39. Open your mouth.
Chapter thirty-nine
Open your mouth...
Luka
T he nails through Luka’s spine sent fire through his nervous system with every bump in the road.
He lay face-down on the corrugated metal floor of the moving van, one arm stretched in front of him, fingers twitching with the effort of trying to move.
The industrial nails had been driven with surgical precision—close enough to his spinal cord to paralyze, far enough apart to ensure maximum suffering with minimal damage.
But the physical agony was nothing compared to what he was forced to witness.
Owen sat on a wheel well across from them, Nick kneeling at his feet in perfect submission. It was the same position Luka had seen Nick collapse into during his breakdown at the club, but this felt different. This felt real.
Owen’s fingers tangled in Nick’s hair, yanking his head up to expose the throat scar that Luka had kissed the night before.
“Look at you,”Owen mumbled with a smirk.“Back where you belong. It took you long enough to remember your place.”
Nick’s response was afrightened whisper:“I’m sorry. I forgot myself. I’m sorry.”
This was the broken, grateful victim from Nick’s worst memories, the one who thanked his abusers for their attention. Protective fury exploded through Luka, desperate to tear Owen apart with fangs and claws, but his limbs remained dead weight against the van floor.
This is my fault, Luka realized with growing horror. I let him do this. I let him sacrifice himself.
“Oh, you forgot a lot more than that,”Owen continued, his grip tightening until Nick winced.“You forgot who made you. Who kept you alive when that freak in Chicago was done playing with his toys. You forgot that you belonged to us long before some silent monster got his claws in you.”
Owen’s eyes flicked to Luka with malicious pleasure, seeming to delight in having an audience for Nick’s humiliation. Red tears leaked from Luka’s eyes, frustration and rage overwhelming him as he watched the man he loved being degraded.
“Look at that,”Owen laughed, noticing the bloody tracks on Luka’s cheeks.“The monster’s crying. Do you see that, Nick? Your monster is weeping for you.”
Nick choked back a sob, but he didn’t look toward Luka.“I’m sorry,”he whispered again.“I’m sorry I disappointed everyone.”
“You did more than disappoint, you pathetic little bitch”Owen snarled, backhanding Nick across the face hard enough make his lip start bleeding again.“You murdered Henderson. You betrayed everything we gave you. You ran off to play house with a monster like some kind of deviant.”
Nick’s head snapped with the impact, but he returned to his submissive posture. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he spoke,“I wasn’t thinkingclearly. I’m sorry. Please stop hurting me.”
“Tell me about your vampire, Nicholas,”Owen commanded, his voice taking on the tone of someone conducting a therapy session.“Tell me about the feelings you think you have for it.”
“I...”Nick started, then stopped, his voice cracking.“I love him.”
Owen’s mouth curved into something vicious.“Present tense? Even now? That’s adorable.”
“I’m sorry,”Nick whispered, tears starting to track down his cheeks.“It’s just... confusion. Trauma bonding. Like with…the other one...”
Luka felt something die in his chest at those words. He knew—intellectually—that Nick didn’t have a choice, but hearing the person he loved reduce their connection to trauma and delusion was devastating.
Owen laughed, a sound like breaking glass.“There’s our smart boy. I was wondering if you’d figured that out on your own or if we’d need to beat it into you again.”
Luka tried to move his fingers, his toes, anything, but the nails in his spine continued to block the connection between his mind and his limbs.
“But first,”Owen continued, his free hand moving to stroke Nick’s cheek with mock tenderness,“we need to discuss Henderson.”
Nick’s entire body went rigid at the name, and for a moment Luka thought he saw something flicker in his expression—anger, maybe, or recognition. But it was gone soquicklyLuka wondered if he imagined it.
“My partner. My friend. The man you murdered,”Owen said, his voice dropping to a whisper.“You shot him in the face like a coward and ran off to play house with your pet monster.”
“I’m sorry,” Nick breathed, the words barely audible. “I wasn’t thinking clearly. Marcus Graves was there—”
“I know it was,”Owen said, his grip shifting to Nick’s jaw.“That’s why we’re going to fix you. Properlythis time. Shaw has some new ideas about how to ensure loyalty.”
Luka caught what might have been movement in his peripheral vision, but when he focused on Nick’s hand behind his back, it appearedperfectlystill, gripping his elbow.
Owen stoodsuddenly, beginning to pace in the small space.“You know what I think happened, Nick? I think you started to like it. The vampire’s attention. The way it touched you.”
Nick’s face flushed with shame, his head dropping lower.
“Did it make you feel special?”Owen continued, his voice taking on acruellytherapeutic tone.“Did it tell you sweet lies about love and protection? Did you forget that’sexactlywhat Gianmarco Nicoletti used to do?”
“Yes,”Nick said, his gaze locked on the ground.“I forgot.”
“Of course you did. Because that’s what you are, Nicholas. A victim who falls for the same tricks over and over again. A broken toy that thinks affection means something.”
Each word was calculated to wound, and Luka watched in horror as Nick seemed to fold in on himself further with every syllable. This was psychological torture refined to an art form, designed to strip away every piece of self-worth Nick had rebuilt.
Fight back, Luka pleaded. Don’t let him break you again.
But Nick remained perfectly still, perfectly compliant, the picture of submission.
Owen crouched down in front of Nick, grabbing his chin to force eye contact.“Recite lesson number one.”
Nick’s response was immediate:“I exist to serve the Society’s mission. My wants and desires are obstacles to effectiveness.”
“Lesson number seven.”
“Emotional attachments compromise operational security. Personal relationships are weapons that enemies use against me.”
“Good boy,”Owen purred.“And what do we know about vampires?”
“Vampires are apex predators who manipulate human emotions to create compliant prey. They cannot feel genuine affection for humans, only possessive hunger.”
Even knowing Nick was being forced to recite conditioning, hearing their love dismissed as predatory manipulation was agonizing.
Owen’s face showed vicious approval.“There’s my good boy. I was worried the silent monster had scrambled your brain permanently.”
“I remember now,”Nick saidquietly.“I remember what I am. Thank you.”
No, Luka thoughtdesperately. You’re not what they made you. You’re so much more than that.
Owen stood, then delivered a sharp kick to Nick’s ribs that sent him sprawlingsideways.“That’s for Henderson,”he snarled.“Get back in position.”
Nick struggled back to his knees, assuming the submissive posture with practiced ease despite the obvious pain. His breathing was ragged, but he made no sound of complaint.
“After Shaw’s done with his reunion,”Owen continued, his voice taking on an excited edge that made Luka’s skin crawl,“you and I are going to have a very long conversation about respect. About consequences. About what happens to dogs that bite the hand that feeds them.”
Luka tried again to move, focusing all his will on just lifting one finger, but his body remainedunresponsive. Blood tears continued to track down his face as he watched Nick sink further into himself.
“And then,”Owen continued, his voice dropping to something obscene,“we’re going to resume your training. All the parts Shaw used to share with his lieutenants. Remember those sessions, Nick? How grateful you used to be for the attention?”
Protective instincts exploded into incoherent rage at the implication.
The Society hadn’t just tortured Nick—they had passed him around like property, used himsexuallywhile he was conditioned to be grateful for the abuse.
The knowledge hit Luka like a physical blow, fury and heartbreak warring in his chest.
Nick’s breathing became shallow, rapid pants that suggested approaching panic, but he didn’t break position.“I remember,”he whispered.“I’ll be good.”
“Oh, I know you will,”Owen said with malicious joy.“Because now you understand what happens when you’re not.”
For a moment—just a moment—Luka thought he saw something flicker in Nick’s expression. A tightness around his eyes, maybe, or a subtle shift in his posture. But when he looked moreclosely, Nick appeared as broken and compliant as ever.
I’m seeing things, Luka realized with growing despair. I’m looking for hope that isn’t there.
Owenmoved behind Nick, positioning himself just outside Luka’s field of vision.“You know what I missed most about you, Nicholas?”
“No, sir.”
“That beautiful submission. The way you’d thank us for teaching you lessons. The way you’d beg soprettilywhen you needed something.”
Nick’s shoulders began to shake—whether with fear, shame, or suppressed emotion, Luka couldn’t tell.
“Beg me like a good boy,”Owen commanded.“Beg me to forgive you for running away.”
The silence stretched for long moments. Then, a whimper,“Please forgive me. I’m sorry I ran away. I’m sorry I forgot my place.”
“Better,”Owen said with cruel approval.“But I think you can do better than that. Remember how Shaw taught you to asknicely?”
More silence. When Nick spoke again, his voice cracked with humiliation,“Please, sir. I’m sorry I was bad. I’ll do anything to make it right. Please give me another chance to serve. Tell me how you want me.”
Owen laughed with genuine delight.“There’s my perfect little soldier. Shaw is going to be so pleased.”
The van began to slow, the engine downshifting as they took what felt like an exit ramp. But instead of preparing to leave, Owen’s features grew more vicious.
“You know what?” Owen said, suddenly backhanding Nick again, harder this time. “I don’t think you really understand yet.”
Nick’s head snappedsideways, more blood spattering from his split lip. Before he could regain his balance, Owen grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him down hard beside Luka, Nick’s body landinghardagainst the vampire’s side.
“Look at your monster,”Owen commanded, crouching over both of them.“Look how helpless it is. I could do anything I wanted to you right now, right on top of it, and there’s not a damn thing it could do to stop me.”
Nick’s face was inches from Luka’s, close enough that Luka could see the strategic calculation hidden beneath the tears and submission. Nick’s hand, pressed against his back for balance, found thepartiallyloosened nail in Luka’s upper back.
“Please,”Nick whispered, but his fingers worked with dexterous precision, sliding the nail free with one smooth motion. “Please don’t.”
Sensation exploded through Luka’s left shoulder as circulation returned. Still not enough to move, but progress.
Owen laughed at Nick’s pleading,clearlyinterpreting it as genuine fear rather than the cover it was.“Oh, I’m not going to do anything now. That comes later. But I want you both to understandexactlyhow this is going to work.”
He grabbed Nick by the hair again, hauling him back to his knees in the center of the van.“You belong to us, Nick. Body and soul. And your pet vampire gets to watch every second of what we do to you, knowing it failed to protect what it thought was its.”
Nick resumed his submissive posture, but as Owen turned to look out the van’s small window, checking their location, Nick’s handbrieflytouched Luka’s back again. The second nail shifted, loosened, ready to be removed.
Owen turned back with a satisfied expression.“Almost there. Shaw’s prepared something special for your reunion.”
He reached down and grabbed Nick’s faceroughly, squeezing until Nick’s cheeks bulged.“Open your mouth.”
Nick complied, and Owen spat directly into it. “Swallow.”
Nick did as commanded, his throat working as he swallowed Owen’s saliva, tears streaming down his face. “Thank you.”
“Good boy,”Owen purred, releasing Nick’s face.“That’s just a taste of what’s coming.”
As Owen moved toward the doors, Nick swayed, using the movement to lean toward Luka one final time and grab the nail. It slid free, the movement hidden beneath Nick’s apparent weakness.
The van came to a complete stop with a hydraulic hiss of brakes.
“Time to go home, Nick,”Owen said as he opened the rear doors.“Shaw’s been so looking forward to seeing you again.”
Feeling rushed back into more of Luka’s upper body, though the paralysis still held most of his limbs. It wasn’t much, but it was progress.
Nick stood and allowed Owen to guide him away from the van, but not before he caught Luka’s eye one more time.
The look they shared lasted less than a heartbeat, but it communicated everything. Trust. Love. And a promise that this wasn’t over.
Not even close.