Chapter 5: You have to become a monster

Nyx's pov

I watched as the boy cried, his little frame shaking with sobs. It was heartbreaking, and I felt my own heart clench in my chest. 

Even though I was not exactly known for my empathy, I have always had a soft spot for children. 

They are innocent, after all, and haven't yet been tainted by the cruelty of the world.

So, even though I was trembling with hunger and shaking in my chains, I wanted to make him feel better. 

He didn't notice me at first, too busy sobbing into a ball.

He must think I'm just another one of those demons from Hell who want his soul (although that was more likely than he actually believed that). But I'm sure that eventually his eyes will drift towards me, his sobs ceasing when they see me there.

I swallowed hard, trying to push down whatever fear I felt bubbling up inside of me. The last thing I needed was for him to get scared of me.

The little boy wiped furiously at his face, and I can see that his cheeks are stained red now. 

"Wanna hear a story?" I asked, attempting to keep my voice soothing.

"About what?" He mumbled, and I frowned at the hopelessness in his voice.

I was torn out of my thoughts as the boy turned away from me, pulling his knees up against his chest again. His shoulders shook harder now, but I licked my trembling lips and continued. "About a princess who was snatched away from her Kingdom by a big bad wolf."

He turned to look at me, his big brown eyes wide and glittering with unshed tears as I told him a warped fairytale version of how I ended up in Atlas' clutches. But I paired it with a sparkly, happy version of the princess defeating the big bad wolf and gaining victory for her people. 

It was silly, but it seemed to soothe the boy's nerves. 

He quiets down, his breathing evening out, and eventually he falls asleep.

I was left alone with the two adults who had been brought in with the boy.

They were sitting across from me, watching me with hooded eyes. I could tell that they were both tired, worn down by the constant stress and fear of Atlas' grip. 

But there was something else there, too. Something dark and desperate.

"How did you end up here?" I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.

They exchanged fearful looks, and then, the woan spoke up. "We were in Atlas' debt. My husband here, he stole from him, and we couldn't pay it back. So Atlas took us and our son. We're supposed to work for him, but really... we're just waiting for him to kill us all."

I felt sick to my stomach. The thought of being in debt to someone like Atlas, someone who would take innocent lives as payment... it was almost too much to bear.

"And the boy?" I ask, my voice sharper than I intend it to be. "How did he get involved in this?"

They looked away, ashamed. "He's our son," the man said, his voice heavy with grief. "We couldn't hide him in time."We had nowhere else to put him, and Atlas said he'd take care of him."

I could feel a surge of anger inside me, hot and fierce. How dare Atlas bring an innocent child into his twisted world? It's bad enough that he's doing this to these people that were obviously mere humans, but to involve a child... It's unforgivable.

I tried to calm myself, taking deep breaths and focusing on the sound of the boy's soft breathing. 

It helped a little, but I still felt sick with rage and fear. How am I ever going to get out of this?

The sound of a heavy metal door clanging on its hinges grabbed our attention. My eyes fluttered, trying to adjust to the light before the door closed shut.

Atlas was here.

The little boy squeaked and left my arms into his mother's waiting ones, trembling slightly.  

Atlas walked towards me, a cruel smile on his face. 

 Something didn't feel right.

He crouched next to me, looking at me through squinted eyes. "Good morning, beautiful. Do you have anything nice for me, today?"

I grit my teeth against the urge to vomit at the sight of Atlas' disgustingly handsome face. I hated him. I hated everything about him. His goodlooking face was a mask that hid the extent of his monstrosity.

I try to sit up, but my muscles don't cooperate. 

"What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice weak and hoarse.

He chuckled, grabbing my cheek and hoisting it up so I could see the darkness in his honey-coloured eyes. 

"You know, one thing I don't do is repeat myself, Nyx." His voice grew cold. "Make your choice. Be mine willingly and serve as my sex slave, or I make you mine."

I glared at him.

"Well I am going to say it again, and I want you to hear me clearly." I said, my face contorting into an angry frown filled with anger. "I don't want to be yours. I will never be yours. I will rather DIE than serve you!"

Atlas's smile faded, replaced by a look of anger. He looked at the humans huddled tight in a corner and nodded at me. "I see you don't appreciate the kind gesture I made to make sure you're well fed," he mused more to himself than to me.

I gritted my teeth, disgusted by his words. "I will never drink blood. I would rather die than become a monster like you."

"You seem to prefer to die than do a lot of things," he said dryly. "No matter."

He suddenly grabbed my neck, squeezing it tightly. 

"You see, Nyx," he growled into my ears. "It doesn't matter what choice you make. These humans" he turned around to grin at them and they shivered into the wall, "they are not leaving this place alive. I only thought that I'd do you a favour and have you drink to your full rather than just wasting their lives."  

His hands tightened around my neck and I gasped and clawed at his wrist. "However, it seems you like to piss at my face whenever I offer you something good."

I tried to talk but he was squeezing the life out of me.

"I have a proposal for you, Nyx." He said, finally slacking his hold on me. "Feed on them and satisfy your thirst, or I will kill them right before your eyes."

My heart stopped beating for a quick second. It was like deja vu all over again.

H... he wouldn't... right? They were humans. They were innocent. This wasn't like the beef he had with my parents. He had a reason for killing them. He wouldn't do the same to these human. He wouldn't do the same to an innocent child.

Right?... RIGHT?!

I swallowed. "You will not turn me into a monster, Atlas. I won't let you."

His eyes gleamed like he had expected that reply.

His hands tightened around my neck again and I struggled, fighting for my life.

His fangs suddenly extracted and he pierced them into my neck. I screamed as plumes of venom invaded my body. It burned and numbed me at the same time until I was shaking and screaming in pain. Finally, he dropped me and I fell to the floor, fighting for oxygen as my lungs refused to function.

"Relax," he crooned, caressing my cheek, "I was only been looking out for you. And now, you get to watch as I take care of those who tried to steal from me."

I looked up just in time to see Atlas's body contort and shift, fur sprouting from his skin as he transformed into his lycan form.

"Atlas, no!" I said, trying to stop him as soon as I figured out what was going on.

The humans in the room screamed and cried, realising the horror that was about to befall them. I wanted to close my eyes, to block out the gruesome scene that was about to unfold before me, but it looked like my entire body had frozen and gone numb. Atlas lunged at the man who had stolen from him, his jaws clamping down on the man's neck. 

There was a sickening crunch as Atlas chomped down, his powerful jaws crushing bone and tearing through flesh. The man's body went limp in his grasp, blood pouring from his wound.

I could feel bile rising in my throat as I watched the gruesome display, but I couldn't look away. 

I was trapped, helpless and paralyzed as Atlas continued to wreak havoc on those who had wronged him.The scene was like something out of a nightmare, a horror movie come to life. 

The screams of the dying mingled with Atlas's savage growls, the sickening sound of flesh being torn and bones being crushed filling the room.

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. 

Atlas released the limp, lifeless body of the little boy he had killed, turning his attention back to me. I could see the hunger in his eyes as he gazed at me, the hunger for me to complete my transformation and join him as one of his kind.

I could hear the sound of Atlas's laughter ringing in my ears, and the terrible knowledge that I was trapped in this nightmare, with no way out.

As I lay there, frozen and numb, I could only watch as Atlas transformed back to his human form. His bloodied lips and fangs made him look even more demonic than before. He walked over to me and I could see the hunger in his eyes. Shadows flickered across his face as he stood there for a moment, regarding me with a cold, calculating look. 

He squatted before me and trailed his hand across my neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake. 

"I'll be back for you," he said in a low, menacing voice that sends chills down my spine. "You'll come to me willingly, or I'll make you suffer until you do. Either way, you'll be mine."

I could feel the coldness of his touch despite my body being numb. His breath was hot against my skin, and I could smell the metallic tang of blood on his breath. 

"You and I, Nyx," he drawled, a demonic glint in his eyes, making me shudder with each word. "We're going to have a lot of fun."