Mack’s Possession

Three

Tears of frustration burned my eyes but I held them back. My parents never taught me to cry and I wasn’t going to start now. Besides, I would never let Mack see me cry. He already owned more of me than he should. My tears were mine and I got to decide who saw them and who didn’t.

“Where are you going?” I asked as Mack headed for the door.

“In case you’ve forgotten, I have a party to attend to,” he said and opened the door. “I want you to stay here for the remainder of the day.”

I looked around the stunning room with modern furniture and state of the art technology before focusing on him.

“I’m not staying here. This is not my room,” I stated and got up.

“This is where you’ll be living and where you’ll be sleeping,” he said. “Unless you want me to lock you in here, you’ll be a good girl and stay.”

“I’m a human not some animal who’s just waiting for your next command. Don’t you dare lock me in here,” I seethed.

“I won’t lock you in if you agree to stay.” His amber eyes sparkled with an emotion that pissed me off. “You’re not leaving this room, Nia. The choice is up to you how you wish to stay.”

Why couldn’t I kill him? Why was he still breathing? Why were the people letting him get away with this?

Because he owns you.

No. He didn’t. It wasn’t fair.

“Why are you doing this?” I couldn’t help but ask. “What do you want from me?”

He strode back to where I was standing, his eyes holding me captive. He stopped an inch from me and I held my breath because I didn’t want to touch him.

“There’s no limit to what I want and will take from you, Nia. So don’t waste your time asking me silly question. Sit here and relax. I will have the maids send dinner for you. If you want to change you can wear something of mine for now. I’ll order a new wardrobe for you tomorrow,” he said, effectively shutting me up. No matter how hard I tried to come up with a smart reply I found no words to counter his. I really had no idea what he planned to do to me. But whatever it was I knew it wouldn’t be good. Mack was a sadist at heart. And that’s why I wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

I had to find some way to get out.

You can’t do it.

If it wasn’t for my parents I would’ve done it by now. I wanted them away from here before I did something, otherwise our Masters would punish us.

“What are you thinking?” Mack’s voice had me jumping in surprise.

“No—nothing.” I shook my head. “What makes you think I’m thinking about something?”

He looked at me like I was a little girl trying to act like a grown up. “I’ll let you in on a little secret.” I held my breath as his lips brushed the shell of my ear. “I’ve been watching you for a really long time, darling. So I know how you work. I know how and when you behave a particular way. So now that you’re mine, the best thing for you would be to never lie to me. You can scream and fight with me all you want, but the moment you lie, I’ll know and trust me, Nia, I’ll not tolerate falsehood from you.”

Was he trying to scare me? Did he expect me to cower and beg him for mercy? He was an i***t if he thought I’d break.

I jutted my chin out in defiance. “So you’re telling me you know I’m lying and you want me to tell the truth? Very well. I’m planning on getting out of here. And I won’t stop until I succeed. You can lock me up in here or do whatever you want, but I will get out, Mack. I will run away and you’ll never be able to find me.”

He placed two fingers under my chin, the simple contact sending electricity through my body. “I have no doubt that you’ll try to run. But you need to understand that I’ll always come after you. I will chase you to the ends of this Earth if I have to, but I’ll never let you get away from me.”

“You can’t chase me forever,” I said, ignoring the effect his touch was having on me.

“You’ll get tired of running from me, but I’ll never get tired of chasing you,” he stated and I didn’t know why I believed him. I wanted to tell him he was lying but everything inside me told me to take his words seriously.

“I thought you had a party to attend,” I said, wanting him to go so I could plot my escape.

He smirked and nodded. “Yes, I do. Gramps will probably have the documents ready by now. Once I sign them you’ll officially belong to me.”

My heart shuddered and looked for a place to hide. The documents. A piece of paper that would make me his forever.

“He can’t have them ready for you so soon after you declared your asinine demand,” I snapped.

“You’ll be surprised how fast things happen when power is at work. I’m sure he texted his lawyer the moment I told him what I wanted. I’m sure the documents are ready for me to sign by now. So sit back and relax while I take you away from my Dad,” he said and let me go. I stood rooted to my spot as he sauntered out of the room and closed the door behind him.

The first thing I did was run to the door and open it but swore out loud when I found it locked. How on earth did I not hear the lock turn? They had the best of everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had locks that didn’t make a sound.

I raked a hand through my hair while trying to figure out what to do in his room. I needed to get out but if he kept locking me in here I’d never be able to escape.

He can’t keep you locked up forever.

With Mack there was no telling. The man was deranged enough to keep me locked in here like some animal. God knew what else he wanted from me when I clearly had nothing to give him. What was I going to do now? My life was over. His Father was kind and he didn’t treat my family like objects in his possession. But Mack was different. He had no qualms about treating me like an object and telling the whole world that he owned me. He would even hurt me just to prove that he could. I was well and truly screwed.

I began pacing the length of his room, taking in the paintings and lush bedding that only the most privileged could afford. Where the hell would I sleep if he intended to keep me here? On the couch? If he was forcing me to stay here, then I should make him sleep on the couch while I took his bed. But no, the bed was a vulnerable place and I couldn’t be vulnerable in front of him. I’d take the couch. If he forced me to sleep on the floor I’d do that as well but there was no way I was getting in his bed.

Time passed at a snail’s pace and my stomach growled but I ignored it. I wasn’t going to beg him for anything, even if it killed me. My pride often made me do stupid things but I was willing to live with it.

The knock on the door had me pausing, thinking Mack had returned but immediately realized that he wouldn’t knock on his own door. Was it the maid bringing me food? Perhaps he wasn’t such a heartless monster after all.

“Nia? Are you in there?” My heart burst with excitement at hearing Aston’s voice and I ran to the door and pressed my ear against the hard wood.

“Aston? Is it really you? Mack locked me in here. Can you get me out?” I said, hoping he’d do as I said.

“I can’t get you out but I can come in,” he said before I felt the doorknob turn and Aston stepped inside. He didn’t bother closing the door which I was grateful for.

“Thank God you’re here. I swear you’re the only one who’s on my side in this place. Can you please tell your cousin to leave me alone? I don’t know what he wants from me but I really have nothing to give him. Did you know he’d do something like this?” I asked.

He cupped my shoulders and I knew I should pay attention to whatever he had to say. “I really had no idea he’d do something like this. If I did I would’ve warned you.”

“Maybe that’s why he didn’t tell you.”

“Probably. But Nia—” he sighed in resignation. “There’s nothing I can do about it. Grandpa makes the rules and only he can work around them. You know he refused to nullify the contract when Harmony wanted it.”

“So why is he changing the rules now?” I asked, agitated.

“Maybe because there’s no demand for your freedom. It’s just a transfer of ownership,” he answered.

“But my family, my entire lineage belongs to Gabriel. He can’t just hand me over to Mack!” I protested.

“It’s because he owns you he has the right to do whatever he wants to you and your family. He can choose to give you away or keep you it’s his choice. And since he’s chosen to give you away he’s not exactly breaking the rules,” he said.

“Bu—but that’s insane! It’s not fair!” I cried and threw my hands in the air. “Is there no way I can get out of this?”

He grimaced and shook his head. “I’m afraid not. The documents have been made and Mack has signed them along with my uncle. You officially belong to him now.”

“Oh God, no!” I buried my face in my hands and groaned. “I can’t do this. I can’t live like this. He’ll kill me!”

“He won’t kill you. Mack’s not like that.” He held me firmly by the shoulders, making it difficult for me to get away.

“He’s a monster and don’t you dare tell me otherwise.”

“He is a monster, Nia. We all are. But Mack’s not going to kill you now that you belong to him. That’s not why he demanded ownership of you. Mack is always careful when acquiring his possessions. He’s strategic in what he owns and what he doesn’t. So trust me when I say he has big plans for you. There’s a reason he wants you,” he stated and I gritted my teeth in frustration.

“I don’t care about his stupid plans!” I nearly shouted but I was too far gone to care. “I want nothing to do with him why can’t anyone understand that? I’m perfectly content being a slave to his Father.”

“Was. You no longer belong to my uncle.”

“You’re a real jerk, you know that?! Is that why you came here, to give me the bad news that I now belong to your cousin?” I snapped.

“I came because I was worried about you, you know that. And I thought you’ll take the news better if I told you,” he said and I rolled my eyes.

“This piece of information will always be unacceptable to me, no matter who delivers it,” I told him and sighed. “But I understand it’s not your fault. But I won’t apologize.”

He pulled me in his arms for a hug I didn’t know I needed. “You never have to apologize to me.”

“It sucks that you’re leaving now when your cousin has taken ownership of me.” I pulled away from him but he kept his hands on my arms. “Can’t I go with you? I promise I won’t be a bother. I’ll get a job and move out as soon as possible. I won’t bother you or Harmony.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible.” I froze at the sound of Mack’s voice before he came to stand between Aston and I, causing Aston’s hands to drop from my arms.

“He’s right, Nia,” Aston said.

“And don’t even think about touching her, let alone hugging her in the future,” Mack said to his cousin.

Aston’s eyes hardened and I swallowed back a nervous shudder. “You can’t keep her from me.”

“I sure can, cousin. As of twenty minutes ago, she belongs to me and only me and everyone knows how I hate to share. You have your woman to kiss and hug. You should focus on her. And leave me to focus on mine,” Mack said, every word laced with darkness.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Mack, she is my friend,” Aston barked.

“She is my possession,” he stated. “No one has the right to touch her except me, and no one will.”

I really wanted to tell him that I got to decide who touched me and who didn’t but I knew it wasn’t the right time to do so. But as soon as I was alone with him, I’d really lay it on him.

Aston and Mack seemed to be having a silent standoff for good two minutes before they reached a silent conclusion. Aston nodded and stepped back.

“Very well,” he said. “She’s yours now and you’re right, no one has the right to tell you what to do with her. But do take care of her.”

My jaw dropped as I watched Aston walk out of Mack’s room and wanted to scream at him to not abandon me. But he disappeared before I could utter a sound and I was left with the monster who now owned me.

Mack turned to face me and smiled. “Well, you heard him. Let’s take care of you now.”

Oh boy…