Chapter 37
Chapter 37
“Found this vagabond sniffing around our borders last night,” Warrick says.
Ezra looks up but his eyes
are swollen shut. He has
been beaten up and his face is almost unrecognizable. He is barely conscious.
“W…what does this have to
do with me?”
“You tell me?”
I shake my head. “I don’t
know this man.”
“Okay, so that means he can
die instead of the brat?”
“Why does anyone have to
die?!” I shout.
“Just how things are here.”
“No one has to die just
because I can’t use my power when you want me to. It’s
something I have only done
once or twice. I need time. I’ll get it.”
I quickly glimpse at Colt who is tense. I can see him trying to act normal but I know
him now. He is on the edge and he might just do
something about this.
Warrick paces in front of me. “One thing you have to learn, Casseopea, is that I don’t have patience.” He says. “But I do have a knack for
getting results from my
methods.” He looks at the
guard that holds Ezra. “Kill
him.”
I
gasp. “DON’T YOU DARE!” I growl out when the guard takes out a dagger but just as he takes it out, he lets it go.
“How…” Warrick mumbles
and stares at me with wonder
and confusion at first but
then straightens up and
composes himself. “Congratulations. You’ve saved your mate.”
I glare at him with shock. “You…you knew?”
“Of course. He told us
everything and I was
surprised by all that I
learned last night. You lied to
1. me. You said you didn’t have
a mate.”
“I didn’t…lie. He was not a
mate to me. and I was never
marked.”
“Mh…yet you save him.
“He doesn’t deserve death for
not wanting me!”
“He came all this way
looking for you. I am sure that he wants you now.”
I look at Ezra and I still feel
nothing for him other than
pity now.
“He can’t talk now but he had
a lot to say last night. On that
note…” Warrick looks at
Colt.”
“Alexis, to think that I had
my enemy’s son right under my nose all this time just like they had my daughter under
their nose. It makes me feel
dumb and I don’t like it.”
Oh no. Ezra! What did you
do?!
“I…I am here. I came to be
with you.” Colt says trying to
convince him. “I-”
Warrick puts a hand up.
“Because you were
commanded to. We’ll have a
deeper talk later. Just like I
had with your brother.”
“I knew he was scum,” Beck
mutters with a mocking
smile.
I am panicked. He is going to
torture Colt. What do I do?
This is bad. Why the hell did
Ezra have to go crazy now?! He…he’s going to kill them
both… isn’t he?
“Mh, this day has turned out
to be fun.” Warrick mutters
and then suddenly, the kid
next to him is dead with just a swing of the dagger in his
hand.
“No…you said… no one had to die!”
“I lied. I was going to kill him either way.” Warrick says as if it was nothing.
My eyes flicker watching the
young man on the floor
bleed out, his eyes still
opened.
“You…you…AAH!”
Without thinking, I pick up the dagger that the guard dropped on the floor and throw myself at Warrick. He immediately holds my hand
as I wrestle to plunge it into
his heart. No one in the
room moves a muscle to try and stop me but they do
look shocked.
Warrick laughs. “Haha!
There’s that fire! You are
definitely your mother’s
daughter!” He says with excitement. “But enough.” He
twists my arm. I have to let the dagger go as he almost breaks my wrist and then he slaps me. I fall back and immediately a guard holds
1. me.
Behind me, I can hear Colt growl. Victor and a guard
hold him down.
“Don’t touch her! Colt
shouts.
“Aww, she is all you care
about, isn’t she?.” Warrick sits
on top of his desk with a
smile and looks at me. “So let
me get this straight. You are sleeping with your mate’s
brother? The man who
brought you to me. The man
I ordered to bring you to
me.”
I am confused as he says this.
“The man I ordered to woo
you so that you had
something to keep you here.”
“It’s not like that Cass!” Colt
shouts.
“You…you lied…” I say as my eyes find Colt’s.
“I…no. I love you! I do!” He
sounds desperate. “He did
order me to- to romance you
but that was when I came
back. I already had feelings for you. I love you, Cass!”
“But…you…were ordered to bring me here?”
“I…I’m sorry. My orders for these three years were to find you, his daughter. Once I
did…I didn’t want to bring
you back and I never
intended to. Since I was so far away from him, the
command didn’t seem to
work well. But once we got
caught, once we were so near
him…I had no choice.”
“Ahh, yes…one of the
downsides of our power.
Prolonged distance.” Warrick
mutters.
Colt continues. “Cass, I swear! It was never my real intention to bring you here.
“But you did. “Warrick says. “I spent years believing that you–my daughter- were still alive even if your mother wasn’t. Alexis…Colt, spent three years searching for you under my orders.
And do you know what the funny part was? I didn’t
know who he really was until
now.” Warrick laughs.
He motions to the guards holding me to let me go. It feels like all my strength has left me.
“So…you all lied to me right from the beginning?” I ask.
“It was quite easy really. You are such a naive little thing. So pure. Even fell for Alexis’s
sweet talk.”
“No! That was real!” Colt
shouts. “Cass! That was real!
Please believe me!”
I feel so betrayed.
Everything was a lie but I feel even more stupid
because I still believe Colt
now. I know it was real. I
know it. I can feel his
emotions even now but I am
angry. He lied. He could
have told me all of this a
long time ago and I would have played along. I would have helped in any way.
I look at Warrick and I feel
much more anger now. This man is trying to ruin me. He is trying to take what little I have left in me to fight. But I am not letting that go. I am going to cling to it until the
day I die.
“Garret, take Alexis…wait, I
keep calling him that.
Take…Colt to the black
room.”
Garret nods and proceeds to
take Colt away.
“Cass! Cass!” Colt shouts as
he is dragged out of the
room.
I can’t look at him right now but I force myself because I
care for this man and I don’t
know what is going to happen to him.
“Don’t give up on me, Cass! I
love you! I really do!”
I give him a nod even though I am angry at him
but this seems to relieve him
just a bit.
“As for this one, take him to
one of the doctors before he
dies.” Warrick motions to Ezra. “He is still my
daughter’s true mate and not
to mention, a bargaining chip against my enemies.”
Bargaining…
“And so is Colt!” I quickly say.
“So is Colt…it would be
stupid to kill him.”
Warrick smiles. “Oh, I know.”
I almost feel relieved because
I am sure he is not going to just kill him but…I am afraid of what he is going to do to
him.
“I’d be more concerned with yourself, daughter. You tried to kill me. You wouldn’t be
the first one who wanted me
dead. I am sure everyone in this room wishes my demise one way or another. But you are the only one who has had the balls to try it. I am
impressed but, that is not
going to save you from
punishment.”
I get my composure back. I
am done trying to act
obedient. I am not afraid of
this man anymore, I am
angry.
“You are horrible. A monster and I am ashamed to be your daughter! I wish I had never
known!” I scream.
He entangles his hands in my hair and lifts my head up but doesn’t pull.
“I am going to break you.
You will learn to follow in
line.”
I give him a defiant smile.
“You can try. Give it your
best shot.”
All my life I have been punished for just existing. There is nothing that I can’t
take.
His smile falls and looks just
a bit worried for once.
“Victor, take her to the stage.” He says. “Treat her just like every other who has been
punished there.”
Victor nods and with one of
the guards, he lifts me up
and takes me out.
taken to the small wooden
stage where there are poles standing tall with a few
people chained around
them. They are n*ked and
bleeding with marks on their
backs.
“Clear the stage,” Victor says
to the guards.
The poor souls are taken away and I am now chained to the pole alone. The chains are about three feet long so I can move freely just a bit but I am unable to turn away from the pole and look out
to where the stage audience
should be. I do look back but
there is no one spectating.
There is no one to spectate since everyone here is being punished just like me.
Victor comes close and
checks the shackles on my Content provided by NôvelDrama.Org.
wrist. He looks at me as if he
wants to say something but then looks away. I swear
almost saw some remorse
there but his stoic expression
comes back fast. He steps
behind me and suddenly,
my clothes are ripped off
until he leaves me
completely n*ked.
I know I am getting whipped.
There is a pause from him. I
look back and see him
staring at my back, at my
scars.
“Do your worst,” I mutter.
He moves the hair away
from my back to my front.
Somehow, I am not afraid. I have been through this
before and I know
eventually, it ends, though I
am pretty sure this will be worse than all my other
beatings but I will survive it.
I am used to this.
I look back and see one of
the guards hand Victor a wire cable instead of a whip.
It is like a whip but made out
of wired metals that I am
sure are intertwined with silver. This is definitely different than all my other
whippings.
I wrap the chains around my hand and hold on tight. Closing my eyes, I mentally prepare for it. I inwardly talk to myself and my wolf.
It’s going to hurt…but you
can handle it. I can handle it.
I’ll get through this. We are
strong…
The crack of the whip
invades my ear before the
pain even registers. My body jumps and I hiss.
I am strong! I scream in my
head.
Another swing comes down.
“Ah! Mh…” I give a quick scream and immediately
muffle it.
I am okay! This will end. This is pain and pain always ends. This…this doesn’t scare
me anymore. I…am strong.
Suddenly, that seems to click in my head.
I… I am strong. I can handle this. How many people can really say this?
I suddenly start laughing but the pain of another swing stops me though it doesn’t detear my thoughts.
They won’t break me. They can’t! All these years, I have
been built for this.
I laugh out loud again. I am sure that I look like a crazy person right about now. But
I don’t care because this is it.
This is the moment I realize
how strong I am. I will not break. I am not fragile
anymore. I haven’t been in a long time. Nothing will take
me down now, I can take
whatever they throw at me. They all have no idea what they have created. Let them whip me, punish me, hurt me, scar me, let them try to
make a fool of me.
Will. Not. Break.