The Hunter (Mistress & Master of Restraint) (25 page)

“I do blame myself. But if I hadn’t fucked
it all up, my sister wouldn’t have been born, and it was all worth it to have a Spyder in this world… and that is why I’m not sorry, why Marcus isn’t sorry. But there are consequences- Marcus’ vicious need that he calls his
nature,
the guilt and shame, and the ruined lives.”

“Then it’s not a good time for Marcus to play with his nature, right? He can’t feed Regina’s needs?” I sit up, ice
cold water flowing in my veins, praying I’m wrong and not too late.

“Oh, hell, no. Whitt and I were in control of every emotion, every movement when we played with Regina. It was the only way or it could have gotten out of control and mentally and emotionally harmed Regina.
When Whitt and Regina got too emotional, I ran and got Marcus and Grant to separate them.”

“So Marcus shouldn’t play for a while?” I
slowly ask as my eyes slip shut from fear. I tug the blanket off of us, preparing to run.

“No, I wouldn’t say for a
t least a few months after Dr. Faust gives the go-ahead,” Ezra murmurs. “Why?”

“Where would Marcus take Regina to play rape-and-seek? He’s… he’s feeding her kink tonight.”

“Fuck,” Ezra shouts. “Also my fault- Regina. Let’s go- they’re in the Maze.”

Cortez Abernathy
: Present
-Chapter Thirty-One-

The feral sounds hit us first, shrill screaming. Ezra won’t allow us to split up, saying that it will take bo
th of us to stop Marcus once he unleashes his nature. I’ve heard Marcus warn this many times, but never have I experienced it. He’s threatened that it’s the worst with people he cares about- he’s more invested. If Marcus was feeling vulnerable, he would send me away and not see me until he was even keeled.

Years of playing The Hunter return in a heartbeat. Ezra had said I sucked at tracking, but that was just in the beginning. Bei
ng out of shape made me more attuned with my surroundings. Being lazy had its advantages- I didn’t want to waste energy looking where Ezra wasn’t. I learned quickly, and walked right up to where he was hiding, barely breaking a sweat.

Standing in the center of the Maze, I’m thankful that Baby Ez has been intrigued with the shrubbery structure. I know its twists and turns, stops and starts, and dead-ends like the back of my hand. I close my eyes and let the world fall away. My ears only pick up the sounds of Marcus and Regina- her screams of pain and Marc’s fervent grunts.

“West,” I state, opening my eyes to the night. I turn and run towards the direction that Marcus is abusing Regina.

Wanted or not, negotiated on or not, kink or not, playacting violent force is the most delicate of balance. A lot can
, and will, go wrong. In actuality, I fucking hate everything about BDSM- always have, always will. But I’ve always learned about what I fear. After what I lived through with Ray, I believe education defeats cowardice.

Regina trusts Marcus, but Marcus can’t trust himself right now. Ezra and I have let Marcus down for the last time. They will learn everything about the game the day after Christmas, two weeks from now. After that, we will be even- honest. We’re going to prove to Marcus that he can trust us, that we deserve him.

“Are you sure?” Ezra whisper shouts, breathless from exertion. Surprisingly, I am calm and breathing easily. It’s because I trust in my knowledge- I trust myself.

“Ezra, The Hunter taught me how to track. We’ll stop this before it ends badly,” I reassure- I hope. Ezra grabs my hand, twining his fingers with mine. I give a gentle squeeze as I try to think.

Closing my eyes again, I listen, trying to pinpoint which path to take. Regina sharply moans in a rhythmic pattern- I imagine it’s in time with Marcus’ aggressive thrusts. I do know how tearing that thick cock can be to the inside of my throat. I can only imagine what it’s doing to Regina’s insides. I know in the past Marc has bled Regina when he lost control. I close my eyes, willing my heart to slow. Adrenaline courses in my veins, forcing the urgency to rush without thought. But wasted minutes could be wounding.

Left, the muted groans are crisper, slightly louder. I veer in that direction, tugging Ezra behind me. He woodenly moves, frightened- the past choking him as he remembers what his mot
her looked like in her bed when Marcus violated Diane and himself.

“It’s going to be okay,” I whisper. I don’t rush. I don’t run. I slowly walk, barely makin
g a sound. My right foot lands where my left foot first touched. I hunt- we hunt- Ezra and I will forever be Hunters- it’s in our blood, streaming through our veins.

We find them in the nexus of the west branch of the maze. Marcus is ferally pounding into a bent on all fours Regina. The scene is animalistic. Marcus is in a daze, robotically moving. Regina is so far into subspace that I don’t know how we’ll ever get her back out.
Marc’s thrusts are punishing, brutal… bloody.

“Call Faith, get her to the house. Then call Kat. I don’t care that they hate each other. We need them to pull Regina out of… this,” I wave my hand at the car wreck before us. “Do it,” I order. “I’ll drag Marc’s ass back into reality. Text Grant. He’ll need to sit with us. Marcus will need his Jamie. Hell, get Dexter, too,” I say as I slowly move forward. I listen with one ear to make sure Ezra does as I asked. 

Grunting, practically frothing at the mouth, Marcus displays his violent nature on an unresponsive Regina. She’s still conscious, still moaning as if in an endless loop of orgasm after orgasm, but she’s lost in subspace. Regina’s bruised thighs are covered in pink- a mix of her release and the evidence that Marcus is hurting her. Regina’s pale skin is flushed bright pink with welts welling up all over the place. Her breasts have been brutally bitten. But Marcus is marred the worst. Regina fought, she fought hard.

My fingers twist in silky ringlets, fisting Marc’s hair. I yank his face up from where it rests against Regina’s back.
Amber eyes are dulled as if drugged. Marcus doesn’t see me even as I hold his face up to mine.

“Wake up,” I hiss, slapping Marcus across the cheek. He snaps
his teeth at my hand like a cornered animal. “Knock it the fuck off. Trust me, break free,” I snarl right back at him. Marcus continually snaps his teeth at me while trying to thrust. Marcus loses it. The next time my hand flashes out, it’s a punch to the jaw.

“I won’t let you fuck up our futures, you son of a bitch. I know what you went through now, and it’s still not as bad as my past. So quit being a victim, you little bitch,” I growl.
“Grow up and take responsibility. You’re just making it worse. You’re trying to lose everyone because you don’t think you deserve them. How do I know? I’ve been running since I was abducted, and now so are you. The only difference, I’m not going to fucking let you run ever again,” I hiss, hauling my elbow back and thrusting forward a wicked punch. Marcus’ head flies back, blood instantly blooming from his nose.

Marc falls backwards, thudding upon the earth. “Holy shit, that’s my first TKO,” I giddily say, lost in shock. My fist automatically starts to ache the second the amazement wears off.

Marc lays motionless while Regina sprawls to the ground, rolling around, groaning in pain. “Grab Regina,” I tell Ezra while I haul Marcus up and over my shoulder like a bag of feed. “I’m going to start weight training. I’m so out of shape it isn’t even funny,” I mutter, trying not to grunt from the stress Marc is putting on my body.

“Are they going to be okay?” Ezra sounds like a small boy, seeing his dad and his future stepmother sucks Ezra back into the past.

“Not tonight, maybe not tomorrow. But eventually. We won’t allow anything less,” I promise.

Cortez Abernathy
: Present
-Chapter Thirty-Two-

RESTRAINT-
I hate this place. It’s why Ezra tried to destroy it. I feel partially to blame for all the shit that happened after the fact, though. We both hated how enthusiastic Katya was with BDSM, how enamored she was with Dexter and Monica. So we passive-aggressively tried to destroy Restraint. It helped that I was privy to all the game plays from my status as The Meyers enforcer.

It pays to b
e thought of as a bumbling jackass. The real jackasses should have realized that I plot for a living- a game isn’t shit for my mental abilities. I was just too lazy to play. Ezra and I were upset at Katya because she wouldn’t give her time to the twins, so I finally found a reason to play. My children come first in all things, even Ezra, and especially Restraint. It was the only move I’ve ever made in the game, but I didn’t see it as a game move- it was a life move.

A lif
e move that was a total fucking failure. One that Ezra took sole blame over. But the rock bottom set Ezra on a path of self-healing, so for that, I am thankful.

As with everything, I only did the BDSM thing because of Ezra. He thought it would heal us, and it
did heal Aaron. I blame BDSM for Ezra betraying me with Dexter. When I became a Master it was because Ezra wanted it. I didn’t earn it. I didn’t even try. Hell, all I did was bitch and moan at Dexter and make his life a living nightmare, which I found highly vindicating.

I’ve done so many things I regret. Watching Katya pretend kills me, stabs that guilt knife in deeply and twists. I
had tried to save Katya from this fate, and I believe I made it worse.

Katya plays with Dexter to get Ezra’s attention
, and he doesn’t even notice. Now I see it, I see Katya’s agony- the rejection. Now I understand why she avoids the children- fear. Katya fears that if she gets close to the twins, she will lose them. Everything in our lives is at Ezra’s whim. Everything in Katya’s life hangs in the balance: job, friends, home, marriage, children. With the blink of an eye, Ezra could take it all away from her.

Now that I see things from a different perspective, Katya was using Restraint to feel a s
emblance of control when she had no control over the rest of her life. A very difficult task when balancing on a knife’s edge for a dominant person. I hadn’t realized that I was helping Ezra take the control away from Katya by trying to ruin the club and dungeon. Did Ezra want Katya helpless? Is that what he needs, to be someone’s sole life-force? Does Ezra only feel in control when he is the center of everyone’s universe?

Marcus and I ha
d tried to keep Katya out of the path of hurricane Ezra… and failed. Ezra is the most nonredeemable person on the planet, and yet not one single person blames him for his actions… and we never pity his victims. No, we hate them because no matter what, we sympathize with Ezra.

Katya was Ezra’s biggest victim, and I helped violate her every day for the past four years.

As I fight Katya for Ezra’s attention, I realize that maybe we are like abuse sufferers, living a life of Stockholm syndrome. I love Ezra, every cell in his body- the good and the bad, and I don’t believe him evil. I am incapable of seeing Ezra’s faults as he hurts me- us. I gladly take it. Perhaps I am the one that is insane. I’m a masochist when it comes to Ezra- a glutton for punishment.

I want Ezra to choose me because I want to be his world. But more so, I want Katya safe, happy, loved, and respected, and I’m not sure Ezra can do that for her.

I may not see Katya as my wife. I may not be in love with her. But I love her and care for her and want the best for her, and I don’t believe that is Ezra.

I am weak, a coward. But I believe I was put on this earth because I am the only person strong enough to survive Ezra’s love, as dark and twisted as it may be.

Ray is a manipulating bastard that knew what he was doing when he abducted us. I raped Aaron six times before Ray figured out that Ezra wouldn’t break, that none of us would break. Hearing Aaron try to be quiet as I tried to be as gentle as possible pulled the identity of
Ezra
from Ez’s depths- the childlike evil bastard took over, leaving my Ez an empty shell. Ezra and the whole Ez truly didn’t know about being with Faith- that was all Master Ez.

An innocent country girl, minding her own business, in her hometown- her safe place: Katya became Ezra’s lifelong victim, and we all stood idly by and allowed it- even to this day.

Katya was Ray’s failsafe, and I knew what that meant when he called Katya his finale. Because Ezra wouldn’t admit the truth about Faith, and Zane growing in her belly, Ray made sure to create an alternate ending…

I
’d kept an eye on Kat, as did Marcus, neither of us telling Ezra where she was, who she was, or that Ava was born.

I knew my daught
er from afar. I kept tabs on Ava- Marcus and me both. Pictures and newspaper clippings were my only source. I kept Katya and Ava away for their safety. After the abduction, Ezra went years as Master Ez. The man I loved was buried so deeply that I didn’t think he’d resurface. I couldn’t do that to my daughter or her mother. I kept them away because I loved them, respected them, and felt responsible for them.

Watching Katya lie down on a spanking bench as Dexter works her over, shows just how badly I failed on all accounts. If I truly love
d Katya, I should wish that she had never been found, but I love my children more. I can’t be Katya’s husband, but I can be a supportive father. I need Katya to be happy, and clearly she isn’t.

It’s not Ezra’s fault. It’s not Katya’s fault. And it’s not my fault. I blame circumstance and fate. It was meant to be this way so that we would see what mattered
most in life, not take anyone for granted. I want to be jealous, knowing very well that Ezra could possibly toss me away for Katya. But if Ezra does, it was meant to be. But in the end, I will still have my children, and the memory of everyone’s happiness.

“I’m sorry,” Marcus guiltily mumbles to me, looking like a shady bastard who’s too scared to look me in the eye.

It took three days before Regina could think clearly. Katya and Faith put their mutual hate aside, neither acknowledging why they are connected, as they took care of their friend and fellow Mistress. Meanwhile, Ezra, Grant, Dexter and I had to contain a raging Marcus. When we wouldn’t let him see Regina, he destroyed everything within reach, flesh included. Ezra and his Dr. Faust, sedated Marcus- several times, until he finally calmed down enough to listen. Then, and only then, did we allow Marcus a supervised visit with Regina. It took five days, and I’ve only had a two day break… it’s too soon to be around Marcus’ endless apologies.

“Stop,” I hiss. “Just move on. We all have.”

“Bullshit,” Marc grumbles. His hand cups the back of my neck, and I don’t mean to flinch. “Sorry,” he dejectedly mutters, hand falling to his side.

“No,” I take Marc’s hand in mine, squeezing. “It’s not that I don’t want your affection or blame you or anything. It’s just too soon after watching you break. I’m sensitive to it after taking care of Ezra all the time when we were growing up. I don’t want that as your future. You have to get your shit together- for Regina, for our family, for yourself. Deal with the past, and then move on.”

“I’m trying. This was a wakeup call. I’d tried to tell everyone that playing Regina’s game was a bad fucking idea,” Marcus draws out.

“Way to blame Regina for getting attacked,” I snidely say. “I know she asked for it.” I laugh, hearing how ridiculous that sounds. But it is true. “Regina was going on how it was with Ezra and Whitt, and she was expecting a master who was in control of himself and his emotions. She didn’t get what she bargained for.”

“I’m never doing it again,” Marcus barks out. “If Regina really needs that, she can leave me or find someone else. But never- and I never want to see her like that again. I can’t do it,” Marcus cries. “I can’t.”

“I believe you.” I reassuringly squeeze Marc’s hand.
“Maybe in time, when you’re feeling more like yourself…”

“No,” Marcus growls. “Never.”

“What about a spotter?” I offer.

“What?” Marcus grumbles, finally looking me in the eyes after nearly a week. He’s no longer defiant- unhinged. Marc’s eyes are clear, sane. But he looks confused as to what I’m getting at
, though.

“You need a spotter. Someone you trust to stand back and stop you if it gets out of hand.
Ya know, throw a wicked punch,” I say, smirking. Marcus reflexively rubs his jaw. “But not until you are yourself- Regina, too. She’s been going through a lot of stuff lately, too. Whitt leaving the castle and creating a life, the divorce, the introduction of the game but being told to wait, Niel-” I cut myself off before I say too much.

“Niel?” Marcus asks, but gets distracted by my idea. “Would you? Would you… be willing? I trust you
, and Regina trusts you.” He looks so hopeful that I have to laugh. I knew damned well Marcus wasn’t willing to lose Regina over this, let her walk away. Marcus is a control freak who is old school. He will be determined to meet all of Regina’s needs himself- no matter what.

“Regina hates my guts since you told her you were in love with me and fucked me. Girls get a bit territorial when you tell them you cheated on them with the
man
you’ve mouth fucked for over a decade. They tend to get testy…”

“Regina understands,” Marcus grumbles, looking sa
d that he told Regina the truth because she doesn’t understand, and he knows it. How can Regina understand when Marcus doesn’t?

I just arch a brow in silent challenge. “
Alright, Regina doesn’t like it or get it… but I can make her understand,” Marcus says, knowing damned well there is no way Regina will ever understand.

“I’m not touching…
unless it’s to throw a punch,” I declare. “I’m trying with Ezra. Really trying. After Whitt and Dalton’s tenancy is up, we’re renegotiating on what we’re okay with. And I don’t know if Ezra would ever approve. I don’t know if I could go there… again,” I softly say, hating how tender my voice sounds.

Watching Marcus break, I realized I was falling in love
with him, and Marcus may very well have been in love with me. Seeing Marcus hurt… killed me. We have to step back and reestablish boundaries before it’s too late.

Marcus looks at me, clearly seeing through me, reading my thoughts. “Spotter,” Marcus agrees, squeezing my hand. “For now.”

Ignoring the innuendo, I say, “I really hate this fucking place- Restraint. It brings back all the horrible memories- the insecurities. The betrayals… sex should be about love, trust, connection, and affection. I don’t get hurting your partner- making them scream. Why? I don’t get it. It’s not very romantic.”