Chapter 113 Chapter 113 – Bitterness

Chapter 113 Chapter 113 – Bitterness

Lilly's POV

“Wake up, you worthless piece of shit,” Angelica’s furious voice echoed loudly in my ears. I ignored her and focused on breathing. My whole body was still limp, but I was slowly regaining feeling in my fingertips—the drug was gradually wearing off.

Angelica kicked my leg and hissed. I could only imagine her green eyes full of resentment.

“I don’t have all day!” she snapped, grabbing my hair and yanking my head back. “You’re wasting my precious time! Open your eyes and look at me!”

I ignored her again. For once in my life, I was in control—even in my weakened state.

“I wonder why she’s in such a hurry,” Asena’s voice filled my mind, and I shifted my focus to her.

“Why do you seem unaffected?” I asked, my head rolling from side to side.

“The drug doesn’t affect me,” Asena replied. “I guess she believes I’m bound.”

“Are the pups okay?” I asked, worry nipping at my insides. “Are they safe?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Adira’s spell is keeping them safe. It’s only your human body that’s affected.”

“Wake up! You’re making me late for Sade and Lex’s mating ceremony!” Angelica yelled, her hand connecting sharply with my cheek. My head snapped back from the impact.

“Fine!” she snarled. “I’ll wake you up the old-fashioned way!”

The next moment, a bucket of cold water was dumped over my head. I gasped for air, coughing as I struggled to catch my breath.

“Finally!” Angelica exclaimed. “Took you long enough!”

I pried my heavy eyelids open, my mind still hazy and my body limp. I tried to move, but thick ropes bound my wrists and ankles to a battered wooden chair. The rough rope bit into my skin.

I moaned. “Where am I?”

I forced my eyes to focus, seeing flickering firelight dance along the peeling walls of an old cottage. Shadows curved and twisted across the room.

Angelica stood before me, her eyes glittering with malice.

“Awake, finally. Good. I was hoping you’d have the decency to die quietly, but I see you still like to be difficult.”

Whatever she gave me hadn’t killed me. Adira’s protection spell must be working, even if I was left weak.

I forced my expression blank, swallowing my fear. “What do you want, Angelica?”

She threw her head back and laughed like a madwoman, the sound echoing off the decaying walls. “You should have stayed the obedient little slave, Lilly. You never knew when to keep your head down. And now—now I have to get rid of you.”

She stalked closer, heels clicking against the warped floorboards. She grabbed my chin, pulling my face closer. “You always thought you were something special, didn’t you? But now, while you’re tied up here, my precious princess is wearing your mating gown, marrying Lex in the temple as we speak.”

My heart clenched. “You’re lying.”

She grinned wider, a twisted parody of sympathy. “Why would I lie? Sade looks so lovely in white. Lex thinks he’s meeting you—how sweet. But you’re here, and you’ll die here.”

“Where’s Damien?” I demanded, desperation sharpening my voice. “If you hurt him—”

Angelica scoffed. “Damien? Oh, please. I never touched the little brat. He was just bait. You made it almost too easy.”

A wave of cold washed over me. My brother was safe—or so she claimed. Her story had always been about me. About Lex.

My gaze was drawn to the black medallion around her neck as it caught the firelight.

“Is that Adira’s coven’s onyx medallion?” Asena asked.

“There’s only one way to find out,” I replied, shifting my attention back to Angelica.

“What’s that?” I asked, voice low, eyes fixed on the medallion around her neck.

“What, this?” She fingered the medallion, and I nodded.

She smiled, her fingers brushing the obsidian stone with pride. “Do you like it? Vito gave it to me himself. It’s more precious than you can imagine. It belonged to his old coven.”

A chill slid down my spine, not from fear but from excitement.

“Vito? Why would he trust you with something like that?”

Angelica leaned in, her gaze feral. “Because he knows what I’m capable of. Because he needs me. But I need you out of the way. If Lex marks Sade tonight, while she wears your gown, the ritual will be complete. And then, I can bring my lover back.”

“Axel?” I asked.

“No!” she spat, disgusted. “Vito. He’s Sade’s father. Didn’t you know?”

Goddess, did that mean Sade was a halfbreed? Did she have any magic?

“If she did,” Asena said, “she wasn’t very good at it.”

“Sade’s magic will increase tenfold when Lex marks her,” Angelica continued. “She’ll be able to open the gates and release him back into the world.”

I shivered at the thought.

Her gaze shifted to me. “If you hadn’t meddled on the night of the full moon, Lex would have marked her already.”

I hadn’t done anything. Lex was the one who sought me out and marked me.

“How... how did Sade get Lex’s mark on her nape?” I asked. “How did she trick him into believing she was his mate?”

Angelica laughed—a sound like broken glass.

“It was easy, really,” she said.

I stared up at her, waiting for an explanation, but she paused, a vile smile on her lips.

“She drugged him on the night of the blood moon. Sade found him standing alone at the bar. He was distracted for a moment, and she slipped a potion into his drink. When he picked it up and drank, she chanted a spell.”

Angelica came closer, her face inches from mine. “As soon as he touched her hand, the spell began to work. It created a bond between them. The blood moon should have sealed the deal…”

She abruptly moved away, her face twisting in anger.

“But the potion didn’t work as fast as you predicted?” I asked, anger boiling inside me.

Angelica scoffed, jaw tight.

“No,” she said. “Sade’s magic isn’t as strong as her father’s. Then Lex ran off before she could get him to mark her.”

The air seemed to thicken, each word sinking into me like a stone.

Angelica stepped back, shaking her head. “We planned everything down to the finest detail, even manipulated the girls to make sure you left. We sent a rogue to kill you.”

I could see the bitterness in her eyes. She hated that I had survived.

“Somehow you managed to Tango to the Alpha’s Heart, just like that pesky Emily did with Alpha Alexander.”

“What the hell is she going on about?” Asena snarled in my mind.

“I don’t know,” I whispered.

“Ask her!” Asena ordered.