Mistress A-0002

I should have known not to put hope in hollow promises. After all, what did I expect? Did I really think Adrian would kill my husband because of his implanted infatuation with me? Did I think he’d risk everything to seal our future together? Not entirely. Hollow…yes. Away from my influence, he wasn’t so inclined to risk it all. Not that he’d called the murder off. Quite the opposite, but I could hear his uncertainty when he’d called me before the trial. It had been the last straw for my patience. The tipping point on any emotional stability I clung to left me in those moments, and they stayed, even now. I cried during the trial just like I cried to him and told him he had an hour…or else. I went crazy when Hale went for my son. And I lost it all completely when they drug me out.

Even kicking and screaming, clarity never left. It was almost as if I were watching myself go through some momentous milestone while I was outside of my body. The LaRoe heir was dead. Maybe even my husband was dead by now. But where that should have been a relief, it wasn’t. What I witnessed in that courtroom from Elec only told me my time was up. The perfect opportunity to save myself was now, and the clock was ticking.

“Don’t look so sad, Nineteen. Soon, you won’t even remember any of it at all.”

“Those were my guards you had kill themselves. I’ll remember .”

My upper lip peeled back through my anger as I took in the High Leader who I had handcuffed to the slave latch on the far side of Elec’s living room wall. “Like you remember me approaching you as you headed for the courtroom? How about opening the door and letting me inside Elec’s apartment?” His eyes widened. “You don’t remember any of that, do you? Selective memory is a bitch. I wanted you to see those guards die . I want you to remember what I’m capable of for when I’m the Main Mistress. Because I will be here soon, and you’ll work for me.”

Nineteen’s head went back and forth. “You’re not a Main Mistress. Soon, you’re not going to be a Mistress at all.”

I clicked my tongue and tapped against my temple watching his eyes grow heavier. “We’ll see about that. And I’m perfectly capable of being the Main Mistress. Do I want to? No! ” I reeled in the rage, straightening my shoulders as I tried to compose myself. “No, I do not , but Elec gave me little choice. I don’t have the time to train someone new. They have to live this world. They…have to be so apart of this…” I got quiet, my thoughts once again consuming me. My father’s accusations . He wasn’t right. Delusional. I wasn’t delusional if I made it happen. “I need a baby. A child. That would be the best candidate. I need?—"

The pressure in the room shifted, and my eyes shot up wildly as the door swung open.

“Main Master, you have to leave. Get the guard ? — ”

I grabbed a large black vase from the end table, stepping in and smashing it against the side of Nineteen’s head to stop him from yelling. Thick glass shattered, sliding across the floor. Elec surged forward, jolting to a stop as I double-snapped and flattened my hand out to face him, hitting against it hard so his focus was nowhere but on my new trigger. The surprise on his face had me laughing as he jolted to a stop. “Oh, would you look at that.” Harder I laughed, walking in slow steps towards him. “Gestures. That’s your big secret for overpowering me? You speak to them in gestures? I saw you with Hale. I saw how you controlled him by using your hands. We’re tied to visual cues, now, are we?”

Approaching, I slowly lowered my hand to point to the ground, watching as Elec’s face drew in and he fell to his knees.

“Pathetic. Brilliant. You…bowing…before me. It’s only right.” I closed the distance, rearing back and slapping him hard across the face causing his head to tilt. “After all, I did fucking teach you everything you know. I made you. I gave you everything. And this is what you do? You betray me? You feed me to the wolves like bait?”

“You did this, Melissa.”

Back and forth I shook my head.

“I only did what had to be done.”

“That’s a lie. Calling me a rapist. Fucking me without my consent. What did that do for you?”

My smile grew bigger.

“ It made me come .” I laughed, stepping back out of his reach. “I got what no one else ever will. I got you powerless. I got your love .”

Elec’s eyes narrowed into slits. He gave a hard shake to his shoulders, trying to break my hold. It had me stomping down my heel.

“You’re glued to that floor. You can’t stand until I say.”

“You’re wrong, but I’ll pretend for you.”

“ Pl-ease ,” I said, throwing him a look of disgust. “You were never more powerful than me. Clever, yes. I’ll give you that, but I own you.” I lifted my arm, bending my elbow to stare at my own palm. I tapped the back of my hand, testing my theory. “Now, you. Mirror me until I give the cue.”

A curse filled the room and tension left as Elec tried fighting my command. So much hate, but with how tied we already were, he had no choice but to obey. His arm bent, his palm facing him for only the seconds I kept mine lifted. I tapped my hand, and both our arms fell.

“Perfect. Just…perfect.”

“Enough of this. Answer me something. Why did you do it? Would she have come in the way of what you wanted from me? Did you think I couldn’t be a good Main Master if I had a wife? Why have me kill her like that? As my fucking rights of passage? That’s a special moment for our circle. A consensual one . They’re memories that we’re meant to embrace and cherish as we look back at how far we’ve come. And it never dawned on me before on why I didn’t have my memory concerning that night. Or even that Vivia’s death was tied into my tradition. You did that to me. You twisted my mind, burying important facts under the murder of a woman I loved.”

“Stop lying to yourself.” I lowered, crouching to stare into his eyes.

One snap. A double snap. One snap.

Elec’s lids grew heavy.

“You never loved her. That’s what you’re refusing to believe. You think you did, but you told me the truth. You loved the idea of what Vivia represented. Her family was influential. Not worthy, but that was taken care of eventually. I might have helped a little. Too bad I can’t take full credit. So sad her parents died as they did. Drinking. Driving. Boom. A line gone.”

“That was you?”

“Like I said, I can’t take complete credit. I could have with Braddock if you’d have just stayed out of it.”

“No, you’re not changing the subject. Back to Vivia.”

“Don’t tell me what to do. God, I hate that name. She was pretty. So what. She wasn’t beautiful, but you overlooked that for the money. The power. You’ve always been about the need to control. She wasn’t your ticket to the top. I told you that. Don’t you see? You asked for this, and I gave it to you. You wanted to rule, and I handed you something better than elite status. I handed over the key that would put you above the Whitlocks. Above Bram . It’s what you wanted more than anything. So Vivia had to die…big deal. You. Wanted. That.” My arms shot up, gesturing to our surroundings. “This!”

“No,” he whispered.

“Yes.” I stood. “I have no reason to lie to you anymore. Think, Elec. Think back and remember the morning of your passage. We talked about your path. I asked… ‘What’s it worth to you?’ You said, ‘everything.’. I asked, ‘even love?’ It took you nearly a minute to nod to me, but you knew what I meant. I gave you what you couldn’t ask for. You wanted to be the Main Master of a great new domain. You wanted it. So, I took care of what you couldn’t. I proved to the Council that you were worthy, and you were. I sealed your position. I gave you everything .”

Wide eyes fought my persuasion through the remembrance. I could see the memories come flooding back through as if I were living in Elec’s brain.

“But—”

“No.” My head shook. “You wanted this. Even if it cost you her life. I did you a favor by making you forget. I made you stronger. I made you focused. It took a bit of adjusting due to your guilt and grief, but you did it in record time. Because you knew. You’ve always known: you never loved her. You wanted the baby, but it wasn’t her .”

“That’s—Not true!”

“It is!” I yelled back. “Stop denying what you know to be real. Lying to yourself is not going to help you regain any memories you’re lacking. She was whiny. She was a spoiled, little, pouty bitch. You both fought all the time. You didn’t kill your child, she did! She couldn’t just stop running away from you and her father. She was dramatic. Selfish. Deep down, you couldn’t stand her!”

A growl went through the room, and Elec fell to all fours, his head dropping as he yelled again.

“Look at me, Main Master .”

“No.”

“Now!”

Another yell, but he obeyed.

“I’m seeing we should have worked harder on the grief part. All this mess with the Council… for her. I thought we were working through it all so well in therapy.” I snapped, softening the tone of my voice and changing into a doe-eyed expression. “I guess you can’t fuck the misery out of someone. Let’s go through one last session, for old time’s sake. Lucid, this time. I already know you won’t be able to deny what I’ve known all along.” I clicked my tongue, circling my hand over my face, drawing his attention. “You hate me because you hate her. We’re one now, she and I. See me for who I am to you.”

Elec’s breath caught, and he lifted his hands from the floor, moving higher back on his knees through the shock.

“Better? It’s like seeing a ghost, isn’t it?”

“Stop.”

“You don’t want me to stop.” I licked my lips. “You just want me. And that’s okay to give in to those feelings.”

“Melissa.” Elec’s squeezed his lids shut, only to open and blink rapidly. “Stop this right now.”

“Let’s go back to that day. Back to her lying in bed, in her room.”

“Fuck you.” His fingers pushed through his hair, gripping to the length. “Take it off. You’re not Vivia. I won’t see her as you.”

“You already do, or else this moment couldn’t exist. And you will until you die .” I caressed down the side of my face causing his lips to part through the pain of seeing the woman he loved just as real as if she were here in the flesh. “You can’t hurt me. You won’t even try. You want to kiss me. You want me more than anything.” I slowly unbuttoned my blouse, reaching the last button and leaving it open. “Can you feel it, Main Master? Our connection?”

“This isn’t real.”

I inched forward, testing the distance.

“This is real in your mind, and you know it. To you, I am Vivia. I’m right here, Elec.”

“No. Stay the fuck away from me.” He twisted, leaning to the side, but he couldn’t turn away.

“You don’t want that. You really don’t. Look at me.”

“I fucking hate you.”

“Look at me!”

Ice blue eyes jerked back to mine. His hand lifted, his fists curling in as his teeth became exposed. It had me smiling.

“You were always so stubborn. You could never completely fall under as deep as I wanted. Luckily.” I clicked my tongue twice, drawing his attention as I tapped against my exposed chest. “This. Your heart. It belongs to me. You’re not angry anymore. Feel the tension and pressure from the rage leave you. You’re not even thinking about who I really am. To you…I am Vivia.” I narrowed my eyes the smallest amount to drive my words home. “ I am Vivia, and you love me . It’s time to prove it. Take off your clothes, Main Master . Let’s end this right.”