Feeling guilty at my brother hurting at the thought of losing his old lady, I went to speak, when the door flew open and Mae marched inside.

Speak of the devil…

Styx shot off the wall as soon as she entered, but she held up her hand in his direction, looking all pissed in her black jeans, Hangmen tank, and “Property of Styx” leather vest, and came my way. Hell, she had tears in her eyes.

Great. Nothing worse than a crying bitch on a mission to hand me my ass.

Stopping only a couple feet from my chair, she planted her hands on her hips and fuckin’ exploded. “How dare you treat my sister that way!” she hissed, and I caught Styx groan in exasperation behind her, his hands covering in face in distress.

“She stays in that room all day, every day, has done for weeks, and no matter what I say about the world outside of The Order, both she and Maddie will not even step foot out of the door apart from to pray, believing evil exists and will possess them as soon as they do. Lilah believes nothing I tell her, never letting go of her faith, and Maddie, Lord, Maddie barely speaks, just sits and stares out that window every waking hour God sends. She’s completely shutdown and Lilah is slowly breaking down! She is falling apart further every day she is separated from the commune!” Mae whipped around to face Styx. “And you need to speak to Flame again. He is still outside the apartment, cutting himself, when he is not away on runs for you. Lilah is petrified of him hissing and slicing himself up. Just another thing that is inhibiting their progress in this godforsaken mess.”

I watched Styx hold up his hands. “Th-that fucker won’t do sh-shit that I tell him. H-he told me h-he’s protecting them wh-while he s-slices flesh, f-fuck kn-knows wh-who from. B-but it ain’t a b-bad th-thing that he’s th-there guarding th-their d-door. N-no o-one w-would d-dare take on F-Flame.”

Mae sighed and faced me again, only this time tears were running down her cheeks.

Ah, shit!

“Please leave Lilah alone, Ky. I know you think you like her. She is utterly and breathtakingly beautiful… but she is very damaged, and I want her to get better. I want her to stay here with me. You have no idea how we were treated our whole life, why she is like she is. Sadistic men frequently took us against our will, forced us to do unspeakable things in the name of the Lord, and all we had was each other for support. Lilah believed those men and their actions were saving our souls because we were branded temptresses. She still believes this and that she must return to their instruction to finally reach salvation. It is what we were conditioned to accept and strive for. I lost my faith. Lilah’s has deepened.”

Mae glimpsed at Styx, and the brother was ramrod straight, breathing hard. I knew he hated hearing about the cunt who’d raped his bitch for most of her life. Fucker was dead now, of course, but his ghost was still there between them every day.

Mae turned back to me. “Ky, since the Hangmen killed Prophet David and raided the commune, Lilah believes she is being punished, that she is in hell because she left our sacred land, our protected Garden of Eden. She even believes that I, her sister, am being sinful in joining with Styx, a non-believer. She believes I am willingly joining the side of the devil.”

Styx slowly came behind Mae and, wrapping his arms around her chest, pulled her back against his body and pressed kisses along her neck, whispering something I couldn’t make out. Mae relaxed and she held on to his arms, knuckles turning white, as she whispered back, “You are my light, my love. You are my choice.” Styx’s eyes closed and he exhaled.

Mae faced me again. “Ky, Lilah believes our faith’s scripture to the letter, believes Prophet David’s writings were completely literal. We were told our entire lives that we—Maddie, Lilah, and I—were Satan-spawned, that we were born of the devil’s seed. Made beautiful enough to tempt men, steal, then serve their damned souls to Satan. Lilah always took this label the worst. She had a different life before she was brought to the prophet’s commune. Maddie, my sister Bella, and I had been branded Cursed from birth.

“Lilah never spoke of it, but we always guessed she had had a family outside of us. But they would have shunned her when the prophet named her Cursed. I understand that now. At present, Lilah will give anything to be welcomed back into our faith… for her soul to be saved in the eyes of the Lord. She believes she tempts men because she is evil, truly evil.”

Mae took a deep breath. “Ky, your behavior in the bar has just strengthened this belief. She thinks the devil is luring you in through her. She believes a man will never truly love her for herself until she is rid of her curse, of her temptress nature.”

Another tear trailed down Mae’s cheek. “I have no idea how to make her and Maddie want this life. There is no more commune, no more Order. I am unable to help her… them. What will happen to them if they cannot adjust?” Her huge wolf eyes focused on me as Styx wiped at her cheeks with his thumb, his nose flaring with protectiveness. “I need your help, Ky. Not for you to make this even more difficult. If they left me, I do not know… I do not know…”

Styx turned Mae in his arms and she cried into his chest. His jaw clenched and he glanced in my direction.

Great. He wanted to murder me again.

Running my hands down my face, I jumped to my feet, and Mae lifted her head in surprise.

“I’ll keep the fuck away from Lilah. I swear,” I vowed.

Mae nodded, though her face remained blank. “Thank you.”

But Styx was still looking at me… and I knew that look. He was plotting something. I went to leave the room, when Styx cleared his throat, his infamous take-no-shit look on his face. Styx’s hands lifted to sign behind Mae’s back while her face was still tucked against his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

“Go find Lilah. She’ll be down by the river or in the apartment. It’s the only two places she ever goes. Tell her you’re fuckin’ sorry for practically assaulting her tonight. Right?”

I nodded my agreement rather than say it out loud. He obviously didn’t want Mae to overhear our “conversation.” A lift of his finger made me pause again, and I watched a smirk curl on his lips.

“I’m putting you in charge of her and I ain’t telling Mae. Let’s call it your… atonement for being a whore-assed fuck-up.”

I rolled my eyes at his shit attempt at a joke, but I could tell my brother wasn’t fuckin’ around.