Basile handed me a mug of hot cocoa after Aimé was dragged away to deal with something within the compound. I took the offering with a smile, the long sleeves of Aimé's sweater hanging at my elbows for a moment.
"Thank you," I said softly.
He shook his head and sat down on the leather couch to my left. I sat in the corner of the right-hand sofa.
"You're welcome. We've never really had time to talk. And then with the kidnapping thing and Corbin almost getting tortured and killed..." he trailed off, and I nodded to express my understanding of the situation.
"Thanks for that." he whispered, eyeing me carefully. "For risking yourself to save my little brother."
I shook my head. "Aimé saved him, not me. All I did was buy some time."
Basile glared. "Don't say you weren't a part of that! If you hadn't bought time, Corbin would have—!" he shouted, then turned his head with a trembling jaw.
"I'm sorry." I sighed. "Aimé told me off about this, too."
"Good." He chuckled, then sipped at his cocoa. "I forgive you."
"Mm."
"Do you really hate the idea of taking part of the credit?"
I slowly blinked, staring at the floor. "Perhaps."
Basile smiled ever so gently, his eyes reddened from holding back the tears. "You shouldn't. You saved a life—more than one, actually. You saved my big brother's life, too."
My bottom lip trembled. "I-I know."
"Thank you, Teddy. Thank you so much."
Corbin came into the living room just as we were wiping our eyes, so his eyebrows shot up when he noticed. I chuckled and welcomed him over as I sipped at my drink.
"What were you talking about?" he asked, plopping down next to me.
Basile chuckled. "A couple important things."
Corbin quirked his lips to the side. "What important things?"
I chuckled. "You, of course."
He turned his head sharply and stared at me until I raised my eyebrows. His face reddened slightly and he shyly turned his face away from mine. I chuckled and took another sip of the hot, chocolatey goodness, then set the mug on the glass side table next to me.
"Is it true you killed people to save me?"
Basile clicked his tongue. "Cor, don't ask that sort of thing."
Corbin bit his cheek. "I just want to know."
I chuckled and held out my right hand, and Corbin stared at it as I uttered, "My skin and clothes were stained with the enemies' blood."
Corbin's lips parted ever so slightly. "What was it like?"
I sighed and clenched my fist. "It never really registered at the time because I was so focused on the task at hand. But like I said earlier at the beginning of my introduction, the fact remains that I killed many men and their blood will forever remain on my hands."
Basile shifted in his spot, suddenly looking uneasy. I felt a familiarly intense gaze and smiled to myself as I reached behind my head. Corbin flinched when Aimé grasped my hand and leaned over the sofa to kiss my right cheek.
"Rayiys Theo, I see you're getting along with my brothers. Are they treating you well?"
I chuckled. "Yes, of course. Are you done with your work, Aimé?"
"No, but I wanted to check in before I head out to a job."
"Ah, the situation is that bad, huh?" I grumbled, then pouted when he nodded.
I sighed aloud, then kissed his cheek and bit into the curve of his jaw. My man hummed and kissed my knuckles with a smirk because he received a visible claim on his body.
"I should be back in a couple of hours."
"All right. Stay safe, Aimé."
"Thank you, Rayiys Theo. I love you."
I tilted my head back and smiled at him. "I love you, too."
He pecked my lips, then reluctantly retreated from the room. Basile let out a silent breath, relief clear as day on his face. Corbin looked much more relaxed as well.
"Is something wrong?"
Basile glanced up with a small smile. "You really are a perfect match for my brother."
I blushed. "Th-thank you, but why do you say that?"
"You aren't bothered by the bloodlust in his eyes and the aura of death around him." he whispered, rubbing his arms. "I couldn't watch his matches. I was too scared."
I frowned, then chuckled. "Even though opposites oftentimes attract, Aimé and I were cut from the same cloth. Because of that, we match each other in ways that opposites clearly cannot."
Basile eyed me. "I can't feel any desire to kill from you or sense those who have died by your hand."
Corbin jumped a bit on his seat. "Basile is really sensitive towards stuff like that, so Mom and Dad use him as a lie detector of sorts while doing business transactions."
I hummed and nodded. "While I say that we're cut from the same cloth, I can't say that killing someone is first on my list of priorities when the person has wronged me. Now, if the person tries to attack me first, then that's another story."
Basile closed his eyes. "I know. I saw the video that showed you extracting information from that guy belonging to the Ivory Tigers. My brother would have done far worse and then killed him."
I shrugged. "To each his own."
Corbin looked at me with amazement. "You really are unfazed by my brother. I think that's really surprising."
I chuckled, ruffling his hair. "I love your brother, Corbin, and I have seen a lot. Not only of your brother's accomplishments, but also of my own family's events. My uncle from my mother's side repeatedly raped me when I was a toddler, so Papa threw a unique event for his torture and execution."
Corbin swallowed thickly and Basile inhaled sharply when a cruel smile played on my lips.
"The anger in our family was palpable that day. It was heightened by the fact he cooperated with my grandmother to try to have me as his own while she wanted to kill me. So really, Corbin, don't thank me for anything. I was the reason you were taken and put in danger."
Corbin shook his head, clutching his knees. "You didn't do anything wrong. They're the ones at fault!" he exclaimed, his bottom lip trembling as he looked at me.
I reached over and patted his head. "Thanks, bud."
Corbin clenched his jaw and jumped up, then rushed out of the room. I sighed and took my mug again, then sipped at the warm liquid. Basile set his drink aside and joined me on the sofa at my right side where his little brother had been mere seconds beforehand.
"Would you tell me what happened to the man who hurt you?"
I smiled and patted his head as well. "If you can handle it, then yes."
He nodded, rubbing his cheek on my shoulder. "Yeah."
"All right," I sighed softly, then closed my eyes.
__________________________
"Theodore, it's time."
I heaved a breath, my back already stinging from the memory of the day my grandmother committed suicide while trying to kill me.
"Yes, Papa." I whispered, holding his hand.
Aimé stalked behind us as we stepped out onto the back lawn.The canopy of trees made it a cooler place for my pale skin as the three of us walked into the shade. Papa pressed a hand to the bare skin of my lower back since my burns were still healing two weeks after returning home.
Callum, Jackson, and Tyrone had gone home last week and every Black Vipers member that could be here had arrived, so today was the perfect day for the event during which my uncle, Landon Port, would die an incredibly brutal and well-deserved death.
Caleb greeted me with Trent at his side. "How are you feeling?" they asked.
I smiled. "Not too terrible. Papa put some gel on my back before we came out. Are you ready?"
Caleb cracked his knuckles. "We missed out on seeing those child molesters getting blown to bits, so this will make up for it."
Trent grasped my left hand and rubbed it with his thumbs. "This isn't going to be hard to watch, is it?"
"For me?" I asked for clarification, feeling Aimé step up behind me.
"Mhm."
"No, it won't be."
"Then I'll make sure he feels every ounce of pain he gave you and even more." responded Trent, kissing my knuckles.
He backed off before Aimé could do anything, but my boyfriend and I could tell the older man was pissed off. Trent was in one of those rare serious moods. His expression was cold and hard, and he was tense with anger burning in his eyes. Aimé took my left hand and kissed my knuckles as well.
"May I take part, Rayiys?" he asked quietly, so I offered my cheek. He curled down and kissed it.
"Of course you may, my beloved Aimé. Papa and I will also be taking part in that bastard's torture."
Aimé's lips curled in a pleased grin. "Please torture me later, Rayiys Theo."
"Not in the same way, though."
"No, no. The way you do it to me is beyond wonderful—more than what I deserve. That same affection and love you give me throughout it all makes my heart pound like crazy."
I blushed and pecked his lips. "You deserve it, Aimé. I love you, too."
He grinned and kissed my temple, then left my side. He kept an eye on me, though, and I wiggled my fingers at him. Papa cleared his throat and caught the attention of our family members.
"I am sure everyone knows why we are here today. But as a reminder, Landon Port hurt my son, your family member and future boss, as a very young child. This scumbag also participated in the coup d'etat to overthrow two of the four power families—ours included, of course. He also threatened to kill Theodore's brother, Callum Rider, but Theodore and Aimé managed to rescue him before Port could do any serious damage. Nonetheless, this bastard must pay for all of his crimes against us."
I scanned the furious faces in the crowd gathered on the back lawn of our property and all of them were focused on my awful uncle. He had been chained to a thick wooden post with his legs apart, eyes blindfolded, his ears silenced, and his voice was muffled with a ball of cloth. That would soon change.
I squeezed Papa's hand and his golden-brown eyes gazed down at my bright gray ones. "Theodore, you have the right to make the first move. Do whatever you want to start his inevitable execution."
I nodded, so he lifted my hand to his face and kissed my fingertips as he curled down. I pecked his cheeks, then Papa smiled and let go of me. I went to Aimé and held out my hand. He looked extremely pleased as he handed over one of his throwing knives.
I chuckled, kissing his wrist as I grasped the item. "Thank you, Aimé."
Aimé pressed his left wrist to his lips and watched me through the intense gaze of his gold-flecked brown-hazel eyes. I felt his eyes on my back—many pairs of eyes, actually—as I headed to a decent distance away from the post. I readied the blade and aimed it for a good spot. My arm moved, my wrist flicked, and the knife whizzed through the air.
Landon jerked with a muffled cry of pain as the sharp throwing knife sliced open his cheek and cut the strap of the thin black fabric covering his eyes. The blade was partially buried in the softwood when my uncle opened his eyes. As soon as he saw me, I smirked and held up my right hand, then waved for the men to do as they pleased.
Landon's muffled screams continued for hours until his voice was dead. Blood poured from every wound and his chest heaved in agony. Tears stained his cheeks and mixed with his blood, leaving pink trails and markings on his tattered white shirt. I watched every beating, gunshot, carving of flesh, every finger or toe that was sawed off, each blade that entered and exited my uncle with a bit of pride in my heart and mind. I was proud to be part of a family that cared about me and loved me, and of course I loved them back.
Aimé did the most painful job on my uncle because the men left it for him. Most of them watched while wincing, but some had to turn away and curl into themselves as Aimé did the honor of skinning the sensitive flesh, slicing it cleanly lengthwise like a sausage, and then chopping Landon's manhood off in that order. Of course, my man had also castrated Landon as well. The gut-wrenching wails of agony made me shiver.
Papa carefully squeezed my shoulders because of my healing wound and skin, but I firmly hugged his side with a smile playing on my lips. Papa curled down and kissed my head.
"It is time for my turn, my dear Theodore. Please watch closely."
Papa left my side, so I did as he asked as he unchained my unconscious uncle and flipped the gruesomely wounded bastard onto what was left of his knees. Papa used Aimé's bloody knife to cut away the remainder of Landon's pants, then pressed his gun to the child rapist's ass.
"Wake him up for me, Aimé."
My precious man smiled gleefully and slapped Landon awake, then gripped the last portion of hair on his almost fully scalped head. "Pay attention to what my lover's papa is about to say."
Landon couldn't agree or disagree. He had no tongue to speak nor eyes to see, but he still had his somewhat working ears and nervous system, so I knew he could feel Papa's gun sliding between his asscheeks. Landon began to writhe again, but he couldn't move much. He suddenly tensed and a gargled scream rang out in the still air.
Papa had jerked the gun forward and pressed the barrel of it deep inside Landon's anus. I shivered when I heard the hammer click back. Papa thrust his gun in and out, then chuckled deeply as blood shone on the black metal. He would be doing a deep clean of his weapon after Landon's execution.
"This is what you did to my son, Landon Port. Are you still happy?"
Landon showed no sign of response and Papa began to laugh aloud. I went over to him and hugged him from behind.
"Let me share the burden, Papa." I whispered, sliding my right hand down onto his own.
Papa's right eye stared at me. "Together," he murmured, and I nodded while firmly squeezing his shoulders with my left arm.
Aimé grinned as Papa and I slowly pulled back the trigger. The recoil was jarring; blood and brains splattered against the pole. My papa pulled out his gun and set it aside with the safety on, then turned around and pulled me down across his lap.
My beloved lifted his left fist high in the air and joined in the roaring of our victory/celebration of sorts while Papa held me tightly. I snuggled into his arms with a satisfied smile, although that deepened when Aimé gently pecked my lips.
"It's finally over." he whispered, and I merely smiled at him in response.
__________________________
"Landon died because of the trajectory of the bullet. Some women have survived being shot in the vagina, but my uncle was not a lucky woman. I don't have any regrets towards that day."
Basile looked sick to his stomach, yet proud at the same time. "You're amazing, Teddy." he whispered quietly. "You're fit to be the next boss of the Black Vipers."
"Yes, well, Papa has said many times that I'm his successor, but sometimes I feel really unqualified. Many of the men working under my papa have been doing so for a really long time, but I've really only been with Papa for less than a year. Surely some of them feel upset by it."
Basile shook his head. "No, I highly doubt it. Any outsider can see how much your family treasures you, Teddy. Be proud of that, please. And never let your love, loyalty, and discipline fade from their existence. They need you, Teddy, just as you need them."
I snorted with a small smile, patting his hand again. "You can sense that too, huh?"
"Not exactly, but I know it to be true." Basile chuckled. "Now, finish your drink and search for Cor. He probably ran off to his room as per usual."
"Thank you, Basile."
He shrugged with a small smile. "It's my pleasure, dear brother-in-law."
I blushed and tousled his hair, then downed the rest of my drink. "Okay, enough teasing. Could you please direct me to your little brother's room?"
Basile smiled brightly. "Of course!"
That bastard deserved what he got, as horrendous as it was. There is always a price to pay for harming someone—especially a child—eventually.
I hope that was satisfying to read for some people and I apologize if it was too gory for others.
See you again tomorrow! I love you all very much. <3
- Alessa (Kelpie) xoxo
Updated: 1/9/2024
Word count: 2926