get more than a glimpse of his back as people make their way out of the pews and toward the exit. Pain echoes in my chest, knowing I’ve hurt him with my actions and words here today, regardless of whether they were forced.

Zeke’s tight hold on my arm forces me to go in the opposite direction, towards an antechamber to the side of the altar. The minute we cross the threshold into the empty room, he murmurs, “well done, Dinah. Who knew you could be obedient? I wonder if you’ll be such a good girl as I’m fucking all your pretty holes, and filling you with my cum?”

He lifts the veil away from my face and grabs my chin in his tight, bruising grasp before his mouth falls on mine, like a ravenous animal ready to devour its meal. I try to push him away, using all my strength. I even attempt to close my lips and teeth to him, but it’s useless as his other hand wraps around my throat and tightens without mercy.

His tongue plunders into mine, tasting me, and proving that he now owns me, regardless of my objections. My breath catches in my chest, and tightness commences as I struggle to get even a wisp of a breath through. I can feel my face flaming hot underneath the mask and darkness edging its way into my sight. He is going to kill me mere minutes after making me marry him, the bastard.

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