Chapter 0002

"This dress cost more than you'd be worth if you didn't have that working uterus inside you," Leanne croaked out with vehemence and anger as she handed it to me. 

I raised an eyebrow at her, "How much?" I asked out of pure curiosity.

"Five grand," Lenny answered for her, bending down to pick up the box as I started pulling the dress out of the plastic it was wrapped in.

"That must've put quite a dent in the Council's bank account," I murmured, giving the dress a once over. My nose scrunched up but I kept my mouth closed. I knew Leanne wouldn't take kindly to me dissing the dress she no doubt picked out herself.

Five grand for this thing? There didn't look to be enough material to warrant such a price. 

"Why are you just standing there gawking? Put it on!" She rushed out, holding a small bag in her hand that I hadn't see attached to the dress's wrappings.

"It usually helps to undress before you put other clothes on," Lenny quipped from behind his sister.

"What about privacy?" I asked, glaring at him.

He tilted his head, lifting an eyebrow at me, "You might want to get used to men looking at your body. Probably after tonight, you won't be a virgin anymore. You gonna to ask him to close his eyes while he fucks you?" he mocked.

I ground my teeth before I gripped the bottom of my pajama tank and pulled it off over my head. His eyes roved over my bare chest and I forced my hands not to cover myself from that gaze, instead pushing my shorts down to fall to the floor around my ankles before I held my hand out for the dress again.

Lenny grinned wickedly. "The underwear too," he said.

"But-"

"Can't have you wearing those ugly things when he undresses you," he sneered. I ignored the way my stomach clenched at that thought. My eyes burned but I forced my cotton briefs down, keeping my thighs together as tighly as I could.

"Here." Leanne's brisk voice broke through the rage screaming in my ears, as she handed me two blood red articles of material.

I looked down at my aged white cotton briefs then at the stringy red thing as I took it from her with its matching bra. I swallowed, unwilling to show exactly how out of my wheel of knowledge any of this stuff was in front of them. I swapped my underwear for the string of fabric that offered no coverage. Then I snapped the bra on, running my fingers over the underwire. It felt tighter on me than the sports bra I usually wore.

"Ok, step into this carefully," she instructed, having unzipped the massive zipper that stretched down one whole side of the dress. Once I did, Leanne pulled it up my body, zipping it back up once it was in place. A small metal piece locked the slider in place. The dress was white with swashes of half-inch horizontal black lines that looked like ink markings. It had one shoulder strap made of a thick gold chain that matched the zipper on the opposite side while my other shoulder remained bare.

I paused at my reflection. "Where's the rest of it?" I breathed, looking at how much of my thighs were showing. 

Leanne rolled her eyes, "Don't be stupid, that's what it's supposed to look like. Why do you think I waxed you last night?"

I cringed, remembering the pain of that whole ordeal. My legs not being the only things the woman had unapologetically ripped hair out of.

"This is the kind of stuff Lathan likes," Lenny continued for her, turning to grab the shoes again. "Sexy outfits, demure personalities. He likes to feel like he's in charge. You will feed that ego as much as necessarry."

I put the shoes on, glaring down at my exposed toes, red polish on them that matched my new under garments. Thankfully, there was a small heel, since I had never had an occasion to wear heels before. This felt manageable. At least I didn't have to worry about falling and breaking my ankles.

"You'll do everything he asks, you'll be submissive. You'll take everything he throws at you, and you'll please him in every way you can," he ordered, as Leanne started slinging a small, black handbag up my arm that now probably held everything I owned in it. Which was pretty much nothing besides my ID and SS card. I was being sold into slavery, what else could I possibly need?

"Or else what," I ground out before I could stop myself, glaring at Lenny.

"Or else we'll stop taking care of Aiden, obviously," Leanne said matter-of-factly as if she wasn't basically threatening me with leaving my brother homeless and helpless.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Sit, so I can do your make-up," she ordered. I sat down angrily, glaring up at her.

My brother, Aiden, two years younger than me, had unfortunately been born with Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy Essentially, he was slowly going blind. He was affected a lot earlier in life than most who suffer from it do. Currently, he couldn't see anything in his central vision, but peripherally, he could see shapes and colors, mostly.

Being a blind mage, shoved out in today's world? That was the equivallent of sentencing them to death or worse, a life of servitude since some mafia werewolves or assassin vampires would no doubt find him quicker than a cat catching a wounded pigeon. And since he wouldn't even see them coming...

I shuddered at the thought. I would do this, not because of some dumb prophecy. But because it was the only way I could ensure my brother's safety.