Persephone isn’t for you likethat. She’s a means to an end. She’ll know what it feels like to be alone, isolated. You want her to hurt, not in the physical sense like your childhood was, but in a way that eats someone up and spits them back out.
But thinking those things felt so… wrong.
Sweat covered my face. My chest rose hard and fast as I breathed, staring off with my opponent, who was a bloody mess and weaving on his feet, trying to stay upright.
The Circuit was where I went to let off this violent, aggressive energy inside of me. It was another living entity that grew until there was no choice but to let it out in the most brutal way possible.
And I found that outlet in this underground fighting ring controlled by The Ruin, a crime syndicate for anything and everything illegal.
I shook my head to clear all thoughts of Persephone. She had no place here, in this coppery-tinged cesspool of degenerates and lowlifes.
My opponent charged forward and slammed his body into me, but I tensed. Prepared. I wanted him to make contact.
The force would have knocked me down if I hadn’t already steadied myself. And when the fucker stumbled back, I swung and clocked him on the side of the head.
I’d struck him in the skull more times than I could count, and I was pretty fucking impressed the asshole was even still standing.
The only rules here were the kind you found on the street. Which meant there were none. I’d watched fights to the death, ones that were so violent that blood had covered the cage mat in crimson and dripped off the sides.
He came after me again and I ducked, his movements sloppy and slow. I felt my annoyance grow over wanting Persephone the way I did. She should be a means to an end, not this sweet, fragile temptation that called to the most primal, animalistic side of me.
I let the asshole clock me in the jaw, tasted blood filling my mouth, that metallic tang rushing down my throat. I slowly turned my head back toward the other fighter, let my grin widen, and when he took a step back, that feral side of me rose.
“You only get that one. Now it’s my turn,” I said low, deep.
I slammed my fist into his side repeatedly. He stumbled back, and I charged forward, colliding with him so that we fell to the mat.
He fought me and I grinned even more. The struggle was half the fun, half the rush of the fight.
And the crowd went wild, screamed for more blood. I was more than willing to deliver on that. I was too fucking amped up tonotbe a savage.
I rose, straddling him as I swung repeatedly until he grew limp beneath me.
Huffing out, I moved several steps back, staring at the man who lay unconscious and bleeding out from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, a smear of blood covering my tattooed skin.
I stared down at my knuckles. My dark thoughts went to how my little Persephone would look with that virgin blood smeared across her inner thighs after I popped her cherry.
My heart raced; my depraved cravings for her rose. And I knew the longer I kept Persephone close, the less I’d be able to control myself.
And I wouldn’t stop. Because Persephone would be mine in any way I saw fit.
Chapter8
Persephone
He avoided me for three days. And on that third one, he demanded I be ready in ten minutes so we could go shopping for the things I’d need.
We didn’t speak about the incident in my room. I didn’t even know if that was the correct term for what had happened. It had felt like a life-changing event to me.
In fact, I was pretty sure he was avoiding me as much as I was avoiding him. That was clear by the fact he hadn’t made himself known for three whole days.
So here I was, standing in the obscenely large, totally over-the-top dressing room. Hades had taken me to this bougie boutique, and the staff had even closed the store specifically so that we could shop privately.
To say that this had been over-the-top was an understatement, but I kept my mouth shut, let the sales associate, and even Hades, grab items for me before she ushered me into a room and hung up everything Hades selected.
“Come out here, Persephone. Let me see the outfit.” I could hear the smugness in his voice outside of the dressing room.