MasukChapter 13: Phantom Pain
The new double dose hit harder than anything before it.I woke up gasping, my body drenched in sweat even though the hotel room was cool. The link was screaming. Not with words, but with raw sensation. A deep, throbbing ache pulsed through my left shoulder and down my arm pain that wasn’t mine. Callan’s old injury. The one that had ended his days as an enforcer and left him sterile. I could feel every scar, every damaged nerve like it was happeningChapter 21: Locker Room BreakingThe live session left me raw in ways I didn’t know were possible.I lay on the bed afterward, chest heaving, skin still tingling from the dose and Callan’s touch. The syndicate had watched every second through the camera. They had seen me fall apart, heard me beg, watched Callan take me apart with a mix of dominance and something dangerously close to tenderness. The link had made it impossible to fake any of it.Callan turned off the camera and immediately pulled me into his arms, holding me tight against his chest. His heartbeat was loud in my ear, syncing with mine through the deepened connection.“You okay?” he whispered, voice rough.I nodded against his skin, but I wasn’t sure if it was true. The new dose had pushed the emotional sync so deep that I could feel fragments of his thoughts again flashes of guilt for how much he enjoyed the power, fierce protectiveness, and that growing warmth that fe
Chapter 20: Dangerous SynnThe video of me on my knees confessing my love for Callan was sent at 11:47 p.m.I sat on the edge of the bed afterward, staring at the wall while the link hummed with a chaotic mix of emotions. My own shame. Callan’s fierce protectiveness. The growing warmth of something that felt dangerously like love. The new dose had made everything louder, sharper, impossible to ignore.Callan knelt in front of me, his hands resting on my thighs. “Hey. Look at me.”I lifted my eyes to his. The intensity in his gaze made my chest tighten.“You did good,” he said quietly. “Those words weren’t a lie. Not anymore.”I swallowed hard. “I know. That’s what scares me. I meant every word. Even while the camera was rolling.”He leaned in and kissed me softly, no performance this time. Just us. When he pulled back, his forehead rested against mine.“Tomorrow is the game,” he said. “The link is stronger
Chapter 19: Poisoned WordsThe joint interview was scheduled for the next afternoon.I woke up with the new dose still burning low in my veins and the phantom pain in my shoulder throbbing in time with Callan’s old injury. The link felt heavier than ever. Every breath he took, every small shift of his body, sent ripples of sensation through me. When he reached for me in his sleep, I felt the warmth of his love and the sharp edge of his fear at the same time.Callan stirred when he sensed me awake. His arm tightened around my waist, pulling me closer.“Today’s the interview,” he murmured against my neck. “League wants us to talk about ‘our relationship.’”I closed my eyes. “They want us to sell the lie. Make it sound romantic. Make it convincing.”His hand stroked down my spine, slow and steady. “Then we give them a version of the truth. Enough to satisfy them, but not enough to give them more power.”We spent the morning
Chapter 18: Public Heat The new dose arrived at 7:00 a.m. sharp. A nondescript courier knocked on the apartment door and handed Callan a small black case with a polite nod. No words. No eye contact. Just another piece of the machine we were trapped inside. Callan locked the door and set the case on the kitchen counter. We both stared at it like it was a live bomb. “Double dose again,” he said, reading the attached note. “They want the emotional sync pushed harder. They say the public needs to see ‘authentic attachment’ at the joint interview tomorrow.” I rolled up my sleeve without being asked. My hands were steady, but inside I was screaming. The link already carried Callan’s reluctance and quiet fury. Every new injection felt like signing another piece of our souls away. Callan prepared the syringe with careful movements. His eyes met mine as he pressed the needle into my arm.
Chapter 17: Public Heat The syndicate’s new order arrived like clockwork the next morning. Move-in confirmed. The apartment is ready. You will live together starting tomorrow. Daily videos required. Intimacy level must increase. We expect visible emotional attachment. Fail to deliver and the unedited basement footage goes public. I read the message twice while Callan stood behind me, his hand resting heavy on my shoulder. The link carried his simmering rage, but underneath it was something colder. Calculation. He was already planning how to turn this new demand into an advantage. “They’re not even pretending anymore,” I said, setting the phone down. “They want us playing house. Daily videos. Visible attachment. It’s like they’re directing our lives like a reality show.” Callan’s fingers tightened on my shoulder. “Then we give them the show. But we control the script.” He turned m
Chapter 16: Maren’s WarningThe morning after the confession felt different.I woke up wrapped in Callan’s arms, the phantom pain in my shoulder still present but dulled by the warmth of his body. The link hummed steadily between us, no longer just carrying sensations and emotions, but something deeper. Something that felt like trust.Callan was already awake. His fingers traced slow, lazy patterns along my spine as if he’d been doing it for hours. When he felt me stir, he pressed a kiss to the back of my neck.“Morning,” he murmured, voice still rough with sleep.“Morning,” I whispered back. For a moment, I let myself pretend we were normal. Just two men in bed after a night together. No syndicate. No contract. No cameras waiting for us to perform.But the illusion shattered when the encrypted phone buzzed on the nightstand.Callan reached over and silenced it without looking. “Not yet,” he said firmly. “Five more minut







