TW: explicit language, sexual explicit scenes, drugs and alcohol, explicit violent scenes, gun violence, emotional and physical manipulation, dub-con, mentions of cults, blood and blood play, knife play (I'll update the list as the story goes on, please feel free to point out if I've missed one, thank you and enjoy!)
Prologue
Even the thick November foggy night couldn't hide me from them. My body was pressed against the cold concrete of a building, trying to conceal my cloudy breath under the black hoodie I was wearing. The damn thing smelled like him. Or maybe I did too, the consequence of letting that man in my life in the first place.
My name echoed in the empty streets a couple of times, followed by several dogs barking. I knew who was after me. The same four henchmen of his, led by his right hand while he was probably waiting in his car for them to fetch me and bring me back to him.
Instinctively, my hand covered the tattoo on my sternum, the same symbol he had inked on his forehead. I shouldn't have let him do it, I knew it even back then, but he had forced himself into my life and soul, and by the time I realized he was wrapped around me like a snake, it was too late.
Almost six months after meeting him, I had finally managed to escape. At least that's what I thought, hidden in that alley, holding my breath and waiting for the search party to get further away from my spot. But this city was his, he had eyes everywhere. I needed to leave as far away as I could.
The sound of his dobermans and henchmen barking got fainter by the second and after a terrified look behind the building, I noticed them walking away from me, down the other side of the street. Finally allowing myself to breathe, I readjusted the hood over my head and ran in the opposite direction.
My lungs were burning from the cold air as my feet hit the pavement heavily, my survival instincts going haywire from being hunted like prey. I thought about the apartment I had to leave behind, all of my belongings collecting dust - my books, my record player, the yellowed teapot I couldn't part with. I couldn't go back. Ever. They were probably there already anyway.
I had managed to grab some cash from his vault before running away, planning on using it to buy myself a bus ticket to get the Hell away from this city. The station was only a couple of blocks away, within walking - or in my case, running - range. I only had to get there before someone recognized me.
When I was about to pass out from hyperventilating and running like a mad woman, the bus station appeared at the end of the street. I slowed down, trying to catch my breath, still jogging up to the lobby where a single cashier was reading a book, bored out of his mind.
His eyes widened when he eventually saw me, out of breath, definitely looking like I was on the run. I slapped a couple of bills on the counter.
"Next bus to leave town, please," words struggled to get past my lips.
The cashier simply nodded, collected the money, and quickly printed the ticket before handing it to me. I nodded back at him before heading outside, looking for the beat-up Greyhound bus, and glanced at its destination - Toronto. Perfect. I couldn't put enough miles between him and me. I only had one last thing to do to ensure my safety during the twenty minutes before the bus would leave.
I fished the burner phone from the hoodie's pocket and dialed a number. My fingers were ice cold, squeezing the small device tightly, my entire body shaking from the cold and the fear.
"Police department, what's your emergency?" The dispatcher's voice said in my cold ear. I sniffled.
"I have information about what's going on at the Shrine," I whispered into the phone, covering my mouth as I leaned against a wall. "There will be a party, next Saturday but it's a cover-up. There's a secret basement where they-" I choked on words.
"Ma'am, can you give me your name? Are you in danger?" The policeman asked, my hand tightening around the phone.
"Just… get there next Saturday, they're all going to attend," I breathed, looking around, the hairs at the back of my head rising suddenly.
One second too late, I saw someone point a tranquilizer gun at me from afar. I felt the needle in my neck before I even heard the gunshot. My feet moved on their own, running away as I ripped the small dose from my neck.
My vision blurred and my perception got messed up quickly, the drugs rapidly getting into my system, poisoning my blood and reducing my hopes to ashes. A minute later, I crashed on the ground, my head hitting the side of a bench.
Terror took over me as a tall, broad figure towered over me. I gathered the last bits of strength I had and crawled on the concrete, my body heavy and almost entirely limp.
"Toji, please," I begged the tall man as I recognized him, only to get a huffed laugh as a response.
He followed after me as the drugs slowly put me to a stop. The side of my head was bleeding, my palms were bloody, I could barely breathe, but I couldn't go back. In a last attempt to crawl, I reached forward and my hand found a soft, leathery bump - someone's shoe - before my body eventually gave up.
Motionless on the cold concrete, I was focused on my erratic breathing, trying not to pass out when someone gently rolled me over on my back with their foot. I blinked a couple of times, fighting oblivion when he stood by me, his pink hair slowly swaying in the cold breeze.
Hands in his pockets, tilting his tattooed face to the side as he looked down at me, I recognized the man I was running away from. He had found me. Despite all of my foolish attempts at running away, almost succeeding, he had found me again. I kept my eyes open for as long as I could, terrified of what he'd do to me once I'd passed out.
Ever so slowly, he crouched over me and took my face in his hand, burying his fingers in my cheeks. The sight of the tattoo on his forehead sealed my fate and eventually, his eyes softened slightly, clashing with his permanent cruel and carnal smile.
"You really thought you could leave me that easily?" He purred, his voice soft and warm compared to the cold I felt within. The rest of the search party must've gotten there since more voices had gathered around us, but his eyes never left mine. I tried to speak, only to find it impossible. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I'm taking you back right where you belong," he stood back up, allowing Toji to lift me from the ground in his arms like a rag doll.
The last thing I saw through my tears-filled eyes was the triumphant smile of the pink-haired man as he slipped the collar around my neck again before darkness claimed me entirely.