As much as Namjoon didn't want to leave Yoongi's side, and as much as he didn't want to go to Vylette, Namjoon knew he didn't have a choice.

After calming himself down somewhat, Namjoon pressed one last gentle kiss to Yoongi's forehead, before carefully sliding off the bed. He nervously drank half a bottle of water, leaving the rest for Yoongi to eat and drink when he woke up.

With one last look at the sleeping boy, Namjoon quietly shut the door behind him.

The house was still and quiet and the boy paused in the hallway, listening.

He didn't know where Holden was, and he tensed as he imagined the man suddenly jumping out from a dark corner to grab him.

Namjoon shook his head. That was ridiculous. Holden was in no state to do anything for a while. And the person who had incapacitated him was waiting for Namjoon in the bedroom at the end of the hall.

The door was shut, but red light was glowing from the small gap between the carpet and the door.

Taking a deep breath, Namjoon forced himself to walk silently down the hall towards it.

He paused in front of the door, wanting nothing more than to run back to Yoongi's side. But he forced himself to raise his fist and knock gently on the wood.

"Come in."

Namjoon's heart stuttered, and he opened the door.

The room was bathed in red light from LED strips that were pasted along the perimeter of the ceiling. He hadn't noticed them last time he had been in here, but he had been blindfolded then and very much distracted by what was happening at the time.

Vylette was lounging on the bed in her bra and underwear, leaning against a bunch of propped up pillows, one long leg bent and a thick book in her lap.

Namjoon was surprised she could read the print in this dark lighting.

She beckoned him over with one finger, not taking her eyes off the pages in front of her.

Namjoon forced himself to walk across the carpet, uncomfortably aware he was also in just his boxers.

He paused at the edge of the bed and she patted the spot next to her.

Namjoon climbed onto the bed, sitting with his legs tucked under him. He looked at the book she was reading and was surprised that he recognized it. Natchez Burning, by Greg Iles. He definitely hadn't expected her to be reading a trilogy about civil rights, racial tensions in the south in the 1960's, and the Kennedy assassination. It just once again proved she was the powerhouse of this place, and shouldn't ever be underestimated.

Namjoon sat rigid and quiet while she finished reading the chapter.

After placing a bookmark between the pages, she closed the thick book and set it aside. Finally she faced him.

The red lighting made her features appear darker, her normally blue eyes reflecting red.

"Lay down."

Namjoon quickly did, settling himself on his front beside her.

He was facing away from her, his hands placed palm down by his head, heart beating hard and fast, and he jumped when he felt a hand place itself on his back.

He could feel her eyes on him as she rubbed her hand over his bare skin. The hand went as far down as the waistband of his boxers, and as high up as his shoulders, massaging them.

"Look at me."

Namjoon immediately turned his head, facing her.

She smirked at his quick obedience. "Good boy. You're a fast learner, aren't you?"

Namjoon nodded, and she chuckled.

"You know who you belong to, don't you?"

Namjoon nodded again, trying not to curl his fingers in anxiety.

"Say it."

"You, master." Namjoon quickly said, battling a surge of acid in his throat.

She ruffled his hair again. "Holden likes to think he's the big man of the house, but when it comes down to it, I'm always the one in charge. He doesn't like to admit it, but he knows. He has a weakness for strong women." She looked down at him. "What do you think about strong women?"

"I'm a feminist, master."

She laughed, tossing her head back. "You know, I do have to thank that bastard for introducing you into my life. He's the one that discovered your channel."

She looked away, pursing her lips as she continued to pet him. "But that gratuity has run out. He overstepped a huge line today. With you, and with Yoongi."

Glancing back at him, she picked up a few black strands of his hair, holding it up between her thumb and finger. "Selfishness, that's what it boils down to. He felt entitled to my gift and helped himself."

Namjoon laid there, letting her talk. He just hoped she wouldn't work herself up into anger again.

"Tell me exactly what happened today." She demanded.

Namjoon stuttered, not knowing where to begin. After everything that had transpired, it was hard to believe that it had only been less than a day from waking up in the cage, to laying here now.

"I-it started when..." Namjoon trailed off, realizing he was going to get Yoongi in trouble if he mentioned the boy had skipped school today.

"When...?" She prompted, tugging on his hair.

Namjoon winced, heart pounding. He felt compelled to tell her the truth. Establishing that he could be trusted would go a long way in solidifying her as an ally. Besides, she had seen what Yoongi had gone through- surely if she was going to get mad at him, it would be diluted by the events that had happened. Her anger at Holden would outweigh any anger she might feel at Yoongi.

"Yoongi stayed home today." Namjoon told her. "To help me. He let me out of the cage to give me food and water and to take a shower. Then... Holden came home early and surprised us. I don't know why he came home so early. He... he was furious when he saw Yoongi and I together. He locked me in the bathroom and took Yoongi down to the basement. I don't know what happened then. About twenty minutes later he came back up to grab me and brought me to your guys' bedroom, and dyed my hair. He got mad at me... because I told him I knew he was jealous of the fact Yoongi spent time alone with me. Then he went back to the basement. When he came back, he brought me down there as well. Yoongi was chained to the wall. He pushed me onto the mattress down there."

Namjoon looked up at her, seeing her head resting against the pillows, her eyes closed and her mouth unsmiling.

"Go on." She said, not opening her eyes as she continued to pet his hair.

"He left to think about how he was going to punish us." Namjoon went on. "And Yoongi told me... about the others. And your... rosebushes."

She nodded slowly, eyes still closed.

"Then, he must have been online, because he found out-" Namjoon stopped abruptly, knowing this news was going to be like setting off a bomb.

"Found out what?"

Her tone of voice left no room to lie or argue, and Namjoon swallowed hard.

"He found out... that people knew I was missing. I... I was doing a live stream that night. When he came in and... attacked me. It was all caught on camera, and... thousands of people saw. They must have alerted the police, and the news. He came back to the basement, enraged."

The hand in his hair stopped, and Namjoon's heart beat rapidly, painfully.

"That fucking idiot." She muttered, fingers curling in the boys hair and Namjoon bit his lip, screwing his eyes shut against the pain.

"I'm sorry!" He blurted out, not sure what he was apologizing for exactly. "Please- I- I'm sorry!"

The hand released him and she chuckled. "What are you sorry for, pet?"

Namjoon opened his eyes, breathing quickly. He flicked his eyes up to meet her gaze, and was surprised to see she was calm.

"I..." He swallowed again. "I don't know."

She chuckled again, patting his cheek gently. "It's not your fault that he's stupid. Go on, continue your story."

Namjoon hesitated for a second, unsure of the territory he was in.

She brought her hand to his forehead, brushing his hair out of his face with her fingers. It felt good, but he wasn't about to relax in front of her. He did take it as a good sign, however, and continued.

"He was really mad, and took it out on me. So... I got mad too. I said some things I shouldn't have and it made everything worse."

"What did you say to him?" She hummed.

Namjoon bit his bottom lip, wondering if she would get mad at hearing the things he had said to her husband. Sure she was pissed at Holden, but what if she flipped sides? She married the guy after all, she had to have at least some loyalty to him, even after all that happened.

"What did you say to him, pet?" Her voice dropped an octave, eyes narrowing.

"I'm sorry, master," Namjoon quickly said, laying as still as possible. "I was trying to recall it exactly."

"Paraphrase it for me, I don't need to know the exact wording."

"Yes master. I said... that I didn't care about the situation he was in now. I said that I was glad the cops were on his ass. And that... they were going to catch him, arrest him... and then...and then... he would be the one on the receiving end of an unwanted dick in his ass. Um... and then I spat on him."

To his surprise, she laughed, tossing her head back.

"Did you really!" She kicked her legs. "Ha! Perfect! I know he didn't take that well!"

Namjoon felt a little calmer at her reaction. His heart was still hammering wildly, but his body was a little less tense after hearing her respond positively. "No, he got so angry that he became calm. He shoved me onto the mattress and basically stated he was going to rape me. And he was about to, I couldn't fight him because he had tied my hands behind my back. But then Yoongi stopped him."

"Mm." Vylette had stopped being merry, a serious look in her eyes now.

Namjoon took a deep breath, sensing her sudden shift, and continued. "Yoongi offered himself in my place. I begged him not to, but I could tell he was steadfast in his decision."

He glanced up at her, regretting admitting that, and wondered how she was going to react. Holden finding out about Yoongi having a crush on Namjoon resulted in the boys being used against each other and forced to kiss. Namjoon hoped Vylette wouldn't have the same thoughts.

"Go on, pet. I didn't say to stop." Her hand continued petting his hair.

"Yes master, I'm sorry." Namjoon quickly looked down at the mattress. "Um, after that, Holden unchained Yoongi and was about to drag him upstairs. I was panicking and crying out, and he got annoyed and said I should be thanking Yoongi for saving me. "In fact," he said exactly, "why don't you show him a little appreciation now?" And he pushed Yoongi onto the mattress in front of me. He forced us close together and told us to kiss."

"Did you?"

Namjoon nodded. "Yes, master. I'm sorry."

She exhaled. "Why are you apologizing, my pet?"

Namjoon froze, sensing the ice was thin. "For... for kissing someone that wasn't you, master. I know my lips belong to you."

She smiled. "You're so well trained and it hasn't even been a week yet." She settled more comfortably against the pillows. "But you don't have to apologize for that, my pet. I know you had no choice." She sighed deeply. "My idiot husband likes to play king of the hill when I'm not around." She glanced down at him, her hand stopping its petting motions in his hair. "Tell me one thing though, and be honest."

"Yes, master." Namjoon looked up at her, heart pounding.

"Did you enjoy kissing Yoongi?"

Namjoon hesitated, mind racing.

"I'm only patient to an extent, love."

"Yes and no." Namjoon blurted out, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn't bear to say this with eye contact.

"Elaborate."

The hand resumed its slow petting, running down his back to rub his bare skin again. Her hand was warm, and Namjoon was a little cold without a shirt on. It felt nice, but he still didn't let himself relax.

"I didn't like the forced aspect of it, especially since Holden was watching us intently. I didn't like Yoongi being put into an uncomfortable position, since Holden had previously said that Yoongi had a crush on me. If that was true, I didn't want him to have to kiss me. To be tortured like that..."

"Interesting. Continue."

"Well, we kissed twice. The first time, I just leaned in quick and kissed his cheek. But Holden complained about that, said it wasn't a real kiss. So he made us do it again. But this time I asked Yoongi for his consent first to kiss. I wanted to give him some power and control-" He stopped abruptly, feeling like he shouldn't have said that as it could potentially anger her since he was basically accusing her of forcing Yoongi all his life.

Which, she had, but pointing it out wouldn't win him any favors with her.

"So you asked him if you could kiss him, and I assume he said yes." Vylette said. "And that was why you liked kissing him, because you got to give him a choice. No doubt that interaction brought you two closer together."

"Y-yes." Namjoon stuttered, taken aback by how quickly she had figured that out. "Master." He added hastily, just in case.

"Insightful. I'm sure Yoongi loved that. How did my husband react to the second kiss?"

"He... took a picture. Said he was going to upload it to the dark web. I told him not to, but he did. Then he grabbed Yoongi and dragged him upstairs. I wanted to go with, but I was still tied up and he locked the door. Then I heard Yoongi start to scream. I don't know what was happening, though."

"Mm." She rolled over, laying on her side next to him now, her red gaze piercing into Namjoon's brown eyes as she tucked her hands between her head and the pillow.

Namjoon thought about the photos of Holden's affair, wondering if he should bring it up now. But he didn't know where those were, or if they existed. It would be dangerous to set her off without having any proof.

"And then he raped Yoongi?"

"N-not yet." Namjoon forced himself to not look at her breasts. "He came back down to the basement because I was making a huge fuss, throwing myself against the door and shouting. He-"

"Why?" She interrupted.

Namjoon was confused. "M-master...?"

"Why were you freaking out so much?"

Namjoon balked. Why was he vehemently against someone getting sexually assaulted?

"Because...I didn't want Yoongi to sacrifice himself for me." He said carefully.

She stared at him for a few moments, expressionless. Then she nodded. "Continue."

"Um, then he locked me in that cage as a punishment for being loud." Namjoon skipped over the part about the photos and Holden's threat about caging Yoongi 24/7. "And he went back upstairs. About an hour later, you came home."

"Mm." She rolled onto her back, raising one arm above her head while her other hand rubbed her eye.

Namjoon watched her, heart beating fast. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, and could only hope he didn't say the wrong thing.

"M-master?"

"Yes, my pet?"

"Where... where is Holden?"

"Don't worry about him, love. Your master took care of him. He won't be around for the rest of the night. Yoongi can sleep peacefully, I have no intention of going into his room. Speaking of the night..." She got up and climbed off the bed.

Namjoon didn't dare get up, turning his head to the other side to watch her open a drawer and pull out rope.

She held it up as she walked back to the bed. "My little pet is tired of being in cages, isn't he?"

Namjoon didn't know where this was going, but he felt his best bet was to always be honest with her.

Well, mostly honest.

"Y-yes, master."

"He would rather spend the night in his masters bed, wouldn't he?" She cooed, leaning down to trace her manicured nail down the side of his face and over his bottom lip, pressing down slightly on it. "Getting to stretch out and sleep next to a beautiful woman, hm?"

It was obvious was the correct answer was supposed to be.

"Yes, master." Namjoon said quickly.

She smiled, booping his nose. "My smart toy."

Straightening up, she pulled the rope taut between her hands. "Since it's your first time, I can't trust you yet. Although, I will say that you've shown amazing loyalty and progress. Maybe if you keep it up we can try a night without restraints. Would you like that, love?"

"Yes, master." Namjoon quickly found his vocabulary being reduced to those two words.

"Good boy. Flip over."

Namjoon quickly turned to lay on his back, looking up at her.

"Hands together, above your head."

He obeyed, watching her tie his wrists together to the headboard.

"Tug on them."

He was confused, was this a test?

"Try to get free." She said. "And don't fake it."

Namjoon pulled on the rope as hard as he could. It stretched, but the knots held and his exhausted muscles gave up after a few long moments of struggling.

"I can't do it master, I promise."

She smiled and patted his cheek. "Good. Now, ankles together."

Namjoon watched as she tied them together as well, and then at her command, attempted to yank his legs free. When it proved to be impossible also, she climbed back into the bed with him.

This time she slid up against him, throwing the heavy covers over them both. The sudden warmth caused Namjoon to shiver, especially when she tossed her leg over his hips, hooking him even closer against her. Her hand placed itself on his bare chest, resting there for a moment, before slowly sliding up to his neck, where her fingers wrapped around his throat. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to control his breathing.

She propped herself up with her other arm, leaning in close to his face.

"Who do you belong to, pet?"

"Y-you, master."

"Who owns you?"

"You do, master."

"Open your eyes."

Namjoon did, seeing how close she was to him.

"Who possesses you, totally and completely? Who do you live to serve?"

"Y-you." Namjoon's voice was reduced to a whimper. "Master."

"Convince me you fully believe it." She whispered, softly brushing her fingertip back and forth on his plush lower lip.

Namjoon was speechless. Was this some kind of psychological warfare? Tears gathered in his eyes and he tried desperately to not let them fall.

"I'm waiting, pet." The finger stopped.

"I..." Namjoon didn't even know where to begin. "I know I belong to you, master. I'm yours, fully and completely. Not Holden's, not Yoongi's. And I... I want to be your favorite. Please have patience with me, master. I..." It was definitely going to be too much too say I love you. Not believable. "I...I'm glad to be yours."

Her hair blocked the red LED's from illuminating her face, so Namjoon couldn't see her reaction.

Then the finger slowly resumed it's back and forth motion, trailing off his mouth and down his neck. Two hands suddenly placed themselves over his cheeks.

Soft breath fanned against his lips, and then she was kissing him.

Namjoon shut his eyes tightly and kissed her back.

She forced his mouth open and he let her. Her tongue invaded his mouth, and he didn't fight it. She deepened the kiss, tightening her leg around his hips as she forced the kiss deeper, passion spurring her on.

Namjoon laid there and took everything she gave him, reciprocating when prompted.

When they were both breathless, she pulled off, and their soft pants filled the dark room.

"You proved it well, pet." She said after a few moments, and Namjoon felt a mixture of relief and despair.

"Get some sleep, love." She whispered, leaning in to kiss him a few times again. When she finally sat back, she grabbed a small remote and powered off the lights.

The red room went black.

Nuzzling up against him, she tossed her arm over his chest as well, keeping him close as she fell asleep.

Namjoon stayed awake for a long time, silent tears running down his cheeks.