Chapter 58 A MOTHER’S LAST STAND
Ginnie
“Lily?”
My voice echoed down the narrow hallway, thin and brittle against the stone walls as I hurried toward the staff quarters room. I kept my steps quick but careful, my breath coming out in shallow gasps as if the air itself had turned heavy.
The villa was eerily quiet today. And no matter how much I hated to admit it, it was all because of that damn charade of a wedding.
“Lily?” I called out her name again, this time louder.
No answer.
I needed to get here so we could leave. This was the only chance we would ever get to escape this villa and Bleeding Rose forever. My heartbeat began to pound against my ribs, sharp and insistent. Lily was never this quiet, by now she would have heard my voice.
She sang when she played. Talked to herself when she thought no one was listening…laughed a little too loud for a six-year-old child even. Silence was not her nature.
A cold shiver crawled up my spine as the hallway stretched endlessly ahead of me. I slowed as I reached the door to our quarters, stunned at the sight of the door slightly ajar.
“Lily…?” I whispered, fear creeping into every part of my bones. I pushed the door open and my whole world stopped instantly.
A masked man stood in the center of the room, his arm locked tightly around Lily’s small body. He was tall—too tall—his presence filling the space like a nightmare given form. His face was hidden beneath a dark mask, smooth and expressionless, but his eyes gleamed through it—sharp, intelligent, cruel.
“M—mummy!” she screamed.
One of his hands was wrapped around her chest, pinning her arms uselessly to her sides. Her tiny feet dangled above the floor, toes scraping helplessly against the air. The man’s claws strung out. Long. Sharp. Gleaming.
They rested against her throat with casual precision, pressing just enough to draw fear-strangled whimpers from her lips. Her face was red, swollen from crying, tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking into the fabric of her dress as her little hands clawed weakly at his arm.
“Please,” I sobbed, the sound tore through me like a blade as I dropped to my knees, lifting my shaking hands in surrender. “Please don’t hurt her. I’ll do anything—anything you want. Just let her go.”
My voice cracked completely, desperation shredding what little composure I had left.
“So dramatic,” the man chuckled, his voice low. Mocking. He tightened his grip slightly, just enough to make Lily gasp. “You had one job…one little job to do and you couldn’t even get that right, huh?”
My heart slammed violently against my chest, “I-I needed more time,” I pleaded, crawling closer on my knees, ignoring the way the stone marble floor scraped my skin. “Please. I swear…I swear I’ll get the Alpha seal today. I will. Just give me one more chance.”
“Mummy, it hurts,” Lily whimpered, her breathing rising and falling in uneven gasps. “Please make him stop.”
I crawled closer, my hands pressed flat to the floor in complete surrender to him. “Let my daughter go!” I begged again, my voice breaking. “She’s just a child. She doesn’t even understand what this is about. Take me instead. Hurt me. Kill me if you want—just let her go.”
The man tilted his head.
Slowly.
As if considering my offer, “You?” A bitter laughter escapes through him, louder this time. “You’re not valuable enough. You already failed once,” he continued coldly. “And I don’t show mercy to people who fail me.”
His claws pressed closer to Lily’s skin.
“Mummy!”
Lily’s cries turned frantic as she struggled harder. “Let me go!” she sobbed. “Let me go!”
“There’s nothing you can do now,” he said calmly, “Because I’m going to kill both mother and daughter right here. Slowly, and I want you to feel every second of—“
A squelchy sound echoed through the room before the man could finish. Lily bit him. Hard. Her small teeth sank into his hand with everything she had.
“You little bitch!” The man cursed out in pain, pure rage ripping from his throat as the pain shocked him into loosening his grip.
Lily slipped free, stumbling toward me. I caught her instantly, crushing her to my chest, “You need to run baby,” I screamed into her hair. “Run now!”
“No!” She shook violently, clinging to me. “I won’t leave you with this monster, Mummy!”
“Lily, listen to me!” I shouted, panic tearing through my voice, “You need to run and find Mister Varkos. Find him and tell him that I’m in danger. Go now!”
But it was already too late. The man had recovered too fast, lunging towards Lily to stop her fork escaping from his grip again.
Before my brain could think, I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his leg with everything I had.
“LILY, RUN!” I screamed.
Without hesitation, Lily turned and ran. Her footsteps echoed wildly as she disappeared down the hallway. Relief washed through me instantly to know that she was safe now…at least especially since she was going to meet Varkos.
“You stupid fucking human!” The man growled, pain exploding through my body as his boots slammed into my stomach.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Each brutal kick knocked the air from my lungs, sharp and merciless. I gasped helplessly, choking as white sparks burst behind my eyes.
Still, I gripped his leg even tighter. He grabbed my hair and yanked my head back brutally, forcing my face up to meet his eyes. “You think you’ve won, huh?” he snarled, “You’ve just earned yourself a very painful death at my hands.”
He slammed me into the wall.
My head meeting the stone walls with such a violent force stars exploded through me. I slid to the floor, barely aware of my own body.
“I’m going to make your death unforgettable,” he whispered, gripping my chin painfully, forcing my face up. “Painful. Slow. Just like you deserve.”
A flicker of something crossed his eyes.
Then fury returned. But before I could get a chance to breathe, the man’s fist came down again. White light consumed everything, the last thing I saw was his smile—wide, vicious, triumphant as he towered over me.
Then—
Darkness swallowed me whole.