Chapter 321: Hunt in Silk
The service door burst open from a kick. On the other side, a light-blue-haired woman was running down the hallway at full speed, knocking over clothes racks to slow them down.
"You’re not escaping!" Brianna yelled.
Brianna activated [Shadow Lunge]. Her body shot forward at high speed, closing the gap in a second and pulling right up behind the fugitive.
The light-blue-haired woman reacted quickly. She veered right, pushing off the wall to change direction and heading straight for the glass window leading to the alley.
But Alexander moved first. Opening his mouth, he unleashed his ability.
"[Shockwave]!" Alexander roared.
A deafening sonic scream echoed throughout the hallway. The wave of sound hit the light-blue-haired woman square in the head bursting her eardrums and paralyzing her nervous system. She lost her balance mid-sprint and slammed face-first onto the wooden floor.
She lay trembling on the tiles, dizzy and clutching her bleeding ears, completely incapacitated. Before she could even think of reaching for her dagger, Alexander stood over her and pinned her wrist down hard with his boot.
"Look at what we have here," said Alexander, grabbing her wrist to inspect her skin.
On the inside of her arm stood a crisp tattoo: the symbol of a red rose entwined by a black serpent.
"Interesting, so it seems we found who we were looking for," said Alexander, standing up and looking at his companions. "Lock all the doors. We have a few things to talk about."
Sydney and Paige rushed to slide the bolts and bar the entrance, while Brianna dragged a wooden chair into the center of the room. They grabbed the light-blue-haired woman, who was still trying to shake off the dizziness from the sonic shock, and tied her tightly to another chair using her own leather ropes. The girl struggled desperately, pulling at her bindings, but she was completely trapped.
Alexander brought his chair over, sat down facing her, and crossed his legs calmly.
"Well, well, well... what do we have here?" Alexander said, eyeing her up and down. "A member of the Wild Rose in such a prestigious district. I’m sure that when your noble clients find out who they were dealing with, they will make sure to demand the maximum penalty for you. So, how about you tell me what I want to know, and maybe I’ll consider not making you suffer too much?"
The light-blue-haired girl spat at his feet, glaring with utter contempt at him and her three former companions.
"I won’t betray the organization like these bitches did," said the light-blue-haired girl. "Don’t even think I’ll break that easily."
Alexander let out a dry laugh.
"These bitches?" Alexander said, reaching out to wrap his arm around Paige’s waist—the one closest to him—and forcing her against his side.
Paige didn’t resist at all; instead, she rested her head on his shoulder with obvious docility.
"These bitches, as you call them, are having the time of their lives with me," Alexander continued, stroking Paige’s thigh as the light-blue-haired woman widened her eyes in anger. "Can’t you see their faces? They are full of happiness, joy, and passion for life. You, on the other hand... you look utterly pathetic. Tell me, how long has it been since you let someone fuck you? Poor, sad soul, confined to this empty place with no one you can call a friend. You can’t raise suspicions, you can’t draw too much attention... you must stay in the shadows like a little canary in a cage that only knows how to sing for its masters."
Alexander leaned back in his seat, letting his words sink in. Brianna, Paige, and Sydney stood by his side, quietly watching the tied-up girl grit her teeth. Alexander leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees, and looked her straight in the eye.
"I have four questions for you," said Alexander, tilting his head with a mock smile. "How about you be nice and answer them the easy way before I have to subdue you so you talk the hard way?"
The light-blue-haired girl gritted her teeth and met his gaze with overwhelming fury.
"Go to hell," the woman spat. "We already checked; there are no more slavery scrolls left. You won’t be able to subdue us all. You only managed with them because those bitches made deals with you, but don’t think you can slap a slave seal on every one of us."
Alexander let out a low chuckle and slowly shook his head.
"Do you really think a slave seal is the only way I can break you?" Alexander asked, narrowing his eyes. "Little girl, there are things far more fun and less painful, yet they inflict infinitely more damage."
"Fuck you!" she screamed, thrashing against the wood of the chair.
Alexander sighed, remaining entirely unfazed.
"Well, seeing as you’re a prisoner and people like you in this kingdom have fewer rights than anyone else, there’s really no need for me to hold back... Don’t you agree?"
"Fuck you!" she roared again, her face contorted with rage.
Alexander said nothing more. He stood up calmly, walked slowly around the edge of the room until he positioned himself right behind her, and rested both hands on her tense shoulders. Applying a firm yet measured pressure, he began giving her a deep shoulder massage, feeling her muscles lock up under his touch.
"Lucky for you, I’m what you might consider an idiot..." Alexander said near her ear. "I’m way too good to women and I have a good heart. Maybe that’s why I seem easy to deal with. So, let’s play a game. You girls are trained to endure any torture, right? They trained you in the art of resisting pain, of separating your minds from your bodies. So our game will be very simple, sound good?"
The light-blue-haired girl clenched her jaw without answering, twisting her neck to try and break free from his touch.
"The game goes like this," Alexander continued, slowly sliding his hands down from her shoulders toward the edge of her neckline. "I’m not going to inflict a single second of pain on you. No whips, no cuts, no burns. I’m going to give you pure pleasure. Let’s see how long your mind can ’separate from your body’ when every fiber of your skin is begging for more."
The woman swallowed hard. The fierce resolve she had held in her eyes began to waver as she felt Alexander’s fingers unbuttoning the top of her leather outfit.