Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
LIAM
My hands trembled as I ended the call, silence replacing the comfort that was Simon’s voice. Working quickly, I deleted the call from Stefan’s history before locking his phone and chucking it face down on the bed.
As if its landing served as a warning, the lock to the room clicked. Quickly, I curled onto my side and wrapped myself in the sheets to conceal my partially clothed body. With only my briefs left, I prayed I would be able to sufficiently pretend I was asleep to avoid further assault.
When I’d woken a couple of hours prior, Stefan had catered to every wound he’d left behind. Precise stitching sealed the wounds on my thigh, but the gauze I’d peeled off was impossible to secure again, something I’d excuse with a fitful rest. And my fucking finger—
The door swung open, and I forced myself to level my breathing into a pattern that mirrored deep relaxation.
Harsh footfalls thudded in the space, a gruff chuckle seeping into my bones as the mattress creaked next to my face. Soft caresses greeted me, his fingertips exploring the expanse of my face.
Brushing over my brows with lingering touches, he advanced down, swiping across my cheek with possessiveness. He tugged on my lower lip, parting it gently as his thumb slid across my top teeth, his breath catching with the movement.
Slipping it from my mouth, he wiped the lingering wetness on my chin. “Mmm, wake up.”
I remained unmoving, praying that if I didn’t respond promptly, he would elect to leave me alone.
The bed groaned, and when his leg touched mine, I realized he was lying beside me. Brushing over the collar, I thought his ministrations would continue, but it vanished.
A sigh of relief almost escaped, but it halted the moment the chain went rigid, lifting at an angle that immediately cut off my ability to breathe.
“Wake up.”
My eyes shot open in panic, and I clawed at the metal constricting my throat. He slackened the chain at my movement and oxygen filled my lungs with forceful gulps.
“There. Better. Did you sleep well?”
Bottom lip quivering, I slipped into the role I had to play if I wanted to make it out alive, if I wanted to see Simon again. “Y-Yes…”
God, it hurt to speak.
“Good, little lamb.” He cradled my face, brushing strands of sweat-laden hair away from my forehead. “Are you in any pain?”
“M-My…” I swallowed, wincing. “My… throat…”
“I’m sorry for the roughness, but you haven’t been a good boy. The collar is necessary for you to listen.”
Biting my cheek, I fully slid on the mask. With the dip of my chin, I looked up at him beneath my lashes. “I know… but I want… I want to be good. I-I want to show you… I can…”
Flicking his eyes from the collar to the bed, he paused, glancing at the discarded phone. “Hmm? Did you take this?”
A perfected display of confusion crossed my expression. “Your phone…? No. I didn’t even know… I didn’t know it was in here…”
Licking his bottom lip, he smirked. “Then let’s test it. If my phone is untouched, I’ll take the collar off. But if there’s evidence you used it, you’ll stay chained until I punish the bad boy out of you.”
“Okay…”
My heart drummed against my ribs, a wave of unease washing over me.
I’d deleted any sign of my contact with Simon, but a piece of me was wary that Stefan had further security methods in place that would alert him if someone tampered with his phone.
But that more confident portion of me? It was convinced that he was too fucking stupid to have even contemplated the idea, his ego having served as his downfall in the past.
It was time to test if he’d learned his lesson.
Snatching the device, he leaned back against the headboard as his free hand rested on my thigh. Lightly squeezing, he flipped through the various spaces anyone kidnapped would’ve been tempted to use.
Clicking on the call log, he checked for anything out of the ordinary, and after a terrible few seconds of scrolling, tossed it back onto the bed. “I’m impressed. You were really good, weren’t you?”
I dipped my chin, careful not to let my grin slip. “Yes, sir.”
“Mmm, a promise is a promise, but I want one more thing to… test your devotion.”
My stomach sank, nausea building. “What?”
“A kiss like you used to give me.”
Sinking my teeth into my tongue to prevent myself from whimpering, I nodded. “Of course.”
“And if you try to fucking bite me again, we’ll be back at square one.” Hooking his finger beneath my chin, he tilted it upward, a mere inch from our lips brushing. “Well? I’m waiting.”
I forced myself into the recesses of my mind, crawling into the hole I’d dug to survive every forced interaction I’d had with him.
With one steady breath, I laced my fingers through his hair and pulled him toward me, our mouths colliding.
The burn of bile crept up my throat, but I ignored it, parting wider for him to do whatever he pleased so long as it meant I got out of this fucking collar.
Because as soon as I was, he would realize his idiocy.
Groaning, his tongue took possession, swiping across my molars with every intention of claiming me. His palm cupped the back of my neck, deepening his thrusts as he took his time, this opportunity something I knew he’d longed for. It wasn’t just about him staking a claim; it was about degrading me.
Pulling away with a final swipe across my lips, he hummed. “Good fucking boy.”
Instinctively, I wanted to reach up and wipe his defilement off me, but I held strong, keeping his gaze. “Was that… good enough? I-I just want… want to be good enough… For you.”
“It was perfect.”
Sinking his hand into his pocket, a silver key appeared. Placing his hand on my head, he angled me down, and I caught sight of the knife I would be grabbing as soon as I was free.
With a click, the collar opened, dropping into my lap with a light thud. “There. Look what reward you get when you listen.”
I inhaled what felt like fresh air, no longer tainted by my imprisonment or the shackles I unwillingly wore. With the plume of poison-free oxygen expanding my lungs, my senses became clearer, every ounce of training Thorne had drilled into me locking into place.
While I wasn’t calculated like Simon, capable of hacking into infrastructures and destroying them from the inside out, I was quick on my feet, and that skill readily benefited me.
Close combat was second nature, as was my ability to escape. I’d ensured Thorne put me through the most intensive training measures should I find myself in this situation again.
What appeared as sultriness transformed into unrelenting wrath. “Would you like your reward?”
Brows furrowing, he placed a hand on my shoulder. “What are you—”
Reaching forward, my fingers curled around the blade tucked against his side. With one yank, I secured my overhand grip and swung upward, carving from the corner of his jaw and across his nose, only to put extra emphasis on the pressure as I crossed his left eye.
Screams tumbled from his mouth as he angled backward, slipping from the bed and crashing onto the floor. His palm slapped over his eye, a slew of heightened curses spilling into the air.
“FUCK!”
“Here, let me help you!” Driving my heel into the center of his face, I kicked him back into the wall.
I jumped from the bed, wincing as my injured leg connected with the ground. Hissing under my breath, I hobbled to his desk, shoving everything from it as I hunted for the box he’d placed the room key in.
Using his palm to steady himself, he rose from his position. Stumbling toward me, his balance teetered, blood coating half his face as he snarled. “Little fucking lamb.”
Flipping the lid from the black cube, I snatched the first portion of my freedom from inside the four cardboard walls. “I hope you rot in hell, you deranged fuck.”
My words ignited his steps, his staggering not enough to prevent the bloodlust shining in his one good eye. “Run, you little fucker. It’ll be much more fun when I catch you.”
I barely heard the last of his statement as I rushed toward the door, ripping it open with ease.
My heels dug into the ground as I yanked it shut behind me to ensure he wasn’t able to slip free.
Forcing the key into the lock with a shaking hand, the sharp, satisfying click confirmed his imprisonment.
I took off into a sprint down the hallway, adrenaline aiding my escape.
Clad in only briefs, I ran past numerous soldiers patrolling the mansion.
Various reactions were tossed my way, but to my surprise, not a single one of them made a move to stop me.
They merely watched—whether in disbelief or longing, I wasn’t sure—as I worked to close the gap between me and the entrance.
Dark oak boards climbed the walls, outfitting them with an elegance Stefan lacked.
Their dark hues cast shadows down the lengthened corridors that harbored at least six rooms on each side.
The building itself contained four wings, each with their own secrets, as if he sectioned them off based on what torment he planned to inflict.
The grand banisters overhead, crafted with hand-carved leaves and thorns, hinted at the true nature of what appeared to be a rather exquisite Victorian-style mansion.
It was a maze, with countless routes and numerous dead ends, all of which I’d mapped out when I was a child and chained to Stefan’s side.
It didn’t take long for me to slip from the furthest wing and make my way to the grand entrance, the spiraled stairs flanking each side confirmation of my reliable memory.
Running under the overhang the two structures of ascension provided, the massive double doors sat in wait, screaming at me to push through the blinding burn that clawed its way into my lungs.
It was right there—my freedom, my… my chance to see Simon. But everything halted when a foot slammed into the back of my knee, an explosion of white-hot agony erupting through my body as I lost my balance.
The crack of bone echoed, but I didn’t have time to respond as knuckles drove into the side of my face.
The force knocked me sideways, granite greeting my side as I hit the ground.
Knife clattering from my hand, it came to rest a few feet away.
Heavy pants permeated my hearing as hands shoved me onto my stomach, pressure slamming into my thighs.
With my wound scraping against the flooring, I struggled to catch my breath.
The pain in my knee only grew, and with the slightest shift, I knew it was either broken or dislocated.
Before I could decipher which it was, fingers tangled in my hair, holding me against the cool surface with unrelenting strength.
A rattling cough split the charged air, followed by the unmistakable voice I thought I had escaped. “That was fucking fun.”
The cry came from me instinctively, his pressure on my leg nearly unbearable, and not because of my freshly torn stitches. “G-Get… Get off of me!”
“You’ve lost my trust, Liam. I was being nice, but if you want to play like this, I’ll show you the monster you thought you escaped.”
Thrashing beneath him, I tried to shift my weight off my left knee to avoid agitating the already searing affliction.
“Fuck… you! Fuck you!” My gaze remained fixated on the door, and sunlight trickled through the paired stained glass windows on both sides of the frame as a mockery of my failed escape. “Let… Let me go… Let me go!”
He shifted his weight, applying more pressure to the injured leg. A scream tore free from my throat, anguish coiling around my spine as I squeezed my eyes closed to try and ground myself.
“Repeat what you said.”
“W-What?”
Tangling his fingers in my hair, he slammed my skull against the concrete. “I fucking said to repeat it, but since your memory seems to be as useless as you, I’ll do it for you. You asked to let you go. Well, little lamb, you want me to release you?”
“Fucking let me go!” I yelled, ignoring the stars lining my vision.
“Sure.”
And then he bashed my head against the floor, leaning more onto my injured knee.
A groan was all I could muster; the pain flooding the back of my mind was nearly too much to handle.
Warmth bloomed at the base of my skull. At the sensation, I became tempted to lean into the darkness it brought forth.
A sharp prick at the nape of my neck sent heat spiraling through my system. Immediately, a wave of numbness washed over me, my body slackening at the sudden intrusion.
“Enjoy your final look, because this is the closest you’ll ever be to freedom again.”
The room spun, a feeling of lethargy threatening to consume me. “W-What… did you… give me…?”
“Something to keep you relaxed. An… anesthesia of sorts. It’ll keep the pain manageable, and you'll be compliant with whatever the fuck I want.”
Eyelids fluttering, I tried to shake my head. “No…”
Threading his fingers through my hair, he brushed through the silken strands. “Yes, and you’ll do it willingly.”
“Please… N-No… Simon…” My breathing intensified, panic building as my body continued to relax. “S-S-Sim… Simon…”
“Shhh,” he muttered, continuing his strokes. “You won’t remember him anymore, not in the way you want. You’ll be too busy swallowing everything I give you.”
“Simon…” I whimpered, my frame slackening to the point where moving became an impossible task.
“It’s alright. You won’t have to worry about using your pretty little mouth for anything other than me. Your autonomy is mine, and if you thought the collar was drastic, wait until you wake up.”
Don’t fucking fall asleep, Liam.
It was a mantra I tried to keep repeating, but the edges of my vision only seemed to betray me once more. “Please… Stefan…”
“You left my kindness behind the moment you betrayed my trust. I’ll fucking find it delightful to see you spread, gagged, and chained on my bed.”
The last thing I saw was his marred face, the deep gash I’d left behind still dripping with steady flow of a crimson river. But it was the darkness that rippled through his right eye—his left no longer decipherable—that caused my stomach to twist.
It was a sultriness I knew only meant one thing: when I woke up, he would take whatever he wanted, and I would have no say in the matter.
He had won.
I was finally his.