Hey there!

So, if you don't know me, English isn't my mother tongue, so please be nice about it!

Other than that, well.. There's some pretty heavy stuff coming in this story, trigger warning include torture and SA, so be warned!

Chapter 1 – Blackmail

The full moon was close, its light already bright in the night sky. Usually, it was something the owl demon awaited with joyful impatience, but this time was different. Because everything was bound to change after that fateful night, and it could change either for the better… Or the worst. With hardly any in-between.

Still two nights left before everything was settled, and Stolas could hardly think about anything else. During the day, he could focus on tasks here and there, but once the hellsun was gone, it was hard not to ponder what he could say to put all the chances on his side…

But if Blitz didn't return his feelings, there was nothing he could do about it. He didn't want to force the imp into a relationship, even something as simple as dates in the hope that it would convince his heart. He thought about it a lot, changing his mind at least once a day, but right now he felt like it was a bad idea. Though, if he had to be honest, it was true he didn't have many opportunities to show Blitz what he really wanted. He did try, but as their evening at Ozzie showed, the assassin didn't get the message, and they didn't see each other much since. If the imp ever felt anything for the Goetia, was it still there after all this time?

Thoughts kept circling in his mind as night crept in. After tonight, there would be only one night left before the full moon.

At least, Octavia was coming back soon! He felt a bit guilty to see her that way, but his daughter would be a great distraction til it was time. She knew what happened on full moons and wasn't too keen about it, so the least he could do was to make up for it beforehand, because after dinner he knew she'd stay in her room the whole night.

With that idea in mind, he left his study to prepare for his owlette's return, when he heard the front door open. A quick time check told him she was back early, not that he wanted to complain, as her presence stopped his thinking more effectively.

Beaming, he made his way to the entrance, surprised not to have heard her announcing her presence yet. She probably thought he was too far away to hear. But as he got close, he heard footsteps, too many for a simple person, and he frowned.

Suddenly the front door came into view, and with it the small group gathered in front of it, three hellhounds led by none other than his despicable ex wife, who wasted no more time before she screamed "STOLAS!" in a commanding tone.

"What in hell are you doing here?!" He asked as he approached, his tone cold and angry. "You know you're not welcome here anymore…"

"Ah, here you are!" She cut him, smiling like if she was glad to see him, but he knew the light in her eyes, and he didn't like it.

"Get out, now", he ordered with a low threatening tone, not even acknowledging the hellhounds. If she thought he'd be intimidated by them, she was so wrong. It was his first time seeing her in person since Striker almost killed him by her orders, and with Octavia out of sight, he was certainly not going to pretend he didn't know.

"Oh no, I don't think so!" She grinned. "See, I can't have you killed yet, but it doesn't mean I'll just let you live! I've seen the pictures of your arrival at the hospital, and I thought, what a shame I couldn't be here to witness this! It's a bit late to ask for pictures and videos of you being tortured, but it would be ever better to see it myself, don't you think?"

Stolas raised a brow, still serious but a bit taken aback by her confidence.

"Is that why they are here?" He asked, pointing at the hellhounds. "You don't think I'm going to let them torture me for your pleasure, don't you? Even you aren't that stupid."

She snorted.

"Indeed, you're behaving more and more silly since you cheated, but I think I have the perfect way to make you do as you're told for once!"

Before Stolas could sent her back the way she came with a few wisely chosen insults, she shoved her phone to his face, and he froze.

There were several cameras on the screen, showing different views of the same thing, or rather the same person: Blitz, in the meeting room at IMP's headquarters, talking to his employees.

"What does it mean?" Stolas asked, his tone between threatening and worried.

"Come on Stolas, even you know what it means! Don't you see the rifles' tips? If you don't listen to me, that little bastard you cheated me on with will die in a very quick and sudden way! Don't think the ones I have hired don't know how to aim, because if needed, they will shoot right through his head and torso. If you behave nicely and only makes one small mistake, I may be generous and grant you a warning shot that will only put him in the hospital, but right know, any misplay on your part will mean death for him, am I clear enough?"

The owl was still too stunned to answer, let even move, fear keeping in him place more surely than if he was being tied up, before his brain suddenly woke up from the shock and frantically tried to think of a solution.

"Oh, you already want him dead, do you?" Stella asked with a vicious smirk.

"No! Please, don't! I heard you!"

She snorted again, disdain clear in her look as she watched her ex husband's reaction.

"You could at least have the decency to not look so worried about such garbage!" She added, eyeing him with a judgmental stare.

But Stolas didn't care if he was being ridiculous to his wife, because he knew the moment he did or said anything wrong, she wouldn't hesitate to apply her threat. It was too late to pretend not to care, and if he did, she would have probably killed him anyway to punish Stolas for trying to lie to her.

"Great, now you understand the position you are in! Let your phone here, and let's head to the bedroom."

Stolas blinked. "My phone…?"

She sighed, looking annoyed.

"I'm not sure I'll even get to the funny part if you keep being that dense."

She waved the phone before his face, a threatening smile on her lips.

"You do understand what's going to happen if you keep being this slow to obey, right?"

Stolas flinched and put out his phone as quickly as possible on the nearest surface, trying to calm the part of him that was angry and wanted to fight, ever since it awoke when he finally had the guts to ask for a divorce, and the one who simply wanted to understand. The later was easy to deal with, the former not so much, but he had to. There was no positive outcome if he ever let that part act, at least he couldn't see any right now. He couldn't attack Stella because of Via and she knew it well, and he couldn't do anything fast enough to protect Blitz without putting him in danger, especially now that he didn't have his phone on him, and there were more than enough eyes on him to notice if he ever tried any magic.

"Better, now let's go, you first. But be careful with sudden movements, it could be badly interpreted."

He turned back from when he came on autopilot, his body remembering where she wanted to go before his brain could find it in his memory, but he was glad for it. If he could keep that up, everything should be fine… At least, as fine as they could be in his current predicament.

But as he was making his way to his bedroom, thoughts and emotions kept spiraling in his mind. Worry, guilt, even fear. He didn't know if she truly didn't want him dead anymore, she just said she couldn't right now. He could guess why, it was probably Andrealphus' doing. So, she was probably not going to try to off him, and oddly enough, he kind of trusted her on her word. It didn't mean he wasn't in trouble tho, and the memories of the torture he endured in the hands of Striker were still fresh and not exactly happy and painless ones.

But… There was nothing he could do about this. He was already putting his beloved in danger because of Stella. It didn't matter if the imp loved him back or not, he couldn't let anything happen to him because of his own mistakes. So… He had to do this.

He could already feel a kind of dissociation as he walked, his body remembering the abuse and how to deal with it, but he knew that this would be different, oh so much different from what she usually did.

He had questions too, sure, but didn't dare ask any of them. So he could only guess. Why go in the bedroom? Probably because it was where he met with Blitz, where they would spent most of their time together. Where he was the most intimate and vulnerable.

They arrived in the bedroom both so slowly and yet quickly at the same time. Once everyone was inside, one of the hellhounds closed the door, and even locked it. Not that Stolas could flee anyway, and if he did, he still had plenty of other ways… If only he could use them!

Stella nodded to another hellhound, and he took out handcuffs. No…

Blessed handcuffs.

Stolas couldn't help but stiffen at their sight, and Stella's smirk widened.

"Bringing back memories huh? Blessed ropes could have been interesting too, but these are more handy! Now, hands back."

He barely had the time to put his hands behind his back that the hellhound with the blessed object took his wrists to put them how he wanted before cuffing him. Stolas flinched, but didn't say anything, didn't move more, and tried with all his might to keep his face blank.

"Good, we're ready to go!" Stella was smiling, joyful like if she was about to watch her favorite show. "That way, you won't be able to make any unwanted mistake. I'm too generous, aren't I?"

He was trying hard not to glare and keep his face straight, but he could feel he was failing a little at that. She frowned at this, still smiling, but letting a mischievous expression come back on her features.

"Come on Stolas, I know you don't deserve the title of royalty, but even you have some manners! What one should said when granted a favor?"

It took Stolas a few seconds to be able to open his beak and utter: "Thanks."

She raised a brow. "Who are you saying thank you to?"

"Thank you Stella."

She didn't comment on the delay and clapped her hands happily.

"There, perfect! Now, we can start."

She had barely finished her sentence that a powerful punch hit Stolas on the side of his torso, sending him rolling on the ground in the middle of the room.

The air has been knocked out of his lungs, and he couldn't help a distressed owl sound coming out of his beak as he panted to try and catch his breath. He had already guessed that much, but that was probably the real reason Stella had prepared blessed bindings: to minimize his protection and healing abilities. Like this, he was more vulnerable, even to standard weapon and such beating, and she knew it all too well.

Speaking of beating… The hellhound who hit him, that would probably be a shar pei if he was a human world dog breed, walked to him to kick him while Stella went to sit on the couch with a big, nasty smile as she watched her henchman work.

Oddly enough, it was easier to just dissociate like this. His body hurt, but he wasn't asked to do anything, so he could sit back in his own mind, and watch what was done. He was a bit surprised the hellhound never touched his face, even when it was the nearest part of his body he could hit. It lasted for what felt like way too long before he realized he hadn't received any new blow for a moment.

Instead, he heard footsteps, and Stella's shoes came into sight.

"Stand up." She commanded.

Of course she'd ask something like that. His legs didn't take that many hits, but his torso did, which made complying difficult. He still tried, but without his hands, he failed once before being able to stand on his feet rather than his knees.

"Already so slow? I know you're weak, but still!" She commented with a grin.

She pushed him back to the floor, harshly, her talons' tip first.

"Stand up again."

He tried, but her feet was still on him. She laughed mockingly at his weak struggles, before taking her phone out of her pocket to wave it again in front of Stolas' face, screen unlocked so he could see Blitz, chatting like if everything was fine, unaware of the danger.

"Come on, stand up. If you like garbage this much, surely you can do this for him, right?"

She snorted as she applied more pressure on his chest, bringing him even closer to the floor than before.

"Oh, that's true, you couldn't even behave like a normal Goetia, you were never a good husband, so why would it matter now?"

She pushed him back to the ground before going back on the couch. He still managed to stand up, but then another hellhound was before him, one that would look like a chihuahua if he wasn't so tall. Probably some kind of half-breed then.

A blade appeared in his hand. It wasn't blessed, but as he sliced Stolas' shoulder with it, the owl couldn't help a wince of pain. He took a step back, his standing not stable, when he heard Stella protest.

"Who said you could flee from your punishment for being such a terrible husband?"

No step back, then. It was going to be difficult, but he should manage. He couldn't escape in the back of his mind though, which was a shame.

Another cut joined the first. The movement was circular and quick, and the wound more large but less deep than the ones inflicted by Striker. It hurt, but he could take it, he just had to concentrate to refrain the need to put distance between him and the blade. Survival instincts weren't that easy to handle, but well, he stayed with Stella for more than seventeen years, so…

He was mainly watching the hellhound currently harming him to avoid any surprise, but he could still see his ex wife watching closely. She seemed to enjoy herself, but she quickly grew disappointed after two other cuts, each one targeting different parts of his upper body.

"Slow down, so that he really feels it."

Well, he was probably handling it a bit too well for her liking, but that didn't deter him. This wasn't about him, he couldn't afford any mistake. But he had to admit, the feeling of the blade slicing slowly through his skin and flesh was a lot harder to ignore. At least the hellhound didn't put too much pressure so staying on the same spot wasn't too hard, but his blank mask was cracking, showing more and more signs of pain. He still managed to stay mostly silent with that part, which was… Better than nothing, he guessed. But Stella would probably get tired of it too and find another way to make his pain more loud.

For now, she was smiling, watching him with great interest. But even like this, she spent a few minutes looking something on her phone, which was probably some social media or just texts from her reaction. Stolas eyed her suspiciously, hoping Blitz was still alright. He'd feel it if something happened to him… Usually. With the blessed handcuffs, he wasn't sure about that.

The hellhound didn't stop while she wasn't looking, but at least the prince didn't have to worry as much about keeping his composure. Then Stella got up and stretched.

"Well! Let's end this nicely, shall we?"

The chihuahua looking hellhound stepped back, and the last one, a kind of big, heavy watchdog stepped in. He was the tallest of the three, still not as tall as Stolas, but way more muscular. The owl held his ground as he approached, knowing whatever was about to come would probably be even more painful than previously, but without any comment from Stella, he knew better than to move back.

Sadly, he was right. The hellhound hit Stolas on one of his fresh wounds, the strength way above the kicks and punches of the first hellhound, and the owl would have cried out if it hadn't emptied his lungs.

He was on the ground again, trying to figure out how to get any air into his lungs, but the watchdog was on him again with more hits before he could achieve that. He seriously thought he was going to pass out from the pain and lack of time to properly catch his breath, but suddenly it was over, like it started.

Stella made an approving "hm" as she turned around him, watching him struggle to breath, distressed owl sounds coming from him as he was going so, his eyes half closed from pain and exhaustion.

"Not too bad for a first time! You'll notice I went easy, but that gave me so many ideas!"

At that, Stolas frowned, trying to focus on her. He really didn't want to see her current sick smile, but he was afraid he had misheard that…

"Oh yes, you heard me right! I'll come back, this was entertaining, and I have many more ideas! But of course, I think you know better than to tell anyone about this, right? For a coward like you, divorcing me probably took every bit of guts you had. What a pity you used it for such a bad option! But at least I know you won't try anything. If you try to warn and protect your imp, I'll know, and trust me, you'll regret it soon enough! Understood?"

Stolas simply nodded, still out of breath.

"Great! I better get going, After all, I need to give you your daughter back in an hour!"

The goetian's eyes widened at the realization, and Stella laughed.

"What, you forgot? What a terrible father you are! You, take the handcuffs back, we're leaving!"

The hellhound obeyed, rolling Stolas on his stomach to access his wrists, then they all left without another word.

The owl waited until the door was closed before attempting to get up, and failing miserably, breaths still shorts and erratic, head spinning, his body aching from almost everywhere, except for his face. He now knew why Stella had avoided it, and he was actually surprised she did, but certainly was not going to complain about it.

First, make sure Blitz was alright… His phone was still near the entrance, but he had other ways. Feeling his magic back now the blessed restrains were gone, he immediately checked the spell he had on Blitz, and sighed in relief.

He was fine. He was safe… Kind of. He couldn't say the same about himself.

Now, he could barely stand, and Via would soon be back. He had less than an hour to clean the blood from his bedroom, clean himself and find a way to take care of his wounds so his daughter wouldn't notice, because of course he couldn't let her get worried, she had enough when she visited him in the hospital after Striker.

As Stolas used the furniture to stand up weakly, his four eyes let appear a white pupil as anger finally flared inside him, because of course Stella had purposely waited for this time to come and torture him, knowing he'd do everything he could to hide it from Octavia.

That witch.

Posted on 16/02/2024 (French date)

I have no idea when the next chapter will be ready, I'm going with the flow with this story and my ideas keep changing for what's going to happen next, so we'll see!