Chapter 75

Chapter 75
Maddox

My poor, little sister was sitting in the dirt, but she had this wide, fake grin on her face. It was the kind of look someone gives when they’re trying to pretend everything was fine while their house is burning down.

"Oh, Maddox! It’s so good to see you," she exclaimed, her voice dripping with this sugary, fake sweetness. 

"Truly. How have you been? Are you sleeping okay? You look a little tired. Is running a pack and kidnapping people finally catching up to you?"

I couldn't help it. I let out a short, dry chuckle. It was good to know she still had a bit of humor left

"Stop it, Rhea," I said. "Seriously. Stop being funny. You’re not good at it, and I can see right through the sarcasm. It’s annoying."

Her face didn't just drop, it shifted. The fake smile vanished, and her eyes went flat and cold. It was like a mask falling off a wall. She looked at me with so much disgust I could almost feel it on my skin.

"Fine," she spat. "You want the truth? It’s obvious, isn't it? Even to you? No one could ever be happy with you, Maddox. Not me, not the pack, and definitely not Jesse. You’re like a black hole. You just suck the life out of everything around you."

She started to laugh then. It wasn't a happy laugh. It was a jagged, mean sound that echoed off the damp walls. 

"Imagine being so lonely that you have to lock people in rooms just to make them talk to you. Is that what you want? A house full of people who hate your guts?"

I felt my jaw tighten. My claws wanted to come out, but I forced my hands to stay flat against my arms. I had to control myself. I’m the Alpha. I don't let a girl in chains get under my skin.

"You’re a problem, Rhea," I said, my voice low. 

"You’ve always been a problem. You’re loud, you’re messy, and you have no respect for the way things are supposed to be."

"You’re right! I am a problem! So why am I still here? Why are we doing this song and dance? If I’m such a headache, just kill me. Go ahead. It would be a lot more honest than keeping me in the dark eating moldy bread. Just do it and get it over with."

I looked at her and gave her a small, sarcastic smirk. 

"And why would I do that? I’m not a cold-hearted monster, Rhea. I'm your brother. I believe in family."

She stared at me for a beat, and then she burst out laughing again, but this time she sounded like she was losing her mind. 

"A cold hearted monster? That is exactly what you are! You’re the definition of it!"

She stood up slowly. The chains around her ankles scraped and clanked against the stone floor, making a horrible noise. She walked as far as the chains would let her, which put her only a few feet away from me. 

She was shaking, but not from fear. It was pure rage. Not that I cared if she was angry

"Your delusion is peak, Maddox," she whispered. 

"It really is top notch. You actually sit in your office and think you’re the hero of this story, don't you? You think if you give Jesse enough gifts and act 'nice' for five minutes, he’s going to stop seeing the blood on your hands? He’s never going to look at you the way you want. Never. To him, you’re just the man who killed his world."

I felt something snap inside me. A hot, stinging heat rushed to my face.

"You think I'm delusional?" I asked. I stepped closer, slamming my hand against the iron bars. The sound was like a gunshot in the small cell. 

"You think I'm the only one who's crazy? You're right, Rhea. It was a delusion. It was a total, complete delusion..."

I leaned in, my eyes boring into hers.

"...and so was crying to the Moon Goddess every single night, begging her to bring him back! So was wishing for a miracle! But guess what? She listened. He’s here. He’s in my house. So call me delusional all you want, but I’m the one with the prize, and you’re the one in the dirt."

I pulled away from  the rusted bars of the cell that I was leaning in and I looked at Rhea. She looked pathetic down there, but she still had that fire in her eyes. It was annoying, really.

Didn't she realize she’d already lost?

"You call me delusional," I said, my voice echoing in the damp hall. "You think I’m living in a dream? Let me tell you something, little sister. Every single night, I went out under the moon and I begged the Goddess to bring my mate back. Where were you? I cried like a child. Can you imagine that? Me, the Alpha, crying on the ground?"

"People called me stupid and crazy" I continued. I started pacing the small space outside her bars. 

"They whispered behind my back. Even those dumb fucks who calls themselves elders... those old men who think they know everything. They told me to move on. They called me crazy. They said I was chasing a ghost. But now? Now, look at their faces."

I stopped and laughed. It was a good feeling, knowing I was right and everyone else was wrong. They thought me crazy, jokes on them.

"Have you seen the way the pack looks at him, Rhea? Every time they see Jesse through his window they stop what they’re doing. They stare at him from afar when he isn't noticing. Why do they do that? Because they see it too. They see the miracle. Those pests, those rogues, they took my mate away from me two years ago. They ripped him out of my hands. But the Moon Goddess? She brought my 'delusion' back to life. She put him right back in front of me."

I crouched down so I was at eye level with her. The smell of the dungeon was gross, but I didn't care. I wanted her to hear me.

"If she can do that," I whispered, "if she can bring a dead man back to the living, surely she’s going to make Jesse see the truth. She’s going to make him realize that his only place in this world is right next to me. Right next to his Alpha. It’s destiny. How can you fight destiny? You can't. It’s impossible, isn't it?"

Rhea let out a dry, hacking sound. It might have been a laugh. 

"He’s never going to see you, Maddox. Not the way you want. He looks at you and all he sees is a monster in a crown. You can dress him up, but he’s never going to see you. Never."

I chuckled. It was a dark, mocking sound. I reached through the bars and flicked a piece of dirt off her shoulder. She flinched, and I loved it.

"Oh, Rhea," I said, shaking my head. "You really think you know him, don't you? Because you spent what? a month? A month in some ridiculous, tiny town hiding out with him? You think that makes you an expert on Jesse?"

I stood back up and looked down at her. 

"You’re so wrong. It’s actually kind of sad. You think you have this special bond, but you’re just a footnote in his story. I’m the one who’s going to be there when he finally breaks. And he will break. I’m going to show you, Rhea. I’m going to show everyone."

I felt a rush of excitement just thinking about it. Jesse was stubborn, sure, but everyone has a limit. Everyone gets tired of fighting eventually.

"Once he’s unable to resist me," I said, a slow smile spreading across my face, "once he finally realizes that I’m the only thing he has left... you’ll see. He’ll come crawling. And I’ll be right there to catch him. Do you really think he has the strength to keep saying no forever? Who does he have to turn to? You? You’re in a cage. The others? They’re gone. It’s just me and him, Rhea. Just like it was always supposed to be."

I didn't need to hear her response. I already knew how this ended. I was the Alpha, I had my mate back, and I was going to enjoy every single second of it.