Athena
There were different voices sounding around me—A convolution of the discussions with words I could barely register. My head was aching as if there was a massive weight someone has permanently put over it. The voices spoke amongst themselves, the conversation sounded distant even though I could feel the presence of the speaking individuals around me as if I was at the centre of attention.
It was a struggle to open my eyes. They felt heavier than stones. I could feel the sweat coating my forehead and my palms, the skin on my wrists burned for some reason and as I made an attempt through my awakening consciousness, I recognized the restraint that tied them together— Ropes. There were ropes around my wrists that kept my hands locked behind the chair that supposedly was made from wood— At least, that's what the cold surface of it told me so.
At first, there was solely nothing in my mind other than the urge to open my eyes and see where I was because the memories of what happened a few hours ago had not crossed my recognition at all. I was in a state of disarray, where my brain could not focus on figuring out anything other than bringing my body to respond to nature.
Whilst I remained buried deep in the struggle to be normal again and get through this haze that was continuously forcing me to fall back into the prior darkness I had just woken up from, the flashbacks burned inside my head, triggering my nerves and I finally managed to get out of the momentary paralysis.
A low gasp tore from my lips as if I had come up to the ground from underwater and my eyes flew open.
"Look, who's awake?" A familiar voice hit my ears, my gaze landed on the blonde woman approaching me, the slow walk very similar to the one, of the day when had first taken me to his mansion.
"Celine...." Her name fell off my mouth on its own as I took in her presence, the effect of the liquid that Julia forcefully injected in my body was still trying to get a hold of me— There was hardly a drop of strength left within me, it would not be a surprise if I fainted again.
"Yes, Celine..." She rested her hands on the handrest of the chair, leaning closer to my face to examine something I couldn't fathom, "Celine Thompson."
For the first few seconds, my murky senses could find no meaning beneath her words but soon, the realisation hit me, harder than I'd expected.
Celine— Celine Thompson.
My eyes widened ever so slightly, shocked and out of words, I stared at her in silence, not knowing how I was supposed to react.
The whole time she was involved with Vincent and stayed with my mate, acting like the most obedient mistress ever, only so that she could help Vincent accomplish his mission because she was his.....
"Just to not put too much pressure over your stupid little head— She's my sister," Vincen's voice sounded from behind and I heard his heavy footsteps approach me.
Out of the blue, I felt his solid hand grasp a fistful of my hair from the back of my head and tilt my face up so that he could look directly into my eyes. All I could notice was the intense want for vengeance.
It was not only revenge he wanted to seek. There was something else flaming in his orbs too— A deep-rooted hatred that was way deeper than he let on.
"What a shame! Such a lovely woman has to be killed for someone else's deeds," He clicked his tongue and traced his finger from the side of my face to the end of my collarbone moving even lower until his hand rested at the left corner of my waist.
Disgust crawled up my skin making me feel nauseous. I tugged at my restraints, trying to set myself free but my struggles brought me no positive outcome.
"Stop struggling, sweetheart," This time it was Julia who spoke, I could see her standing at the corner of this room, casually drinking water from a bottle, "You will not be able to get anything so save that little bit of energy you have got left, you'd be needing that very soon."
The room was nearly empty with broken pieces of old furniture and chairs laying all around; Spider Nets had taken their spots at the corner of the rooms and desks. Judging by the view outside I could see through the glass curtain walls that were all around the room, it was easy to distinguish that we were standing on the floor that was over 600 ft above the ground level.
This place seemed old, almost as if it had been abandoned for years. The only thing stable was the lighting and it looked newly installed. Perhaps one of these three people has done the job anticipating this day.
"I wonder how many days it's going to take until her dear mate arrives," Celine spoke up, stretching out a yawn, "It could get boring. Besides, we don't know how long she will be able to survive without food now that she's pregnant."
"It'd be quite tough for him to get here since our lovely Athena over here has got no wolf who could have helped him to get to her so before that happens, be sure that there would be at least a hundred rogues waiting for his sweet arrival," Vincent laughed, finally letting go of my hair and walking away.
"You guys are so fucking disgusting!" I finally spoke up, "I can't believe you are all trying to take revenge from a man, who himself is the victim of the same person who ruined your lives. His father wasn't a very loving being to him, he did not treat him well or fulfilled the responsibilities of a father. He put him through hell and each one of you is aware of this truth really very well. You all know that he ruined Sebastian's life the same way, he ruined yours, yet you are acting like the victims over here and putting all the blame on him. That poor man has been suffering his entire life. I find it fucking ironic that--"
"Oh, cut the crap!" Julia interrupted with her loud and harsh retort, "He's no saint, himself. Yes, it's true that he has gone through a lot of shit in his life, watched his mother being killed in front of his eyes and born the torture of his father for years until he killed that monster, but that doesn't justify his deeds, does it? He has eventually become the same person as his father, the same devil with an equal amount of sins. To think it thorough he has actually destroyed more lives than his father."
"What he has done is none of your business, Julia, nor it ever was. It was his father who wronged all of you, Elijah is the one to be blamed, not his son. You know Sebastian's story, you know about him more than I do," I spat, "Because you have seen him suffer, you have seen the situations that turned him into the person he is today, you have seen him at the moments he was at his lowest, a kid suffering from trauma and the loss of his mother. He had gone through every worst thing one could go through and you were there to witness, yet how could you choose the path of vengeance?"
"Shut the fuck up, you piece of shit!" Furious, Vincent strode towards me and grabbed my jaw under his tight grip, "Don't you even dare to raise your voice at my mother again. I'll cut this tongue of yours and feed it to the dogs." Rage was burning in his eyes. On the other hand, the expression Celine had on her face was unreadable— What went into her mind was a mystery.
"You love your mother so much that you can't ever bear someone raising their voice at her. Your father was a good being, I am sure he loved all of you more than his life that's why you all are willing to fight for him even after his demise," I began, my voice heavy with distress, "But have you ever thought of what would have gone over the boy who only had his mother by his side whom he constantly watched being tortured by his brute of a father, what had gone through him when he lived a miserable life, trapped in the house that is nothing more than a cage whilst helplessly watched other kids live the life he also deserved to live, how he had felt when the one and only person, who was there to love him and protect him, his mother, was killed right before his eyes? Tell me, does it still make you want to take revenge for the deeds of his father? Would you still blame him for the things Elijah did? Would you still think hating him for no reason is fair?!"
For a brief second, the anger and want of revenge burning in Vincent's eyes began to fade but it was not long before the same fury shaded them again.
"Yes, I would!" He shouted out loud, "Because my hatred for him is not baseless. It's not just business losses, it's not just the deeds of that damn Elijah, the struggles of roaming in streets for years and then standing up on my feet again only to fall again because of him, only him— It's the revenge of a mate; It's the revenge of a father who never got to see the face of his child."
My entire body froze in shock, and my hands began trembling even though they were tied strongly with ropes.
"What....what do you mean?" My voice trembled.
He leaned closer to my face, the pain I could see through the unshed tears in his eyes making it evident that none of the words he had said and he was about to say was a lie.
"You already know what I mean, Athena. You know what I am trying to say but you are afraid to let yourself detect the truth," His voice was cold, really cold, "Amidst all of the murders Sebastian Valdez has committed, there is one murder that is the reason why you are here, sitting in front me, minutes away from your death. Four years ago— 5th march, 2016, Right in this room— A woman and her seven months old unborn were killed— Hailey Thompson—My mate."