Chapter 72 – The Monster Beneath the Rose
Killian
I watch as Thomas’ eyes slam shut, the sedative finally taking hold. The thrill pulses through me, a drumbeat in my veins. The game was mine again. I’ve always loved the hunt — the raw panic, the desperate scramble before the inevitable end. Even with Liam tearing through my streets like a rabid dog, I still had the upper hand. I still had my fun.
“Take him,” I order, motioning for my men to drag Thomas’s limp body away. Promises were promises, and breaking him would come later. For now, I had more precious prey to track.
The maze stretches before me — my kingdom, my stage. I whistle as I walk, the sound echoing off the high green walls. Each footprint pressed into the soil is a breadcrumb, a breadcrumb leading me home — to her. They couldn’t have gotten far. Not from me.
A scream shatters the air. I grin.
The trap had sprung.
I round the corner and see her — my little one — dangling from the edge of a pit cleverly disguised as solid ground. Phoebe clings to her hand, trembling, eyes wide like a doe caught in headlights. When she looks up and sees me, that fear — oh, that fear — blooms across her face, and I drink it in.
“That’s right, pet,” I purr. “Fear me. Remember who owns the dark.”
Amara yells for her to run, and Phoebe hesitates, eyes torn between love and terror, before taking off down the corridor. Smart girl. Survival is instinct. But my little one? She was trapped. Mine.
I crouch down in front of her, shadows stretching long and hungry across her face. Her eyes burn with hate. Good. Hate makes the breaking sweeter.
“Need a hand?” I ask with a grin.
“Killian…” she spits my name like venom.
“That’s Master to you,” I correct softly. “Or do you need a reminder why you call me that?”
I grab her arms and haul her from the pit. She thrashes, screaming, trying to wrench free. My grip doesn’t falter.
“Let go of me!” she shrieks.
“Calm down, little one. The fun’s just starting.”
She kicks me in the gut — fierce, defiant — and I laugh. The sound fills the air, dark and unshaken. “You’ll learn soon enough, darling. You can fight all you like, but pain… pain is a lesson I teach very well.”
Her eyes meet mine, blazing with fire, and my heart hammers with something feral — obsession, possession, love twisted into something monstrous. She’d been mine once, and she would be again. I’d carve obedience into her bones if I had to.
I lean close, my voice a low growl at her ear.
“You’re not going anywhere. You’ll scream my name before I’m through. And when you do, you’ll remember who gave you breath, who takes it away.”
Her body trembles beneath my hands. Fear radiates off her in waves — intoxicating, electric. This was my art, my symphony. I didn’t need to touch her to make her break; I only had to promise what would come.
“You think I won’t? You think I can’t?” My tone turns soft, dangerous. “I could unmake you, piece by piece. I could strip away every lie you’ve told yourself about being free.”
She glares up at me. “You don’t own me.”
“Oh, little one…” I tilt my head, smiling. “How very wrong you are. You’ll always be mine.”
I grab her chin, forcing her to look at me — the man she once loved, the monster she created. “All this,” I murmur, motioning to the maze, the traps, the chaos, “is for you. Every scream, every shadow. A love letter written in fear.”
I drag her close, my breath hot against her ear.
“When you finally stop fighting… when you finally break… I’ll know you understand. You were never meant to escape me.”
She spits in my face.
The laughter that leaves my chest is guttural, unhinged. “Still fighting. Still clinging to that spark. Good. It’ll make your surrender all the sweeter.”
I toss her back to the ground. “Run, little one. Run while you still can. The game isn’t over yet. But when I catch you — and I will catch you — you’ll beg me to end it.”
The maze hums around us. Somewhere in the distance, the walls shift, sealing paths, opening new ones. She scrambles to her feet, eyes darting between me and the twisting corridors.
I give her a single nod.
“Go on, then. Let’s see how far you make it before the monster finds you.”
That's right, little one, you're not going anywhere. I am going to enjoy fucking this rebelion out of you. I am going to fuck you until you pass out, then i am going to get your little friend and share her with my men. When they are done with her she will be nothing more than a thirsty slut passed around for their entertainment. Then I am going to make you watch as I make Thomas scream. So you know exactly the trouble you caused today.
Fear sets in her, her body trembles underneath me only making my cock swell more. Nothing is quite as sweet as the fear coming off her. Knowing her punishment would be rough but the mental complexity of it would be far worse. I tear off her shirt, she screams, I cuff my hand over her mouth.
Tsk Tsk little one, you keep screaming like that and i will give you a reason to
Get off me Killain!
Your mine Amara, the sooner you accept that, the less this will hurt.
I bite down on her neck above her collar bone, claiming her as the blood seeps around my mouth. Her scream of pain sends bolts to my cock only encouraging me more.
That's right, little one, feel my pain.
I shove my fingers down her throat hearing her gag on them as I bite down again bruising her sweet milky breasts. Her screams gurgled by my fingers. She bites my fingers as I pull them out, my hand smacks her hard across the face. I smirk as she whimpers.
Now little one behave or I will only get rougher with you.
I flip her over, digging her face into the ground, her screams muffled under the dirt. I hold her neck down tighter as she squirms beneath me. I rip her pants down and slap her ass with brutal force. My hand left a hot red handprint on her ass cheek already swelling and welting.
I said behave little one
Her body stills underneath me, the smell of her fear arousing me more.
I am going to have so much fun with you, it seems you have forgotten your place, little one, don't worry master is here now and will remind you.
You're not my master anymore she screams!
Oh little one, how very wrong you are. I will always be your master and you will always be mine, my voice growls in her ear.
I unzip myself with my other arm, holding her frail body with ease. I slammed inside her with no warning, I wanted her to scream until her voice broke. She was going to remember her place.
Say it, say your mine, I growl in her ear.
When she doesn't respond I bite down on her shoulder in the same exact spot. Her screams fill the air and I half expected Phoebe was somewhere hiding pissing her pants. My grip around the back of her neck digs in further, my marks were going to be on her body, a constant reminder of whom she belonged to. She only breathed because I allowed it.
Her fighting had slowed down, the relaxation of her reality, she could fight me or accept it but it wasn't going to change a damn thing. I thrust my hips harder, her wails and cries just adding fuel to an already lit flame. God she drove me wild, but that was what I loved most about her.
Scream little one, let everyone hear who you belong to!
I was nowhere done with her yet, the others could wait, she was going to scream until I wanted her to stop. She was going to feel this punishment for days.
Her screams fade into quiet sobs, her defiance reduced to shallow breath. He crouches beside her, eyes soft with something close to affection — a twisted mockery of love. He brushes the hair from her face, voice dropping low.
“There now,” Killian murmurs. “Lesson learned. Next time, don’t make me remind you what you already know.”
He stands, buttoning his shirt, and looks down at her one last time. “You’re mine, Amara. You’ve always been mine.”