The Human, the Witch and the Were

Musings

He was interrupted in his reverie by Kayla's voice floating down the hall as she was talking to Greta. She was another complication that he didn't need right now. She had been his first trade in and at the time he thought he'd been so clever trading her in. But truth be told he hadn't really known what to do with her. He’d assumed that having a personal s*x slave would have been great and to be fair it had been, to start with. Looking back, he had done things to Kayla that to this day made him shudder in revulsion but at the time had excited and thrilled him. There were things he had always dreamed of doing that in no way he could have put to his wife or even a professional. He hadn't considered himself a cruel man by nature; he’d convinced himself he was doing what was necessary to make the b***h understand her place. Phillip grimaced. He knew he’d been kidding himself. He had loved hearing her scream in agony. The control he had over her to make her scream and beg for mercy had been intoxicating and he couldn't get enough. Then one day something in her seemed to snap, and she had stopped reacting. Nothing he did to her physically could get a reaction out of her, no matter how hard he tried.

He knew he was going to have to do something about her and soon. She didn't interest him anymore and she was becoming a hindrance. He was also mildly concerned at how much information she may have picked up while living in the compound. He had seen her standing by the door during the Were fiasco. If he’d had the time, he would have made sure she paid for her boldness and put her back in her place with a little beating, maybe even the lash. However, he had other priorities that needed dealing with. He decided to leave well alone for now. Maybe something would come up that would trigger a reaction from her and then he could have a little fun again. Besides, he had to admit she was a big help to Greta, who needed it with so many girls coming in. He knew she would never run. She had nowhere to run to.

Trading her for a clean slate was what had given him the idea on how to start his own prostitution ring. He figured if one man was willing to trade his daughter’s life for a clean slate then others would too. And he’d been right. It had started with one or two here and there, easy enough to manage and kept away from the public in a hired hotel. He bought out one of the local brothels and started putting them to work there, alongside long-term professional whores. Before he knew it he was trading twelve girls at a time and the owners of the hotel were getting antsy. He’d also had to put a more efficient system in place for trade ins. Instead of taking girls in anytime, he dedicated one day a month for trade ins. This ensured all the girls came in at the same time and could be processed together. They also all received their 'w***e training' together. Within months he had control of the city’s prostitution. With so many girls coming in and people watching him a little too closely he had decided to build the compound.

He’d had work crews working around the clock to have it finished within two months. Humans working during the day, vamps working at night. The perfect setup. Mariella had commented on it whenever she was home, and he gave her some excuse about needing to expand his drug empire. He had thought she would have had more objections considering that the compound was on the same property as the house and there would be greater risk of incarceration, but she hadn't seemed to care.

He smiled at his genius and audacity. He was running the biggest and most organised prostitution ring in the city right under the nose of the Boss and the Boss' daughter, without them knowing about it. He knew he was a dead man if either of them found out, but everything worth having has a price, and he was willing to take the risks with this one, especially if it helped make him Boss one day.

***

The blaring ring of his cell interrupted his thoughts. He looked at the caller ID and sighed.

"Mariella," he greeted her, wondering which lover’s house she had called him from.

"Phillip, the girls have a dance recital on Saturday at the Italian Club. Be there at 7.30."

The phone line went dead.

Phillip looked at his phone in bemusement. Yep, that was the extent of his relationship with his wife. She ordered him to be somewhere, and he showed up. He was thankful she wasn't too demanding, and he did enjoy spending time with his girls. Not too much time because their incessant chatter got on his nerves, but they were his daughters and he owed them something. He and Mariella had the perfect marriage. He got status and power, she got freedom and money. He didn't care that she had toy boys in every city along the coast or spent thousands on plastic surgery, clothes, cars and shoes. She left him alone to expand his empire and do what he wanted, he left her alone to be a slut. If Boss de Luca ever found out their marriage was a sham, he would murder the pair of them. The Boss had very strict morals when it came to family. He had been married to his wife for more than forty years before she passed away from cancer and he refused to even look at another woman since.

Their marriage hasn't always been this way. They had been fond of each other at the beginning, and they had some fun, even managing to conceive two children but they had married more out of convenience than love and they both knew it. Over time they had grown apart, choosing to live separate lives while keeping up appearances for the family.

Phillip checked his calendar. Yes, he was free on the weekend. He checked his schedule for that evening and grinned wickedly. There was only one thing that still got a reaction out of Kayla, and he was going to put it to good use. Goddamn it he was finally going to have some fun with her. The only thing Kayla reacted to nowadays was fights in the Pit, and they had ringside seats.

***

Phillip got up and walked into Kayla's room. She looked up from the book she was reading, waiting for him to speak. No fear, no expectation, no anxiety, just...blank. He looked at her for a long time, again wondering why he bothered anymore.

"Get yourself decent," he said. "It's fight night."

And with that he walked out, smiling to himself. He hadn't missed the slight flicker of fear on her face, and he allowed himself to enjoy the small victory.