Chapter Fifty--Just A Misstep
Chapter Fifty--Just A Misstep
I didn’t cry at the truth of it. I didn’t react whatsoever. Not outwardly. Inside my head, I curled into a ball. My cat’s being covered me three-hundred-sixty degrees, soothing the kid within who had no self-assurance, no outward beauty that would ever compete. Sadie ravaged every insecure demon that lived inside of me, as her smooth, unblemished face dared me to challenge her. Dared me to see the truth. Again, she hasn’t lied.
Unlike lies, truth smells like a gentle summer breeze, scented by cotton candy and homemade apple pie. She completely believed what she said. Unfortunately, so did I.
I gasped, grappling. Sadie’s eyes narrowed in triumph.
My hold on her hair loosened. I stood, gathering my resolve. Another beauty queen seeking to destroy me, steal my so new sanctuary, polluting the purity I’d discovered. No. I would not allow that. Not when I’d finally begun coming to terms with the insanity that had infiltrated my life.
I petted Sadie’s hair, and she flinched from me. “You don’t get it, infantile cat. Kalvyn wouldn’t have been yours had you killed me. It was already too late.” My monotone scared that tiny, downtrodden fragment of me that remained innocent. T-hat insignificant part remained ineffective to the violence brewing. How dare Sadie think she could play God with our lives? One god was enough. “It’s time to burst your frail bubble. Don’t you know anything about fated mates? I am his one shot. Had I died, he would’ve been left bereaved beyond help, a dead shell incapable of feeling anything, for anyone. Including you.” Her head whipped back, eyes wide, a ping-pong staring match between Kalvyn and I. “You came close to condemning him to a hell on earth, because of your jealousy. So look down on me because you think you’re better than me. Go ahead. All your traits, good or bad, mean nothing here. This isn’t a contest and never was. You lose. I am your master now, and you, my dear Sadie are nothing but my bitch.”
Shell-shocked, the clan paced. Yeah, so what? Apparently I’m a drama queen that dragged out the final verdict. Sue me. I was entitled.
I turned on Bianca. She had lost every ounce of her arrogance. “And you, precious, beautiful, Bianca.” I smiled.
My gums ached. I ran my tongue over remarkably sharp canines. The surprise didn’t reach where I had gone. That night played over and over in my head. The running, the terror, the agony of being eaten alive. The memories fueled me. Rage. So much rage.
“You found revenge against a horrible man, and in doing so, you gained a haven and a family. Kalvyn freely gave you everything I’d ever wanted and would cherish for lifetimes. And you fucked it up. And for what? You had to have more.” I resisted the urge to bite my nails. “And here’s the kicker, in case you didn’t get the point before. Even if you had worshipped the ground he walked on like I will, you still would’ve lost him to me.” Oh, vicious and immature jab? Yeah, that was all me. Still, my cat laughed. I turned to Kalvyn, who watched me with unblinking interest. “Both of you deserve to die.”
My hands burned, as claws extended from nails. Bianca whimpered, but she was the only one who noticed.
At first.
The clan fell back in hisses and yips of surprise.
“She can partially shift,” Syber snarled. “Fuck, Kalvyn, do you know what that means?”
“She’s of Royal blood.” Kalvyn came to my side. “My equal in that, my better in others.”
I paused between the captives. I sunk my fingers into their hairlines, continuing my progression, dragging my claws down their faces in jagged slices pas their necks. Only one cry reached me, for Bianca had no vocal cords she was able to use.
“I have decided their punishment.”
“What do you proclaim, my beautiful mate?” Kalvyn said gruffly. Was that pride in his voice?
“There are existences much worse than death. In dying, your pain is over. It’s a coward’s way out. You must live with your crimes, everyday, accompanied by solid reminders of them. Each time my almost murderers look into a mirror, they will see their beauty ravaged, stolen from them, and know they failed to kill me. They will know the suffering they would’ve extended my mate, by leading a hollow existence.”
The captives shoulders shook with their sobs. Surely, the pain wasn’t quite that bad, as they knew, as I did, the marks would never fade.
“Bianca, Sadie, you will never attempt to leave the Colbanes, unless the Alpha pair tire of your entertainment to us, and that of our brethren. Because that is what you are now, pawns, docile servants of your own making. You will do exactly what you are told, when you are told to do it. If I ask you to kiss your own ass, you’ll break your own spine to do so without question or hesitating. Have I made myself clear?” I mimicked Kalvyn’s tone perfectly. “Bianca, you may speak.”
“Yes, Alpha,” Sadie wailed.
Bianca slapped a hand over her mouth, her words garbled. I kicked her forward, face first into the ground. I knelt beside her.
“Repeat after me, Bianca. Your wish is my command, Alpha.” I sneered. “Say it!”
She coughed up dirt and grass. “Your wish is my command.”
“Cage these two, and get them out of my sight.” I lumbered to my feet, claws automatically retracting like magic. Syber, Dorian and Roman leapt to do my biding, though I hadn’t issued a formal order. Interesting. I went to Kalvyn’s side, and craned my neck, as the cage was carried out of sight.
Carmen and Lexi huddled together.
He cupped my cheek. “That was…informative.”
“Certainly more than I intended.”
His thumb strummed my bottom lip. “Are you all right?”
I shrugged, pulling my mask around me. “Fine.”
He frowned. “I can’t believe that.” His arms slid around my back, I rested my cheek on his chest, soothed by the steady beat of his heart. “However, I am here if and when you want to talk about it.”
“I know.” I forced myself to breath past the growing knot in my chest.
My stomach rumbled.
“Come on.” He urged me for the house. “You need a good meal. You haven’t eaten in weeks.”
Urg. How had I survived that?
I wouldn’t let any harm come to you, Katrina. I never will.