Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Rhea
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I don’t know how many hours pass, but I can feel the moon’s position, which tells me that there are still a few more hours before dawn. Every now and then, I try to pull on my chains, hoping they’ll loosen up and allow me to move easily, but that doesn’t happen.
The metal rusts my wrists, keeping them stiff and heavy. When I try to pull them too much, they tug onto the hook and clamp around my wrists, almost breaking my hands. There isn’t any use in trying more and injuring myself than I already
- am.
I lay by myself on the ground, quietly sobbing as the grief consumes me. I’ve seen other wolves burned by fire. It is painful.
Death by fire is painful.
They writhe in their skin for a long time. The wood they use for the fire is soaked in silver dust and wolfsbane, which makes it far worse than a normal fire.
No mercy. None.
If a single particle of silver dust reaches the skin, it brings unimaginable pain.
Grim. Unmerciful. Torturous. I don’t want to die like this. I don’t. I don’t want to die at all, especially for something I didn’t do.
When I hear a shuffle above me, I quickly get up on my knees. It’s late too early in the morning now. Who can be here?
The door opens, and a little bit of light seeps in from outside. I squint my eyes to see who’s here, but I can’t make out the face well until I see it. And it’s just not one face–there are two. Both I recognize.
“Luke!” I cry, “Is that you?”
When the door closes, I see him well under the torch above me. He’s here, but he’s not alone. He’s with Ezra.
“Your little brother desperately wanted to see you.”
“Luke?” I whisper and stare at him. “I didn’t do this. You have to believe me. I didn’t do anything. You’ve got to help me. You’ve got to tell Mom and Dad. They’ll do something-”
Luke looks at me with a cold, tight expression. He doesn’t believe me either. “Mom and Dad already know. They are so disappointed that if they were here, they’d kill you themselves,”
I stagger as his words hit me. My heart shatters in my chest.
“I just came here to see you before I finally got rid of you from my life. And you know what, Rhea, I couldn’t be anymore glad for this. And you know why? Because now I’ll finally stop hearing that I’m a runt’s brother,” He says the words, every single of it, while keeping the same cold, blank expression on his face.
Ezra watches and listens to Luke as if he’s silently praising him.
“Mom and Dad are going to be glad too. They have wanted to get rid of you for so long, and now they don’t have to do it themselves. Once this is over, once you’re dead, everything will finally go back to normal. No–it’s going to be even better.“
I kill the sob in my throat and shake my head, “Don’t say that, Luke.”
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“Why not?” he snaps, “You’ve been nothing but a disappointment. You are a disgrace to our family. I’ll be glad you’re gone. I will.”
I remain quiet, holding onto his words and feeling the pain they are inflicting on me. Hearing this–it hurts, and being locked in this dark cellar doesn’t help at all.
“I didn’t do this. I swear, I didn’t do any of this. Please, help me, Luke”
“And why would I ever do that?” He laughs mockingly at me. “No, no. I want you to suffer and die. I want you to be gone forever. I don’t ever want to think about you or the fact that I had a runt as a sister.”
“She’ll be dead by midnight tomorrow,” Ezra speaks with a grin on his face. He likes to see me like this. He finds it amusing
“No–no-”
“And it will make me so happy,” Luke repeats, taunting. “You’re nothing but trash, Rhea. You’re worthless. You should be grateful that they are going to burn you instead of banishing you. You wouldn’t even live a single day outside these boundaries, in the woods, you know that.”
His words cut deep. I feel the searing hurt of them because they are true. Very true. No other pack would accept me. No Alpha would want to have a runt in their pack. I wouldn’t survive for a single hour. So, in a way, getting executed is better than leaving out there to die.
Tears break out of me in tiny streams, running down my cheeks as I sit here, just looking at him. Everything feels bleak and dark.
Ezra places a hand over Luke’s shoulder, “Come tomorrow night and see it for yourself. There’s nothing that’s going to stop this runt from its doom. Nothing at all.”
“I want a trial,” I beg. “Give me a chance, please. Please, Luke. I will be proven innocent, and I will be out of here. I won’t bother you at all. Ever again.”
He doesn’t answer. Instead, Ezra tells him to return to the packhouse and wait for him while he deals with me.
“Luke!” I cry, “Help–me.”
He doesn’t listen to me; he just does what he’s told. He goes up the stairs and leaves the cellar, leaving me alone–with Ezra My heart begins to pound inside my chest–hard. Panic engulfs my muscles.
“Looks like it’ll be just the two of us,” He speaks to me before kneeling on the ground and coming closer to where I’m chained up. “You want a trial? Oh, sure, sweetheart, we can have a trial.”
He grabs my arm and pushes me onto the ground before getting on top of me and holding me down.
“No, get–off.”
I kick my leg up and try to land a blow on his stomach, but he grabs it and twists my ankles, keeping my foot in position. There’s not much I can do with all the chains around me.
He gives me a sly grin.
“What do you want? Whatever it is, I’ll give it to you, just stop-
“Did I say anything? You just talk too much, don’t you?”
His hand falls around my throat and begins to squeeze around it. The pressure goes down to my lungs, stopping all the breaths I need. My eyes widen, blurring with tears.
“Now, tell me. What do you think you’re worth? What makes you worth something, huh?”
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I want to speak, but nothing comes out. Nothing All I do is take deep, shallow breath.
‘Please-
“Begging, are we?” He loosens his grip on me and begins to tear at my shirt, ripping it down the middle.
I shake my head. No. No. Don’t. Please don’t
“Was that begging” He laughs in my face and leans down, breathing hard, smelling me.
“Ezra, stop-
“Answer my question first.”
“Wha–what is-“My voice quivers as I try to push myself up. But the chains and the weight that’s on me keep me down, on the ground.
“What makes you worth something, Rhea? He clicks his tongue on the back of his teeth, grinning at me with a cold gleam in his eyes. “I think I have an answer. A mouth and a cunt. Both fit perfectly when you’re a runt.”
He grabs my chin and forces me to look at him before running his thumb over my bottom lip. “It would be a pity if I didn’t fuck you before you died.”
“Don’t-“I cry. “Please, don’t–do this.”
“Why not?”
“Please,” I turn my face from him. “I will tell Catelyn”
Something darkens his eyes the moment I utter the words. He takes hold of my chin and twists my face so I’m looking right at him.
“Did you just threaten me?”
“No-
Before I say anything more, he suddenly snaps his head in the direction of the door. A wave of panic crosses his face before he quickly gets off me. I breathe as his weight is all gone from my body. Whatever stopped him from hurting me, I am grateful for it.
When he rises, he straightens out his coat before going up the stairs and sneaking out.
I don’t move, not even an inch. I just lay down there, trembling at what was about to happen.
Before he left.
The door opens again. I tense for a second, waiting for him to come back, but this time, it’s different. Another person has come inside the cellar. This time, it is not one person. It’s two, both of whom I recognize. Again.
“Oh, Ethel whispers, “God. You look terrible.”
“The real–real culprit is Catelyn,” I urge, quickly coming up to my knees. “She told me to do this. I didn’t do this. I didn’t want to poison him. She wanted me to. She forced me to. She was going to kill me if I didn’t.” I didn’t waste a second to spew whatever words I could out as quickly as I could.
She nears me and, surprise to surprise, embraces me tightly. I sob into her neck, feeling how a wave of relief washes over me. It’s nothing but a short–lived relief because she isn’t the one who can save me. Neither can she give me a fair trial. But still, she holds me tight, her arm around me, smoothing my hair.
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I cry into her shoulder for a while. She just embraces me until I calm down. She pulls back eventually, wiping away the tears on my face before releasing the chains around my wris
“Why would Catelyn want to poison the Alpha?”
I shake my head, “She doesn’t want to poison him. She wants to kill him. It’s because she’s having an affair with Ezra. I heard -I heard them yesterday in the shower”
“Are you certain?”
I nod.
“Please, help me.”
Her hand comes around mine. “Even if I could, I can’t. The Alpha’s mind is set on executing you. And no one will stand in his way to get the revenge he needs to take on you.” She sits down on the ground next to me. “Somehow, he no longer wants to take this to a trial”
“Because Catelyn convinced him not to. You have to believe me.”
“I do, I do, Rhea.” She squeezes my hand again.
We fall silent as a flood of dread and fear descends upon me.
“Ethel, I–don’t–want to die like this..
“If there’s any way to delay your execution, I will do it”
I take a moment to look at her tired and wilted expression. Behind her, the second one who came with her was Tony. He places down a tray of food and water beside me before quietly backing off to a corner.
I turn back to Ethel, “Please, I didn’t do anything wrong”
“You still tried to poison the Alpha
“Because Catelyn forced me to.
“Either way, it will be tricky to stop this from happening. Whether or not Catelyn forced you to do this, you still went ahead instead of confiding in someone. You could’ve told me.”
“She wanted to kill me. And I didn’t think anyone would believe me.” I rub my eyes finally and say.
“I’m so sorry, Rhea.” She places her hand on my back. “Why don’t your eat something and try getting some sleep? There are still many hours left before the execution. Maybe things can change by then.”
“What if it doesn’t?”
“Do not say that. Keep some hope.”
I narrow my eyes before placing my hands over my chest. Ezra managed to tear half of my shirt before he heard Ethel coming in. I swallow the bile in my throat and look up at her. She’s lost in thought for a moment.
“When you leave,” I start. Can you lock it and take the key with you?”
“Why?” There’s a confused expression on her face. “Did someone come in here? Or did something happen? Is that why your
shirt is-
Just take the key. Please. Even if I die, I want my dignity left–as much as it can be.”
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“Oh dear.” She gives me a look of sympathy before cupping my cheek. “I’ll take the key and do that. Since there’s no trial, no one should come here until midnight. Don’t worry.”
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