Chapter Fourteen - Punishment

Shane’s POV.

I watched the moment the truth sank into her and her face expressed the pain and betrayal she was feeling. Her arms were shaking and her eyes had become glassy with tears as she kept staring at the paper.

It tore at my heart to see the expression of heart break etched on her face. Gently, I reached for her but the moment my fingers touched her arm, she jerked away. My heart squeezed painfully but the anger that ripped through me was more than the pain. Her eyes immediately sought mine and I could see the remorse in them, coupled with the hurt swirling in the deep pools of green.

Her father had succeeded in ruining her but I was going to fix her. I’ve been chosen by the moon goddess to be her savior and I’d do anything to keep her safe and heal her of everything the bastard in the dungeons had put her through. But then, I’d make sure he pays dearly for it.

“Anna…” I called, gently taking the paper from her and tossing it to the floor.

She kept staring at me with glassy eyes and trembling lips.

“M-may be the doctor made a mistake?” she finally asked in a voice so small that I could barely hear her.

I watched her quietly without a response because she was just so loving and compassionate. Even in her distress, she still wanted to make an excuse for him, to believe that he’d never intentionally ruin her life.

It angered me more that the man who was meant to keep her safe had messed with her both mentally and physically.

Gradually, I closed the distance between us and tried placing my arms on her shoulders but I saw the way she tensed just from how close I’d gotten that I had to rethink my decision.

“The doctor must have made a mistake.” She shook her head, a lone tear sliding down her cheeks as she shut her eyes. “He can’t… he can’t be that cruel. He once treated me like I was his little princess and I know that lovely man is still there, inside him some…”

“Anna,” I snapped, titling her chin until she was forced to open her eyes. “He hurt you, Angel. You don’t deserve to still believe in him or even have an atom of compassion for that monster.” But it seemed she was convinced he could never lie to her and it annoyed me the most.

She was too trusting and gullible.

“He wouldn’t…”

“I can’t fucking touch you, not even to hold your arm,” I bellowed, getting annoyed at the reality that I have to force her to see her father for who he was.

She tensed and as if my words had just properly sank into her, she broke into sobs, burying her face in her palms. Her soft sobs sailed into my ears, filling the room and the sound made my chest tighten, my heart squeezing painfully.

I could feel Axel seething with anger but a low whine came from him when I continued watching Anna helplessly. All I wanted to do was to pull her in my arms and console her until she’d cry her evil father out of her system but at the same time, I was scared of frightening her and having her put more distance between us.

Slowly, I reached for her shoulder, squeezing softly as her body continued trembling while she cried.

“Angel…”

Her sobs only increased as if she couldn’t hear me. At one point, I couldn’t take it anymore. Throwing caution to the wind, I closed the distance between us and gently wrapped my arms around her, being careful to hold her lightly to not make her feel uncomfortable. As if she needed my comfort, she pressed her face to my chest and continued crying but she made no move to hold me back but that was fine.

I gently rubbed her back.

“Let it all out, Angel. He doesn’t deserve you.”

Through her distress, I felt her wolf linking with Axel and I felt a dull ache in my chest from the pain she was projecting but I knew it was nothing compared to what Anna was feeling and it only made me feel more helpless. I wanted to take the weight of her sorrow and make her feel better but I didn’t know how to, so I remained quiet, gently rubbing soothing circles on her back, while she cried.

A while later, she pulled away from my hold and her red puffy eyes met mine. I could see the deep sadness in them and it hurt my heart. I saw another lone tear slide down her cheek but I was quick to swipe it off with my thumb. Thereafter, she released a shaky breath, but her gaze fell to the large wet spot on my shirt before she looked up at me again.

“I’m sorry I made your shirt wet,” she sniffed.

“It’s nothing, Angel. I’d always be here for you whenever you need me.”

I expected her to argue but surprisingly, she nodded in agreement. Silence descended upon us but I was comfortable just watching her in her own little world and noticing the different fleeting emotions as they continuously crossed her face. At a point, I noticed her brows drew closer together and her eyes teared up again, with her lips trembling.

“Anna…” I tipped her chin and she willingly glanced at me with tearful eyes.

“He… he lied to me and deceived me,” she barely got the words out before spiraling into another mental breakdown. Without second thoughts, I pulled her into my arms again and she buried her head in my neck, as silent sobs wracked her body. I kept rubbing her back but red-hot anger coursed through as I thought of how long he must have been abusing her and all of the dirty lies he’d fed her while at it. “He… he killed her just to cover up his lies,”

Her words made me freeze, my palm that had been rubbing her back stopping as my heart began beating erratically. It was at the tip of my tongue to ask her more about it but I didn’t want to pressure her at that moment.

“She caught him multiple times,” she whispered in a broken voice, her words dripping with anguish.

By now, my heart was slamming so hard against my chest from the rage that was fuelling my bloodstreams. My free palm balled into a fist, my teeth clenching hard as I waited on bated breath for her to be done with her confession.

“Mom always protected me from him but he killed her when she threatened to report him to the elders,”

Another heart-wrenching sob broke out of her lips, making her body shake uncontrollably as she gripped my shirt tightly, burying her head deeply in my neck as though she was ashamed of herself after the confession.

Seeing her this way hurt me but I couldn’t see past my rage.

“I’d kill him for ever hurting you,” I blurted out through gritted teeth. “I’d hang him on a stake and burn him alive for all to see. He doesn’t deserve to be alive,” I raged on, but her grasp on my shirt tightened as I felt her shaking her head.

“No, please, I can’t. I can’t take the shame. I wouldn’t be able to live with the knowledge that everyone knows of my ugly past,”

Her words were filled with hurt and it angered me more that he’d abused her to this level, making her feel worthless and unwanted.

How could a man that was meant to be her protector be the very evil that she dreaded? How could he have been heartless enough to hurt his own daughter? The more these thoughts plowed my mind, the more it dawned on me how truly despicable he was. And the knowledge that he’d killed his spouse just to hide his dirty secret and the reality that he didn’t even show an ounce of remorse after being caught in the act were all too much for me to handle with a sane mind, and I knew I couldn’t promise Anna what she wanted. I couldn’t assure her that I wouldn’t send him to hell. Until that monster was out of the surface of this earth, I wouldn’t be gratified.

He deserved to burn in hell for the rest of his miserable existence and I’d be glad to punish him.

“Please, tell me you wouldn’t do it,” she pleaded in a soft voice but I remained quiet. She raised her head until her eyes were staring into mine and I felt utterly powerless to her pleading eyes. In response, I nodded subtly because I’d hate to lie to her.

I expected her to pull away from my hold again but she didn’t. She returned to her previous position, seeking solace in my arms and it warmed my heart to know she trusted me enough to feel safe with me. I continued rubbing her back, while mentally planning her father’s demise.