ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ 28
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ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀ ꜱᴀᴄʀᴇᴅɴᴇꜱꜱ ɪɴ ᴛᴇᴀʀꜱ. ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴀʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀʀᴋ ᴏꜰ ᴡᴇᴀᴋɴᴇꜱꜱ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ. ᴛʜᴇʏ ꜱᴘᴇᴀᴋ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴇʟᴏQᴜᴇɴᴛʟʏ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴛᴇɴ ᴛʜᴏᴜꜱᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴏɴɢᴜᴇꜱ. ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴀʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴇɴɢᴇʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴏᴠᴇʀᴡʜᴇʟᴍɪɴɢ ɢʀɪᴇꜰ, ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇᴇᴘ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀɪᴛɪᴏɴ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴜɴꜱᴘᴇᴀᴋᴀʙʟᴇ ʟᴏᴠᴇ.
This is a violent, gruesome, and detailed chapter with sexual assault so please skip it if at any moment you believe it's too much. Don't say I didn't warn you.
8 years ago
"CAINE, LET GO OF MY LEG!" I yell down at my best friend as he clings onto my leg in the hopes of not falling off the tree and onto the ground, meters below us. I can't remember which idiot's idea it was to climb the tallest tree in my dad's pack. "We're both gonna fall and get hurt! If only one of us falls, the other can help them and it won't be as bad."
"It was your idea!" Caine yelps as he glances down at the ground, so far away. My parents always said Caine was always like this, never wanting to allow anyone to help him out and always trying to keep others away from success. As my grip slips around the thick branch that I'm sitting on, my mind replays memories of more of my parent's words' as they warned me to stay away from a kid like Caine and his family. Maybe, just maybe they might be right. Or maybe I'm just a bad friend.
As I fall, I recall a starry night with my mom, sister and unborn sibling, and my story of a pretty little red-haired girl. Now there's another baby on the way, almost eight years after that unborn sibling, my brother Alex, was born. I hope it's a girl this time.
My parents hate Caine's family and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual. I've grown up, hearing about the things that Caine's family did to mine. Although his family might be despicable, Caine himself is nothing like his father. At least as far as he's shown.
When I hit the ground, I blink away the memories and focus on the pain enveloping my body. Caine lays a few feet away, a bone protruding from his leg which is twisted in an odd angle and I can't lift my head up enough to see if anything else is wrong. I can't move my arm-- I'm pretty sure I dislocated my own shoulder. I'm surprised we didn't get any worse injuries seeing as where we had been sitting on the tree had been so high up. I try to call out to Caine but all I can do is wheeze as all the breath had been knocked out of my lungs.
*-*-*-*-*
"I don't want you leaving our house anymore," My father growls as he talks with my mom in the kitchen. I don't mean to eavesdrop but my dad gets loud when he's worried or angry and he seems to be a bit of both. A few hours ago I had fallen from that tree and I managed to mind-link my dad just before slipping out of consciousness. They had discovered our broken bodies and rushed us to the pack hospital where they fixed us up to the best of their abilities. Now I wait on our living room sofa for my wolf to do the rest of the work. Caine had been taken home.
"Julian, I want to go baby shopping and see my friends!" My mother argues and I can just imagine the frown that pulls on her face whenever my dad's being overprotective like this. "Just because I got another death threat doesn't mean anything. A lot of jealous females send them all the time! What makes this one different?"
My dad sighs and I hear the sounds of a chair scraping back. "This time, they spoke about the baby too. We haven't told anyone about her and I'm a hundred percent sure our kids haven't said anything either. This didn't sound like the usual love proclamation for me as stupid as they sound, or the threats against you for being my mate."
"But I always have warriors around me to keep me safe and I know how to fight!" My mom pleads. Another death threat? How many has she gotten?
"But it's not just you anymore." My dad states with finality, ending the discussion. "I'm going to try to trace this letter, see what makes it different to the rest." Utterly confused and filled with worry for my mom and future sister, I try to overcome the tiredness that had been washing over me since I fell, but to no avail as I drift off into another restless sleep.
*-*-*-*-*
"LUCAS, WAKE UP!" A voice whisper-yells into my ear, bringing me out of a nightmare. I had imagined Caine's dad attacking our Pack in order to get my mom, like he tried to before I was born. "There's someone else here and momma and dad have been gone for hours. They're at the Pack house." Carmen whispers in my ear. "I haven't been able to get them to reply and Alex is asleep."
Suddenly, there's a thud against the front door, and Carmen yelps as I jump off the sofa, glad that my shoulder finally feels somewhat better. "Go, get Alex, and go through the underground tunnels to get out of here." Before Carmen can object, I continue, "I'll find out what's going on and dad's trained me to take over after him, so trust me when I say I can probably fight against whatever idiot had the nerve to infiltrate our Pack."
After Carmen hurries off, I inch towards the hallway that leads to the front door, knowing full well that it's not someone from our Pack that's on the other side of it. I finally reach the front door just as there are a few more thudding sounds against it. "I know you're there, filthy mutts, and you can't fight me. Surrender, now." The creature taunts as he continues fighting the door to break into our house. "Give me your mother and I'll let you pathetic kids live." By now, I hope Carmen had enough time to take our brother and get to safety to warn the rest of the Pack.
Cracks appear on our thick, wooden front door and I press myself onto the wall next to it. I hold my breath as the man hits the door once more, finally breaking it down. He steps into the hallway, facing the other direction and breathing heavily. As I analyze the back of his head, I realize how familiar he looks. Familiar or not, he still just broke into our house. I swing my leg up and kick the man's back, watching with satisfaction as he falls on his face. Before he can move, I jump onto his back, knocking the breath out of him. I grab onto his arms and painfully twist them behind the man's back. We both breathe heavily, although I'm not quite sure how he's able to breathe through his newly broken nose.
"UNCGHANASN," The man's voice is muffled as he tries to push me off of him by roughly rocking side to side. This isn't my first rodeo though and I know better than to lower my defenses and give my opponent a chance.
"What?" I mock, "I can't quite hear you." As I tease him, I realize my first mistake. His legs were open and free, and as I feel pain erupt at the back of my head from the man's heel, I knew I had ruined everything. I fall onto my ass and watch with dismay and anger at myself as the man leaps to his feet, cradling his bloody nose in one hand, and curling his other hand into a fist.
Jorge.
I watch as my best friend's dad slowly steps toward me and I try to get back up on my feet, only to have them swiped from beneath me. I fall onto my back, heaving once more. How old is this guy anyway and why is he so agile? "Where's your mother, pup?" He hisses through his yellowing, sharp teeth as he places his boot on my chest. I refrain from growling as my wolf comes to the forefront of my mind. He puts pressure on my ribs and I can almost hear them crack. When he finally understands that I'm not going to betray my mother, he leans down, sneering, and pulls my head up by my hair. "No matter, I've got men hunting her down already." With that, he slams my head onto the ground multiple times until reality and my mind bleed together in a foggy haze.
When I come to, I realize I'm still in the hallway and that Jorge had been replaced by another man and a boy. My best friend. I lift my head from the puddle of blood it had been laying in for who knows how long, and I whisper-yell at my friend, hoping the other man would not hear, "CAINE! Help me get out of here." He walks toward me with a limp, his leg still not healed properly. As I sniffle, I notice the dried blood under my nose and on the side of my forehead. Jorge had done a number on my head. I also notice that the man beside Caine doesn't have a Rogue scent like Caine, Jorge, and the rest of his people too. He belongs to my childhood crush Melanie's pack. Were they in on this? If so, they're definitely not on our side, I comprehend through the unfamiliar man's glare.
"He will not be helping you, boy." The man states, clenching his jaw and crossing his arms. "His father's made a deal with our Pack where we get your land and revenge on our Alpha's behalf, and he gets whatever he's here for. I doubt you'll be alive much longer. There's just something Jorge still wants you for."
I growl at the insolent man, furious that his leaders still blame my parents for something that had not been their fault at all, but rather the Alpha Julian's parents' fault. The rage that continues to fill me, makes me realize that I need to find my mother and protect her from Caine's abhorrent father, not that everyone else like my dad won't be trying to do the same. Caine nods solemnly, agreeing with the stupid man.
NEW ADDITION--> "How could you, Caine?" I murmur, looking at who I thought as my friend with betrayal obvious in my eyes. I certainly did not expect this, although it makes sense, seeing as who our parents were and their animosity towards one another.
"You cost me my mate. What did you expect, asshole?" Caine hisses, kicking my stomach with his bad leg, wincing at the pain. He's referring to Alessandra, the woman who never wanted to be his mate to begin with. Can you blame her, seeing who Caine is? I never understood her crazy obsession with me, either, especially since she was blessed with a mate. That obsession, was never my fault, and obviously Caine's been harboring hate for me ever since she left him, after I rejected her.
I get up onto my feet and launch myself at the man, knowing that Caine is no match for me, especially in his injured state, so I'll deal with him after. As I'm battering the man, I hear another, more feminine growl, and from the corner of my eye, I see Carmen leaping at Caine in her wolf form. Before the man I'm fighting can defend himself, I grab his outstretched arm and twist it until it breaks. As he cries in pain, I wrap my arm around his neck, placing one hand on the side of his head. Moments later, there's a snap and he's dead, crumbling down at my feet. I stare at his dead body, realizing that I just killed a person. A once living, breathing, person. My first kill. I inhale deeply, picking up on the scent of blood and death. I fatally hurt a person.
I shake my head as if I'm shaking my guilty thoughts away and watch as Carmen claws at Caine repeatedly until he falls to his knees before her. As my older sister readies herself for her finishing strike across his neck, I stop her, conveying how the need to find our mom matters more. And maybe, just maybe, I didn't want to witness my once-best-friend's death too. Even though he had betrayed me, just like my parents warned me he would.
We race out of our house and I quickly remove my bloodied shirt and shorts to shift, holding my clothes between my teeth, knowing they'll be of use later. We make it to our main pack house in a matter of minutes, shifting back into our human forms. As I slip on my shorts, I toss my shirt to my sister, knowing how she always forgets her clothes when she shifts. And then, we walk inside the strangely silent building. There's signs of battle all around the area but there seems to be no one inside the pack house.
How did these bloodthirsty people ever manage to get through our patrols and defenses?
Carmen and I share a look as we go through the remains of the kitchen and vast dining area, finding the stairs as the only part of the house left fully intact. Some door gets slammed shut on the floor above us and we quickly run up the stairs to find one door on the entire floor shut tight while all the others have been broken down or torn off. Our father's sound-proof office. "Where's Alex?" I ask quietly, in case Carmen had left him back in our danger-filled home.
"He's in the safe house with the other kids and some women." She murmurs back, casting her gaze upon the broken handle on the office's door. "We're going to have to kick this down," Carmen says, and with a sigh, I agree. So much for being our mother's saving grace. We won't have stealth on our side this time. With a countdown from three, we simultaneously kick the door, the force of us two siblings strong enough to tear the door right off its hinges.
"Ahh! Right on time!" Jorge exclaims excitedly as he rolls around the room in my dad's office chair. My mom's chained down by her arms and legs to the thick wooden desk, and on the side are seven men holding two sets of chains. "Where was I?" He drawls, waving his hand and we're abruptly grabbed by four pairs of hands and forced to stand across from our mom. Our mom who's sprawled across dad's desk, her protruding belly sticking out like a sore thumb and her legs dangling, restrained, off the edge of the table. Tears stream down the sides of her face and her wrists and ankles are bloodied from fighting the chains. Her legs were spread open and her dress is barely able to cover her properly. I wince at the sight of my mom in such a vulnerable state.
Where was dad? The fierce Alpha who'd do anything to protect his mate?
"Oh, right!" Jorge snickers, getting off his chair to walk over to our mom. Carmen and I struggle to get away from the arms that hold us in place but we can't. And so we're forced to watch as Caine's father trails his hand down my mother's body until he reaches her baby bump. He smacks it and mom cries out, even more tears falling off her once-serene face. Why is Jorge doing this? Just because he didn't get my mom who didn't even rightfully belong to him in the first place, so many years ago?
"Back to how I found out about this little secret mutt in your stomach. Why, I found out just today when you saved my pathetic excuse of a son. He saw you and it wasn't hard extracting information out of him. He talks nonstop! Oh the things that idiot boy will do to impress me!" Jorge throws his head back and laughs loudly, before ripping a peace of mom's summery dress off. "It just made me mad though, because you've always been my property."
"Mnfffmma!" Carmen cries out in muffled voice, her face wet with tears too. Somewhere between all the guards holding us back, our hands find each other's and we use one another for much-needed support. If only we could break away from these stupid men and protect our mother.
"So I sent a letter to you, hoping that your mate will make you stay at home. But that bastard can't stay away from you so of course he'd take you with him everywhere!" That sounds like a deal my mom would make with my dad to avoid his overprotectiveness and keep him happy. Neither of them can stay apart from each other for very long. It's the Mate Bond. "Instead, I had to convince Colton and Amanda to join me and attack your pack! Of course, they jumped at the idea of revenge! Anyway, they're probably here somewhere, ensuring I get what I want." The despicable man turns to us, leering. "Your mother. And the destruction of all of the filth she produced, and your father." He rips more of her dress off of her, until her body is completely bare to him, nothing but two small pieces of clothing covering her from Jorge's disgusting lust.
Carmen squeezes my hand tightly and the both of us close our eyes, knowing what's about to happen in the next few minutes. Jorge orders his men to wrench our eyes open, wanting the two of us to watch his performance. We fight and fight against the men until we're so tired to fight that the men are holding our exhausted, angered bodies up. At some point, Caine came and helped the four men hold us back too, despite my growls. Our wolves had been unsuccessful in protecting our mother, alongside us. We will never forget what was done to our mom as we were forced to watch but unable to prevent it. We heard Jorge's moans and our mother's screams. We heard and were forced to watch his violation as the torture lasted for more than ten minutes and resulted in our mother, bleeding and bruised.
Another person comes through the same doors we had broken through, launching himself, with a roar, at a half-naked Jorge. But the seven other men seemed to have been awaiting our dad's arrival and they tossed the chains around him, restricting him as well. We watch Jorge continue to use our innocent mother for his pleasure and when he's done, he swivels around, sending a few harsh, welcoming words to our dad. Dad's eyes are completely black as his wolf uses the remainder of their strength to save their mate. "Now that our final guest has arrived and I've finally done what I've always wanted to do, I suppose it's time for my grand finale!"
He picks up a dagger that had been in his pants, which are still on the ground. Caine's slimy, filthy dad turns back around and caresses my mother's unconscious face, gripping and groping down her body until he reaches her protruding belly. With a gloating and victorious smile, he pierces her stomach. Our dad howls in pain at the loss of his unborn child as we scream against the gags that had replaced the hands on our mouths. We tremble as he twists the knife around before pulling it out, blood splaying everywhere. Our mother's eyebrows are scrunched together as a pain-filled expression takes over her face. She still remains unconscious. My dad and I's tears' join those of Carmen's.
Jorge, playing around with the bloody dagger in his hand, walks over to the other side of the desk so he doesn't have to turn around to face us. "Now, should I check what's inside my lovely present?" He leers at our broken mother, shoving his hand through the hole he had made inside her stomach. We whimper as he pulls out various organs, and ultimately, what seems like a little body, still curled up in its fetal position. Straining my ears, I catch onto the sound of a barely beating heart. Our mother's heart.
Beating.
Beating.
And then silence as all hell breaks lose.
Thoughts?
Gruesome, I know, but it explains Lucas's hatred for Melanie's parents and his enmity with Caine and his family. I hope it all makes sense now and if it doesn't, feel free to ask me questions. It doesn't hurt to ask.
I haven't read it over at all yet so feel free to point out any mistakes!