40 - A monster makes a monster

"Never love anyone who treats you like you're ordinary."

― Oscar Wilde

. . .

XERXES CREED

I looked at my opponent. The bull, he was known as, apparently. Now he was dead on the ground.

Deathmatch.

People were idiots to have deathmatches here. But the lure of money was always too much.

I got out of the cage, feeling the sweat glisten down my half-naked body. No one congratulated me. I didn't need it.

I walked inside the locker room and for a second, in this rush of power, I was reminded of the past. The things I kept buried. The things which had to be buried if I was to not lose my head.

. . .

"This is good," Zavier said. He was sitting on a worn-out chair near the dirty window in our small apartment. I could see the faint city lights outside. "We can stay here for a while."

We couldn't, but I nodded at him.

"You know what sucks?" Ashton asked. He was sitting on the bed beside me, reading some book he had gotten from somewhere. We didn't have enough identification for a library card.

Several things sucked here. "What?" I asked.

"My hair. Touch it. It's like an overused mop." Could trust Ashton to say the most random things.

. . .

My body was shaking.

"That is how you plan on winning?" The man pushed me. I stumbled. "I don't like little boys in my cage, boy. Run along, now."

"I can do better," I said, even though I knew I was shaking, not because of his punch. It had been a joke. But I could feel my head fill with the things of the past. With the man who had made my life a living hell.

He kicked me on my ribs. I fell to the ground with a loud thump. "Go away, pretty boy. This is a place for real men."

. . .

I walked out of the locker room after showering and changing my clothes. My head was filled with little moments of the past. The shit which had happened. The shit that could have been avoided if we were a little stronger. A little braver. But we had been nothing but three tortured boys who did not know their place in the world. All we knew was revenge. All we wanted was revenge.

And we got it when we threw our father in fire at the same place he burned our mother.

It felt good for a while. It felt really fucking to own over what he had. To take his place. All monsters in our life were dead, we had killed them ourselves.

A monster makes a monster.

A never-ending cycle.

I sat down at one of the couches of the arena, watching the cage fight.

Ashton was calm in the cage. He liked accessing his opponents. He liked hitting them where it hurt. He studied them like a book and then ripped their pages apart. It was fun to watch.

I felt a soft body slid up next to me. I looked at the woman.

Claudia Moores. The sub I let go the day Olivia said yes to being friends.

She smiled at me. "Hello, sir," she purred but didn't touch me. She knew better than to do that. Claudia was black-haired with brown eyes and a little taller than Olivia.

"What are you doing here?" I didn't feel like dealing with her. Olivia was to get off work in about an hour.

"I was hoping to see you."

"Why?" I looked at her. She lowered her eyes. I had liked that obedience when I had chosen her. But I would rather have Olivia narrow her eyes at me and then blush when I threaten her with punishment. That was always fun.

"I...wanted to please you, sir."

I sighed. "I told you it's over." I watched as Ashton knocked the man off his feet. He was wearing his contacts, it seemed. He didn't like people breaking his glasses. I learned that the hard way. The man started standing up but Ashton jammed his foot on his ribs.

"Do you have a submissive?" "Yes."

She sighed. "Can I meet her?" "No."

I felt her hand on my bicep. "Is she better than me?" She asked softly. "I'm the best submissive in the club."

Olivia wasn't obedient. But I had not earned her obedience, either. And I did not mind her not following the rules sometimes if that meant I could make her cry on my lap.

"She's the best." I stood up as Ashton walked out of the cage. His opponent was in the cage, probably not breathing.

"I'll be in the car," I told him. He nodded, looking a little pale but his eyes were sharp. The fucker needed to stop ripping his stitches.

I walked out of the arena. "Don't follow me," I said to Claudia before she could be stupid.

She nodded. "Yes, sir." Her voice sounded like she was going to cry. I sat inside my car and pulled my phone out.

Get me some of your favorite cupcakes.

Olivia - okay:)

I smiled.

It was fucked up how much effect she had on me.

After taking his sweet time, Ashton finally sat inside the car with his every hair in place.

I started the car, driving out of the parking lot. "Have you thought about it?"

"We are not sending her away," I said. "We cannot protect her if she's over the fucking sea."

"Zavier does have a point, Xerxes," Ashton said. "Sending her away is not something the Russians would expect, especially after how we've been ripping their heads off after the fire. The mansion is safe but there is nothing in the world a person can't figure out if they think."

"Where do you want to send her? Valentinos? She's scared shitless of them and it's predictable as fuck."

"The Valentinos," Ashton said. "Will keep her safe. I have to admit I'm not sure about sending her away because we don't have much experience with Alexi."

I sighed stopping in front of the cafe. "Let's shift her to the penthouse for a while. No chances of them blowing that up anytime soon. We can have security on every floor and the buildings surrounding it. We can send her over the seas without anyone knowing but can't protect her if she gets attacked there and the security fails."

"Let's ask her," Ashton said.

"Like she'd say yes to going to the fucking Valentinos or anywhere else. She loves the city."

"Let's let her know the depth of the situation and then make a decision. We are always going to be on the bridge for this. She needs to make the final decision and whatever it is, we'll comply."

That sounded alright.

. . .