Page 10 of A Dove To Break (The Dove Institute Collection #1)

Alania

I wake with a groan when gentle kisses pepper my face. “Wake up, Little Dove. It’s a new day,” Adrian says sweetly.

“Sorry, Master. I thought I was having a nightmare,” I say, smiling with my eyes closed.

“Oh yeah?” he says as he tickles my side. I squeal and jump out of bed, making him laugh. “Good morning, beautiful.”

“Morning,” I say. “Today is obedience?”

“Yes. We are learning about safe words,” he says.

“Uh oh. Fredrico is going to fail,” I say, and Adrian chuckles. “Do you know how Gemma is doing?”

“Raul was able to get her alone while I distracted Fredrico. She told Raul that as long as she was obedient and did exactly what he wanted, he was cold, but fine. He told her that he would not be claiming her. We all have every intention of killing him during the Hunt.”

“Oh?” I ask.

“Yeah. He is a piece of shit. He’s killed the last three girls he has hunted,” he explains. “I don’t know why they keep letting him come back.”

“Maybe there is a connection between him and Charles,” I say. “I mean, Headmaster.”

“Little Dove, when it’s just us, talk to me like you would anyone else. Once we are out of here, I only want to hear Master when you are begging me to let you come.”

“Okay,” I laugh.

“Say it, baby. Say my name,” he says with a smile.

“Adrian,” I say with a sweet smile.

“Mmm,” he grunts. “Beautiful.”

We get dressed before going out to eat breakfast. This time, everything goes smoothly, and we make it to the classroom without incident.

When I sit on the ottoman, Adrian moves to sit behind me, and the others do the same. Eli is standing at the front with Talia on her knees beside him.

“Alright. Today we are learning about safe words and the importance of them, no matter the dynamic,” Eli says.

“We will use the red light system. Red means everything stops, no matter what. Yellow means you are approaching a limit and need to talk or take a moment to breathe. Green means all is well. Even in a dynamic of total power exchange, it is important to set boundaries. I want us to talk with our partners and discuss boundaries. Dominants have boundaries too, so include that in your discussion.”

Adrian moves back before turning me around so my legs are over his and rests his hands on my thighs. “What are some hard limits for you?”

“Uhh,” I say. “No shit, piss, or vomit. No anal fisting. No hits to the face. No cruel degradation. Like calling me fat or insulting me.”

“Pain?”

“Sure,” I say. “Is this something that I can just let you know as things come up in the future?”

“Absolutely,” he says with a soft smile.

“What about you?” I ask.

“I am not into pegging, blood, or knife play, I don’t do bodily waste or hitting to the face. Impact play is strictly for the butt and back, but I like for marks to be gone within no more than a few hours.”

“I’m afraid of hits to the back,” I admit.

“Because of your father?”

“Yes. I don’t know if you’ve seen the marks, but…” I start to say.

“I have not,” he says. “You’ve never been fully unclothed with me.”

“Oh… well, my back is covered in scars,” I tell him.

“What do you think would make you call a safe word?” he asks me.

“Uh… I don’t know,” I say. “I don’t like being scared, so if I was afraid of getting hurt or injured, maybe. I’ve handled a lot before, so I don’t know how much it would take. What about you? What would make you stop?”

“If you were panicking or not able to call a safe word,” he explains. “Like if you were too deep into subspace to communicate. I think it’s important to be able to communicate.”

“What is subspace?”

“Subspace is the moment where you forget that your body and mind are connected. Everything is heavy, but you are floating. It’s a high unlike anything else, and you stop thinking.

You stop fighting. You exist only at the mercy of the one who put you there.

You feel everything and nothing all at once.

When a submissive starts to float, they can’t call their safeword, and that’s dangerous.

You forget you can,” he says as he gently strokes my inner thighs.

“It is important that masters are paying attention to body language and know when to pull back. The boundaries still exist, even when you forget where the line is. I will get you into subspace, but I won’t hold you there.

I won’t continue to push, and I will support you long after you drop. ”

“What happens when I drop?” I ask quietly. His fingers are lightly touching and teasing me. I am nearly panting and I love this feeling.

“Subdrop is crashing after the high. It’s a sudden loss of endorphins, and it’s emotional. Sometimes it is dissociating, panicking, crying, or getting angry… it just depends on the situation.”

“Oh, well, that makes sense,” I say.

“So, fear is the way to break my little dove,” he says, slowly slipping one thick finger into my pussy. “I have the perfect scene.”

“Now I’m nervous,” I laugh. He smiles and pulls his finger out of me before gently rubbing my clit.

“Alright, Masters. Set up for a scene,” Eli says.

Adrian pats my thighs, and I move off the ottoman so he can get up.

I watch as he goes through a door in the corner that leads to a storage room.

When he returns, he has a large piece of wood.

He takes it up front and secures it to the wall over the whiteboard.

He moves to the restraining wall and picks out leather cuffs before attaching them to a hook at the top of the board.

He adds cuffs at the bottom for the ankles before turning to me.

“Come here, Little Dove,” he says with a wicked smile. I go up to him, and he scans my body. “Undress but leave your bra on.”

I say nothing, but I do as he has instructed. I take my shirt and skirt off, leaving them on the ottoman. When I am done, he moves me to stand in front of the board so he can pull my arms up to secure them. When my feet are pulled apart and secured, fear bubbles in my chest.

“You aren’t already scared, are you?” he asks. Everyone is looking up at me. No one is starting their scenes. I am suddenly overwhelmed, so I squeeze my eyes shut.

“It is important that we learn from each other just as much as we learn from our masters. By watching your scene, the other masters and submissives can draw information to better help with their scenes. You have caused the most disruption, so you get to go first,” Eli says simply.

“Alania,” Adrian says softly. I open my eyes, and he cups my cheek. “Eli is doing your scene.”

“Fuck,” I whisper.

“You trust me, but this is about finding your limit and pushing you past it. Do not force yourself, but don’t run away the moment you get overwhelmed,” Adrian says.

“Yes, Master,” I say, my voice cracking with emotion. Adrian smiles softly before stepping away. Eli comes up to stand in front of me and smiles when I frown at him.

“Pick a number between one and ten,” he says.

“Uh… seven,” I reply.

“Bold,” he chuckles and walks away. I try to focus on breathing, but I see him pick up a handful of daggers before grabbing a massive knife with a long, thick handle.

The blade is terrifyingly sharp, and I will be the first one to admit that I’m fucking scared right now. What the fuck is he about to do?

“Okay, Alania,” Eli says. “Do not move for any reason. If you are unable to prevent yourself from moving, call your word. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master,” I whisper.

“I mean it. I understand and respect that you are a brat, but this is imperative to prevent you from becoming seriously injured. Do. Not. Move.”

“Yes, Master,” I repeat.

“Good,” he says, but surprises me when he grabs the blade of one of the daggers and launches it at me. A scream rips from my throat when it lands between my arms, just above my head.”

“Oh, I fucking hate you,” I say with a shaky voice. The masters chuckle, and most of the submissives look fucking horrified that he just threw a knife at me.

“You don’t like being restrained,” he remarks.

“No, I… Goddamn it, Eli!” I scream when he throws another dagger, and it lands mere inches from my chest. “If you fucking stab me, you better pray that it kills me.”

“You have a filthy mouth,” Eli laughs. “Continue.”

“I was restrained when I was whipped as a child,” I say quickly before he has a chance to fucking throw something at me again.

“What would you get whipped with?” he asks. I open my mouth to answer, but he throws another knife and it sticks into the board beside my waist. It is so close that I can feel the cool metal pressing against my skin. I don’t react this time, and he raises an eyebrow at me.

“He’d usually use a studded belt, but sometimes a thin metal… stick. I don’t know what it was. He used a switch with thorns a few times. An extension cord once, but I was tied to a bed, and he also tried to strangle me with it.”

“Interesting,” Eli says. He throws another knife, and it lands between my thighs.

I don’t even blink at it, so Eli throws it again, inches below my pussy.

I glare at him, and he takes the last two into his hands.

I know what he is going to do before he ever moves.

When he throws the dagger simultaneously, they slam into the board between my arm and my cheek.

“Adaptive,” Thomas remarks.

“Traumatized,” Adrian says. “She’s been severely abused and neglected for her entire life. She might not like being scared, but she is no stranger to it. It’s going to take much more to break her.”

Eli smirks and takes the massive blade with him when he moves to stand in front of me. He pulls a blindfold from his pocket and slips it over my head to cover my eyes.

“I need a volunteer,” Eli says. “Come up. Just don’t say anything.”