Chapter 10 Welts of Ownership

Zephyra

"Did you think you could escape me?" he snarled, his voice dripping with venom. "I own you, Zephyra. You're nothing but a worthless f*cktoy, and it's time you learned your place."

Tears stung my eyes as he dragged me back inside, my hopes of freedom shattered. Malachi took me to a room I'd never seen before, one reserved for especially bad behavior. He threw me to the floor and secured my wrists and ankles to chains bolted to the walls, spreading my limbs wide.

"This is my special punishment room," he purred, circling me like a predator. "I bring my most disobedient dolls here when they need to be reminded who's in charge."

I tried to shrink back as he trailed a finger down my cheek, but there was nowhere to go. "Please, your majesty," I begged, hating the fear in my voice. "I'll be good, I swear. Please don't hurt me anymore."

He laughed, a cold, humorless sound that sent shivers down my spine. "Oh, I don't think so, little maid. You see, I've decided that you need a much harsher punishment."

"Please, your majesty, don't-"

He shushed my voice by pulled my chin for a searing kiss, dominating my mouth until I can't breathe, and my bound limbs desperately tried to make a move, ending up in futile hopes and ominous sounds of rattling chains.

Just as I was about to lose air, he bit my lower lip, making me yelp when I felt my flesh tear and tasted metal on my tongue. "This is what I call, heaven on hell," he chuckled, purposely pressing his thumb on the cut, letting the sting travel throughout my body.

"Beautiful dolls like you will have punishments far from execution or public hanging." He grinned, leaning closer to whisper the next words.

"I use the body until she can no longer defy me." Slowly, his hand went from my waist to my underside of my bre*sts. "Pleasure and pain is a twisted feeling, you know."

"Sometimes it feels so good," he paused, nibbling on my earlobe as his knee rubbed against my clothed mound. "Sometimes it hurts so good that they wish for de*th." He then pinched my n*pple, causing my breath to hitch.

"Either way, those feelings will leave you thinking of no one else but me. That, my little maid, is the utmost punishment for my precious toys."

When I heard those words, chills ran down my spine. He just hinted - no, spilled, the truth of what fate awaits me in this terrifying room.

"Behave now, hm? I'll be back." With that wicked grin, he gave my left hip a firm squeeze before leaving me alone in the punishment room, bound in chains, and accompanied by nothing but my rampant thoughts.

***

Malachi left me like that for a whole hour, alone with my thoughts and my racing heart. When he finally returned, he had a menacing gleam in his eye, a pair of scissors on his left hand, and a riding crop in his right.

"No, please!" I cried, desperation clawing at my throat. "I'll do anything, just let me go!"

Malachi chuckled, folding the sleeves of his shirt past his forearm as he flexed his muscles. "Oh, you'll do anything, will you? Well, let's see how well you take your punishment first."

Skillfully, he made the scissor move in a repeated circular motion before stopping the sharp end under my jaw, immediately causing me to tilt my head up. "No hard feelings, little maid. I was trying to be nice in welcoming you, but you chose to run away."

With that, I felt my skin tingle, and goosebumps ran over my body when he began cutting my clothes at the center, leaving my torso and panties exposed to his hungry gaze.

Malachi then used his big, calloused hands to slide the torn clothes to the sides, letting my once pristine fit to pool on my wrists and ankles. "There, much better." He grinned, poking my n*pples with his scissors before tossing them to the cobbled floors.

"Y-you monster," I barely managed to speak between my hitching breaths and angry tears.

Ignoring my words, he picked up the riding crop from the table and snapped it in the air, making me flinch. "You see, little maid, I brought you here because you were pathetic in that old pack of yours."

"I thought to myself, you were so beautiful yet broken," he leaned in, his ruby gaze piercing against mine as he pushed the crop past my lips, letting me taste the leather. "Your eyes, shining like the setting sun, is what caught me the most."

Without any further ado, he pulled back and the first crack of the crop caught me across the bre*sts, sending a shockwave of pain through my body. I screamed, arching against the chains, but Malachi just laughed.

"You were alone in that filthy dungeon, yet your eyes are still full of defiance-and it makes me want to break you more."

Giving me series of whips, I bit my lower lip to stop myself from screaming hard, causing my bl*od to flow down my chin, along with the red marks and forming welts along my skin.

Suddenly, he targeted my throat, making me lose my control over my own voice, and I ended up giving him what he wanted.

"That's it, scream for me," he taunted, bringing the crop down again and again, leaving welts across my flesh. "Let everyone hear what a dirty little slut you are for me."

Tears blurred my vision as the pain consumed me, but I refused to beg. I clenched my teeth and endured it, determined not to give him the satisfaction.

"Still think you can defy me?" Malachi growled, crouching down to grip my chin hard enough to bruise. "I own you, little maid. Body and soul. And I'm going to break you until you're nothing more than a mindless f*cktoy, eager to please your Master."

When he received no response from me, he chuckled darkly before aiming the crop at my exposed p*ssy, making my entire body respond in the pain on my sensitive mound. "Say it, Zephyra Tempest."

"Say you're mine."

I can't utter a word as I aimlessly stagger, and only the chains kept me standing. And because of that, he hit the same spot again, causing me to scream and try to close my legs, but the chains on my wrists prevents me from doing so.

"You're a tough one, future Luna." When he used that title, I looked up, angry at how he was using my once proud name as an insult towards me.

Instead of getting offended, his lips formed a sinister smirk. "Keep on glaring at me; I like it."

...just like that, I earned myself a ticket to becoming his favorite doll to break.

But no matter what he did to me, no matter how much he hurt me, I would never stop fighting for my freedom. I would bide my time and look for another opportunity to escape, even if it meant enduring more pain and humiliation.