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His brown eyes rested on me with hatred, his handsome face bearing a smirk. He held a whip in one hand and pushed up the sleeve of his shirt with the other. ‘My pleasure, Thomas,’ he said, his eyes never leaving mine. ‘Tali,’ his voice dripping with malice.
‘Knox,’ I replied, my voice trembling. ‘I trusted you.’
‘You see, Tali,’ Knox sneered, taking small steps towards me. As if saying my name burned his tongue, he spat it out. My hands trembled as he walked closer, until he was mere feet away. It wasn’t because I was scared of him; it was because I was shocked to realise that he had played a part in all this mayhem. ‘You should be really careful with whom you trust. Take this as a learning experience.”
I felt bile rise in my throat as I glared at him. I could feel my eyes glowing, the first sign that my wolf wanted to come out. My skin began to ripple and the familiar white fur sprouted in patches on my arms. My gums itched as my canines appeared and retracted repeatedly. My fingers curled and my nails turned sharp. I could hear the low growl of my wolf, eager to escape. However, I held her in, soothing her with quiet words.
My father and Knox just chuckled, and the sound sent chills up my spine. ‘Well, would you look at that? She can barely control herself,’ my dad snickered.
‘I thought Healers were strong, huh, Tali?’ Knox said almost angrily. He obviously hated my kind — those who could heal and who only wanted to help werewolves.
‘She’ll be stronger than you’ll ever be,’ I heard my mum say in defence. She struggled in her chains, trying to break free. She gritted her teeth as wolfsbane burned her flesh.
“Shut up, you weak imbecile!” My father shouted, coming up close to her and slapping her hard across the face. My mother growled, baring her canines.
My heart dropped as a few tears escaped my eyes. I was too shocked to react. This couldn’t be the same father who used to tuck me in at night and kiss my forehead. The same father who taught Elias how to play baseball? The same father who kissed his wife and murmured words of affection to her when he came home.
‘If you touch her again, I swear I will slap you harder than you ever slapped her,’ I threatened, wiping away my tears angrily.
‘Ouch, your words hurt me,’ he said sarcastically. “Is that any way to speak to your dad?”
‘You are no father of mine, understand?’ I said, pointing a finger at his chest, feeling my wolf wanting to come out again. For a split second, I saw hurt flash in his green eyes. However, I let it slide. After all the crap he put me through, he deserved it. ‘What kind of father puts his daughter in danger?’ What kind of father kicks his daughter just because he found a woman he didn’t like? What kind of father teaches his son how to treat a woman properly when he can’t do it himself? You’re not a bastard.”
I stood protectively in front of my mum. “A lady?” My father snorted. ‘She’s an animal, and because of her, my kids are too.’
I bared my teeth; I was already fed up. I took a fighting stance, trying to ignore the constant growling of my wolf, eager to break free from the tight confines of my skin. That’s when my father flinched back a little and Knox took his place protectively.
Now it was my turn to chuckle. ‘Oh, I forgot. He’s human. Weak and powerless,” I said confidently. “So, tell me, Thomas. Why come here as an easy target? Don’t you think I’d come for you right now?’
‘You wouldn’t dare touch a single hair on my head, Talia,’ my father said, his voice never quivering. ‘That’s just in your nature, and if you did dare, Knox would not hesitate to kill you. Is that right, son?’ He patted Knox on the shoulder in a fatherly manner as Knox nodded.
‘So, now you’re calling him “son”? Better watch out, Knox; before you know it, he’ll abandon you too.” This caused him to tremble. He snapped at me, baring his teeth. I rolled my eyes. Somehow, I didn’t feel scared anymore. There was a calming presence around. “Can I ask one question for both of you? Why?”
They seemed to know exactly what I was asking and smirked.
‘Easy. I hate you creatures. You’re the ones who killed my brother, remember?” Thomas stated. ‘When I married your mother, she knew all about it, but she hid her identity for a long time. That was until Elias changed for the first time. Then I got into a fight with her. She got angry and turned into a creature before my eyes. That was the real reason for the divorce. I didn’t want to be married to an animal.”
“So why didn’t she come after us? Why didn’t she kill us?” I said, trying to swallow the sad and angry feelings that overwhelmed me.
“It wasn’t the right time. That was until I found Knox.” He patted his shoulder again. Now it was Knox’s turn to speak.
All the while, Knox glared at me until he unclenched his fists and crossed them over his chest. ‘It happened two years ago when my mum and dad tried to exterminate a pack they hated once and for all. They were doing it for the sake of the Eclipse Pack. However, they were too weak. I lost both my parents that same day. Do you know how they died, Tali?” Knox shouted in my face, his whole body trembling. For a brief second, I felt his pain. He lost both his parents. I couldn’t imagine what life would be like if my mum died. It was a terrifying thought. He continued, “One word: Healers. The bloody Healers killed them, leaving me alone and broken. I was only sixteen. I had no parents – I was lost.”
To make matters worse, Alpha Kieran did nothing about it. All he did was tell me to calm down and say that he would find a way to abolish the Healers for good. But going for the kill wasn’t smart enough. We’d only get ourselves killed. They’re too strong. We need to think about this first,” he said, quoting Kieran. Then he looked away angrily. ‘That was the last straw for me. For a couple of months, I was rebellious towards him, always demanding that he come up with a plan for revenge. As always, I’d back down. Although I was the beta, he was the alpha.
I was angry. I was depressed. I was lonely. That was until I turned seventeen and she walked into our lives. She came from a completely different pack that had recently been wiped out. When our eyes met, I knew we were connected. She was my mate, but she rejected me.” He said this with pain clear in his voice. I cringed, knowing how it felt to realise who your mate was. Nevertheless, I know I’ll never experience the pain of rejection.
“Who’s your mate?” I asked quietly, unable to hold back my curiosity any longer.
‘Why don’t you ask the bitch chained to the wall right now?’ Knox spat, his eyes beginning to water. He looked away, unable to meet the girl’s gaze.
My mouth flew open. “Maren?”
I could see tears spilling from her eyes onto her cheeks. ‘You know, Knox, I loved you. I really did. But I never thought you’d hurt me physically. Who does that to their partner?” She said, gesturing to her body. All the while, Knox never met her gaze. However, I could sense his weakness. ‘All I did was refuse to kill Alpha Kieran, Knox. That’s all I did. You’ve completely lost it. You called me weak, but forgive me for showing respect to someone who welcomed me into their pack. I left you, and then, two months later, on your eighteenth birthday, I came to wish you happy birthday, only to see you with Thomas. I knew something was wrong, and I was right.
You were planning to kill Alpha Kieran so that you could take his place,” she said, her sapphire eyes blazing with anger. I could sense her inner wolf yearning to break free, but it quickly retreated when she caught the scent of wolfsbane. ‘Then you kidnapped me because you were afraid I was going to tell someone, and you punished me for it.’
‘Shut up, you animal,’ Thomas snapped, gesturing to Knox to let him finish.
Knox cleared his throat before saying, ‘I learned how to shut down all my feelings, Tali. That’s worse than feeling nothing at all, but better than feeling pain. Along with that, I learned how to shut down the connection to my pack. Because of that, I had the strength to kill the Alpha and the Healers. This is all thanks to Thomas, of course. He found me and took me in. I owe him my respect.
I felt my blood run ice cold. Kieran dead? I couldn’t even imagine it. The mere thought made my wolf howl in agony and my heart clench tight. A snarl rippled in my chest.
Thomas chuckled and said, ‘We forgot, son, that it’s the bitch’s mate.’ Had my father just called me a bitch?
‘What makes you think Thomas isn’t going to kill you after he kills all of us?’ I snarled at Knox for being so stupid. ‘I mean, you are part of what he hates most of all.’
I saw nervousness flash in Thomas’s eyes before Knox turned to look back at him. He smirked at me as if I were the stupid one. ‘He wouldn’t. I’m his son.”
‘Enough with the chit-chat,’ Thomas sighed, obviously irritated. ‘She’s just trying to buy some time to figure out a plan. Whip her mum and Blondie. Then kill Talia.” He started to walk away, back into the darkness.
“No!” my mum cried. “No, Tali, run!”
Just as Knox picked up the whip that had fallen to the ground, I lost my temper. ‘Don’t you dare touch any of them.’ He smirked again as he picked up the whip. Just as he was about to whip my mum, I grabbed my gun.
BANG!