A Twisted Anthology: A Twisted Design Book

The Torturer and the Assassin Part 1

** This story takes place before Queen Bellamy was born**

I sat up in the forest canopy waiting for my prey to come into view. The wolf I was hunting had pissed off Kingston Fuller, Rogue King of the Limb Torn Collective. It wasn’t exactly hard to do, but this fool had the bright idea to run instead of accepting his punishment.

The scent of the wolf drifted to me on the wind. He would be here soon. I readied my claws and prepared to jump him.

The wolf was already terrified. I liked them scared. I liked the look on their faces when they knew they were being hunted by me.

He burst through the bushes and looked around as if he was trying to check if he was being followed. They never looked up. I shook my head and dropped onto him. A few good swipes with my claws and he was gone.

I cut off his ear and put it in a sandwich bag to take back with me. It was easier to hide an ear from human authorities than it was to hide a whole dead body. I would leave the carcass here for the carrion eaters.

After returning to the ‘no tell motel’ I was staying at, I took a shower and changed my clothes. Less blood meant fewer questions. It was finally time to go home.

-

The trip to Limb Torn was long. The wolf had managed to make it nearly into Canada. If he had headed south, it would’ve been more entertaining. Just once I’d like one of these runners to hit Vegas.

There was no vacation time as King Fuller’s full time hitter. The closest I got was the time in the collective’s lands. Then I had to watch my King make a fool of himself. I was loyal, though.

If not for Kingston, I would still be a feral werewolf. I would live a wild life and basically be a mindless killing machine. At least this way I was a mindful killing machine.

He tamed me. He trained me. He gave me a home and a name. All I had to do was kill for him, and I was more than happy to do that.

I arrived at the ranch the collective owned. It felt good to be home. I parked in my usual spot and grabbed my bag before heading into the main house. I’d contacted Kingston on my way home and he would be waiting for me.

As I entered the house, a child squealed and I crouched down to pick up my future King. Kyle was three years old and a bundle of energy. As long as he didn’t pick up some of his father’s habits, I was certain he would be a great king.

I know, you can’t see what kind of a man a person will be based on the kind of child they are, but I was ever hopeful. I spun Kyle in circles in the air while he cheered and made whooshing noises.

“Silas. Good to see you home.” Kingston said from the hall.

“Good to be home, King Fuller.” I smiled with a small nod of my head.

“Put the boy down. Let’s go to my office for a drink and debriefing.” He ordered.

I set Kyle down and patted his head before following Kingston to his office. I looked around the house as I followed. He’d turned the old meeting hall into rooms for his little harem. The smell of the females and their perfumes wafted toward me as I turned into the office.

Kingston motioned toward the chairs opposite his and I took a seat. There were two glasses of whiskey poured. He sat back and looked at me. I reached into my pack and pulled out a sandwich bag with the wolf’s ear in it.

“Great job, Silas. I knew I could count on you to get the bastard.” Kingston said, tucking the baggie into his desk. “I’ve got some good news. We got a new wolf in the collective right after you headed out on your hunt.”

I quirked an eyebrow. I didn’t know how that was good news. Unless he was bragging about another female for his harem.

Ever since Kyle’s mother died, Kingston had become an even worse asshole. He started making females do time in his harem as passage into the collective. He got Jared Brown to train them, though, I’d heard recently that he’d started taking younger women and even some girls. Jerry was just the kind of freak to be willing to touch girls who weren’t yet old enough to have their wolves.

“What does this one bring to the collective?” I asked with trepidation.

He laughed. “Not what you think. You need to stop being such a prude. I think you should start looking around at the single females in the collective and pick one for a mate. Maybe that’ll loosen you up.”

“I’m fine. Tell me about this new member that has you so excited.” I smiled.

“He was the lead torturer in a European collective. With him around, we won’t have to let so many people escape so they can fear the death that’s coming for them. You can go back to being an assassin and hitman without being a hunter. I’ll introduce you.” Kingston grinned and called his assistant on the intercom.

I settled in with my drink to wait for whoever this guy was. It would be nice to not have to hunt people like animals anymore. I could only imagine the kind of monster Kingston was bringing in.

“I need to warn you. He looks small and weak. He turned his weakness into a strength, though.” Kingston warned. “I didn’t take it seriously. I should have. I’ll never underestimate that man again.”

There was a gentle knock on the door and Kingston called out for the person to come in. I turned to see who entered. It was a young man with short cropped black hair and the darkest blue eyes I had ever seen.

He was thin looking. Not the lithe, yet muscular thinness that rogue born wolves tended to have. He looked directly at me and got a steely look in his eyes. I felt a smirk tug at my lips.

I must have reminded him of the types of people who messed with him. I knew that look. He was preparing to have to defend himself.

Unlike most rogue born wolves, I was a bit thicker. Though, I was still on the small side for a pack born wolf. The extra muscle helped when I was needing to climb and scale things.

“Tim Scarlet, this is Silas Greene. Silas is our assassin. You two will work together often. I’d like you to train Silas in some torture methods he can use while out in the field. Do you think you’re up to it?” Kingston asked.

Scarlet scanned me over. This time as a person of interest rather than a subject of distain. The way his eyes slid over me made my wolf stir in a way he never had before.

Suddenly, I had a lot more interest in the young torturer. I noticed the elegant way he stood. His high cheek bones and narrow jawline gave him an aristocratic look. Though he wasn’t muscular, there was a certain grace to his figure.

“I think I can manage something for him.” Scarlet answered quietly.

“Looking forward to it.” I winked.

“Great news! Get together tomorrow and get started. I’m not going to send you off to kill anyone for a few weeks, at least, so you have plenty of time to learn. I want you in Tim’s dungeon every single day, Sy. If you blow off any of these lessons, I can guarantee you, you will be learning the hard way.” Kingston smiled darkly.

“Of course, King Fuller. I will give Mr. Scarlet my full attention at all times.” I replied and bowed slightly.

“That’s what I want to hear. Tim, show Silas where he needs to go to find you tomorrow. He needs some rest, he just got back from a job.” Kinston said and waved us off.

I stood and approached Scarlet. He opened the door and turned to exit. His pace and posture showed that he was annoyed.

He led me to the second cellar. It had originally been used for food storage, but we eventually built a temperature controlled shed for that. The second cellar had just been gathering spiders for the longest time.

We went down the stairs and he opened the bottom door. The room was dimly lit. In the center was an adjustable chair with silver cuffs at the arms, feet, and neck of it. There were silver chains on the walls with cuffs as well. Along the far wall, was a long workbench.

On the bench, I saw tools. Upon closer inspection, they were all specially made. I was sure not to touch anything, because I was certain that Scarlet would go off his hinges if I did. Toward the corner, he had bottles and plants on shelves. There was a mortar and pestle on the table with something ground up in it.

“Nice set up you have here. I’ve only been gone a couple weeks and you’ve already made yourself at home.” I turned and smiled at him.

“You smile an awful lot, for an assassin.” Scarlet sneered.

I approached him and looked down. He was only a few inches shorter than me, it was interesting to look down at a man who wasn’t on his knees begging for his life. It amused me.

“You sound awful American for a European rogue.” I replied.

“I am American. I was traveling in Europe when I was captured by a collective there.” He humphed.

“Collectives don’t capture wolves.” I said.

“They do when they think you’re a rare one.” Scarlet answered.

“They thought you were a rogue born omega?” I laughed.

“Yeah. They thought they could make some money selling me off to one of the other collectives. They thought I was defenseless. I may look weak, but I’m no f*****g omega.” He scoffed.

I got closer to him. Normally, I didn’t like invading the personal space of others. This man seemed to draw me in, though.

“So you defended yourself?” I asked.

He looked nervous and took a step back, pressing himself into the stone wall. Even though he was backing away, Scarlet looked directly into my eyes. I had to respect a wolf who had that sort of bravery.

“I poisoned them and escaped. I don’t have the stamina of most rogues. They caught me and brought me back. They decided I was worth more than a servant’s cost and trained me in torture. I was allowed to come and go as I pleased. I made friends with a couple dark witches and they taught me potions and poisons that I’d never heard of before. I combined that with my training and, eventually, I surpassed their head torturer in methods of causing pain.” Scarlet smirked.

“How would you torture me?” I asked.

“First, I would start off with a spell to weaken your ability to take pain. I would make you more sensitive to it than you’d ever been in your life. Then, I’d start slowly. A few cuts and lashes. Just a bit so you could see how defenseless you really were against me.” He said.

I moved closer as he described what he would do. I couldn’t help myself. My wolf was practically dancing in my head. He liked being close to the small torturer.

“Then what?” I whispered.

“I… I’d start making deeper cuts, then using a wolf’s bane potion mixed with silver to stop the wounds from closing and make them even more painful. I’d dig into them, causing more damage, more pain, all the while making sure you couldn’t heal them. I’d carve my name into your skin with a hot silver knife, making sure it scars so you would never forget who caused your pain.” Scarlet strained as I put my hand on the wall near his head and leaned in.

He was still looking directly into my eyes. His dark blue eyes searching mine. Was he looking for fear? Respect? Humanity of some sort?

I tilted my head and sniffed him. I hadn’t intended to. My wolf took over. He wanted to know the scent of the man we had pressed against the wall.

“You smell like flowers, Mr. Scarlet.” I murmured near his ear and he shuddered.

“I was making a paralyzing potion before I was called away.” He explained breathily.

“Mmm. That sounds like fun. Make it so your prey can’t fight back. Watch the terror in their eyes as they realize that they can’t move, but can still feel everything you’re about to do to them.” I said.

“Step away from me.” He demanded.

“Of course, Mr. Scarlet. I didn’t mean to make you nervous.” I smiled and took a step back.

It was the hardest back step I’d ever had to do. My wolf didn’t want to. He liked the scent and feel of Scarlet.

“Why do you keep calling me Mr. Scarlet?” He asked.

“Because, I only call my friends by their first name, Mr. Scarlet. I haven’t known you long enough to count you among my friends.” I smirked.

“Get out of here, Mr. Greene. Come back after breakfast tomorrow. If I see you near my dungeon before then, I promise you’ll regret it.” Scarlet growled and headed toward the work bench.

“See you then, Mr. Scarlet.” I said with a bow and exited his dungeon.