7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Iris

Give me torture. Give me pain. Give me anything but this. With pain, I can stay strong. I can endure. I can hold onto my dignity. But with this... I can do nothing but writhe in pleasure, my body begging for the attention that I need—begging him for the attention.

"How long do you think you can remain silent, Pet?" Remus's voice pulls me from the darkest corner of my mind. I'm a sweaty, shaky mess. I assumed "my place" meant torture, but I see now that Remus is more complex than that. So far, all he's done is use his talented tongue and fingers to turn my body to mush. I suck in a shaky breath, trying my best to remain indifferent. If there's one thing I must hold onto, it's what dignity I have left. And giving in to my desire would strip me of that. He knows I can handle the pain .

He wants my dignity.

Remus's finger strokes deep inside of me, coaxing me toward release. My legs slowly rise up, my hips slightly shifting toward him. The dull ache I felt from his kiss has morphed into a throbbing pulse that has found a permanent place between my legs. I squeeze my eyes shut as images of Leah's broken body play across my mind. I will never forgive him for the condition he put her in. But he's doing everything in his power to make me forget at this moment.

His tongue licks and laves between my folds, finding the sensitive bud hidden there with ease. I feel the tip of his tongue playing with me, knowing every inch of my body and how to make it come alive with pleasure and need that he pulls out of me. Fingers brush over my breast, squeezing my nipple lightly, and my eyes fly open. My heart sputters to a standstill in my chest at the sight. Remus is between my open legs, his purple eyes vibrant as they bore into my soul without an ounce of penitence for his actions on me, on my family, and this Earth.

His gaze searches my face for something, and I gasp when I feel his finger pushing back into my tight channel. My inner walls tremble slightly at the entrance of something. Remus slowly pulls his finger out before pushing it back in, imitating the demand for something more. I bite my bottom lip, wanting nothing more than to moan my pleasure and give in to temptation. But I refuse to give him that satisfaction.

"So naive."

Remus's voice washes over me, and I open my eyes once again, faced with the intensity of his gaze, as he slowly places kisses up my stomach until he is straddled over me. His features are softened by the dim lights, and he angles his head slightly, studying me. He reaches toward me, and I flinch, waiting for the pain to come, but it doesn't. My eyes open when I feel his thumb lightly run over my bottom lip and I note that his eyes are dilating. The arousal I felt has been replaced with fear, earning me a laugh from Remus's lips.

"You've mistaken my intentions, Iris. Do you truly believe that by refusing to divulge your pleasure audibly, you're winning this battle between us?" He tucks a stray hair behind my ear. "I don't need affirmation to know what you're feeling. I can smell the arousal your body releases with each touch I offer you."

Remus leans closer to me, pressing his lips against my throat. I suck in a shuddering breath just as I feel him positioning himself at my entrance.

"I don't care for your moans, pet. I know you're aroused. What I want is simple..."

Remus leans into my ear, the heat from his body seeping into mine. My body tenses when I feel his top pushing at my opening.

"I want your screams..."

He pushes past my entrance, and the slow burn of him entering me replaces the arousal. I cry out as he stretches me further to accommodate himself, entering with a maddeningly slow pace. The pain is unbearable. I open my mouth, letting my groan of pain leave my lips. Remus chuckles above me as he pulls out slightly, only to shove back in with two more thrusts, fully sheathing himself.

His pubic bone pressed against my own, my inner walls throbbing from the change in size. When I open my eyes, Remus is watching me with a strange expression that I can't decipher. His silver hair falls over one shoulder, curtaining my left side as he looks down at me.

Finally, he speaks.

"Relax," he murmurs. The words wash over me, and I begin to breathe.

The pain is slowly digressing to a dull throb, and Remus senses it. He slowly pulls out, only to thrust again, jarring my body. I cry out, the feel of him inside of me driving me to new heights. Remus leans over me, his tongue running over my neck, sending shivers of pleasure through my body, all coming together at the same place between my legs. Remus's thrusts become more urgent, his drive pulling me closer and closer to the edge, craving the release that only he can give me. My hands press against his chest to anchor myself, and with each thrust, I can feel him driving me deeper into the bed beneath us.

I feel Remus's hand under my back as he lifts me up, his free hand threading through my hair to expose my neck. His penetration is deeper from this position, and I can't help the loud cries that are wrenched from my lips as he fucks me in his arms.

"That's it, scream for me," he purrs.

His words are like cold water, and I know he's enjoying the predicament I am in—pleasure at the hands of the Leviathan who hurt my loved ones. I squeeze my eyes shut, grounding out my words.

"No."

Instead of anger, I'm met with a deep chuckle .

Remus moves us with ease, lifting me up until I feel the cool press of the headboard against my back as he anchors me between him and the solid object. My legs wrap around his waist to hold myself up, and I can still feel the thick length of his shaft lodged inside of me. He's eerily still as he pushes my hair away from my face, placing his palm against my cheek. I can hear the sound of my heartbeat, and I know he can too. His hand lightly wraps around my throat.

"Scream for me?" he asks.

I tremble, but I can't bring myself to respond.

His grip around my throat tightens, cutting off my air supply, and my hands immediately fly to his. He takes it as an opportunity to grab both of my hands in one of his, forcing them above my head. His grip tightens, and I can feel the bones in my wrist slowly pulling apart just as searing pain begins to spread through my arms.

"I said scream."

He emphasizes his command, thrusting hard, and I follow his words. I scream. My screams spurn him on, and he finds his rhythm, each of his thrusts grinding me against the wall of the headboard. His earlier attention to my body has me wet and wanting, as his thrusts become more urgent, the growing ache I felt rising to the surface. I feel myself cresting just as a wave of euphoria washes over me, and I shudder in pleasure. My inner walls begin to contract, the feel of Remus's length dragging it out longer than I could have imagined. My screams mingle with my moans that echo off the walls .

Remus's thick length grows larger inside of me before he finally shudders, his thrusts growing shallow until he sheaths himself fully. I feel the warm spurt of him bathing my inner walls just as our labored breathing fills the air. My throat is sore from the yelling and moaning, and I think maybe he's done. Maybe he's taught me the lesson he meant to.

My eyes fly open when I feel his finger tracing down my cheek, and my body involuntarily shakes from fear. The soft press of Remus's lips against my cheek draws a small whimper from me. I can still feel him inside of me, and even though he just came, he's still hard.

"I'm not done with you yet. Not for a while."

My throat is raw. I wouldn't be shocked if I managed to cough up blood today. I slowly crack my eyes open, looking around the room. A small whimper leaves my lips when I try to move. I can't. My body hurts. Everywhere hurts, especially between my legs. Tears spill over, falling into my hair to soak the pillow. Obviously, this being isn't human. And from the events of last night, he has no regard for the basic rights of humans.

I try to sit up and flinch as pain washes over my body.

Right on time, the wall on the far side of the room opens, and in walks the cause of my trauma. He looks unbothered, dressed in his usual white, with his hair pulled back in that loose ponytail. If I weren't traumatized from last night, I would scream at this moment. But my body settles for trembling.

He did it. To say he instilled fear would be an understatement. He instilled pure, unfiltered terror. Terror of him. His purple gaze travels to me, and the tears fall even harder as he approaches. He takes a seat on the edge of the bed, his eyes roaming over my body. He reaches for me, and I flinch, closing my eyes. I slowly open them when I feel the cool sheets being pulled over my waist.

I look behind him when I see Ruth and Bertha walking in with trays of food in their hands. They silently set everything on the coffee table in the center of the room.

"You need to eat." Remus's voice pulls me from my focus. He's looking at me with a blank expression like always. I can't help but lower my gaze, not knowing what else to do. After a moment of silence, I feel Remus's hands underneath my body as he easily picks me up. Panic sets in, and I try and struggle, pushing away from him. Remus isn't fazed in the least by my struggles as he carries me out into the hall and to a separate bathroom, steam wafting through the air upon our entrance. He carries me to the clawfoot tub, placing me gently in the water. I still feel pain, but the warm water soothes my aching muscles.

I look down at my body through the water, and my eyes widen as shock comes over me. There are bruises all over my flesh—some in the form of fingers and some in the form of blotches. The longer I take in the bruising, the more I understand what it is as I recall Remus's lips in these same exact places, suckling my flesh to bring forth my pleasure. My eyes wander up to Remus sitting on the tub's edge, watching me. He's gazing down at me with that purple gaze, not an ounce of regret on his face.

It's terrifying that something like him exists in the universe, a being so powerful that he can conquer a planet and have zero regrets about the society he uprooted and destroyed.

"You look as if you resent me." Remus's voice echoes off the walls, his gaze holding an amused twinkle.

"I can never understand why the people of this planet feel they deserve the freedom to rule themselves. The biggest lie you instilled in your people for generations is that you all have the basic right to freedom," he laughs.

He fucking laughs.

"You tell your people this, yet your history is riddled with slavery. Ancient civilizations...Rome...Scandinavia… Europeans and Africans. Humans existed who would voice that their enslaved by law weren't even human. They were property . One man in Germany stood up and convinced an entire nation to wipe out an entire people. Blatantly sending them to their deaths. Where were your people then?"he asks, watching me curiously.

After a long pause, he snaps his fingers, smiling.

"Oh, that's right. You were agreeing. Enslaving. You were turning on your own to help yourselves, believing lies told about your fellow man instead of opening your eyes to the truth. The history of this planet is stained with the blood of its inhabitants. That's why humanity was so easy to conquer. You turned on one another when you needed each other's strengths in differences the most. "

Remus reaches for my face, gripping my chin so that I can't look away from his gaze, and although the water is warm, I feel a cold chill sweep through the room at his words.

"Abandon any notion that you deserve freedom. It is not a basic right. That is the biggest lie that your race has ever conjured."

He finally stands, pausing at the door to look back at me.

"Don't ever rebel against me again. I will break you—right then, right there. And I do mean that literally."

"Iris. Eat." I tense at the sudden sound of Remus's voice and begin chewing on the toast in front of me.

Every time I close my eyes, I see Leah's pained face. I hate that there's nothing I can do. Nothing . And each time I think about rebelling against Remus, I want to vomit. That's the level of anguish he has instilled in me. Today, we are in a different room in Remus's home. It's a large living room that's spacious and bright. Something that I've noticed about Remus's culture is that everything is spread out and natural. They enjoy using natural lighting and a lot of space.

I look up to where he's seated across the room. His eyes are roaming over a screen in his hands, his face holding no hint of what it is he's going over. He said he was of nobility at the event we attended, so what could he possibly be working on all the time?

Remus suddenly stands, making his way out of the room. I take the moment to move closer to the glass wall. The scenery before me is beautiful and causes a sad ache to flow through me. I miss the outdoors. Even though the blight was a city of ruin, it was still outside. And I was free. I was able to come and go as I pleased. I was able to feel the sun against my cheeks and the wind in my hair.

Now that I am here, Remus keeps me inside all the time, only able to watch the scenery from behind the glass walls that encompass his home. I look around the empty room, making sure he is gone, before stepping even closer to the glass wall. I press my hand against the glass, reveling in the warmth that greets the inside of my palm.

I miss this.

"Iris. Step away from there." The sound of Remus's voice brings me back to reality.

"You were right, brother. She is exquisite." I tense and immediately turn my head to take in the owner of the new voice that has entered the room, completely forgetting the number one rule of not looking them in the eyes.

The stranger is beautiful, just like his brother. His silver hair only reaches his shoulders, curling gently around his face, unlike Remus's, which falls past his waist. He also seems younger. His build is lean, and he's an inch or two shorter than Remus. His eyes aren't the same either. Instead of bright purple, one is purple, and one is blue.

The stranger raises a brow at me, forcing me to realize my mistake, and I immediately drop my head, gazing at their feet .

"Come here, Iris."

My stomach drops at the command, and my body begins to react to the fear rushing through my veins. Each time I'm in the same vicinity as Remus, I begin to shake from fear, and this time is no different. I hear a deep chuckle as Remus places a hand out to steady me, and I squeeze my eyes shut from his touch.

"Damn, Remus, what'd you do to her?" his brother asks.

"Merely taught her a lesson," Remus quips. I hear the waver of excitement in his voice.

"So, what drove your decision to house a human without an inhibitor?" his brother asks.

The room is silent, and Remus finally speaks as he walks away. I note that his brother's eyes are still trained on me as Remus responds.

"She intrigued me."

Remus's brother chuckles softly, shaking his head as he follows his brother to the opposite end of the room.

Remus

Even though my brother is here to discuss important matters, I can't bring myself to tear my gaze away from Iris. She's a foolish human. I think back to the moment I laid eyes on her in that wasteland she wants so badly to return to. I was going to kill her, just like I did the rest of the humans in the area. But the longer I watched her, the clearer my hesitation became .

She has a spark—a desire to live that she uses for those around her rather than helping herself. Humans in positions of power have failed to display this on many occasions. Even humans driven into corners eventually reveal the nasty side of their true nature—but not her, for some reason. And now, when I look at her, that spark is almost gone.

I knew when bringing her to the celebration that she wasn't ready. But, like I said to my brother, I was intrigued. I wanted to see if she would once again let emotion rule her instead of logic. And she didn't disappoint. Eventually, I will destroy that spark. For now, however, I will enjoy the process of extinguishing it.

I study her as she sits away from us, pretending to eat. Her dark hair waves slightly, falling barely past her chin. I don't mind. If anything, I prefer it. I can see the delicate shape of her slender throat. When I found her, she was too skinny and malnourished, and her hair was matted with dirt and grime. Now, she looks like she should, and she's absolutely stunning.

And all mine.

I can tell from the direction of her gaze that she is trying to listen to our conversation, which is why I make sure to speak in our native language.

"Remus," my brother snaps, pulling me out of my musings.

I reach for the blueprints I've been drawing up all day. Thirteen Earth years after our invasion, an entire community of humans has come together to begin the long battle to take back their planet. As head of the Leviathan race, it is my job to eliminate that ambition entirely, which is why my brother has arrived today .

"This is what we've uncovered recently involving surrounding bases. Your job is to find their primary base. If we can rid them of their leaders, they'll all be left in disarray and easier to round up," I say.

Ezra nods his head, looking at the blueprints, and I can't help but let my worry shine through.

"Are you sure you want to do this? It doesn't have to be you. I can designate a team to—"

"I wish you would stop treating me like a child. I can manage on my own. I do oversee an entire fleet, remember?" he snaps.

I laugh at his response.

"Yes. I remember," I say.

He hates it when I treat him like a child. But he is my brother. My only brother and the youngest of three. I am the eldest. There's me, our sister Xion, and lastly, Ezra. It's an instinct for me to be worried. He's always been treated with the most care. I take in his face as he looks over the satellite images of the fortress. Ezra was born with traits of the elite, except for his eyes. It's a strange mutation that my sister and I never understood. Xion and I inherited the white hair and violet eyes, physical proof of our standing in the Leviathan society.

Our mother always ensured we knew how different we were from the rest.

" You are divine ," she would say.

"I will expect you to report in, Ezra—only you. I will assume something is wrong if it is someone else. You have to check in with me," I say .

Ezra huffs in irritation, his gaze narrowing. "I told you I'll be fine—"

"They're making weapons, Ezra," I say, pulling up the digital reports on the screen. I shift my attention to Iris, who no longer bothers to at least pretend to chew anymore as she listens to our foreign conversation. It's almost amusing as she looks at the screen covered in a foreign language that she couldn't begin to comprehend.

"So? Their weapons are useless against us," Ezra pulls me out of my musings, and I release a breath of irritation, pinching the bridge of my nose before continuing.

"From what we've seen, the weapons are still in the early stages, but they have been shown to have damaging effects on the Leviathan at least," I say. For weeks, I have been getting reports of weapons that are actually causing damage. When we first arrived, the weapons used to fight against us weren't comparable. The fight was laughable. But now, years after the invasion, they are creating effective weapons. They're learning.And I don't think this sudden bout of knowledge is on their own.

"So there's a traitor?" Ezra asks. I slowly nod my head.

"It is a possibility. And this traitor seems to be amid the resistance."

Ezra's eyes light up at my admission, his excitement growing at the idea of a hunt. He's as sadistic as I am, he just does a better job at hiding it. He gains people's trust and creates relationships before he blows it all up in a matter of seconds. And that is why he is the head of our armada. I have often allowed him to take down planets from within instead of my much less merciful method to the inhabitants.

Ezra finally stands, grabbing the blueprints as he leaves. "Just leave it to me, Remus," he calls.

"Be careful, Ezra," I call after him. He turns back to me, giving me a goofy smile.

"Aren't I always?"

I roll my eyes in response.

Hardly.