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I was, but not anymore. Summer is completely unaware of the danger she’s facing. We finally arrive at the double doors, and I gently rub away the tear in her eye. “Come on. Let’s go in.” I push the door open before she can object.

Xander is seated on the couch with Bianca looking miserable on the floor with a plate of food in front of her. I chuckle to myself at the sight of her. She must have been naughty today.

Everyone’s eyes are fixed on us as we walk in. I ignore their stares and find my regular spot on a plush chair, pulling Summer onto my lap, my fingers grazing her bare legs. She makes eye contact with Xander, shifting her gaze between him and Bianca.

Bianca’s black hair is in her usual ponytail, her outfit leaving little to the imagination. Xander’s not paying any attention to Bianca. He’s smirking at Summer, chewing on his lip, leaning back like he gives zero fucks, doing what he can to make her uncomfortable.

He won’t make eye contact with me, so I know he’s pissed—or weary as to who he might find staring back at him.

Summer wraps her arms around my neck, pressing herself into me, showing everyone who she belongs to. I wave my hand in an indifferent gesture, wanting to get this over with. “Everyone, this is Summer; Summer, this is everyone.”

“We’ve met,” Xander says, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He exudes an aura of darkness and destruction, his tight T-shirt showing off his tattoos.

Summer stiffens as Mikael slithers up my spine, embedding himself into my psyche. My vision blurs, and I start thinking about how fun it will be to kill every single person in this room.

They all know what happened to me; their parents allowed it to happen and covered it up. Gabe and Wendy sit back, highly amused by the situation, though neither says anything.

They’re happy with the parties, the money, the drugs, and that they’re above the rules. Happy to defer to Xander. Gabe is spineless and will do anything Xander asks, which leaves me as the wild card. Technically, I don’t belong here, but Dr. Garcia concludes, given what my mother sacrificed, I belong to the Order as much as anyone else.

Wendy sits up, offering a warm smile. “Nice to meet you, Summer. I’m Wendy,” she introduces herself, gesturing to Bianca. “And this is Bianca.”

Bianca stares at the floor. If anyone doesn’t belong here, it’s Bianca.

“Bianca can’t talk right now, because she wasn’t a good girl today,” Xander responds for her. Bianca keeps her head to the ground, taking small bites off her plate. A fiery intensity flickers in her eyes.

Curiosity getting the best of me, I can’t help but ask, “Do I even want to know what happened?” I’m guessing it has something to do with Dani, who was in this house last night, capturing all of Xander’s focus.

Dani doesn’t know Xander, but Xander knows Dani. He watched her throughout the entire trial four years ago, and I think he felt guilty about what her family went through. Unlike me, Xander is empathetic.

Xander knew about my connection to Summer, which made Dani even more intriguing for him. The poor thing is a dead girl walking.

Wendy chuckles softly. “Oh, it’s just Bianca being jealous, even though she has no reason to be.”

Bianca snaps her head up at her friend. “He was kissing that girl. His hands were all over her.” She looks directly at Summer. “It was your friend, actually.”

Summer’s body stiffens at the mention of her friend. In a swift motion, Xander reaches over and forcefully turns Bianca’s head toward him. “You’re a glutton for punishment, aren’t you, baby?” he snaps. Bianca remains restrained in Xander’s grip, struggling to swallow. “You don’t make the rules, Bianca. You don’t get a say in them, either, so don’t pretend that you do. I’ll talk to, or kiss, whoever the fuck I want.”

The room falls into an uneasy silence. We’ve grown accustomed to the dynamic between Xander and Bianca, but I’m curious how Summer will react to all of this.

“Who makes the rules,” he says, and Summer bristles on my lap, watching Xander exert his dominance.

Bianca presses her lips together defiantly.

He pulls tighter, nearly snapping her neck with so much force and tension. He leans down, his voice getting low, which usually means he’s getting wound up. “You better open that pretty mouth of yours and tell me who the fuck is in charge.”

Summer squirms watching this unfold, and I can’t help but admire her reaction to Bianca getting humiliated. In fact, Summer is shifting so much on my lap, she’s grinding herself on my leg, and there is nothing but the thin fabric of her panties between my leg and her pussy.

“You make the rules, baby,” Bianca finally says.

Xander drops her, takes her plate, and pulls her on top of him. She glares at us as he spoon feeds her the rest of her dinner. She beams as he dotes on her, ignoring everyone else.

I’ve never understood Xander’s need for public humiliation, but he seems to get off on it. Bianca knows what Xander has to do since she technically has to do the same. So I’m waiting for her to piece together the fact Dani could be the key to actually marrying him one day.

Bianca is desperate for him, but he doesn’t love her, and in order to transcend, the rule is you must be in love with your sacrifice. Otherwise, how is it truly a sacrifice?

If he loved Bianca, she’d already be dead. So instead he puts her through torture and humiliation because that is what he gets off on. A sadist, just like his grandmother.

It’s a very odd prisoner’s dilemma.