\[Elise’s POV\]
Blood. All I can see and taste is blood—the blood of the man that I truly loved with everything I had. However, he never loved me. I was a fucking fool to believe that he actually cared, and as I continue to rip him apart, everyone who used me and abused me flashes through my mind, from him to the one before him to the humans that shunned me for being a monster, and finally the parents that threw me away.
Like a tornado in my mind, they swirl around, blending, unblending, and blending again until I can't tell one from the other.
Lifting my head, I let out a pained howl that echoes around me while my heart shatters into a thousand tiny pieces that will never be able to be put back together.
It was agonizing knowing that even after all of this, I was still nothing more than a tool and a monster. Where I thought I had finally found the place I belonged, I found that it was nothing more than another dark memory.
Again, another howl escapes me, but as this one does, a set of arms wrap tightly around me.
Snarling, I snap my gaze toward the one who is touching me and find Denali pressed against my side, holding me so tightly that it is almost like her life depends on it.
“It’s okay,” she whispers, lifting her blue gaze that matches mine so damn much. “It’s going to be okay.”
It was going to be okay? Was she out of her fucking mind? I was a monster, a murderer, and good for absolutely nothing. How was any of this going to be okay? Fucking bleeding heart, woman! Didn’t she see that there was absolutely no saving me?
Growling, I attempt to shake her off, but she holds tight, burying her face in my fur. Where it touches, I can feel wetness, and I soon realize that she is crying.
Why? Why was she doing this when I was responsible for so much of her suffering? Was she crazy? A Masochist? I didn’t fucking know, but with each passing minute, I feel something bubbling up in me. It’s an unpleasant feeling that I haven’t felt in years, and as it grows stronger, my urge to run away does as well.
‘Let go!’ I hiss finding that I can easily connect with her through mindlink. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’
‘It’s okay,’ she whispers, holding me tighter. ‘It’s all okay now.’
‘Are you out of your mind?’ I growl, attempting to shake her off again. ‘Let me go!’
No! This shouldn’t be happening. Why were things turning out like this? Not only was I actually feeling some sort of emotion toward my sister, but I killed Alexander. I completely fucked up, and now the only other way this could go was my death.
‘Dammit!’ I snarl, beginning to stand. ‘I said…’
I don’t get to finish my words before a growl of warning rips through the room and something sharp is pressing against my neck.
“Continue what you’re fucking doing, and I’ll kill you!” Rosco snarls as Denali lifts her gaze to him. “And if you think I’m joking, you’ll see that I’m not.”
“Don’t!” Denali gasps, loosening her hold so she can reach out and wrap a hand around the blade to protect me. “She isn’t evil! She is just…”
‘I am,’ I counter, wanting all of this to just end. ‘I killed many people, all for my own gain. I’m beyond redemption.’
“You aren’t!” Denali counters, tightening her hold on the blade so that blood begins to fall. “You were manipulated into doing all those things. Alexander took advantage of your need to be accepted and used it to your advantage, but you’ve also done good!”
Good? What fucking good did I do?
“You saved me,” she continues when I don’t speak. “Didn’t you say you were the one that saved me when I tried to kill myself?”
‘I…’ I begin. ‘I did that for Alexander.’
“No matter,” she pushes. “You saved me when you could have left me to die.”
What in the hell was she doing? Why was she doing all of this for a sinner like me? Even if I went along with whatever the hell it was that she was trying to do, I would only end up in prison for the rest of my life if I wasn’t killed first.
“This has gone on long enough,” Rosco huffs, ently loosening Denali’s hand. “She is a criminal and, as such, should be punished by the law.”
‘He’s right,’ I agree, feeling everything in me give up. ‘Even if I did some good, I’m still a villain.’
Sighing, I begin to shift back to my human form and then collapse on the ground. I was tired. So fucking tired after everything. After such a long life of struggle, I just wanted to be finished.
“Marty has called for help,” Rosco continues, pulling Denali into his arms.
Instantly, a wave of jealousy rushes through me as I wish so damn badly that it could be me and Alexander one day. And even if not Alexander, my mate, I couldn’t even have that because my mate was in love with someone else.
“Just do what you want with me,” I murmur, curling up on the floor. “I’m so tired.”
Closing my eyes, I listen to the world around me until arms wrap around me once more, and then a body. Where it touches, it is so warm. I’ve never felt something so warm and comforting, and before I can even think about it, I’m turning and snuggling into her.
“It’s alright,” Denali murmurs, beginning to run her hand across my hair. “You will never be used or hurt again.”
For the first time in my life, I feel like I can actually trust the words that I’m feeling, and as she repeats them again, I feel the tears begin to fall.
I don’t know how long I lay there in Denali’s embrace, letting every fucking tear I tried to hold back so many years fall before the ground beneath us shakes from law enforcement.
“Shit.”
“What the hell?”
“Are you serious?”
The voices echo around us, and when I lift my gaze to take everything in, I know that my moment of comfort is over.
Untangling myself, I give Denali a smile before getting to my feet and then holding my wrists out in front of me.
“Office,” I say, knowing what needs to be done yet. “Please arrest me.”
“Arrest you?” He repeats in confusion. “Why would…”
“I helped bring these people here,” I explain, letting my gaze take in the cages and the people in them. “So please, take me to prison.”