CHAPTER 98 : AND SO IT BEGINS

Aiden went downstairs, straight to the living room, not stopping anywhere else. The living room was calm as it should be, and in the center of the room, a glistening Gold hand statue stood elegantly. The statue had always been there, and now it was about to be gone. It could be easily replaced anyway.

The statue was magnificent, designed with intertwined fingers. Its size was modest, standing around the height of a human forearm. It was precisely what he needed.

Aiden's eyes locked onto the statue, its ornate piece, polished to perfection. He reached out and touched it gently. He was sorry things had to end this way with such a fine statue, but perhaps this statue would love its usefulness aside from being a decoration in the living room.

He didn't have to think twice about the choice of lesson he had chosen to give, and without any hesitation, he grabbed the statue and left the room.

Aiden stepped out of the mansion's main doors, walking towards the entrance of the dungeon. At the dungeon gates, two guards stood at attention. They bowed as Aiden approached.

They knew why he had come and moved swiftly, unlocking the large, iron-wrought gates.

"The prisoner is inside, Alpha," one of the guards spoke respectfully, informing him of the particular cell Dave was in.

 

Aiden gave a simple nod in acknowledgment and walked through the gates without a word. As he stepped further in, he heard that gates close behind him. He could also hear the faint sound of dripping water in the distance and, as his eyes scanned the place, it didn't take long before he spotted Dave.

The dungeon was huge and deep, and some guards who were also in the dungeon, for inspections, guarding and looking around, greeted Aiden immediately they saw him.

"Open the gate," Aiden ordered one of them, who was guarding Dave's cell.

As commanded, the guard opened the gate and Aiden walked in. Walking in, he almost laughed at the sight in front of him.

Dave was hunched in the far corner, his posture broken. His clothes were torn, his wrists still the same— bruised, swollen and hung limply by his sides. 

Aiden knew that Dave knew it was him who had come in but decided to act dumb and blind. Dave just sat there motionless, with his head bowed. 

Aiden was still able to see his face, despite how much Dave wanted it not to be seen— that pale face, which stared blankly at the cold stone floor that only seemed to anger Aiden. 

Aiden's expression was unreadable. At first, he wanted to laugh at the sight, but seeing that face angered him.

That was enough sightseeing for Aiden as he walked toward Dave. The moment Dave sensed he was coming toward him, he lifted his head, but Aiden's cold gaze silenced him, immediately.

Without warning, not that Dave needed any one, Aiden gripped the back of his head with one hand, fingers digging into Dave's scalp, pulling him up. Dave's broken body jerked at the sudden force, and his pained groan echoed in the dungeon, his legs shaking and struggling to support his weight.

"Get up," Aiden muttered slowly, his voice dark and cold. "Show me that side of you, that courageous side of you," he said to Dave, "I want to see it."

"Stop, let me go," Dave managed to say.

"Of course I will," Aiden agreed and let him go, watching him stumble. 

With one swift, brutal motion, he slapped Dave across the face. A very unexpected slap to Dave that sent Dave's head jerking to the side, as the crack of flesh against flesh echoed.

Dave's mind seemed to reset as he staggered, but Aiden was quick to grab a hold of his hair again and throw him to the center of the cell, with Dave's body landing on the cold stone floor with a sickening thud. 

Blood trickled down from the side of Dave's lip, and his vision seemed to swim for a moment. He lay there, gasping for air, too weak to move.

Aiden stood over him, the golden statue, still clutched tightly in his left hand. Carefully, he placed the statue on the floor, by a corner, before turning back his attention to Dave.

"Let's begin," Aiden said softly as he stared at a crumpled Dave on the floor. 

Dave looked up at him, fear creeping into his eyes. But when he saw Aiden's face, there was no sign of mercy shown.

Dave had caused too much harm to Kira, and Aiden was hell-bent on making sure he would see it through to the end. He observed Dave for a moment, the silence between them suffocating— for Dave. As for Aiden he seemed like someone who was about to dance with madness.

Aiden turned his head sharply to one of the guards— the one who had opened Dave's cell for him earlier. 

"Guard!" Aiden called out, his arm extending in a gesture— like the swift, elegant flick of a hand, as if beckoning the guard over.

The guard on being called, presented himself, waiting to hear what Aiden needed or wanted, whichever it was.

"Do you have a knife?" Aiden asked, his voice a mix of pleasure and madness. He held an eerie calmness that even sent a shiver down Dave's spine.

The guard, standing at attention, responded immediately. "Yes, Alpha." Then he quickly reached down to his boot, and from the sheath strapped to his leg, he carefully pulled out the knife.

Aiden took the knife from the guard's outstretched hand without hesitation, inspecting it with an intense and calculating gaze. "Hmm," he hummed, turning the blade between his fingers, and running a thumb along its sharp edge.

"This is fine craftsmanship," Aiden muttered, the gleam in his eyes unsettling. 

"So sharp," he murmured to himself, then louder for Dave to hear, he added, asking the guard, "How easily do you think this could cut through flesh?"

His voice was taunting, dangerous, his tone dark as he addressed Dave, who was still trying to make sense of what Aiden meant by that question.

"It has been freshly sharpened, Alpha," The guard answered, with a smirk, already having figured out what was happening. "It can cut through flesh with ease, quick and sharp. Carve out eyes, if you had like."

"Hmm…" Aiden hummed again, his lips curling into a slow, sadistic smile as he continued to inspect the blade. "I adore it," he said with dark satisfaction.

"I am glad you do, Alpha," the guard responded. 

However, Aiden didn't look at the guard anymore. He had now turned back to a trembling Dave, giving him his full attention. With a devilish smirk creeping onto his face, Aiden slowly raised his eyes to meet Dave's, his lips parting, but no words coming out.

Even Dave waited for him to say something, seeing as his lips parted, but instead of speaking, he took a step closer to Dave.

"A-a-alpha," Dave tried to speak, his face turning paler than ever, as he looked up in fear. The sight of the knife in Aiden's hand, was not helping, either. It only helped in making his heart race, that he thought it might run out of his chest. 

 

Letting the fear in Dave's eyes speak volumes, Aiden paused. Then with a cold, controlled voice, he finally spoke to Dave. "You have no idea what is coming, do you?" 

Aiden whispered this softly.