Bitter Submission

Chapter Twenty Four

|Twenty-Four|

|Jesse|

Driving over to Dom's wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. There was nothing to look at on the drive over there. I wanted to fall asleep while Blair drove us to his mansion. I've never been to Dom's mansion even when he was alive since I was in London the whole time. However, I heard rumors about his place and what used to go down. Apparently, his mansion was one of the biggest out of us all. I could never figure out how he had the biggest one. The man probably never worked a day in his life. He probably used the bank accounts of people who had died.

Arriving at Dom's mansion was not what I thought. It wasn't just a mansion, it was an estate. There was a whole garden in front of his mansion, blocking his whole place. Blair veered off the side of the road and onto an area that looked like a parking space. I quickly got out of the car and started to walk inside the labyrinth of Dom's garden.

When I finally made it to the doors, I cursed. His place was huge, wrapping around the area like some sort of serpent. The house itself looked haunted and worn down, but you could tell there were at least a hundred rooms in there.

Blair pressed the doorbell and chuckled. "It's looking like he's compensating for something. Having a big house like this and probably a small wanker."

The door opened and there Dom stood, opening his own door. "Evening gentlemen, I'm sure you're loving the place. Come in."

I stared at Dom, not seeming to take my eyes off the huge scar he had on his face. He looked like the beast before the curse lifted. This man was tall and imposing and I looked forward to his demise soon. He gave me a knowing grin and my fists itched to come in contact with his face.

Blair nodded at him and followed him inside. I tentatively walked in, noting that nothing seemed out of place. There weren't even any succubi in the vicinity. At least no one that I could immediately see.

"You two are the first ones here, make yourselves at home. Feel free to check out the mansion," Dom replied, walking away to an area which was probably the dining room.

I stood where I was standing. Part of me didn't want to wander, but I knew it was better than being in a room with Dom. I might feel the need to wring his neck for being resurrected.

Instantly, my legs took me to the spiral staircase in the corner of the room. I held on to the railing, knuckles white. Heart beating fast, I felt as if I was going to see something that I really didn't want to see. However, I wanted to see what it was. My body sensed other succubi in the vicinity. There was one succubus that felt weird though. I followed the weird feeling into a long dark corridor. There were five doors and one of them was slightly ajar. I walked into that door, determined to remedy the bad feeling in my gut.

The door squeaked as I pushed it open. Inside it revealed that it was a bedroom of some sort. There was a small twin sized bed in the corner with dirty sheets. The heavy smell of s*x wafted into my nose. I wanted to hurl. There were tendrils of s*x magic in here and it unnerved me. This residue of magic was here for a while now.

My eyes wandered to the other side of the room where there was a figure in the corner. The figure was leaning against the wall and was wearing a dress that once looked white. Hair blocked their face and there was a tattered book in their hand. Approaching the figure closely, my heart stopped when I noticed who it was.

Without realizing, I dropped to my knees and grabbed her marred wrists. There were blisters and small cuts throughout them and I gingerly held them. She had numerous cuts along her arms, especially a nasty one in the shape of a jagged heart. My eyes traveled to her neck, noting the deep bite marks that were scattered throughout her throat. Her body was absolutely horrific. Bruises lined her legs as if she tumbled down a long set of stairs. My fingers wrapped around her hand and winced when I saw her nails caked with dirt and blood.

"Lux," I whispered, dragging her battered body to my lap and holding her tightly. She smelled of s*x and blood, but there was a trace of her original vanilla scent.

Lux moved slightly, as if every movement was painful for her. "Jesse?" She whispered hoarsely, as if she was screaming for hours and lost her voice.

"Did he do this?" I asked, trying to contain my anger. This... this wasn't what I wanted. I would've preferred if she got out of town to hide from Dom. Not for him to abuse her in this way. If it wasn't for her being in this condition, I would be downstairs killing him. Rage flooded my veins and there was nothing else. All I saw was red. My heart cried for her. She looked so broken. My chest felt heavy and my throat felt dry. Was this the feeling of despair?

Lux nodded, so slight that if I wasn't looking her as intently as I was then I would've never noticed. I placed two fingers on her chin and lifted her head so she would look at me. My heart stalled once again. Her beautiful eyes locked with mine. It never occurred to me with how much I missed her. Even seeing her in this state, she still looked breathtaking to me. Although, it killed me to see her like this. 

Gingerly, I pushed her hair behind her ear, frowning when I saw the right side of her face decorated with bruises. They were pitch black and dark purple. The bruises under those were yellow, but it looked like the person who did this never allowed the ones under to heal. Was this how it was before? When Luxinia was his claim? Did he treat her liked this?

"I'm getting you out of this hellhole right this instant," I got up and held her in my arms as gently as I possibly could.

Lux held on to my neck and placed her face in the crook of my neck. "Dom has it all," She croaked, "you can't get me out."

I ignored her and walked downstairs. Blair looked up from his seat his eyes grew wide. Dom was sitting across from him along with Bloodtrei and Fredrick. Dom didn't seem surprised to see me with Lux in my arms.

"Ah, there she is," Dominick chuckled, "I was wondering where I left her. This house is pretty big."

Bloodtrei chuckled. "Storm, why don't you drop her on the couch and take a seat. She'll be obedient, right Dominick?"

Dominick's eyes travelled to Lux. She raised her head and I felt her stiffen. "That's right, Head."

I held Lux tighter. "This is not how we treat succubi. Especially of our claimed," I said through gritted teeth.

Bloodtrei guffawed. "Jesse, you don't know, do you? Luxinia over here is the one who killed our dear incubus Dominick. She was the one who made us go through the trouble to resurrect him. If anything she owes us for resurrecting her master. This is her giving back, isn't that right?"

Luxinia glared at Bloodtrei but didn't say anything. Her jaw was set as if she was biting down on her tongue. Bloodtrei looked at me and glared, "Jesse if you don't want it worse for Lux I suggest you put her down. She is not yours."

I glared at him, angry that it was true. Grudgingly putting her down, I noticed her face of anger. Her and I both knew we were in a spot that we couldn't get out of. I couldn't walk out with her. We would be killed. I was helpless.

I briskly walked out of the room, angry and trying not to show it. I wanted to beat Dom's smug expression off his face. Blair approached me slowly. "You can't show emotions, man."

I sighed and leaned against the wall, head tipped up at the ceiling. "You don't understand. I went to her place recently, Blair. She isn't the incubus killer. I spent the night with her, vulnerable and drunk on faerie wine. I showed... her who I was. She was compassionate. To me, an incubus. The very thing she hates. They think she's the killer since she killed Dom. She had every reason to though. I can't stand to see Dom treating her like that. I need to talk to her. I know I was sent to keep an eye on her and her abilities, but if she really had any powers she would use them to get out right?"

Blair stared at me with wide eyes. "Jesse, it almost sounds like you care for her. You know you can't."

Applause sounded behind me. "N'est pas ce merveilleux! This is almost too touching. If I didn't know any better, I would say you have fallen in love with my succubus," Dominick smirked as he approached us.

Blair frowned. "Dom, can I ask you about this house? Show me around." He brushed along Dom's back, steering him away from me.

Dom smirked and started to talk about the making of the estate.

'Go talk to her', he mouthed.

I nodded and walked into the den, hoping that Bloodtrei was no longer there. And to my luck, he wasn't. Lux was still on the couch, her head down, staring at her hands. She could've used this opportunity to escape, however, she didn't. Was she that hopeless?

"Why are you letting him do this to you?" I asked, sitting in front of her.

Lux didn't say a word, she just kept her eyes on her hands. My fingers brushed against her ankles and I noted that they look sprained at the angle they were in. Now I knew why she didn't run away. Did he hurt her so she couldn't run off?

"Are your wings broken as well?" I asked, trying to get a word out of her.

She slightly nodded, I cursed and closed my eyes, angry that Dom rendered her this helpless.

 "You shouldn't be talking to a succubus who is claimed by another incubus," Lux whispered, again her voice broken and scratchy.

I frowned, angry that that was the only full sentence that came out of her mouth. "f**k!" I shouted, standing up and running and hand through my hair.

Lux flinched back as if I were about the strike her. I backed up, horrified that she thought I was going to hit her. "Lux, whatever power they sent me to observe, you need to use it now. I don't know if you have any abilities, but you need to fight."

She stared up at me, understanding crossing her features. She finally figured out why I was suddenly interested in her. "Was that your only reason why you stuck around?"

"No, you know it isn't. I will come back for you. I'll figure this out." I took her in my arms and kissed the top of her head, knowing that I used up all my time with her. Footsteps were approaching and if anyone saw me with Lux again they would have her killed.

Or worse.