Chapter 1

The noise continued through the night. My sister's screams of pain had turned into explicit panting by first light.

The louder she was, the more excited those men became. They let out beastly, feral growls.

When morning came, the men filed out of the bedroom and shoved a stack of bills into my mom's waiting palm, saying, "New ones do make good rides, after all." After that, they'd leave with satisfied looks on their faces.

My mom, Helen Greene, would see them off with knowing smiles, bowing like she was some lowly maid. "If you enjoyed it, come again."

After sending them off, she turned and fixed her gaze on me as I lit the fire under the stove for breakfast. She bit out in a hard tone, "Stop gawking, you brat, and take hot water up for your sister. It'll be your turn in two days, you whore!"

I carried a pot of hot water and last night's leftovers into Rebecca's room, only to be scolded by Mom again. "Damn brat! Rebecca isn't supposed to have anything but her tonic from now on. Don't you know that? Are you trying to ruin her?"

She gave me such a hard pinch that I broke out in a cold sweat from the pain. I took the leftovers away after that.

As I took a pot of hot water into Rebecca's room, I picked up a strange scent layered with pungent notes.

My sister, Rebecca Hayburn, lay on the bed, looking spent and broken. Bruises and wounds covered her fair skin, while the unblemished parts of her skin seemed to glow. Blood stained the sheets under her in a jarring mess.

She lay so still that I had no idea if she was alive. I called out to her softly, "Rebecca?"

Her lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes, but her gaze was hollow.

I set the pot of hot water on her bedside table, and only then did I get a good look at the bruised corner of her mouth. Her lips were red and swollen, and drool was trickling from the corner of her mouth too.

"Rebecca, are you alright?"

Rebecca's lips moved as tears rolled down her face like rivulets. She was about to say something when Mom barged into the room.

Rebecca recoiled as if in fear and shock, curling into a ball on the other side of the bed as she begged for mercy. "Mom, I don't want to grow bloodstones anymore. I'll work the fields and never slack off again. Please spare me, Mom! Please!"

Mom stepped forward and comforted her, saying softly, "Oh, sweetheart, I know you've had it rough. This isn't unusual for your first time. It'll get better, and so will you until you've produced a bloodstone. You are our family's hope."

Rebecca shook her head, sobbing. "I'm sorry, Mom! Don't make me do it again! Have Everly do it! She can take my place!"

Mom eyed me with an odd, cryptic smile. "It'll be her turn soon. I'm so proud of you both."

When Rebecca realized that I wouldn't be spared from her fate, her gaze turned unreadable. I couldn't tell if she was happy or sad.

Mom rose at the sound of a man knocking on the door. She was about to cross the room to open it when Rebecca tugged on her hand. "Mom, please, I can't do it anymore!"

But Mom responded with a slap across Rebecca's face. Then she gripped Rebecca's chin as she lectured her, "I raised you into adulthood, Rebecca. I fed you, clothed you, and gave you shelter. Don't be such an ingrate!"

Stunned by the slap, Rebecca sat up in bed and sobbed soundlessly.

Mom cut me a fierce look. "What, do you have a thing for live shows? Get out of here, you bitch!"

I quickly set the hot water down and bolted from the room.

On my way out, I bumped into the man at the door. He was skinny and tanned, with yellow teeth and a grimy appearance. He was known as the settlement's beggar and a deadbeat.

And yet, Mom smiled at him as if he were made of money anyway, and ushered him into Rebecca's bedroom.

It wasn't long before Rebecca's shrieks of agony and a man's rough panting came through the door.

"She'll settle down after today," Mom said plainly as she focused on the noise coming from the room.

Mom was right. Rebecca stopped crying and protesting after that day. The sound of her laughter even frequently trickled out of the room, as if she found immense joy in what she was doing.

The men who sought out Rebecca didn't stop coming, either. Every one of them entered the room full of expectations and left satisfied. They claimed Rebecca was the best rabbit-woman they'd ever slept with.

Every time I took water for Rebecca, my senses were assaulted by that strange, spicy scent with a pungent note in her bedroom.

I stared at her red, swollen lips and the bruises on her body—some from whips, others from cigarette burns. She even sported bite marks. And yet, she grinned and laughed as if nothing was wrong.

"Mom, I'm starving. Have a few more men sent in, will you?"

I hadn't the faintest idea what the secret tonic Mom had been feeding Rebecca was, but her curves had grown more voluptuous, and her skin had become smoother and more supple.