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THERON

I woke up in a dark space, strung up by my wrists dripping blood down my arm. Déjà vu rushed through me with the memories of the last time I’d woken up in a similar space. It was disorienting for a moment—until I remembered.

Nyx. No. It wasn’t true.

I refused to believe he was gone.

I heard a door slam and footsteps echoed ominously as they crossed the concrete.

Vetticus appeared in front of me, looking me up and down.

“More tattoos, a few more scars—It’s almost like you never left,”

he reached out and traced the one on my face from the Warren. “Still so easy to manipulate though—a bit disappointing honestly.”

He moved just out of my line of sight and I heard something slide across a metal surface. He must have a table behind me and sure enough steel bit into my lower back.

“All these years and we’re finally reunited,”

he said. “You know, I did look for you in the beginning.”

He stepped back around me, dragging the blade as he did, cutting deeply into my skin.

“But then I liked the idea of you chasing after me—kind of poetic, don’t you think? You fought so hard to get away…only to want to find me again.”

I looked down to see him raise a scalpel to my chest. His eyes narrowed on where his brand used to sit and he growled his displeasure.

“You cut it out?”

He hissed.

I didn’t bother answering, I’d cut it out after the Austria job. His eyes took on an intensity that I recognized and I closed my eyes, knowing what was coming. He dug the blade into my skin in a ferocious fervor making first one side of the V and then the other. He repeated the action several times until I groaned in pain.

“I have to admit, I didn’t think you’d take this long.”

He sucked on his lip and shrugged. “But I guess life does tend to get in the way sometimes. That’s okay—”

He slid his fingers through my blood and grabbed my cock making the chains shiver as I jolted. Vetticus pulled out a syringe and almost lovingly let the needle glide into my neck.

“We have all the time in the world to catch up. Because what you don’t seem to get—is the fact that I’m always in control,”

he murmured.

I braced for what I knew was coming and I gritted my teeth as the heat surged through me. All the cuts he’d made were fire on my skin and the V was making me short of breath in its intensity. His hand on my cock jerked me roughly and his other hand continued to make cuts randomly across my chest and abs.

“You’re mine,”

he purred. “I plan on punishing you for leaving me and then we can start fresh.”

Against my will, I grew hard under his touch and the sensations of pain and pleasure warred viciously with each other until sweat broke out over my skin.

“Who do you belong to?” He asked.

I bared my teeth and met his gaze.

“Never you,”

I snarled.

Vetticus’ anger flared briefly, and he stabbed me in the side with the scalpel. He pulled it out and in quick succession did it four other times in different places. On the fifth, the relief didn’t come when he pulled the blade out and he chuckled.

“Broke it already.”

He tossed the metal handle over his shoulder, sending it clattering off into the shadows. He pressed himself closer to me and his tongue swiped across my jaw and over my lips. I tried to turn my head but he pulled my lower lip into his mouth and bit down on it. The taste of blood burst over my tongue. He sucked the sting away as he kissed me. I let him do it, unable to move.

“Who do you belong to?”

Vetticus whispered against my lips.

He bit lightly along my jaw and down my neck before biting hard into my shoulder, drawing blood again.

“Tell me, Kraven,”

Vetticus demanded.

“I’m going to kill you,”

I hissed instead. “Slowly…so I can savor it.”

He huffed a laugh and stepped away, his own chest heaving. I could see he was turned on from his efforts. He was covered in my blood and sweat beaded on his forehead as he stood staring at me.

“Big words for a man who’s at my mercy.”

He shrugged. “We’ll try again, tomorrow.”

He moved a monitor into the center of the room. It showed my men in cells.

“You’ll be able to watch the game tomorrow night.”

He came over and roughly patted my face. “I’ll make sure you get to see every single one of them die.”