Chapter 12

Luna

My hands smoothed over the dress, the soft silk covering my skin like a glove. It was my favorite dress. The dress Joshua had urged me to buy nearly two years ago while we were on that vacation in Cabo. I had worn it for nearly every special occasion since then. And tonight was definitely a special occasion. One none of us would soon forget. Well, those of us that would be able to remember.

Tremors of anxiety and nervous anticipation thrummed just below my skin as I checked myself in the mirror one last time before grabbing my things and heading through the suburban streets towards the French Quarter.

Time for my plan to come to fruition.

Time to let go.

Time to let Bash take control.

No, not Bash.

Master.

I pulled up to the shop, parking in the small underground garage Bash had directed me to. My pulse hammered away in my throat, roaring in my ears as I walked up to the back entrance, knocking on the door twice before Bash finally answered.

“My dark moon,” he greeted with a smile that spoke of darkness and power. A power I was quickly growing addicted to.

“Master,” I whispered, immediately feeling more at ease in his presence. He led me into the back of the shop without another word, his hand on my lower back guiding me, putting me at ease with that one solitary touch.

“Are you sure you want this, my dark moon?” he asked, turning to me and placing his fingertip beneath my chin, not allowing me to look away from his steady and imperative gaze.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. Except for you,” I answered with utter honesty and transparency.

“Good girl. Ready to be my living doll again, ma chère ?” he asked, his voice dripping with malevolent promise and sinister sex.

“Yes, Master.”

“Good.” With that, he turned, taking the doll I already thought of as precious, and whispered the incantation. A flourish of his hand and a burst of flame, and it was done.

I could feel it, the power that settled within me, just beneath the surface of my skin, lingering in anticipation, impatiently waiting to be given direction by my Master.

He handed me a bottle of wine.

“Use this. Pour the wine, gain their trust. The potion will work within ten minutes, so you will have to keep them engaged until it takes effect. It is a strong paralytic. It will keep them immobile and silent, unable to fight whatever you wish to do to them.”

“I have no idea where to begin,” I muttered under my breath.

“And that is why you have me. I will guide you. You will not be alone. You will never again be alone.” The weight of his promise was not lost on me. I let it captivate me. “You will need to drink this now,” he said, handing me a small vial of bright blue liquid.

“What is it?” I asked, hesitating as I held the shimmering liquid up to the light.

“It is the antidote. Drink this now, and you will have several hours with complete immunity to the poison’s effects,” Bash explained. “Go, my dark moon. Go seek the vengeance you deserve. I will be with you every step of the way.” He leaned forward, kissing my forehead in a tender gesture, belying the brutality of our relationship.

I nodded once, then turned from him and headed back out of the back door, walking silently to my car, and driving back to the suburbs to the two people who would be the victims of my vengeance.

In what felt like only moments, I had parked outside of Joshua’s home. Kayla’s car was in the driveway, parked just behind his. Just as I had hoped.

It took two knocks on the door and a ring of the doorbell before Joshua answered the door, clad in nothing more than his blue bathrobe and matching fuzzy socks.

“Hello… oh! Luna. Erm… what can I …” he stammered. It didn’t matter what he said. There was no explanation that could or would excuse his deception.

Fucking prick.

Plastering what I hoped was an innocent smile on my face and adopting an overly pleasant tone, I replied.

“Good evening, Joshua. I know it’s late, but I was wondering if we could sit down and talk. The three of us.” I waited on bated breath for him to allow me inside.

“I don’t know, Luna. Kayla and I are trying to move forward. I’m not sure hashing all of this out is the best idea,” he hedged.

“I promise I’m not here to fight, Josh. I just want to show you both that I’ve taken some time to cool off, to find a more calm space. And I want you both to know that I support you. Please let me in. We can share a drink and just talk. We were all friends first, before you and I started dating. I am just hoping that you’ll both accept my peace offering, and we can find a way towards friendship again.”

Moments passed while he considered his options, but after a moment, he opened the door further, ushering me inside.

Step one, complete.

Joshua led me to the living room, leaving me only long enough to grab glasses.

“Joshy, who was at the door?” Kayla’s voice called from the stairs as she descended slowly. “Oh… Luna…” she trailed off awkwardly as she saw me from the staircase.

“Good evening, Kayla.”

“What are you doing here, Luna?” Her nervousness was beyond apparent.

“I’m just here to talk,” I answered as Joshua brought in glasses for the three of us.

Cautiously, Kayla sat on the couch beside me, Joshua settling in beside her on the opposite side, stretching his arm out over the back of the couch and around Kayla’s shoulders.

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I used the corkscrew to uncork the bottle of wine, and poured the three of us glasses. For a moment, I hesitated, peering into my cup, knowing what the wine held.

“You are safe, my dark moon.” Master’s voice called in the corners of my mind. The thrum of his control surged slightly under my skin, reminding me I was not alone.

“I wanted to sit down with the both of you, to try and move past this,” I lied. “The three of us were friends long before Josh and I started dating. I’d like to find our way back to that.”?

“So, you support us?” Kayla asked suspiciously. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Kay, Luna’s a good girl. Of course she supports us. Besides, if she doesn’t make amends here, who else would she have in her life? She needs us.” His condescension knew no bounds, pushing my anger to rage.

“Stay calm.” The dark voice consumed me, the will of my Master taking over.

“Well, you’re right on that one, love,” Kayla agreed with a short huff of a laugh.

“I support the two of you. Yes, I’m still hurt, but I love you both, and I don’t want to lose the friendships we’ve built just because of my anger.” The lie fell from my lips with such ease. I watched as they both took a sip of the wine, my own glass held in front of me.

“This is amazing!” Kayla groaned, reaching for the bottle and reading over the label. “Jesus, Lune! Where did you get a vintage like this? A little outside of your normal budget, isn’t it?” She raised a brow in my direction, lightly scolding me for spending so much on a bottle of wine.

If she only knew…. well, she would know soon enough.

“I thought that this moment deserved a bit of class. Don’t you?” I set my glass down, untouched. They didn’t even notice.

“Absolutely.” Joshua took a big swig of his wine, nearly gulping the expensive, poison-laced liquid with a decidedly classless noise.

“While it still hurts that the two of you did this behind my back, I thought it best to move forward, in the only way I know how.”?

“That’s our Luney girl. It’s good that you made this decision. You need people in your life, and let’s be honest, we’re all you have.”?

“You know, Josh, that’s not actually true.”?

“Come off it, Lune. I’ve known you for over a decade and you do… d… d…” Kayla trailed off, her eyes popping wide as her mouth struggled to form words.

Josh’s eyes moved in her direction; his body slumped back on the couch.

He couldn’t move.

Neither of them could speak.

Perfection.

Both of their gazes turned to me, eyes popped open wide with fear as realization settled over them.

“Oh, goody! I see the poison is working.”?

An undignified, pathetic whining sound rose from Kayla’s throat, making me cackle with glee.

“You see, I said I wanted to move past this, but there is no moving past what the two of you did, is there?” I reached down to my purse, my fingers wrapping around the cold, bumpy hilt of the blade Master had given me.

I hesitated. Knowing what I had to do, and actually doing it, were two different things.

Suddenly, my hand moved, pulling the knife from my purse on its own.

Master was with me, helping me to be strong.

I let myself relax into his power as I stood from the couch.

“The only way to move forward is to know that the two of you wretched people won’t hurt anyone else the way you’ve hurt me. And I cannot control what you do. So, there’s only one option. I must make sure you cannot hurt anyone ever again.”

I stood and approached the two of them, now slumped against the back of the couch they shared. For a moment, I stared down at them; at their joined hands, a final token of their utter betrayal of me. I shook my head, a grim huff of laughter escaping me at the irony. Reaching down, I separated their hands, lifting them up and letting them fall limp to test their responsiveness. Both fell like a stone.

Good. The wine had truly worked.

It was time.

“You never should have crossed me, Joshy.” I spit out Kayla’s pet name for him with disdain. “Right now, you are panicking, realizing that you cannot control your bodies, or even your voices. You’re realizing that you’re completely helpless. That you are in my power now. I control you.”

I moved in front of Joshua, making sure that I was squarely in his field of vision before continuing. I ran my hands up the front of my body, over my breasts. I swore I could feel the phantom touch of Master trailing behind my hands.

I smiled, feeling a bit more confident.

He was with me.

With his help, I could do this. I would do this.

I straddled Joshua’s lap, continuing to touch myself. I unbuttoned the top of my shirt, showing him just what he had given up. “You could have had all of this, Josh.” I started grinding against him. “I was yours. Ready to marry you, to live the rest of my life with you. I TRUSTED you!”

Without warning, I slapped him across the face, hard enough to make his head jerk to the side. Grabbing his chin roughly, I dragged him back around to face me.

He needed to see me, to see my face as I claimed my vengeance. I glanced down to see that I’d split his lip open. Blood, bright red and glistening, dripped down his chin.

I paused for a moment, hesitating. Could I actually do this? Could I actually go through with the plan?

At that moment, the moment my doubt and insecurity surged, Master was there.

I felt the tingle of magic under my skin as he laid claim to me. I mentally relinquished control as he took over and I became a passenger in my own body. Silently, I thanked him for helping me be strong. I knew, through the magic somehow, that I still had control of my voice.

“No one crosses me like that, Joshy. No one gets away with it. Never again. I hope getting your dick wet was worth it.” My arm moved at Master’s bidding, and I set the point of the blade directly below one of my ex-lover’s eye sockets. I heard Master’s voice in my mind, helping give me the words to say next.

“You took my heart, Joshua. I gave you my heart, and you stomped on it. You broke it into pieces. You ruined my life. And now I require something in exchange. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a life for a life.” Master may have been prompting my words, but I felt them deep in my soul.

The knife moved, parting the skin of Joshua’s cheek. Blood fell like tears. Tears he never cried for me. Another flick, and matching crimson droplets adorned the other side of his face. I felt my heart tighten, but I breathed deep and relaxed into Master’s control.

“I truly hope you enjoyed your time with her, Joshua. I hope you two truly, deeply loved one another. I hope that you wanted to marry each other, to make vows to one another. Till death do you part, isn’t that how it goes? Well… perhaps I can help make that vow come true, at least.” His eyes widened almost imperceptibly. “You brought this upon yourself, you fucking bastard. You could have had everything. Now I will take everything from you.”

I watched my hand move once more, the instrument of Master’s will and my vengeance. Slowly, the blade traced a path of red from one of my betrayer’s ears to the other, under his chin. A bubbling gurgle was the only sound he made as hot crimson sprayed across my arms and chest. It felt like Master’s embrace around me. His eyes remained locked on mine, and I returned the stare, unblinking, until I saw the light go out of them.

I felt Master’s touch lighten, allowing me to move once more, although I knew he could take control again in an instant. With a sigh of satisfaction, I slid off of Joshua’s lap, shifting to stand in front of Kayla. I looked down at her paralyzed form, meeting her gaze. I knew that she was taking in the sight of me covered in her cheating lover’s blood. The thought of her abject terror brought a smile to my lips.

“And now you, bestie. BFF’s, right? Best friends forever. That’s what we promised each other, wasn’t it? To be best friends for life? I held up my end of the bargain, Kay. And now, you get to hold up yours. For the rest of our lives, we said. Well, for the rest of your life, anyway.” I spat each word at her with acidic, saccharine sweetness. Tears welled in my eyes as I remembered sleep-overs, shared secrets, pinkie promises, and all the rest. All of it, a waste. Ruined.

“How could you do this to me, you fucking bitch? I trusted you, too. But you couldn’t let me have one fucking thing just for myself, could you? I’ve lived my life in your shadow, and I was content there. I wanted this one thing for me. But you just had to have it.” Tears streamed freely now, making tracks in the splatters of blood on my cheeks. I didn’t care.

“You could have had any man you wanted! Look at you, with your perfect skin and perfect hair and perfect body and perfect tits! You could have had anyone, but you couldn’t be content with that. You had to have MY man.”

I didn’t even need Master’s guidance as I struck out, stabbing through her shirt, through the skin of one breast, and punctured the implant beneath. She’d been so fucking proud of those. Her nostrils flared, and I laughed humorlessly through my tears. I placed the tip of the knife between her breasts and slowly carved down, parting cloth and skin with equal ease. She hadn’t even been wearing a bra, the fucking slut. I laughed again at her now lop-sided chest. So much for the perfect model looks. Beads of crimson like rubies fell from the long slit that now bisected her once perfect figure.

“I hate you, Kayla King. I hate you for what you took from me. For pretending to be my closest friend. I hate you for making me trust you.” I smiled sweetly down at her. “But I love you for taking me to le Désir Mystique.”

“If it wasn’t for you, I never would have gone in there. And I never would have met my new Master. All of this.” I gestured to Joshua with the knife. “This is all your fault, you know? You led me to the man who showed me I was strong. That I deserved vengeance. You introduced me to the very person who helped me see that I was worth more than being lied to and cheated on and made a fool.”

I leaned forward towards her and held the knife between us. “I really must thank you for helping me see the truth. And now, I want my face to be the last thing you see before I end you.”

Tears seeped from Kayla’s eyes, but I was beyond caring. I was beyond compassion.

I gripped behind her head, fisting those perfect locks tight, forcing her to look up at me. I barely felt the knife slip between her ribs. I barely felt the blood wet my hand as I stabbed again and again and again, never breaking eye contact with her.

Only when she too went dull-eyed and lifeless did I let go, letting her body slump across the couch.

It was done.

With Master’s help, I had done it.

I had claimed my vengeance on those who had betrayed me. I felt his caress. I heard him whispering sweet encouragement and praises in my ear. It made me feel warm inside, warmer than the blood that coated my hands and soaked into my dress. His approval was an even sweeter reward than their deaths.

I drove through the dark streets of the French quarter, back towards my Master. I wasn’t sure exactly how I had gotten the bodies into the trunk of my car, but I was thankful that he had given me the tarp to line it with. He had told me he would help with the cleanup, with disposing of the bodies. I trusted him. He would keep me safe. He would protect me.

As I got closer to my destination, I felt my body shake as I crashed from the adrenaline high that had carried me through my little errand. My breath became uneven and shallow, and tears welled up in my eyes, marking new streaks through the blood smeared on my cheeks from where I had wiped others away.

Get to Master. Just get to Master. He will take care of me. I just have to hold it together that long.

By the time I parked in the underground garage, I was openly crying. Not in remorse or guilt, never that. I cried for what I had lost, even though I only wanted Bash now. I cried in anger at what they had taken from me. I cried with relief that this chapter of my life was over.

I was Master’s now. I could find a new life with him. A life of power, strength, and passion I’d never known before.

Making my way to the back door of the shop, I slipped from dark corners to recessed doorways to avoid being seen. Covered in blood as I was, being stopped would have spelled doom for certain. I raised my hand to knock, but the door swung open before I could, and there he was. He smiled down at me with genuine approval in his gaze before ushering me inside and towards his back room.

“I am beyond proud of you, ma belle lune de sang . My lovely blood moon.” His fingertips brushed my hair back behind my ear, the gesture more kind and loving than I had ever thought possible. Then again, he had surprised me from day one. Why would now be any different???

“Let me help you clean up, then we will deal with taking out the trash in your trunk. For now, sit here and I will fetch hot water and a washcloth. I have a change of clothes already set out for you.” He guided me with a hand at the small of my back, once more giving me that sense of balance and belonging with a single touch.

“Come, my obedient and willing puppet. Let your Master take care of you.”