Page 14 of Mistress A-0002

“And miss all the fun in therapy? When a person doesn’t know when to stop, their reign ends. Mr. Blessing’s time will come. Sit down, Jett. You want power so badly? You want this? Even the one who holds the world in their hands must never underestimate the consequences of themselves. Power corrupts.It feeds.”

“But he deserves it.”

I looked back at Clay, snapping my finger so that he’d break from my spell. “That is true, but he is only one man. There are hundreds here, Jett. Pigs just like him. Strategy. This isn’t a race, it’s a supply. One we will not eliminate in mass.”

“But…”

My fist drew in as I watched the predator react in panic. “You think I’m weak. I assure you that’s not the case. Only in the evanescent pleasure of the kill will a true leader know when to stop. But you see…” I turned my attention to my son. “One must never miss an opportunity either. Weigh every move with greatcare. When you make the wrong choice, you risk burning down the entire house. Today, all we’re doing is lighting the match.” My palm flattened again, and my stare left Jett to go two tables over to Master B-Seventeen-thirty-four, who was peering over at me like a love-sick puppy. Foster Corewell was one of my games. My projects. That was over now. I had more important things to focus on. Things like Adrian. Elec.Like Braddock. Our appointment was soon.

“I can’t tell you how fragile the human body becomes when attacked from the inside. You could hit someone with a car, and they’d be broken but survive.” I laughed under my breath. “The mind, though. Jett.” I glimpsed toward my son who had followed my stare to Master Corewell. “The mind can kill from insinuation. From a hint or implication.” I blindly reached down and picked up my biscuit. “It is with this that some deaths are better left appearing…natural. Let’s be honest.” I displayed the biscuit to Foster, spinning it slowly in my hand as I tapped against the side. “Sometimes a simple death is far scarier than one done to invoke fear. What’s real…or what’s me? We may never know.” I curled my fingers around the biscuit, feeling it crumble through my squeeze. Foster lurched forward, his jaw dropping as he grabbed to his chest to hold over his heart. Jett’s mouth parted and elation flashed as he looked between me and my old lover’s reddening face.

Chaos.

Alarm within the room once again.

I emptied my hand, turning back to my plate as Foster fell to the ground. A crowd was already surrounding him, shouting for help. I dusted off my hands, taking a drink of my orange juice as Jett scooted closer to the table.

“Mom, I want this. Teach me everything.I’ll be good. I’ll be the best son. Hell, I’ll do whatever you want. This is my path, notstupid business. I want to learn everything. Teach melike you taught Elec. Tell me what I need to do.”

I snapped in a slow cadence, clearing my hold over the room, grabbing another sausage, feeling my mood lighten to bliss. Elec, yes. I needed to see Elec. “What you can do is listen. Stop fighting me at every turn. You want to be great? You have to show me you want this. Only when you can stay out of trouble and prove yourself will I believe you. Until then, I’ll be watching. Don’t disappoint me, Jett. You really don’t want to do that.”

Main Master

If I had learned anything about being Main Master, it was that the Gardens never slept. There was never a dull moment.Catastrophes. Were. Common.Masters died. Mistresses manipulated. Couples fucking killed themselves. Slaves murdered. Blank slates…well, they were the only ones I could rely on these days. Their upgraded training and dedication to me as their Main Master made them the safest presence for me to be around. Seeing Allison, Braddock’s slave, walk into the session with him instantly put me in a good mood. Her intense stare as Melissa went through the questions was comforting. Her continuing smile at me every time I looked her way promised protection. Not that I needed it, but the air sure felt lighter. Especially being in Mistress Two’s office. I hated this place just as much as I pondered my embedded disdain for my old friend. It didn’t make sense. One minute I felt bad for my ‘teacher’, the next, my mistrust had me wanting to strangle the life from her.

Learning how she was handling this case didn’t help. Each question she asked ‘Brad’ made me even more agitated. She’d had no guard presence when she had gone to check in on him on auction night? And now she was giving up, wanting me to kill him but continue his line? My mind wasn’t clear enough toprocess what the fuck was happening. Every time I was close to Melissa, my thoughts became muddled. It took everything I had to answer questions or eventhink,which was concerning given Braddock’s condition. It was too close to what was happening to me, and I didn’t like it. I had to increase my sessions with watching my own recordings. I had to cover all bases and protect myself, even if it was for no reason. Isn’t that what I decided on only yesterday?I controlled me. No one else. Me.

Back and forth my eyes went between Melissa and Brad. My head shook, and I walked closer to my friend. Kill him.Kill Braddock?“It’s not that easy, Melissa.” My head tilted as I closed the distance, kneeling to study him as he sat on her loveseat, deeply hypnotized and under her spell.

“Why isn’t it that easy?”

“Jake Princeton is dead. I can’t have another elite with a child on the way coming up dead too. People will ask questions. Now is not the time for suspicion. Besides…Braddock’s my friend.This has to work. We’ll fix him.”

Melissa closed her eyes for a few seconds, nodding as she finally opened them.

“I’ll keep trying. Maybe if…” Her head quickly shook. “Never mind, I’ve tried that.”

“Tried what?”

“Everything.Everything, Elec.”

“Then we try again.”

“I’ll have to start over. I have a method I’ve been using. It seems to be working a little.”

I stood. “Not good enough. We have to think outside of the box. You’re worried about what will happen if he negatively reacts to the treatment. I get it. But if we worry over the episodes, we’ll never free him of them. He’s come far, but we need more. Maybe…we reverse the usual. I want to try something. Instead of him taking the lead and us trying to coveror force the new information,the truth, let’s get the upper hand first. I want to weave his worlds.”

“Weave?That could be dangerous.”

“It might be…We don’t have a choice. You were ready to throw in the towel anyway. May I?”

An array of different emotions swept Melissa’s face. Anger. Impatience? Seconds passed before she nodded as her arms crossed over her chest.

I turned to face him. “Brad, it’s time to wake up.”

A deep inhale sounded from Braddock. His head bobbed, but he lifted it, opening his eyes and looking at me.

“Very good. I want to tell you a story, and I want you toimagineeverything I say. See it in your mind. Let it soak in.Imagine. Do you understand?”

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