A Necessary Sin (The Sin Trilogy, #1)(65)

I’m not sure how to respond to that. As much as I hate to admit it, Abram’s right. We can’t have the brothers believing they can break the rules.

“Son, being leader of The Fellowship is a double-edged sword.” Finally someone besides Abram speaks up. “As a leader, you are entitled to choices the brothers aren’t—yet you’re accountable to them. A good leader must lead by good example,” my father says.

I can’t believe he’s talking to me as though he didn’t once experience the same issue. “You mean, the way you were a fine example when you were having an affair with the American blackjack dealer?” I need him to remember what it was like to love a woman who isn’t a part of our circle.

“Amanda wasn’t living with me in the middle of the brotherhood. She was in the US where she had no contact with any of them. I kept her secret, as you should have with Bleu. Too late for that now.”

Mitch holds his open palms in the air. “Who are we talking about?”

“Dad’s American lover,” I answer.

“What? Does Mum know?”

“It was years ago, Mitch.” Dad sighs. “Let us get back to the reason we’re here. I think we can all see that Sinclair is choosing to continue his relationship with Miss MacAllister. The floor is open for suggestions.”

“Sinclair’s traineeship will be over very soon. I think it’s critical for the vitality of the brotherhood that he end this affair with the American now so he can marry from within The Fellowship. It’s time for him to choose a wife.”

Mum says Abram wants me to marry Westlyn. Let’s see if my mother knows what she’s talking about. “Do you have a suggestion on the woman I should choose?”

“I do. I believe Westlyn would make you a fine wife.”

“Dad!” Jamie says, clearly outraged. “You can’t be serious. They’re cousins.”

“Not by blood. His union with your sister would strengthen The Fellowship far more than the daughter of another brother.”

He should know now there’s no hope in this plan. “I can never marry Westlyn.”

“Because of the American!”

“My decision has nothing to do with Bleu.”

“If you spent time with her, I think you’d change your mind,” Abram says.

I’ve spent my entire life around her. “I can never see Westlyn as anything but my younger cousin. I can’t do it.” I knew they’d begin pressuring me about a wife, but I thought I’d at least make it out of my traineeship first. “I’ll choose a wife when the time comes but until then, I’m not giving up Bleu.”

“Then I have a suggestion for how to make this work,” Abram says. “Bleu must become one of us.”

He isn’t suggesting I marry her. That wouldn’t suit his plan. “By what means?”

“Initiation.”

“Women aren’t initiates,” Mitch argues. “It isn’t done.”

“It’s never been done. There’s a difference,” Abram says. “We’re living in a world of equal rights. Who says a woman can’t be an initiate?”

I should have expected something like this from him.

He means for her to be beaten—to be put through endurance in the name of the brotherhood. He thinks she’d fail but I know better. No woman in this world is stronger than my Bonny Bleu. But I won’t allow her to be hurt because it’s what Abram wants. “No! No member of this brotherhood will ever strike her.”

“Miss MacAllister will never be accepted as long as she remains an outsider. Initiation is the only way to make her one of us.”

I could force them to accept Bleu by making her my wife, but marriage isn’t something either of us wants. It’s a permanent solution for a temporary problem.

Again, Abram is right. Initiation is the only way the brotherhood will accept her as one of our own. But there’s no way I’ll permit her to be put through the endurance. “Okay. She will become one of us through initiation with me standing in as her substitutionary atonement.”

“No. It has to be her.”

“Our men often stand in their wives’ place for atonement,” I argue. I have him on this one.

“He has a point, Abram,” my father agrees. “It is an acceptable practice for a brother to take the place of his woman if he so chooses. This is no different.”

I don’t give him time to argue. “Then it’s decided. Bleu will participate in a formal initiation ceremony and I’ll stand in as her substitute for the endurance portion. When it’s done, she’ll be one of us and her loyalty will never be questioned again.”

“Sin, are you sure you want to do that?” Jamie asks. “You know how many don’t make it through to the end.”

I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. “I might not be able to take it for me, but I can take it for her.”

“This is so f*cking stupid.” Mitch slams his hand on the table. “Dad! Tell him he can’t do this.”

“I agree it’s the only solution that will be accepted by the brothers. It sets a high standard for what is expected. They will respect him for such a sacrifice and it’ll prove his genuine belief that Bleu will be a trustworthy member.” I think I see pride in my father’s eyes. “This is the decision of a true leader.”