Tainted Love ~Muke Clemmings~

Chapter 5

Instead of falling at his feet, like most people would in fearful situations, I'm going to just stay silent. He can't punish me if I do not say anything rude or disrespectful. Well, he can, but I don't think he would.

I was raised to not grapple at anyone's feet, vampire or not. There should be no reason to. 

In the place that I am in, I should take the punishment. And take it with pride. I rebelled against him, on his own territory, and pissed him off enough that he is taking the liberty to punish me himself. He probably feels good about himself when he causes pain, so I guess I am not going to take that away from him.

I fear footsteps faintly echoing from the distance. Each was slow, a couple seconds apart. A moment later, King Michael appears through the doorway. I have been here for most likely a day now. My eyes were heavy, my arms were burning, my bruised should throbbed; but still I glared at him, not fearful.

"So, how are you feeling, Luke?" He asks me sarcastically. I don't respond to him.

"Answer me." He demands.

Again, I do not respond.

He sighs, and tsk's a few times, and walks over to his torture materials. He doesn't say anything as he picks up a leather whip. "Apologise." He orders; but once again I stay silent. I see his arm go back and swiftly comes back. Through my shirt I feel the sting of the whip.

I was tempted to say something, something to get him mad. Instead I wince a bit, and take it. I need to stay silent, or I was going to lose this battle.

He does this four more times, each time more painful than the previous. Maybe I should try to let him kill me. Better than living in captivity.

Before I can say anything, I feel my feet touch the ground. He was lowering me.

My arms relax a bit, but the descend of the chains come to a halt.

"You see, this is not very painful through clothing." He smirks. He takes a knife out of his pocket, and in one movement cuts my shirt off. I look down and see the red marks from the whip - they were already starting to swell.

The thin fabric falls to the ground.

He slices off my jeans, and I feel a chill run up my spine. "This is going to hurt, Luke." He tells me, and the chains move upward once again.

When I am back to where I was a minute ago, he places the leather whip back on the rack. He grabs the metal one. My heart beats faster, and I'm scared.

"I hear your heart beating, Luke." He says, but nonetheless the whip comes in contact with my skin - and with force.

I scream out, feeling tears well up in my eyes. My abdomen was burning. "No." I mumbled, as I tried to make sure I did not cry.

The whip comes in contact with my thighs.

Once again I scream in agony. I was not going to beg for mercy. "Is that the best you can do?" I ask him, faking my confidence.

He walks behind me and the whip hits my back 3 times in less than a second. "Are you so weak you can't fight with your fists? Or when someone isn't in bondage?" I question him.

I feel streams of warm liquid run down my back, thighs, and stomach.

I am descended again, and the chains around my wrist are unlocked. "I want you to respect me." He tells me quietly.

"You can't force people to respect you through violence and threats. You have not proven to me you deserve respect." I respond.

He looks and and his fist hits my face. "Do you learn that from watching your Daddy do that to your Mommy? Wait, they're dead. Forgot." I smile. His kind killed my family. I feel no remorse.

"I'm done with you. You are going to The Cages. I gave you a room, bathroom, clothing, and a better place to live. You run and disrespect me. You hold a grudge against my kind because you think of us as cruel. We kill or drain people for survival. Nothing more." He explains.

"They mean more than your fill of blood. They're people. Do you remember the time when you were not all high and mighty?" I ask him.

"Yes, yes I do. I think that the human race is dull, and hardly deserving of life. The longer someone is around, they gain more intelligence. I do not tolerate stupid." He replies.

I look towards the stone stairs, and then back at the King. "And I do not tolerate ugly, so if you do not mind leaving so I can contain what is still in my stomach in there." I tell him. My face throbs, my back, tights, and stomach are burning. I am still not going to respect him.

"Stand back." He tells me. I just keep staring at him, and he grips my wrist tightly. He lifts it above my head and I feel the cold metal cuff go back around my wrist. He does the same with my other.

I try to keep myself on the ground, but there was no point in resisting.

"Tomorrow I am going to come back. If you do not apologise for running off and your act here today, and tell me that you respect me, I will release you back upstairs to live here. If not, I am sending you to The Cages. I hope I am understood." He says.

"Why not just torture me?" I ask him.

He smiles, and tilts his head slightly to the side. "Because I think that The Cages scare you more than being hit. You can deal with this, deal with the one on one torture; and keep faking your confidence. You are in pain, sure. You want freedom though, so the idea of having literally no escape scares you. If you gain my trust, I'd let you roam to a certain extent. You don't like not having a decision in something. When sent to The Cages, people will throw you to the vampires. You would be crowded with the dead, the bleeding, or the absolute terrified. I can tell who you are, it is not too hard. Now, I can send you there or you can just accept the fact that you are one human. You are not the dominant one. And that I can tell you what to do, and I expect you to listen to me. I expect you to respect me."