He looks like a dark prince standing there with a smile that should be malicious and feral. Instead, it’s soft and real. Kronos never talks like this. His persona radiates with rage and vengeance. I look at him as I drop the whip, extreme confusion settling over me. He touches my face, and I gasp. His touch pulls me from my pondering thoughts. Kronos is driving me crazy to the point that I can't help but do something crazy. I reach out and kiss him. He grounds me from the hectic thoughts swirling through my brain. I’ve held that little girl close to my heart for fifteen years. She’s the only one that has ever shown me kindness. Something I crave but refuse to discuss or ask for. Not even Ayres or Kronos has shown me pure innocence like she had. An honest kindness that didn’t come with a hidden agenda. Kronos steps back after a second and adjusts himself. Chuckling, he sits down.
“There’s time for that Hypnos.” He looks at me with that hungry stare. “Now punish her.”
My body is on fire. Damn, I want Charlotte, but fuck, I want Kronos too. The softness he is showing is out of character. Fuck, Charlotte has done a number on him. Can we keep Kronos this way?I shake my head. I like this version of Kronos way too much.
Kronos and Ayres have always been a little crazier than I have. What's kept me saner than them? Holding onto that moment with that sweet little girl. A girl who didn't know me showed me there was some humanity left within myself—within the world. That this is that same little girl, tied before me, makes me angrier than I thought was possible. It kills me. My rage at her betrayal sullies the image of the little girl who cared enough to make me feel better. I’m finally getting to fuck my one vice that’s kept me human. She betrayed me, though. I was falling for Charlotte. Feeling the beauty between us growing. I could see the warrior she would become. The battles wouldn't be so cold with her by my side. Instead, she ran from me, betraying my dreams. The thought pisses me off to no end and she must pay for it. She must realize the error of her actions.
The hectic thoughts once again start to overtake my mind as I hear Ayres grunt.
“Goddamn this mouth is so good. Keep doing that, little kitten.” I watch him fuck Charlotte’s mouth, and my little warrior isn’t fighting. There’s no pull against the cuffs. No trying to get away. I see the slickness on her thighs and my anger reaches the final boiling point.
How dare she submit to them and not me?
She ran from me. Why?
Red. That’s all I see as my veins run hot with the mission to teach Charlotte that she will bow to me. I can’t let the thought of her being the girl that kept me human overshadow the woman she is now. No. The woman lying before me took my trust and threw it back in my face. I can see her submitting to Ayres. And if what Kronos said is true, and I know he has no reason to lie, she gave into him as well. Well, it’s my fucking turn now. She will submit. Without a second thought, I pull a throwing knife out of my pants pocket and kneel on the floor next to her.
“You’ll regret running from me. In a minute, you’re going to know who the fuck owns you. Forever.”
I see her tense and the rage consumes me. Only me. Not Ayres. Not Kronos. She fucking tenses and flinches with me. Well, it’s about time I change that. If she feels the need to flinch with me, I’ll give her a goddamn reason to fucking flinch. Without a second thought, I bring the knife against her spine near where her neck attaches to her shoulders, and I start to carve.
I knewI was in for hell when Hypnos made me get on this table. I would have never guessed this. It’s clear to see he’s angry with me for what I did. But it seems my apology has fueled his rage. With the first prick of the knife, I tense. I scream against Ayres’s cock.
“No!”I move, and I feel three sets of hands on me.
“Don’t fucking move, Charlotte.” Hypnos growls at me. He keeps moving the knife deep into my back. Tears run down my face as I choke on Ayres’s thrusting cock.
“P.” Hypnos growls as I try to get away. P? P for what?
He runs the blade along my back for a short second and then excruciating pain hits me again. I yank on the cuffs, not caring that they are biting into my wrists. Ayres holds my head still as he takes off the blindfold. His eyes stare into me as if to say I deserve this.
“O,” Kronos whispers as he runs a finger into what I can only imagine is the blood trailing along my back. Consciousness lingers within my grasps, but Ayres yanks my hair so hard I feel the blackness digging at me.
White lights flare within the outskirts of my vision as the knife cuts deep again. I beg for mercy around Ayres, but it does nothing. They cannot hear me say anything. My sobs are useless. Just as useless as I am. I’m utterly helpless. Powerless.
“W,” Ayres grits out as I lay here, struggling to get away. He pounds into my mouth, choking me. Kronos runs his fingers into each cut that Hypnos makes, making them sting. This is too much for me. I know it is. I’m going to faint at any moment. If for no other reason than to be away from this agony.
“E.” Hypnos growls as he plunges his cock into me. It feels wrong to feel even an ounce of pleasure with them while they are mutilating my body. He runs the knife along my back once more and then the skin is tearing away with another cut.
“R,” Kronos says right before I feel his tongue on my back—or at least I believe it’s his tongue—licking the blood from one of the many trails Hypnos is leaving.
Ayres comes hard in my mouth as I scream when another cut is made. “S,” he whispers as he empties himself. He holds me there as I continue gagging on his fluids. It doesn’t matter what I might have wanted. They’ve shown me that. Ayres slumps backward as he gathers himself.
Kronos is in front of me, but I’m fading. My eyes close as pain and panic seep in. I can’t take it anymore.
* * *
When I openmy eyes again, I’m alone. The room is silent, and I can see that the sun has gone down. I move, and I go nowhere. My hands and legs are still handcuffed to the table. I wiggle and I stop at once. The pain that runs through me knocks the breath out of me. Before I can wonder how long they are going to leave me, I hear their voices.
“Oh, little rabbit is awake,” Kronos says as he turns the light switch on and the room is flooded with light. I close my eyes at the onslaught of the light hitting my eyes. Kronos and Hypnos stand there.What…what do they plan to do to me?
My mouth can’t move, and I remember the O-ring. It’s still in my mouth. Hypnos walks over to me as I feel hands on my backside. I jolt, realizing that Ayres is in the room too. His hands move along my hips.
“Charlotte,” Hypnos says, and I turn my eyes toward him. “Death will be next if you ever forget this. Do you understand?”
I nod my head quickly, and Hypnos gives me a millimeter smile. Kronos pushes off the wall and sits down in one of the recliners.
“Nah, death is too good for her, boys. We’ll send her to the whorehouse.”
