KING (Mistress & Master of Restraint) (5 page)

“If you want to make an example out of a Catholic who thinks ethics are more important than their daughters, you bring over the bottom feeders- lowlife criminals who have no problem dishing out the heinous punishments to the innocent. One such man was Nathanial Hunter, only he was being punished for an infraction as well.
Nathanial’s child, Byron’s child… examples made, Ezra’s born… such is the life you’re born into and can’t avoid. So when your parents incinerate in your driveway, in the middle of the night, after they were dragged from their bed and locked inside a fiery car to die a torturous death, you do as you’re told… My first assignment was infiltrating a stubborn family.”

“
The richest family in the country had held out for decades. The patriarch suffered an unfortunate accident. The son and daughter weren’t old enough to join our ranks, so the mother was left to raise her children. Their religion was their priority. I respected them for it, as did my elders. Faith in one’s God should trump all else. Ethics are nothing compared to one’s children, but faith… If you believe your God has an ultimate plan for you, then you accept your death because it was fated by your God. Another generation, another try, another set of stubborn religious fanatics. A corporate jet explodes mid-flight, eradicating an entire generation. The small family was down to three- one elderly female and two minor children. The heir to all of that power was my responsibility.”

“
I knew what would happen if I didn’t do my duty, as did Daniel. With Daniel’s help via his wife, Mrs. Zeitler agreed to betroth her youngest grandson to me. He was taken into my care until he was of age, and then we married. My next duty was to create a child, an heir to bind our families... My sensibilities,” Diane shudders, her body racked with pain. “I am a lesbian; we all know this, as do the elders. After my first punishment, I couldn’t stand the touch of a man. So I sent my husband to Olivia. She made the child they wanted, but it wasn’t within the confines of marriage. I was punished for my insolence in the way my father was punished for his. My son was taken from me, and later my Celeste’s son, and our housekeeper’s child was mistakenly taken in lieu of my sister’s daughter, Divina. You all know what happened next. I have no need to relive that particular torment.”

“Daniel and I have done everything that
was asked of us from that moment on. Dalton’s arrival signaled that Pierre fatally learned that lesson, and now Olivia is living out his punishment. I’ve been left alone since Ray Hunter’s attack attracted the notice of the FBI. It was an assignment and punishment gone awry. One of Daniel’s last assignments was Regina. He was punished for failing to deliver a married Grant and Regina with their lovely son and daughter. Grant’s false death pushed the punishment onto one of his siblings. They received a reprieve when Whitt married Regina and adopted the children as his own- a unified family with an exorbitant amount of money and two minor heirs coming of age. You’re their golden goose. After Daniel’s punishment, I swore I’d never allow this scourge to visit upon our children’s generation.”

“I took a stand, Daniel took a stand, and Olivia took a stand. Olivia lost her cherished club, I’
ve lost ShadowHaven, and they were coming after Daniel next. We’ve been working to stop this cycle. I divorced Marcus before they could touch the Zeitler money. I was punished by losing my fortune and home. I have nothing left. Daniel was being proactive by signing it all to his heir. Our children have paid the sacrifice. Restraint, the paparazzi, the Mistress and Master of Restraint books, the events leading up to Adelaide’s imprisonment at WinterCrest, all of it was the elders. We don’t want to do these heinous actions, but we have to or pay the ultimate price. It may not even be our death, because that would be too easy- a quick, painless trip to purgatory. If you want out, you offer up one of your next generation to take your place.”

“Olivia refused, and
as a result, they tried to murder her son and pin it on her. She loves her children. Spyder was pushed away for her own safety. Olivia’s erratic behavior is to throw off the elders. I refused to give them one of the next generation- he’s my only child. I have to figure this out before Ava is of age. Daniel was saved when one of his children took his place. Now we’re fighting to save them from a similar fate. This… this creates an unbreakable bond between the players of their game. We are competitors and combatants in one. We have to hold our spouses, loved ones, and children at arm’s length out of fear. We become miserable creatures who attack one another because we must. If we aren’t ordered to do so, then we just do it to release our pent up frustrations.”

“I can’t take this anymore. Daniel and I can’t leave the safety of th
is house. Olivia is still acting to save her children from her punishments. Ezra is considered a Zeitler by adoption, breaking him from the Holden line and the Hunter line. The elders have yet to snag the Zeitler family, but it’s only a matter of time. It’s the only rule they live by: you aren’t in play until you sign your family’s rights away. When I purposely failed to deliver the Zeitler line, I thought it was safe. But a contingency plan was put into motion years ago when Niel took Ava as his intended. That was the last obligation the Whittenhower line met before it went into inactivity. Another Whittenhower will take over the contract when he reaches the age of majority- Niel. There is nothing we can do to stop this. Ava is Niel’s only assignment. Their union would solidify their grip on the Zeitler, Regal, and Whittenhower fortunes. They’ve already procured my share of my family’s fortune and ShadowHaven Estates. I’m sure their sights are set on Dalton or Spyder next. I don’t want this life for Daniel’s and my grandchildren. I don’t want this life for Olivia’s children. We didn’t ask for this, but we were thrust into it without our consent.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before now,” Marcus growls.

“Because I liked my head on my shoulders and I preferred you covered with skin, that’s why,” Diane says on the defensive. “You never know who is watching or listening. You never know who is in play. We aren’t the only families. I’m sure there are others close to us that we’d never suspect.”

“Why? They can’t need money that bad,” Regina adds.

“It’s not about money. We are just inanimate objects that breathe. They have an infinite amount of money at their disposal. The money is our punishments. It strips us of our lines of defense. Pitting us against each other removes all chance that we form productive alliances. Even now, I bet the thought of us working together leaves an acrid taste in your mouths. They pit father against child, friend against friend, sibling against sibling, and even partner against partner. This is about power and control. It’s the ultimate game with real life chess pieces that live and breathe and bleed and die. Imagine a life where there are no consequences for your actions short of death. How bored would you be if you could go anywhere, buy anything, and be anyone? The extreme is the only way you’d feel anything besides numb. Imagine the twisted sense of power you’d feel as you hold a father captive until his child kills one of his own or by forcing one living chess piece to rape a homosexual pawn to ensure an heir to continue the longevity of the game- it happened to me and it happened to my son.”

Silence… utter silence… choking, suffocating,
deafening silence as we contemplate the gravity of our situation.

“
Do you know what you’d feel like to have that much power?” Diane asks each and every one of us. “You’d feel like God…”

~Chapter Four~

I ran from the study as if the hounds of hell were gnawing at my heels. I am King of the Whittenhower’s Misery Castle because my son was destined for a far worse, unavoidable fate.

I couldn’t listen to another syllable. I’d always known that my path was set before I was born. I thought it meant who I’d become: schooling, social circles, arranged marriages, children, and the family business. I hadn’t realized that it would include acting out missions on my nearest and dearest. The ultimate puppet master is yanking our strings and we are powerless to stop it.

I clear my mind of the fog that has settled. It is momentarily out of my hands. I have a mission before me that needs completed. I thrust all of my energy into finishing what I started years ago- I will be the best Whittenhower Patriarch since Wilhelm, the one who refused to play their twisted game of Master of the Universe.

One after the other, my guests
are settled into comfortable quarters near those they adore and far away from those that they are tempted by or despise. Past residents of the estate find their rooms waiting for them as if they’d never left: Niel, Ella, Whitney, Priss, Fate, Kristal, Adelaide, Regina, Jamie, and me. Whitney placed the majority of the Zeitlers on the fourth floor’s south wing while we reside on the third floor’s north wing. Diane’s new suite is between Daniel’s and Ade’s. Diane wanted her privacy, but was smart enough to know that she better be with her allies.

To my annoyance, Marcus is with Regina. Her room
s adjoin Jamie’s suite and Niel’s old nursery, which is now Spyder’s room. It was intelligent thinking on Whitney’s part, placing Spyder next to Marcus and Regina, and Jamie close to his Master. No doubt several of us are gunning for him, resurrection be damned. I hate knowing my wife isn’t in
my
room. We will see about instigating a change on that.

“Hey,” I call out to the ninja ghosting down Misery Castle’s labyrinth-like corridors. The delicate beauty turns to me with a grimace on her face. A warrior glares out of her violet-contact eyes.

“You should stay here with us,” I genuinely offer the eighty pound female. She’s so petite that the top of her head barely reaches my chest. “I know you can take care of yourself, but it would be safer.”

“I
have no need of protection,” Syn forcefully replies. It’s the longest sentence I’ve ever heard her speak and we’ve been friends for years.

“I know,” I softly murmur
, needing to convince her to stay here. I can’t speak of our predicament, but I can try to sway the tides. “Coming back here has to be difficult for your sister. Fate doesn’t do well with transition, and she’s moved around so much since the paparazzi descended upon us. Fate needs you,” I manipulate Syn with the love of her sister.

Syn bares her teeth at me, hating it when I use my well-honed persuasion techniques on her. A jerk of her chin is her reply. That one action speaks a thousand words:
Yeah, I’ll move in, asshole. Yeah, I love my sister that much. & fuck you!
I grin at her, denting my dimples for added affect. She snarls at me, Syn’s version of a smile.

“Where do you work? I’ll make sure the staff gives you a wakeup call and has your meals regulated with your schedule.” I ask the question we all have tried to ferret out. Faith Simpson changed her name to Cynthia Brooks- illegally. Faith is a dead-end and Cynthia is a ghost. Regina’s hacking skills, Marcus’ persuasion, and Dexter’s mentoring couldn’t get that information.

I’m greeted with a one-finger salute for my poor attempts. “I love you too, sweetling,” I taunt her and she smiles at me again- sneers.

“An hour,” flows deeply from her chest as she blends into shadows of the winding hallway and disappears.

After years of interpreting her short-hand conversations, I guess that an hour means she’s getting her stuff and coming back. I hope, anyway.

I need a distraction before I implode. Right now Jamie has a target on his face, my fist aching for connection. An urge to hogtie Marcus and haul him from Regina’s room overpowers me. A primordial instinct to mark my territory boils in my blood. I head toward Spyder’s suite looking for my distraction before I give into the urge to piss on Misery Castle’s walls, kill my competition, or fuck my wife while her lover watches. I’m not in a good mental place right now.

A sigh of relief pours from my lungs when I see them. The stunning pair of siblings is breathtaking. If Olivia stood here now, my knees would give out. Spyder, with her curvy body, raven spirals flowing past her hips, ruby-kissed lips, and effervescent green eyes, is the most stunning creature I’ve ever seen. That is until my eyes dart to the right and take in her brother. Spyder and Dalton look more like twins, nearly identical, with the exception of feminine curves and an impressive display of virility.

It’s only been a few hours, but it feels like days since I’ve seen Dalton. His effeminate physique and iron will make him irresistible. Pheromones are scentless, but my body ignites as soon as they hit my nostrils, a chemical reaction takes place in my brain that is undeniable attraction.

The gobsmacked expression on his face makes me smile. Oh, he’s feeling it, too…

“Hey,” I slur, my ton
gue feels slightly too large inside my mouth. “Settling in okay?” I ask Spy.

“Thank you so much, Whitt,” Spy speaks in an alluring French accent as she approaches me with her hands held out.
I gladly take what is offered, and give her an affectionate hug. The girl has been clingy since the devastating evening that Olivia tore her family apart. Now my heart bleeds for another reason, they are all victims. I’m sure Olivia aches for these beautiful creatures as much as they ache over her betrayal.

“
Anytime, sweetheart, my home is yours. Do you need anything?” I politely offer.

“Regina’s running around making sure we’re all comfortable. She just knows what we need.” She shrugs and blushes. “You know what I mean?”

“Yeah,” I chuckle. “I do. She’s a force of nature,” my voice is filled with pride.