There’s no saying whether she would have reacted better or worse if she had been made to take Cross into her mouth. What I do know is that I’m certain what our fathers intend to do next will only make this girl hate us more. The thought process here is simple. Make her bend. Make her break. Make her bow. But Delilah is different. She’s more like Eight than any of the others. And look what happened to her…
Anxiety rises within me at the thought that Delilah might not be able to refrain from pushing my father to the very edge. And if she does that, he might tame her in a way that has irreversible consequences.
Gritting my teeth, I secure the collar, and each of us takes a chain lead in hand. “Ready,” he grits out as I continue to watch Delilah even though she refuses to look in my direction. Footsteps sound on the hardwood behind me. The Collective surrounds the three of us while Malakai and Arrow have returned to the seats they’d occupied earlier.
I catch movement that would have my brows raising if I weren’t attempting to clear my head and my mind so that I can focus on getting us through this. Arrow has shifted forward, almost as if he’s going to come out of his seat. And Malakai… he grabs and holds Arrow by the wrist just above his tightly clenched fist.
I don’t know what to make of it, but I don’t dare react, nor do I have time to think about it further because the Collective hovers, edging closer to Twenty-Three. “Look what our sons did,” Kiefer muses, letting his mirth show as his eyes roam over Delilah’s pale skin.
Henry shakes his head. “Made a mess of you, didn’t they?”
“Finneas, I think we should help clean her up.” Nolan’s brow arches as he gets close, but I’m not fooled by his calm tone or his false offer. They already know how they want this to go, how it will end.
“Agreed,” my father grunts, complete self-assurancein his voice as he trails his fingers down her stomach, dipping between her thighs. With a satisfied smirk, he holds them up for all of us to see. Proof of what he did to her earlier barrels into me, robbing me of breath. I do my damnedest not to react as he brings it within inches of Delilah’s face. His lip curls. “I’m dripping out of you,” he says, his chest jerking hard with every breath he takes. “We’ll put every bit of seed where it belongs. Starting withmine.” And with that, his hand disappears between her thighs.
With my jaw locked tight, I brace myself for Delilah’s reaction. She practically convulses, flinching in her attempt to escape his touch, then gasps in pain as the heavy collar abuses her neck. The rough, thrusting movements of his fingers is almost more than I can take.
“Please stop,” she whimpers. My teeth clench as I assess the Collective’s reaction to her plea. She’s just given them what they want. They feed on her fear and misery. This is about power. Control. They want her to understand that she’s at their mercy, want her to beg.
And as much as I think I’d rather see her fight, I’m terrified of what they’ll do to her if she does.Don’t, Delilah. Accept this and be done with it.
My father collects semen from her hip and breast—mine—and pushes it deep. In those moments before he withdraws again, I want to break every single finger in the most painful way possible. Make himhurt so bad he won’t dare ever touch her again.Fuck.It’s all I can do not to cave his face in with my fist.
“You fail to understand one fundamental thing,” my father exhales hard through his nostrils as he eyes her. “You have no rights here. You don’t question us. You obey. That’s all. You do as we tell you because you won’t like what would happen otherwise.” He smirks at the way she shakes before them, but from the gleam in their eyes, her reaction only heightens their experience.
Delilah lets loose a shuddering gasp, and her eyes go wide, locking with mine. And though she’s silent, I hear what they scream.Help!
But I can’t. No one can. We’re forced to wait while they complete the task at hand. One after another, they take turns swiping up the product of her correction and pushing it inside her body.
Darkness swirls within my brain, and I drag one steadying breath after another through my nose, but none of my efforts in calming myself are effective. Not while their hands are on Delilah’s creamy skin. Skin that she’s willingly allowed me to touch. It’s all I can do to rein in the fuming monster raging inside me. I want to let him loose on all of them. I would do so much worse to them than they could ever imagine.Willdo so much worse. That… I vow.
Time crawls, and just when I think I can’t take anymore, our leaders step back, satisfied that their job is done. “Very well,” my father grits out as his gaze licks over Delilah. “Take this thing outside.” A pleased smilecurves his lips, and he juts his chin toward me, giving Cross a nod before he and the rest of the Collective head for the door. Over his shoulder, he barks, “You know what to do.”
“Yes sir,” Cross and I answer together.
“Mal and Arrow, you’ll be joining us down at the river. Cross and Hayze, come on down there when you’re done.”
Silence descends as we wait for them to exit the room. Cross’s jaw remains rigid, and he says nothing more, maintaining the same emotionless visage that he’s worn since we walked into this den of horrors. I search his eyes, my insides twisting at the idea that perhaps he’s not with me in this. When I asked for his help last night, he agreed to go along with whatever I needed him to. Maybe I should have been more explicit in what I was asking for. But then there’s a second-long flicker of something that I can read.We are so fucked.
Delilah’s lips part, and her pleading eyes meet mine for a split second before she glares and tears them from me. My chest clenches because I can already tell… what has come to pass in the last half of a day has ruined anything my minx ever felt for me.
ELEVEN
HAYZE
After a few tensewords with Arrow and Malakai, they agree they should follow the orders given and leave us to it. Hesitation from any of us would only draw attention and create questions we don’t want to answer.
Without another choice, Cross and I lead a naked Delilah from the gathering room past the women who are buzzing dutifully around the kitchen preparing the morning meal. They keep their heads down, eyes averted, but by the stiffening of their posture, they definitely aren’t oblivious. How could they be? What they are witnessing from the corners of their eyes is not anything they see on a regular basis. Not a single woman in this compound has seen how bad things can really get, except Eight. None of the others were present when my father took her tongue. Those of us who were… we remember. I’m also not fooled into thinking that they don’t understand the trouble Twenty-Three is in. If I had to make a guess, it’d simply be that they are glad the Collective’s focus is anywhere other than on them. It’s clear this is a learned response. They do nothing to draw attention to themselves.Ever.Why did I not notice this before?
I throw the side door open, and a dense mist greets us. Delilah visibly shudders at the nip in the air.Fuck.She’s gonna be cold. I grit my teeth. There’s nothing to be done about it. I catch Cross’s eye and gesture to the old tree with gnarled branches that’s situated near the barn a good distance from the main building. We were given very specific instructions. Tie Twenty-Three to that particular tree. Leave her there for the day. Give her time to think about her place in this compound and how she wants the rest of her life to play out. And then, based on her behavior, they’ll make a determination as to what they’ll do next.
I dread every bit of what she’ll go through.
Delilah’s lips part as we come to a stop in front of the sturdy apple tree, and she shoots me a disbelieving glare, pretty face pinched in anger.
“I’ve gotta get the rope. Be right back,” Cross mumbles as he sets the chain he holds on the ground.
Before he can get far, I grind out, “Wait,” then gesture that I need to have a private word with him. Cross’s brows pinch together as he takes a few strides back to meet me. “Stay here,” I grunt, holding up the chain to remind Delilah she’s not going anywhere fast. She shoots me a withering look, but remains still.
