“Good to see you’re back.” Jenna said as she strode out of the house. “The family has been locked in the prison with their sister and I will challenge you after the executions; for that is what you plan to do, yes?”
I nodded and walked into the house with my bag. “I’ll let her stew for a bit, let her think of the things that will be done to her family before I kill them all.” I’d been gone for two days and the only sleep I had gotten had been on the planes.
Without another word I trekked up to my bedroom and fell flat on my face onto the bed as soon as I entered. I shuffled around a bit and when I took a deep breath, the familiar scent of Kade comforted me. “You’ve been sleeping in my room?” I asked, knowing that he would be here.
Footsteps approached the bed as I snuggled into a pillow and my boots were pulled off. I heard the rustle of material before a large body settled on the bed beside me, curling against my back. I sighed and my eyes fluttered closed as his breath hit my neck.
I didn’t fall asleep but rather floated on the cusp of unconsciousness, completely relaxed. I felt weightless and completely warm with Kade’s huge body behind me and one heavy arm encircling my waist. For the first time in a long time I didn’t panic when someone slept next to me and that bought a small to my face.
A few hours later as the sun rose high in the sky there was a knock at the door. Kade moved and stood, answering the door in only his pants. His back was muscular and I admired it my eyes tracing the white scars that criss- crossed across his body; it looked like he’d been whipped and I knew that I had similar marks on my body.
“Is Eve here?” It was my dad, Hansel so I slowly sat up, rubbing my eyes.
“I’m here.” I stood and padded over to where Kade blocked the doorway. I pushed past him and leant against the doorframe as one of his arms wound around my waist. “What’s wrong dad?”
He smiled as he looked from me to Kade. “Nothing, Jenna simply wanted to know if you were ready to begin the execution.”
I nodded and turned to look out the window. “I am, please ask her to ready the pyres.” I turned, Kade letting me go and closing the door as my dad left, and slipped my boot back on.
He slipped his shirt back on and when I stood, he was watching me. “Thanks for taking off my shoes, I was exhausted.”
He nodded and continued to stare at me. Sometimes I wished that he talked a bit more but then I would try to understand that he had his reasons for not speaking and that it was a part of his personality, just like the military was, or had been a part of me.
“What are you going to do during the executions?” I half hoped that he wouldn’t be there because I didn’t want him to see what I was about to do.
“Watch.”
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair; he would think me a monster. “Let’s go then.” Without a backwards glance I opened my door and headed down the stairs. As I passed, wolves immediately moved out of my way and bowed their heads to me. I could feel Kade’s presence directly behind me as I walked out the door towards the prison; it was comforting and unsettling.
Jenna was waiting for me at the entrance to the prison and looked behind me in confusion. “What’s Kade doing with you?”
I shrugged and was extremely surprised when he answered her question. “Protecting her.”
Jenna shot me a weird look before nodding and opening to the metal door. It lead to a set of stairs that lead to the cells underground where the traitors, rouges and enemies of the pack were held.
We walked down the stairs, surrounded by at least ten guards. There were growls and snarls from the dark cells as we passed and when we reached the furthermost cells, my hatred and need for revenge had begun to grow. “Seize the woman and her family, drag them above ground and bind the mother and youngest to a pyre each.” I ordered the guards.
They entered the cells and dragged the family members to the surface, screaming, struggling and kicking. I followed back upstairs as they tied the two women to separate stakes that had been driven into the ground. Alice, the girl who claimed to be Griffin’s mate, the one who’d pushed me down the stairs, stood in the grip of two guards as she watched with tears pouring down her face.
I walked up to her as another guard handed me a lit torch. “Who will it be? Who will you save?” I asked her, knowing that she loved both her mother and her sister. This was her punishment; she would watch her family burn because of her actions. The only thing I felt as I looked at her face, as she begged for the mercy of her family, was the words she spoke before she pushed me, before she killed my baby.
“Please, please, please don’t hurt them!” She muttered, her gaze fixed on her family. “I’m sorry.”
I shook my head and stared at her. “No, you’re not. If I had died, you wouldn’t have cared, you would have revelled in the fact that I was gone. You’re not sorry and you never will be.” I whispered, taking a few steps backwards. “You will spend the rest of your life remembering how your actions effected the ones you love.” No matter how short that life may be. I was tempted to let her rot in a prison cell for years but decided against it; she would die, today, I stood between to two pyres with the flaming torch and looked at her. “So who will it be? Your mother?” I tipped the torch over the wood of her pyre as she screamed. “Or your sister?”
I watched as her chin wobbled and tears leaked from her eyes. “M-m-my,” I watched as her throat bobbed, her gaze transfixed on her mother. “M-mother.”
“That is your choice then.” I stood in front of the pyre with the torch, slowly letting it descend. When the fire touched the wood, it caught and soon the entire pyre was engulfed in a fiery blaze. Her screams were loud and pierced my ears. Before anyone could notice, I slid my smallest knife out of its sheath and with deadly precision, threw it into her eye, killing her instantly. I was cruel but I wasn’t so cruel to let a woman be burnt alive when it had been her daughter who’d scorned me. It was the only mercy I would show here today.
By now Alice was screaming and crying as I lit the wood of her sister’s pyre; I didn’t spare her the pain, I’d seen what a bitch she was, just like her sister. As her screams carried through the wind I approached her brother who was trying to fight against the guards holding him, to no result.
I seized his chin, my nails digging into his skin. I jerked his head to face mine and growled. “Stop struggling or I’ll throw you in with her.”
He growled and spat on me, a real wet one. His grin was one of a triumphant man but I simply wiped it off my cheek with a stony expression. His smirk quickly faded as I let my hands rest on either side of his face, slowly leaning in. I heard a growl behind me and I knew that it was Kade. “Bad move.” I hissed in his ear before I tightened my hold on his head and yanked. There was a snap and a wet sound as blood sprayed everywhere. His now headless body fell limp to the floor as I held his head in my hands; I guess I didn’t know my own strength.
Blood covered my shirt and face as I turned towards Alice, letting his head drop. Her face was red and tears dripped down her face, though her eyes were filled with terror. I stood in front of her, covered in the blood of her brother, the deaths of her mother and sister on my shoulders. The nails on my left hand began lengthening and without a word I plunged my hand into her chest. I intentionally missed her heart and yanked my hand out as her eyes widened and she looked down at herself. I could hear the blood rushing into her lungs and out of her body as her mouth opened a tortured sound escaping. “You bought this on yourself; may you rot in hell for the rest of eternity.” This time I didn’t miss and my hand wrapped around her beating organ. Looking into her eyes I yanked out her heart, watching the life drain from her as her body slumped forward. It was a quicker death than she deserved but I wanted this done with.
I looked up at the guards that loitered around and my gaze landed on Jenna and Kade who stood together. “Burn the bodies.”
Alice was dead but I still didn’t feel any kind of justice for what she’d done to me; just guilt and emptiness. All I’d succeeded in doing was killing an entire family and ripping apart a pack; it hadn’t made me feel better.
With a sigh I headed back into the pack house for a shower.
-
“Eve.” I looked up to see Jenna seated on my bed. “Have you got a sec?” I nodded and closed the door behind me, sitting down when she patted the space next to her. There was silence until Jenna expelled a big breath. “Look Eve I know that you haven’t had the best time here,” I snorted and rolled my eyes. “But I know that there are a lot of people that don’t want you to leave; you don’t have to go.”
I stood, growling lightly, nostrils flaring as I glared at her. “No Jenna I do have to leave; you have no idea how bad the people in your pack made me feel! I have lost so much here, so many bad memories, so many bad things.” I shook my head. “I cannot, I will not stay here; I can’t watch you so happy, everyone so happy. I don’t belong here, I don’t want to be here and I don’t care if you want me to stay because it’s not your decision!” I shouted.
“It’s not all about you Eve!” Jenna yelled. “We took you in, looked after you like one of our own, loved you; if you’d told me what was happening then I would have fixed it! But you didn’t! You left and broke our hearts, then years later, you show up from the dead and all you do is mope and hurt the ones around you; can’t you see that we love you? You look at all the bad things that happen to you and you let them define you; you think that by letting your anger rule you, you’re strong but you’re not Eve. It does nothing but hurt me, your fathers, Kade, your family, because we see what you’re doing to yourself; we love you and you need to realise that running isn’t the answer.” She stood and shook her head, giving me a sad look. “You’re immortal now Eve, but you can’t run forever; someday you’ll stop and realise that you need to let people in, you need to let yourself be happy. It’ll take a while, but it’ll get better; trust me, don’t repeat my mistakes. Don’t push away the ones who truly love you.” The door closed behind her and I was left in silence, staring at the door.
In my life, bad things had happened; the bullying, their exclusion, the pain of leaving and the anger I felt at myself allowing them to treat me like they had, the pain and torture I’d suffered over my time in the military, the loss of my career and finally, the loss of my child. These things had made me who I am, shaped my personality and how I reacted to certain situations, but most of all, I had let them rule my life for so, so long.
Looking back, there were so many good things that I’d taken for granted or simply forgotten. The unconditional love both my parents and Jenna had for me, all the times they’d been there for me, dropping everything when I asked. The good times and memories I had with Griffin and the team. Kade.
Instead choosing to focus on the good things in life, I had focused on the bad and in the process, I’d hurt myself and the ones who loved me.
I felt a tear drip down my cheek as I stared at the closed door.
I’d really fucked it up.
The door opened and Kade walked in. He took one look at my tear stained face and scooped me up, cuddling me to his chest as he sat on my bed, leaning against the wall. He rubbed my back as my body was racked with sobs and I pressed my face into his chest.
I felt the vibrations in his body as he began humming, running his hand over my hair and down my back to rest on the curve of my spine.
He moved so that he was lying down on his side, my body pressed against his side; his heart against my chest, lips pressed to my neck. The extra warmth of a blanket engulfed my shaking form as he covered me up, cuddled me in. He wrapped his arms around me, one hand continuing to gently rub my lower back, the other gently playing with my hair as he hummed.
Slowly the tears stopped and I relaxed into his warm embrace, feeling so small and safe, the sound of his humming lulling me to sleep.
I was in love with him.