Viktor ignored Alia's pleas. He realized that Marco the man she had risked everything for was nothing but a coward who wouldn't show up to save her. A demonic smile spread across Viktor's face. He dragged Alia to the center of the room. She had no clothes on, only a thin shawl wrapped around her trembling body. With a sudden, violent jerk, Viktor tore the shawl away.
Alia curled up in shame and terror, but Viktor showed no mercy. He forced her to lie face down on the cold floor. In his hand, he held a professional tattoo machine, its needle buzzing with a lethal hum.
Viktor: (In a chillingly calm voice) "Marco isn't coming, Alia. He isn't the type to risk his life for a toy like you. But I am not letting you go. Today, I will carve the mark of my permanent ownership into your skin."
Viktor pressed the sharp needle into the soft skin of Alia's lower back. He began to ink a large In-Yang tattoo.
Alia: (Screaming in agony) "Ahhhh! Viktor... please! It hurts so much... let me go!"
Every prick of the needle pierced through Alia's delicate skin. As the black and white circles of the In-Yang took shape, her back throbbed with excruciating pain. Viktor worked with surgical precision, as if he were painting on a canvas rather than living flesh.
Viktor: "This In-Yang is the symbol of your life, Alia. The white represents that motherhood of yours, and the darkness... the darkness is me. No matter how hard you try, you can never escape this shadow. From now on, every time you see your back in the mirror, you will remember whose prisoner you are."
Alia clawed at the floor in pain, her tears dripping onto the cold tiles. A thin trail of blood mingled with the black ink, creating a horrific sight. Once finished, Viktor stopped the machine and placed his hand over the raw, inflamed wound on her back.
Viktor: "Now you look like my true hunter queen. , you will not leave this room. Until the wound of this tattoo heals, you will exist only to serve me."
Alia lay there motionless, paralyzed by the burning sensation on her skin and the crushing weight of her despair. Marco hadn't come, and Viktor had bound her with a chain she would carry for the rest of her life.
The snowy Russian night grew heavier with Alia's silent sobs. Viktor sat nearby, sipping his drink, his blue eyes glowing with the triumph of a predator in the dark. Viktor looked at the In-Yang tattoo on Alia's lower back, still raw and red, and a strange, twisted obsession sparked in his blue eyes. He threw the tattoo machine onto the bed and pulled Alia up by her waist.
Viktor: (His voice husky and dangerous) "Now, it's my turn. You've been marked by me, Alia. Now, I want you to feel what it's like to have me marked by you—to be exactly like you."
Alia, trembling and still in pain, didn't pull away this time. Instead, she did something unexpected. She stepped closer, closing the distance between them. She reached up and wrapped her arms around Viktor's neck (Golar niche), pulling him into a tight, desperate embrace.
The coldness of the room disappeared as their bodies pressed together. Viktor froze for a second, surprised by her sudden touch. He dropped his guard, his strong arms wrapping around her waist, pulling her so close that their heartbeats echoed against each other.
Then came the moment—their eyes met (2jon chokachokhi).
Viktor's piercing blue eyes, usually full of malice and command, softened for a fleeting second as they searched Alia's dark, tear-filled eyes. In that gaze, there was no master or prisoner; there was only a toxic, undeniable fire.
Viktor: (Whispering against her lips) "Why do you look at me like that? Do you hate me, or is this the only way you know how to survive?"
Alia: (Her voice trembling but steady) "If I am your shadow, Viktor, then you are the one who created it. You wanted us to be the same... now look at me."
The tension in the room was suffocating. Outside, the Russian blizzard howled, but inside, the air was thick with a dangerous attraction. Viktor leaned in, his forehead resting against hers, their eyes locked in a silent battle of dominance and desire.
He knew she was broken, and she knew he was a monster but in that gaze, they both realized they were now bound by blood, ink, and a darkness that neither could escape. As Alia held the tattoo machine with trembling hands, Viktor sat before her, offering his broad, muscular back. The moment the needle first pierced his skin, Viktor let out a sharp, ragged breath and closed his eyes tight.
In that state of intense pain and trance-like submission, he began to mutter under his breath in his native Russian language. His voice was low, gravelly, and filled with a dark, twisted passion.
Viktor: (In Russian) "Ты моя... теперь мы связаны навсегда. Боль это единственное, что делает нас живыми." (You are mine... now we are bound forever. Pain is the only thing that proves we are alive.)
Alia focused entirely on the machine, meticulously carving the same In-Yang symbol into Viktor's flesh. As the ink seeped deep into his skin, beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Without opening his eyes, Viktor reached back and gripped Alia's hand for a fleeting second, his strength overwhelming.
Viktor: (In Russian) "Не останавливайся, Алия. Выжги свое имя в моей душе." (Don't stop, Alia. Burn your name into my soul.)
Alia remained silent, the mechanical buzz of the needle the only sound competing with Viktor's heavy, rhythmic Russian whispers. Outside, the blizzard raged on, but inside the locked room, the wounds of their bodies and souls were merging into one.
When the tattoo was finally finished, Viktor opened his eyes. The fierce, predatory glint in his blue eyes had faded, replaced by a strange, exhausted calm. He pulled Alia toward him, tucking her head against his chest. The sting of Alia's lower back and the raw burning of Viktor's new tattoo seemed to thrum in unison, a shared agony.
Viktor leaned down and whispered one last time in her ear, his breath hot against her skin.
Viktor: (In Russian) "Добро пожаловать в мой ад, моя королева." (Welcome to my hell, my queen.)
Alia knew then that these tattoos weren't just ink; they were a cursed pact. There was no escape now. The ten days of Viktor's family being away had turned this palace into a private purgatory, and she was no longer just a prisoner she was a part of the monster himself. Alia calmly handed a glass of water to Viktor. Tears were still in the corners of her eyes, but a faint smile played on her lips.
Alia: (In a very low voice) "This isn't hell, Viktor... with you by my side, this is my heaven. I missed you (Miss you) so much."
For a moment, Viktor couldn't believe his ears. He looked at Alia in utter shock This was the same girl he was threatening with a belt moments ago, the one he had forcibly tattooed and now, she was offering him water and telling him she missed him.
Viktor: (In a voice full of disbelief) "Have you lost your mind, Alia? After everything I've done to you, you say you missed me? Or is this another one of your games?"
Alia didn't answer; she only moved closer. She placed her hand gently on Viktor's newly tattooed back. Viktor's muscles twitched with an unknown shiver.
Alia: "Sometimes the wall between hate and love becomes very thin, Viktor. In these 10 days while your family is away, I only wanted you to be with me like this not as a tyrant, but simply as mine."
Viktor took a sip of the water, but the thirst in his throat only seemed to grow. Alia's sudden surrender was overturning all his stubbornness and pride. He couldn't tell if this was a magical trap set by Alia or if a seed of heaven was truly being planted inside this hell.
The Russian blizzard lashed against the windowpanes, but inside the room, Viktor's blue eyes were no longer fierce they were clouded with deep confusion and an emerging, dark affection. Viktor froze upon hearing Alia's words. A strange, mystical shadow flickered in his blue eyes. He finished the water in one gulp and gently tilted Alia's chin up.
Viktor: (In a grave voice) "800 years (800 years)... do you have any idea what was flowing in our blood 800 years ago?"
Alia looked into Viktor's eyes and gave a magical smile. It felt as if an ancient page of history was unfolding before her.
Alia: "I know, Viktor. Our ancestors (Our ancestors) were just like you and me. The wheel of history has turned and brought us back to the same spot. One was named Alexander (Alexander) whose fire was just like yours. And the other was Isrovona (Isrovona)who was perhaps trapped in a trance just like me."
Viktor listened in astonishment. Alia's voice sounded as if it didn't belong to this world, but was an echo from centuries ago.
Alia: "People might call it reincarnation (Reincarnation), but I know it's the pull of blood. In a strange game of nature, people's faces become accurate/identical (Chehara accurate) because those old memories still live in our DNA. 800 years ago, they too must have faced each other on a snowy night just like this."
Viktor shuddered at Alia's words. He had never believed in such things, but the depth in Alia's eyes and the In-Yang tattoo on her back forced him to think.
Viktor: (Whispering) "So this war of ours, this hate, and this attraction was it all predestined? Did Alexander want to keep Isrovona for himself in this very way?"
Alia rested her head on Viktor's chest. The Russian snow outside seemed to bear witness to history.
Alia: "Perhaps. Alexander wanted to conquer her, and Isrovona wanted to drown him in love. Today, 800 years later, in this 10-day solitude, history is rewriting itself, Viktor."