Justin’s POV I open my eyes slowly and find myself hanging from the ceiling. My hands are tied up with chains and the rest of my body is free. I try to break the chains but end up screaming with the pain. It shoots up and down my body and it makes my body taut. I look down slowly and see about eight or nine spikes protruding from my body. Brian has never gone this far before. There is a big pool of blood under me, my blood. “Stop it,” someone screams as the door opens. “I can walk perfectly fine.” “Get in,” Brian hisses. “My god,” the guy says. “Justin, you’re awake,” Brian says smiling. “This is Mysterious Marilyn.” I look at the guy wondering what’s so mysterious about him and why is his name Marilyn. “I usually don’t wear these clothes,” he tells me as he runs his hands down the blue jeans and then starts to pull at the hem of his shirt. I grunt when Brian swings my body back. “Justin’s been a naughty boy as you can see.” “Bastard!” I yell but Brian only laughs. “He’s hurting you know,” the guy tells him. “Good,” Brian hisses. “Is not the same kind of hurt that you feel, Brian,” he says as he looks up at me. “When you get hurt it’s physical and a part of you enjoys it.” “No shit,” Brian spats out. “Justin is not the same now,” this man says. “He used to enjoy when you hurt him before. God, he misbehaved on purpose,” he says looking at us. Brian nods slowly and he looks at me. “He was my golden boy. I don’t know what he is now.” “Once he burned one of your childes to get your attention,” this man says. I can tell he can see things. I don’t remember what he’s talking about but Brian is agreeing to everything. This has to be a trap to screw with my mind. I would remember if I did the things he is saying. “Then what happen?” Brian asks angry. “What the fuck has happened to Justin?” “I don’t know. I can’t see everything,” the psychic whispers looking at me. Brian walks closer to me. His hands reach up to my face and he caresses me. “All I know is that gods grew envious of that,” Marilyn says. “They are unfilled and hopeless beings who covet what others have. And they set their eyes on Justin.” “Death wants him,” Brian whispers. “Two of them,” he tells Brian. “The power to take someone’s live is great. That makes them gods.” Brian frowns. “Justin always managed to get everyone’s attention. He’s always been a petulant childe though, but so beautiful, always.” “They couldn’t get to him,” Marilyn explains and turns to Brian. “They did something to you so they could separate you two. They wanted Justin to hurt, not be so happy any longer.” Brian runs his fingers through his hair. “What do you mean?” “You have a new problem now,” this man tells us. “Don’t dwell on the past.” What could be worse than this? I’m hurting like crazy. Bleeding on the floor and getting weaker by the second. Then on top of all I’m naked in front of this man that I don’t know. “You enjoy pain too much,” he tells Brian. “And when you hurt him is not only his body, it’s consuming his soul.” Brian stares into my eyes and he lets a tear out. “What do you mean his soul?” he asks. This can’t be happening! This is not happening! He’s a monster that doesn’t feel. “He has one now,” Marilyn says. “And you’re killing it.” “Do something!” Brian yells at the man. “You have two options,” the psychic says. “You either let him leave or you put your mate out of his misery.” Mate! What is he talking about? I’m not Brian’s mate. I…can’t be. Can I? God, my head hurts so much. “Brian,” I whisper. Brian starts to pull out the spikes from my body. I can’t help but scream each time one comes out. Brian unties the chain from the wall and slowly starts to lower my body. Then he kneels at my side and pulls me into his arms. He caresses my face as he cradles me in his arms. This is so wrong. “I won’t,” Brian says looking at the man he brought with him. “He’s mine forever.” “You’re going to kill his soul slowly,” he says looking at us. “And then all would be lost…he’ll become destruction. He won’t care about anyone or anything but killing everything in his path.” Brian grips me closer and that hurts so much. I feel Brian shaking or maybe it’s me. I look up at him and he stares down at me. I can smell the fear in him and I want to cry out to him that he’s an asshole and to stop holding me. But I don’t. I see how vulnerable he is and it’s almost like a dream. Everything inside of me aches. I always wanted to drown Brian’s body in fear towards me…guess this is almost like it. “We’ll work it out,” Brian says looking at the man. “There has to be a way.” This new character starts pacing. “Well, whatever he did has to do with you. All I know is that if he takes it back you’re going to die.” “That’s all that can be done?” Brian asks. “What about this thing that wants him…death, these fucking gods, whatever the fuck you call it?!” “Well,” he says coming closer and kneels close to us. “They asked Ben if he would give his life for Justin and he accepted. They gave him a soul. You see they might have power but they can’t take anything that doesn’t have a soul. They have to let him live with it for a few weeks so it consumes him,” he explains. “If you don’t have one you belong in hell.” Brian stiffens up and I glare at this man in front of us. I want him gone. “What happened to him?” Brian asks. “Did they kill him?” “Oh, you think that because they are death they want everything around them dead?” Marilyn asks and laughs. “No, he will be with them forever. The only reason they want Justin is because of the power he holds. They wanted to show him around and be like ‘look he belongs to us’.” “That’s fucked up!” Brian yells. “Oh,” Marilyn says. “Like you don’t do it, Brian, you love to show your boys around for everyone to see, so they can envy you and you can laugh in their faces. Because let’s be frank here, you people have power and all you look for is more power.” Brian growls. And I know he does because the truth is being slapped in his face. He always likes to show the power he has and the things that belong to him. “You must be happy that they took Ben. He sacrificed himself for you. They won’t be coming for Justin now, but they are a devious bunch. Justin can’t go through what you put him through each day. They’re not stupid; they might not be able to get Justin now but they are not letting his demon return to him. So it’s like he’s a human trapped in this body.” What does he mean that Ben sacrificed himself for me? It can’t be possible. Why would he do something like that? “They will still try to find a way to get Justin,” Marilyn informs us. “He’s not some goddamn trophy!” Brian shouts. “He’s my mate. He’s mine!” Marilyn frowns as he looks at us. “You can’t change things,” he whispers but I hear hesitation in his voice. “I’ll change it all,” Brian screams. “I’ll change,” he whispers. “For him.” “But you can’t survive without hurting him, Brian,” he says. “It’s in you; the demon in you won’t let you.” “I’ll hurt everyone else,” Brian informs him. “I’ll hurt everything but him.” This guy shrugs and comes closer to us. “You tell yourself whatever you want to, it won’t make it true.” Brian glares at the psychic. He starts growling and I know he’s about to attack. “You promised not to kill me,” the guy says quickly. He gets up and starts backing away. “I’m only telling you the truth.” “Brian,” I protest as I grip Brian’s shirt to keep him from going after this man. “I’m not going to do anything to him,” he hisses as he lays me on the floor gently. “It will be okay, Jus. I’ll make it okay.” I close my eyes briefly but I must have passed out because when I open them again I’m in the bathtub and Brian is humming while he cleans me up. It smells like orchids and lavender this time. I look at his hands on my chest and I can’t help it. I push them away. “Here,” he says giving me the sponge. “Maybe you want to finish yourself.” I take it and stare at him like he’s from another planet. “Brian, where is Kevin?” “He’s chained in…” he swallows and sighs. “In his room.” “Why?” I ask. “He escaped with you,” Brian tells me. “He had to be punished.” “I can’t believe you,” I tell him. “Why would you hurt him?” “He needs to learn that I’m the one in command here,” he tells me. “And no matter what he’s cute as hell brother tells him; he won’t try to escape. Plus,” he says suddenly. “He enjoys what I do to him so don’t worry about it.” I don’t think that’s true. It can’t be. He can’t enjoy it. He can’t! “Are you okay?” Brian asks me. “Are you hungry or…” “What happened?” I ask him. “We were in the car.” “I crashed the car,” he tells me. “You went flying out of it.” “Who found us?” I ask him. “Derek and Pete found us,” he says. “They were searching for you.” I nod as play with the sponge in my hands. “They brought us back to the house and I made sure Kevin was okay before I…” he’s explaining and then stops. I look at him and glare. “Before you tortured him?” I ask angrily. “And then me?” “I was so mad at you!” he screams. “You have no idea how scared I was!” “So because you were scared you tortured me?” I ask him getting up. “What kind of reaction is that?” Brian arches a brow. “That’s how it is, Justin. This is who I am.” “No shit,” I whisper and get out of the bath. I grab a towel and wrap it around myself. “How long ago was that?” “A week,” Brian informs me. “You were pretty banged up.” “But you still let it all out on me,” I point out. “I was angry and wanted to blame you for what happened,” he mutters and then sits down on the counter. “That I ran away,” I whisper. “You can’t blame me for wanting to get away from you.” “I was angry that Ben is gone because of you,” he hisses. He gets up and it’s ready to attack me but stops himself and moves away. “Well,” I say. “It’s not my fault that they are after me!” “But if you had stayed and obeyed me like you’re supposed to then this would have never happened, Justin!” he yells at me. “It could have been Kevin…for fuck sakes it was almost you!” he yells very loudly. He says it like he cared. Then he walks back towards me and caresses my face. “I almost lost you,” he whispers. “Like you care,” I shout. Brian shakes his head and looks down. I can’t believe this is happening. Ben is gone and it’s really my fault. Ben has always been there for Brian. I lower my head not sure what I can say. Yes, it’s my fault. That thing that attacked me wanted me and not Ben. He was just protecting me. And Brian is right. It’s my fault. I look at him and his eyes are filled with sadness. He must miss Ben like crazy. “I should go,” Brian whispers. “Brian,” I whisper. “Why didn’t you tell me I was your mate?” “What?” Brian asks. “Are you out of your fucking mind, Justin? You know. You’ve always known.” I try really hard to remember it, but I can’t. “You don’t remember,” Brian whispers. “God, this has fucked you up more than I thought.” I can’t believe it. I don’t really know what my real life is. This is so confusing. “What do you remember?” Brian asks coming close. “At the beginning?” “I remember you turning me,” I tell him. “How could you possibly remember that?” Brian asks getting angry. “You were passed out when I turned you.” This doesn’t make sense. “No,” I say. “Yes,” he yells. “Brian,” I say trying not to scream at him. “I woke up in the bed and you were waiting for me. You…you took me like…” “You were already turned,” Brian hisses. “I asked you over and over again if you wanted to be with me forever and you said yes!” he yells. “And you enjoyed every single second we spent together locked in that room for weeks.” I try to take everything in. I look down at the scar above the left side of my cock. I run my hand over the scar and look at the stain. “That’s my seal,” he tells me. “I thought…” I say and laugh a bit. “I thought it was a birthmark.” “It kind of was if you think about it,” he tells me and smirks. He moves closer to me and I keep backing away. Brian caresses my stomach, his fingertips barely touching me there. My whole body vibrates with pleasure. Then he scratches me and he pulls away. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I can’t help it.” “I can see that,” I say. “What did you do?” Brian asks me and his voice is so full of pain. “What the fuck did you do?! You screwed everything up!!” “I don’t know!” I yell back at him. Brian looks at the water in the bathtub. It’s turned red because of the blood that washed off of me. “What are you thinking?” I ask him. “You don’t want to know,” he informs me moving to the door. “Tell me anyway,” I say. Brian turns around and walks closer to me. “I think how beautiful you would look covered in blood sliding down my cock.” I pull away until my back touches the wall. His eyes glow and then he shakes his head before he disappears. “Jesus Christ,” I mutter to myself. I quickly got out into my room. I look around and the memories assault me. This used to be my old room. It’s so full of so many bad memories and then I wonder if that’s true. I can’t seem to remember my life anymore. “Why does this have to happen to me?” I ask myself. The door to the room opens and Brian comes in again. He puts a few bags on the floor and stares at me. “What’s that?” I ask. “Clothes,” Brian replies. “They will fit. I know your body. We can buy more stuff tomorrow if you want.” This Brian scares me more than anything in the world. This Brian is not my Brian. Jesus, did I just thought that? What is going on? This is some kind of bizarre game he’s playing. He’s going to wait until I let my guard down and attack. “I replaced everything,” he informs me. I look around and nod. Everything looks new except for a few things. They are my old things, things that I didn’t think I would ever see again. “Um…I have to go see Kevin,” he tells me. “You should rest.” I nod. “If you need anything call me,” Brian tells me and walks to the door. “We’ll work this out, Justin. I’ll find a way to fix this.” Before I can say anything he’s gone. I walk to the bags and start pulling everything out. I know this is very expensive. There is even a black, silk robe and I absolutely love it. God, this is some kind of scheme to get me to do what he wants. It has to be. When I’m done inspecting everything I put it on the drawers nicely folded. There is no underwear because Brian has a rule that we don’t wear them. I’ve gotten used to that. I take off the towel and drop it on the floor before putting my new robe on. I sit at the edge of the bed and stare at myself in the mirror. I’m so confused with everything that has happened recently. I don’t understand it. I don’t even know if I want to know. I get up and walk to the door. It opens and it takes me a few seconds to realize it’s not my imagination. I walk out and look around then I go back inside. I’m too scared to go out. That’s a joke. Me…scared. But everything has changed in the blink of an eye. I don’t know what to expect anymore. It’s not fair. This is my life and I never asked for any of this…or did I? I can’t take it. I feel so tired but I don’t want to go to sleep. I get up and go out and start to walk around. Some of Brian’s childes pass me by and they bow their heads at me. Now I know why. I hear the screaming so I run to it. When I get to the living room I see Brian beating one of his grandchildes. I stare at him and see nothing but a monster. He growls and turns back to stare at me. “Go to your room,” he hisses at me. For the first time ever I don’t fight him on it. I rush back and don’t stop for nothing in the world. “Fuck,” I say as I sit on the bed yet again. I take off my robe and get in the bed. I look at the door expecting Brian to burst inside any second now. But he doesn’t. He never comes. I know he will be sleeping with Kevin and Maximilian tonight and I should be happy. He’s finally backing away. I’m going to be able to do whatever I want from now on or at least I hope so. Brian is not going to put a finger on me ever again. This is what heaven tastes like. But there is another feeling inside of me. It makes me angry and I want to kill someone. Jesus, Justin you don’t know what you want, do you? I wrap my arms around my pillows pulling them close to me. I try to go to sleep but I can’t. I get up from the bed and start pacing. The room has gotten darker and cold and something is so wrong with this picture. I’m so lonely. I want Brian in my bed holding me like he would after a day of torture. I want the man he becomes after the monster is satiated. I laugh. It’s a bitter laugh because he’s never going to be that and I can’t be what he wants me to be. This is just so fucked up.