Chapter 36 Chapter 36
Sabrina’s POV
"You and your little bastard. Still alive? I’m so disappointed."
Scarlett’s voice was incredibly sharp and nasty, like nails scratching a chalkboard.
Little bastard. She called Abigail a little bastard?
My own sister, calling my daughter a bastard?
How dare she!
My blood boiled. All the old hate and grudges rushed back at once. She stole my husband. She fucked him in my bed. And now she dared to insult my daughter? My Abigail? The only light in my life. I was going to kill her. I wanted to lunge forward, wrap my hands around her neck, and watch her turn purple. I wanted to watch her beg for mercy. I wanted to watch her die!
I already had my hand on my gun, ready to charge.
But right then—"Sabrina." Kael’s voice came over the comms. It was terrifyingly calm. Like ice.
"Stay." I froze. "The rest of you, retreat with me."
Wait, what?
Everyone else was stunned, too. Mira was the first to react. "What??" Marcus said, "Boss, this..." Garrick added, "We can't just—"
Kael’s voice cut them off. It was even colder now, like a blade. "That is an order. Retreat. Now."
My heart sank like a stone in a well.
I looked toward where Kael was. Even though it was dark and I couldn't see him, I knew he was there. "Kael?" I called over the radio, my voice shaking. No answer. "Kael!" Still nothing.
In my mind, Alec suddenly roared. "That idiot! He’s using you again! He—" Then, silence. He had cut it off by force. My chest felt hollow.
It felt like losing a piece of myself. Kael had severed our connection.
"Every second we waste," Kael’s voice came again, "we risk losing everyone. Go!"
This time, they moved.
Mira looked at me, her eyes full of guilt. But she still turned and ran. Marcus, Garrick, Elena, Hudson—everyone. They were retreating. Their footsteps faded further and further away.
Why?
Why?
Leo and his five fox shifters passed by me from a distance. Leo stopped for a second, looking at me with a complicated expression. Like he was apologizing, or weighing his options. But in the end, he said nothing and walked away without looking back.
I was the only one left in the camp, standing in the center. The moonlight hit me, casting a long, lonely shadow on the ground.
What was going on? Why was this happening?
Derek’s laugh crackled over the radio. "Look at that," he said, his voice dripping with smugness and mockery. "Your blind Alpha abandoned you. Just like I did. Sabrina, you’re just meant to be thrown away by men. You were born to be an outcast."
I gripped my gun, my hands shaking. Not from fear—not of Derek, not of death.
But because of Kael. Why? Why did he do this? Last night... last night we... his hands, his breath. He was so gentle. His hand holding mine, his lips against my neck. He played the violin for me—was it all a lie? Was it all just an act?
So was it a plan from the very start? Taking me in, training me... even last night... what was it all for?
I tried to find an excuse. I tried to convince myself it was a tactic, a necessary sacrifice. That Kael had a plan and would come back for me. But I couldn't say it. He cut it himself. He didn't want to hear my voice. He didn't want to feel my fear. He didn't want any connection with me.
Did he do all of this just to enjoy the moment I'm terrified?
It’s hilarious that I actually thought about letting him in!
Footsteps echoed in the shadows. Many footsteps. Derek stepped out, followed by twenty bear mercenaries. Huge, bulky, and fully armed.
The moonlight hit Derek’s face. He was still as handsome as ever. Gold-brown hair shimmering in the moonlight, blue eyes like gems, a perfect jawline. If you didn't know what was inside him, you’d think he was a prince from a fairy tale. But I knew. He was a demon.
Scarlett was by his side, wearing a tight black leather outfit that showed off her curves. She always had a better body than me. She knew what Derek liked. She had a smile on her face—smug, vicious, the smile of a winner.
Derek stopped ten yards away. He looked me up and down like he was appraising a piece of meat. "Come home, wifey," he said, his voice gentle. But I knew what was hidden under that gentleness. "We have a lot of old scores to settle."
I raised my gun and aimed at his head. "Don't come any closer," I said, my voice steadier than I expected.
Derek laughed. "Are you really going to shoot?"
"I will."
"I don't believe you." He took a step forward.
I pulled the trigger, but I wasn't fast enough. Three bear shifters lunged at me from the side. They were terrifyingly fast. I couldn't even react. A massive weight slammed into me, throwing me to the ground. My back hit a rock, and the sound of bone hitting stone echoed in my ears. The air was knocked out of my lungs. I couldn't breathe.
My gun was snatched away. Huge, rough hands pried my fingers open, one by one, with brutal force. I felt like my bones were going to snap. My arms were twisted behind my back, hard, like a pretzel. My joints popped. I screamed, but a massive palm smothered my mouth.
I struggled with everything I had, kicking at the dirt, trying to flip over and escape. But the bear shifter on top of me was too heavy. At least two hundred and fifty pounds. Like a mountain. My face was pressed into the dirt. I could taste the bitterness of the soil. I wanted to gag.
Another bear shifter grabbed my hair and yanked upward. My scalp burned like it was being ripped off. Tears welled in my eyes. Not just from the pain—okay, it was the pain—but mostly from the humiliation. The rage. The despair.
Derek walked over and knelt in front of me. His hand stroked my face, his thumb sliding over my lips. The touch made me want to vomit. It made my skin crawl. I wanted to bite him, to snap his fingers off, but my jaw was pinned down. I couldn't even close my teeth.
"Don't be scared," he said, sounding like a lover. Gentle, caring. "I'll be soft." He paused, then laughed.
"Psych." His fingers slid to my neck, squeezing lightly. It wasn't hard, but it was a threat. "Do you know how long I’ve thought about this? How to punish you? Every day you were gone, I was thinking about it."
Scarlett walked over with a syringe. Inside was a milky, thick liquid that glowed eerily in the moonlight. She knelt down next to Derek.
"This is a new formula," she said, her voice full of excitement. "It’ll make you feel real good, big sister. Derek paid a lot of money for this. Just for you."
The way she said "big sister" was so sweet and yet so poisonous.
I looked into her eyes. We used to be sisters. I loved her, protected her. But now, all I saw was hate and madness.
I tried to fight, to struggle, to bite her—anything. But the bear shifter’s hand was like a steel vice, holding my head down. Another hand grabbed my jaw, forcing my head up. My neck was exposed.
Scarlett’s hand gripped my chin. Her long, red-painted nails dug into my skin like blood.
The needle pierced my neck. It hurt more than I expected. It wasn't a normal needle; it was thick. I felt it break the skin, tear into the muscle, and find a vein. The cold liquid was injected—like ice water flowing through my body, spreading everywhere.
My body reacted instantly. My heart raced, then slowed down to a crawl. My chest felt tight. I couldn't breathe. The world started to spin. The sky, the ground, Derek’s face, Scarlett’s smile... it all blurred and twisted like a kaleidoscope.
My body felt heavy, like lead. My fingers, toes, limbs—I couldn't feel anything. My eyelids were too heavy to lift. I fought to stay awake, but I couldn't.
Voices started to sound far away. Derek was saying something, Scarlett was laughing, but I couldn't hear them anymore.
In the distance, I heard gunshots. Bang. Bang. Bang. Maybe it was Kael and the others, retreating and fighting. The sounds got further and further away. They were gone. They really left me.
No one came back. No one came back for me. I wanted to scream, to call Kael’s name, but no sound came out of my throat, only a weak whimper.
Tears rolled down my face, hot and mixing with the dirt. They flowed into my mouth—salty and bitter. I didn't know if it was the drug or the heartbreak. The betrayal. The fact that, once again, the man I trusted had thrown me away.
Darkness slowly swallowed me up. My last thought was of Abigail. My baby. Mommy is sorry. Mommy might not be coming home.