Chapter 29 Flames of hatred
ARLENE
My eyes slowly opened when rays of sunlight hit my closed lids. I groaned loudly in pain and stared at the blurry face staring down at me.
The last thing I remembered was falling into the arms of one of my brothers, which meant I was in my Pack.
“Valerie? My back hurts," I whispered, trying to shift on the hard, uncomfortable bed I was lying in.
“Valerie?" I called again, wondering why her blurry face was just up there, staring down at me without moving. This was unlike her.
Slowly, I rubbed my eyes, and the haze faded, revealing the face of the person staring down at me.
My body stiffened, my eyes widened, and my chest tightened in fear and shock as I stared at the face.
It wasn't Valerie, it was…
“Adriana Nox!" I gasped loudly.
“You recognize me? Ah! I forgot we share the same face," she spat out the venom in her.
I gasped again and forced my body out of the paralysis it was subjected to, then jerked up.
“How are you still alive? You should be dead!" I snapped, terrified.
Was this a dream? Surprisingly, it didn't feel like a dream. It felt so real!
She grinned and threw her head back, laughing loudly.
I swung my head around, taking in the environment. We were standing on a mountain surrounded by fire. A lake of fire.
I gasped loudly and staggered back, my body shaking.
She stopped laughing and stared at me with so much hatred in her eyes that it caused my stomach to churn.
“Are you disappointed? That I didn't die just like you wanted?" She snapped, seething in rage.
I shook my head and parted my lips to explain to her why I did what I did, but she didn't give me that opportunity as she rushed towards me.
Despite how fast she was, I was able to slip out of the way before she pushed me down into the lake of fire below.
In the struggle to escape, I fell on the rough ground, and pain shot through my knees.
I groaned loudly in agony and gripped my scraped knees.
“Did you hate me that much, Arlene? You've always taken everything I cared about, as if having me exiled out of my home wasn't enough, you had me killed in a foreign land too,” she growled, and my heart clenched.
I quickly sprang up and spun around, pushing the pain throbbing in my knees aside.
"No, Adriana, you're mistaken–”
"You gave my name out when those people set me up and gave the cops more reason to blame the murder on me!” She groused, and my jaw dropped.
My eyes widened in shock, and I shook my head.
“No, you… You are mistaken–”
"You came all the way to Detroit to do that? Were you so threatened I would take the demon you call a mate?!”
“Adriana! You're wrong, I was never in Detroit. Believe me, I knew nothing about your activities in Detroit, believe me, please,” I pleaded.
She scoffed, swinging her head to the side.
"Believe you?” She muttered and looked at me.
"When you've been nothing but a thorn in my flesh?" She asked, and my heart crushed.
I gripped my dress and dropped my head, tears streaming down my face.
“Adriana… I swear, I've wanted nothing but the best…”
"The roles have been reversed now. I will be a thorn in your life, I will haunt you, alive or dead, I will make you so miserable that you will wish for an end of life, you will burn in fire and fall into a bottomless pit that has no end,” she cursed as she took steps closer.
I should have run far off from her or begged her to stop, but I did none of that. Instead, I stood at the spot, engulfed in guilt and pain.
She gripped my arm, and I gasped loudly.
“What are you going to do?" I whispered in a trembling voice, tears stinging my eyes.
“What do you think?" She muttered.
I glanced at the lake of fire that surrounded us again, my belly knotting in horror.
A smirk dangled at the sides of her dry, peeled lips as she drew her face closer to mine.
“You think you'll be left alone when I'm dead? My ghost will hunt you till the end, Arlene Nox!" She spat.
I had to tell her the truth before she did whatever was on her mind.
"Adriana, listen to me. I did it because–"
“You are going to end the way I did, Arlene. You think my death is the end, but it's just the beginning. You made this fire," she nodded towards the lake, and I looked at it, confused.
“Now… you're going to burn in it!” She spat in my face.
Immediately the words left her mouth, she swung me around and pushed me towards the edge of the cliff. My legs tripped, and I almost fell over, but she gripped my arm, glaring at me with a sinister grin on her face.
I gasped in horror, my heart racing. I slowly craned my neck, and fear gripped me when I saw the boiling fire beneath.
“Adriana!" I called.
“You will feel what it means to burn in fire!" She spat and almost let me go, but I gripped her wrist.
“Before you throw me down, tell me who killed you,” I whispered.
The grin on her face disappeared, and her eyes grew darker.
“Why don't you ask your mate, Miles Sinclair?" she whispered, and my heart stopped beating.
“M-miles?" I gasped in disbelief.
Before I could ask any more questions, she tore my hand off and let go of my arm.
A scream escaped my parted lips as I dropped down from the cliff.
Tears dropped from my eyes as I stared at her fading face, her words ringing a bell in my head.
Miles? Did Miles hurt her? Why would he hurt the woman he loved?
This didn't make sense, and sadly, there was no way I could find out if it was true or not. There was no way I could continue to seek revenge for her.
If only I had treated her better. If only I had been a kinder sister to her, we wouldn't have ended this way, burned down in flames of hatred.
The heat from the flames in the lake burned off my clothes before I fell into the lake of fire and pain, agony, horror, anger, and darkness consumed me.