Chapter 19 Trill
TRILL
The corridor reeked of fear and piss, a stench that clung to the stone walls like a living thing. The pit walls sweated blood and history.
I felt it the moment I stepped into the holding corridors—the same rust-and-copper stench that clung to my childhood, layered under bile, oil, and the sound of chain links being dragged.
Zirc's weight made those chains scream louder than any other prisoner, his monstrous frame barely contained even half-petrified.
Guards jeered, some too afraid to get close, others puffed with bravado.
"You see that cock still swinging? Shura barely touched it," one joked.
Another barked laughter. "Crystals made him shine like a High Council toy. Should cut that thing off, keep it as a trophy."
Zirc's remaining eye—the one not clouded with crystal—flashed with feral rage.
A low growl rumbled from his chest, but the sound died as pain visibly shot through him.
The Shura's effect wasn't just physical.
It seemed to trap his beast form partially beneath the surface, leaving him caught between transformations.
I didn’t speak. Couldn’t. My throat felt flayed raw from holding back.
We reached the iron-barred cell at the end of the corridor. It had been prepared specially—reinforced walls, crystal-infused restraints bolted to the floor. They'd been planning this capture for months.
"Throw him in," I ordered, my voice cold and detached. The guards complied, shoving Zirc forward. He stumbled, barely catching himself before crashing into the back wall.
The cell door clanged shut with finality. I turned the key in the lock myself, feeling each tumbler like a knife in my gut.
Zirc’s flesh shimmered with violet sheen, twisted where the Shura had kissed him. One eye glazed with crystal. One arm barely flexing. But his aura? Pure fucking rage. I could taste it.
And outside his cell—Kilo and Nialla will perform their latest play.
Footsteps approached from behind—the distinctive click of Nialla's boots accompanied by Kilo's heavier tread. I stepped back, keeping my eyes lowered as they approached.
"Beautiful," Kilo murmured, gazing at Zirc through the bars. "The Silver Beast, caged at last."
Nialla pressed against the bars, her arousal evident in her scent. "I've waited years for this moment."
What happened next made bile rise in my throat. Kilo pressed Nialla against the bars, yanking down her leather pants. She laughed, a high, cruel sound as Kilo thrust into her from behind. The guards hooted and cheered, forming a semicircle around them.
"Look at him," Nialla panted, staring at Zirc as Kilo fucked her. "The mighty warrior, watching like a helpless cub."
Nialla bent over, Kilo pounding into her ass, rutting with brutal, hungry thrusts that made the iron grates rattle. Cum streaked her fur, her cock hanging thick and dripping.
At her feet, the "toy" they’d brought in—some poor bastard with a half-healed back and bite marks—licked her shaft like his life depended on it.
She yanked his head up by his hair, stuffed her length down his throat, choking him until tears and spit rolled down his cheeks.
Kilo groaned as he slammed home, clutching her hips, growling, “Watch him choke while I fill your ass.”
The guards howled. One jacked off openly, splattering the stone wall.
Zirc didn’t flinch. He stood at the bars, silent, seething. His eye fixed on Nialla. She winked.
I swallowed the bile.
Stepped past them like it was nothing.
Past the blood-slick stones where I’d once knelt. Where I’d learned obedience the hard way.
Kilo's throne room was filth in gold—a grotesque altar to power. Broken tiles, rusted weapons. The Shura weapon lay beside him like a pet. It pulsed like a heartbeat gone wrong.
Nialla sat on his lap, legs spread, cum still glistening between her thighs. She smirked when she saw me.
"The Shura worked perfectly," Nialla preened, stroking the twisted weapon like a beloved pet.
"His beast is strong," I said, keeping my tone neutral. They expect me to react. "Strongest I've ever seen."
"Which makes his fall all the sweeter." Nialla's fingers traced the weapon's jagged crystal core. "The Silver Beast... reduced to a pit fighter for our entertainment."
My heart stuttered. I should have expected this.
"Trill," Kilo grinned like a snake with its jaw unhinged. "You brought our beast home in chains. Beautiful work."
I stayed silent.
Nialla licked blood from her fingers, moaning exaggeratedly. "It fucked me good watching you drag that monster in. My cock aches remembering it."
"Tonight we break him," Kilo said, standing. "Throw him to the pit. Let the crowd see what happens to Silver Tribe arrogance."
He handed me a baton.
"I need him wild. But not dead. You know how to play that line, don’t you?"
I nodded.
"Make him feral. But breathing. We’ll sell the climax."
Nialla snorted. "Don't worry, we don't expect him to win. Just to suffer spectacularly before he dies."
My beast snarled inside me, but I kept my expression flat. "As you wish."
"One more thing." Kilo's eyes narrowed. "You did well during the capture. But I need to be certain of your loyalty."
The air in the room chilled. "Haven't I proven myself?"
"Prove it again," he said simply.
That was the game. Play the monster. Hide the heart.
Zirc’s cell pulsed with madness.
The guards eyed me suspiciously but stepped aside at my nod.
"I need privacy," I told them. "Leader's orders."
They retreated to the end of the corridor, still within earshot but giving me a semblance of solitude. I entered the cell, locking it behind me.
He growled as I entered, chains groaning. One eye clear. One crystalline. Half-man, half-cursed god. Fury incarnate.
"You," he growled, the word barely intelligible through fangs that had partially emerged.
I knelt just beyond reach. Palmed a vial of healing salve.
"This helps."
He lunged.
The chain held. Chains caught. He thrashed.
He bared his fangs. Spit flew. His muscles twitched like he wanted to shift but couldn’t. The Shura hadn’t just cursed his body. It had trapped his beast. Twisting it. Maddening it.
"You reek of him," he hissed. "Roqs."
I froze. I could have sworn I donned the pungent musk spray given to me by Roan.
He strained against his bonds. "You took my mate!"
I reacted instinctively. "He wasn't your mate - " I couldn't control my beast's instinct to claim my mate. Better not mention to the poor silver beast that I felt Brynn was also my mate.
His snarl cracked something in me. That was the crux of the mattter, wasn't it? Everyone knew Roqs and Zirc were destined to be the perfect Silver Tribe's Alphas. Yet, Roqs was fated to mate with me, and not to him.
Roqs is MINE, my beast roared.
After a quick massage to my chest to calm my beast, I crouched, whispered, "I never wanted to hurt you and - him."
Zirc trembled.
"You did."
The door opened. Two guards watched me, suspicious.
"Get on with it, Scar. He needs to be feral tonight."
Zirc’s breath rattled, chest heaving like a caged animal.
I stood. The salve burned in my palm. I left it behind.
The storeroom reeked of ammonia and old blood. A caged area had been set up in the center, and inside, a manasty cowered on his knees. I recognized him—Vex, once a trusted guard who'd been caught passing information to a rival gang.
Kilo stood over him.
"He ratted," Kilo said. "Told the High Council about a raid last month. I want his screams to echo."
"Make him scream," Kilo said, tossing the baton. "Show me your loyalty."
Nialla watched from the corner, eyes gleaming with anticipation. Several other high-ranking gang members lined the walls, waiting to witness my test.
My hand closed around it like it wasn’t mine.
I stepped into the cage, the door clanging shut behind me.
Vex looked up, hope shattering as he saw me.
The captive whimpered. "Please..."
I struck.
Hard enough to echo. Not hard enough to kill.
Again. Again. Again.
He sobbed. Cursed. Begged.
He screamed.
Again.
Welts rose. Bruises. Blood.
He begged.
Each strike peeled another layer off my soul.
My mind took me to a quiet place as it always did to protect me. I remembered Brynn in that cage, her hands curled over bars. How she hadn’t flinched. How her gaze met mine. And how I chose not to take her then, even though I could have. Even though I was starving for the touch of a mate.
I remembered Roqs, his scent like fire. His warmth that first time meeting him. His hand on my throat. His breath hot against my lips. The moment I let him in.
Another blow.
Another scream.
Vex collapsed. I struck again, calculating each hit to maximize sound and minimize harm. Vex played along, perhaps understanding my restraint, perhaps simply responding to genuine pain. His wails echoed off the stone walls.
"Enough," Kilo called finally, satisfaction evident in his voice.
I stood and stepped back, bloodied baton in hand. The baton trembled. My soul screamed. My breath was even. The effort to punish someone felt like a chore now.
Vex lay curled on the floor, sobbing quietly.
Nialla slinked close. Her claws ghosted over my arm.
My spine locked.
She leaned in, inhaling deep. Testing.
Fuck.
She exhaled.
"Smells like sweat and rage. Good." Nialla purred. "Still unclaimed. Pity."
Kilo nodded. "Good. You’re the one taking Zirc to the pit. Keep him mean. Ready the beast."
Nialla reluctantly stepped back. "Don't disappoint us, Trill. I'd hate to see you join him in the pit."
The threat hung in the air as they left, taking the other gang members with them.
As soon as the guards left, I knelt by the prisoner, slipped a med patch under his arm.
"Shut up. Play it.”
His eyes locked with mine. Saw more than I wanted him to.
He nodded.
Back in Zirc’s cell, I crouched again.
Zirc's condition had deteriorated when I returned to his cell. The crystallization had spread further up his neck, and his breathing came in labored gasps. His beast form flickered beneath his skin, unable to fully emerge or retreat.
I dismissed the guards again and approached cautiously. Zirc trembled in the cell. This time, he didn't lunge. He simply watched me, pain evident in his gaze.
"They're going to put you in the pit tonight," I said quietly, applying more salve to the crystal edges. "You need to control your beast enough to survive."
I wiped salve on the worst of it. He jerked away.
"Don’t touch me."
"I’m trying to help."
He grabbed me, slammed me against the wall. Claws bit my neck.
"You don’t get to try."
His voice broke.
"You don’t get to smell like him. To talk about him. You let them put me in chains."
I let him pin me. Let the blood trickle down.
"Then kill me."
He snarled. Threw me back. Turned away. Shaking.
Then he convulsed. Crystal creeping toward his neck. I uncorked the salve, slathered it across his ribs. His skin twitched. Then stilled. His breath slowed.
"You don’t get to do this alone," I whispered.
He surged. Knocked me flat. His claws grazed my throat.
He growled. No words. Just fury.
"I’m sorry," I choked. "Roqs. Brynn - "
This time, Zirc roared and threw me to the opposite wall. Ah, this answered why Zirc smelled like Brynn too. She's fated to this monster.
"How-" Zirc panted. "How… Brin." He could hardly talk right now.
I nodded. "I was the one who set her free from her cage in the Orange Mountain."
He glared at me, refusing to believe the words.
"They’re coming. I just need to keep you breathing."
His claws dug into his palms —then pulled back.
A guard arrived.
"Pit's ready."
I stood. Every muscle screamed. Every breath tasted like failure.
I looked at Zirc.
"I won’t let you die in that pit."
He didn’t answer.
But he followed.
And I led.
Straight into hell.