Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Rhea
Marcella knocks on my door again, “Rhea, open the door, please.”
I bury my face in the sleeve of my shirt, trying to muffle my sobs as I curl up under the covers, hoping that if I stay still and quiet enough, she’ll leave me alone.
“I’m sleeping.” I manage to say as another knock lands on the door.
“Don’t lie to me. Open the door.”
“Please, just–let me be,” I beg, my voice breaking as tears run from the corners of my eyes. I’m sorry.”
There’s a moment of silence on the other side of the door, but I can still hear her shallow breathing, as if she’s struggling to find the words.
Finally, she speaks again, her voice softer this time, “He’s gone now. Don’t worry.”
I don’t reply. I can’t. I pull the covers tighter around me, hoping she’ll stop asking me to open the door.
A moment later, Marcella sighs before her footsteps tap quietly down the hall. The sound grows faint, and I know she’s leaving. When I can no longer hear her footsteps, I bring down the sheet from my face and lie my head against my knees.
Another sob consumes me as I hug my legs and listen to nothing but the sound of my own cries.
Aron’s voice repeats itself over and over, his tone a vicious one–harsh, demanding, and cruel. I hadn’t been able to imagine him speaking in that manner since the night I met him.
Now, I can. Now, I can’t ignore it, deny it or avoid it. I can’t do anything. Anything at all.
The words he had cut through me.
He scares me. Truly, genuinely scares me. But the worst part is that a part of me thinks he’s right.
In so many ways, he is.
I clung to them like an ignorant child, starving for any morsel of pity, happiness, anger, and attention they could give. So desperate, I wanted to work, take duty, and obey, even when I knew it was useless. And why? So I could do something, anything that would make them notice me. Just for a few seconds.
They wouldn’t. They wouldn’t spare me even a look of acknowledgment.
Was I like that all along?
Was I so hungry for praise, acceptance, and attention that I was blind?
For what it is worth, my pack didn’t care for me. My parents ignored me, cast me out, and pushed me aside, but I never had the heart to accept it.
Now, I’m in a foreign territory, surrounded by wolves I don’t know, in the land of an Alpha whose gaze alone can break me.
Curling up into a tight ball, I bury my face into my palms, wanting to silence the thoughts inside. It does nothing but remind me of the past four days that I’ve been here.
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Chapter 56
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Four days in which it felt almost unreal, in which it felt almost perfect. And just like any other delusion, it has crumbled away, like everything else. Everything always does.
And I’m left questioning.
Why does Aron want me here if he despises me so much?
What could he possibly do to me, or make me do, to find his enjoyment?
Why did he bring me? Why did he save me?
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A whimper catches in my throat. The image of his harsh and wicked expression is burned into the backs of my eyes, his face staring blankly at mine.
It all happened in just a few minutes, and it shattered everything.
I clutch my chest, pressing my hand over my heart as my entire body shakes, an ache I’ve never felt before tearing at it. I shake my head, desperately wanting the images to fade away from my mind and for the tears to vanish.
I shouldn’t have gone there. I know that, but I couldn’t help it. My wolf needed to go.
And now she’s oddly silent within me.
The questions gnaw at me. Questions of Aron.
I sit
up
there.
from the bed and stare at the closet room, which is far in the end, wide open. I get out of bed slowly and head over
The letters.
I quickly go back into the box, into the box of my things, and start reaching the bottom to find the piles of letters. And I found them buried inside some of my books, all scattered.
I take them all out or at least what I can see are there. I’m not sure if they are all here but I think they are. Most of them are still unopened and the ones that are opened, I know that I’ve already read those letters.
Nothing escapes me this time. I read every single letter, every single word that’s written in them.
He has a way with words. He chooses them carefully and lays them out so precisely.
‘You’ll always be mine, even if you think otherwise. I will claim you as my mate, and I’ll give you everything you have ever desired–whatever it may be. When you finally accept this bond between us, you’ll understand the depth of my devotion. Embrace what I offer, and you’ll not regret it.’
I open another one in a hurry and read through it as quickly as possible.
‘You will learn that your defiance has consequences. It seems like you’ve decided to test my patience. Know this: I will not be ignored. I will not rest until you acknowledge the bond we share!
Another letter is more gruesome than the last.
‘Perhaps it would be far better if I simply come there and take claim of you. Would you prefer that instead? I have the power to. It would be simple–you wouldn’t see me coming, I could have my warriors take you away in mere moments, and I’d have you bound before you could process that you’ve even been taken. And I can do much, much worse. But I won’t if you simply write back.‘
The final letter I pull out is the most chilling of all.
‘I will not hesitate to bring war to the ground of your packhouse if you continue this. I need to hear from you, and if I don’t
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hear from you, then you have only yourself to blame when I come and take what’s mine. And it will be coming sooner or later. I’ll make sure of it. I’ll burn the packhouse down. I’ll turn your world into ashes. I’ll rip apart your alpha limb from limb and everyone else that you know. And when you don’t have anyone else but me, when you’re left with no one to turn to, I’ll take you and make you mine, just like I promised I would. Do you understand me? I’m growing tired of these games. Answer me, or I’ll make sure you have no one to save you next time. You’ll be sorry!
His words are filled with a dark, violent passion that twists my stomach. It’s the difference that terrifies me the most. One moment, he’s gentle and kind, and then he’s savage and threatening, filled with such violence that sends chills right through
- me.
I bite the back of my thumb.
There’s something wrong. I can feel it in my bones.
But what?
