Every part of me trembled as Master stayed beside me, stroking his hand along my cheek, his blazing, crazed eyes almost undressing me.

The male in the white coat moved beside me and took hold of my hand in a shackle. He moved up the cuff until my wrist was bare. It took me a moment to see what was in his hand.

The collar.

I flinched, imagining it going around my neck. But when I looked closer, I saw that it was too small. It was a bracelet. Then my short-lived sense of relief faded fast when I spotted the inside of the bracelet. It contained small needles, clear pellets of liquid behind each one.

The male lifted my wrist. Suddenly, he attached the bracelet to my skin and clasped it shut. A scream escaped my throat when the needles pierced my skin, sending a searing pain up my arm.

“Shh, petal,” Master soothed, as I tried to breathe though the torment. His palm pressed against my forehead and he moved in to nibble my lips with his teeth, then cover them with his own. I whimpered at the unwanted affection, but Master didn’t seem to care.

When he reared back, he said, “I have to do this. This task you must undertake is bigger than us both.” He gestured around the room. “All of this. Our empire rests on the shoulders of one man.” I tried to understand what he was saying, but the pain was too much.

“He has no weaknesses. And as much as it incenses me, I need him. He will win my tournament for me. But first, I need to break him. I must have him fully under my instruction. I need him to fully bend to my will.” He talked to me like I knew what he meant. “My investors expect a show. They expect it to be a close match, not a cull. For that, I need him to obey.” Master’s finger drifted down my chest and stopped at my breast. His fingertip circled my nipple, and his nostrils flared.

“In all of the years under my command, he has given me no way to fully overpower him.” He let that sentence hang in the air, until he looked to me again and said, “Until you. Until I saw him stare at you. My champion, my cold, unfeeling killer, affected by this face.”

He nuzzled his cheek against mine and said, “He wants you.” He stilled. In a flash, the cruel soul from last night possessed his being. Snapping his head up, lips curling, he hissed, “My High Mona. My pretty delicate petal. I don’t want to let you go, but it will serve a higher purpose.” His cheeks flushed with excitement. “Then I can own you completely. When my empire is secure, I can have you all day and all night. I will possess you in every possible way.”

My blood turned cold at his words. Feeling a wetness on my wrist, I glanced over and saw blood trickling downward. Master saw it too and clicked his fingers at Maya, who was hovering like a shadow in the corner. “Clean it, chiri,” he snarled. Maya rushed to the water and wet a cloth, immediately cleaning my wrist. I tried to meet her eyes, but she kept her head down.

When my wrist was clean, I stared at the silver bracelet and immediately knew it was the drugs. Instead of a single injection, this would give me regular, automatic doses. The male in the white coat quickly moved around the table, unshackling me from the bed. Master helped me stand. When he did, he stepped back and ranged his gaze all over me.

“Perfection,” he whispered. I could see genuine pride in his expression. Reaching down to his crotch, Master palmed his hardening length. “So fucking perfect,” he murmured. No sooner had his words left his mouth and he withdrew his hand than the ruthless Master of the Blood Pit suddenly reappeared.

With a surreal blankness now on his face, he walked out the door and called for a guard. When a Wraith arrived, Master instructed, “Take her to him. Lock her in his cell.” He smiled that sadistic smile and added, “Don’t let him out until he fucks her.”

I heard Maya’s almost inaudible gasp beside me. But I raised my head and prayed that my fear wasn’t showing. Master pointed to the guard. “Follow him.”

I walked forward. Just before I reached the guard, Master gripped my arm and slammed my back against the wall. Before I could catch my breath, he smashed his lips to mine, ravishing my mouth with his.

Master abruptly pulled back, then stormed toward Maya. I didn’t understand what he was about to do, until he gripped her by the back of her neck and slammed her small body against the wall. I stood, motionless, as Master lifted his hand and sliced it across her face. He was taking everything out on her. She was too young to take such a cruel hand!

Desperate, my eyes drifted to Maya’s, and my heart cracked when I saw in her eyes that she was no longer in the room. Mercifully, she had taken herself elsewhere.

By her reaction, I realized this wasn’t something new. Master had done this to the young girl before. Beat her. Hurt her, as though she was nothing … not even a human at all.

I felt sick to my stomach.

“Move!” The guard beside me ordered, as I stared helplessly at Maya hurting on the floor.

The male who had attached the bracelet worked on something at the back of the room, offering Maya no help. A surge of anger burned within me.

“I said move!” the guard snapped. I forced myself to follow him out of the room, ignoring the young boys in the cages, and into the hallway. When we reached the forked section, this time we went down the right hallway and descended. Unlike the left hallway, where it grew lighter the farther we walked, this hallway grew darker and danker.

My fear grew with every step we took. Then we reached a narrow hallway. There was a wider hallway to the left. I started when, from that direction, I heard the loud sound of males shouting. I swallowed back my nerves when the guard walked straight ahead. The noise faded the farther we traveled, until we arrived at a small section housing only a few cells. It was much quieter here.

I tried to understand where we were. The guard walked past the cells. I tried to peer in, but unlike others I had seen, these had some semblance of privacy. I heard soft moans coming from one. Instinctively, I knew that a female was being pleasured.

The guard stopped and reached for the door before us. When the door opened, the guard looked at me and snapped, “Get in.” I hesitated when I looked inside. I couldn’t see anyone in there, the room was so dark.

When I didn’t move, the guard gripped my arm and hauled me forward. He pushed me inside. I stumbled, landing on the hard ground of the cell. My heart beat hard as I lifted my head. When I did, pure terror seized me.

Sitting on a mattress before me was him. The Blood Pit Champion. The Arziani Pit Bull. Master’s greatest warrior.