'tw: violence and abuse.'
Catherine's POV
My stomach coiled as we stepped out of the vehicle. After he finally released my chin back at the hotel room, I'd been ordered to pack my things immediately and head straight to the airplane hangar. The other wives were already waiting inside the jet. The wedding had been ruined for all of us.
The ride back to Black Moon Pack was filled with a feeling I couldn't quite name. I wanted to be scared, I should have been, but all I felt was numbness. I sat directly across from Evander. His eyes never left me, burning with a rage so intense it felt like he could hardly wait to end me. And part of me… wanted him to. I wanted death so badly. Maybe it would finally stop this miserable excuse for a life.
My heart was bleeding. I held onto my dress so tightly my knuckles turned white, fighting back tears over my lover in the presence of my husband. He married her. He stood at the altar and took vows with another woman, then left her there—for me. This was the cycle we were trapped in: endless games, instability, a world I never wanted to raise a child in.
The car ride itself was less suffocating than I expected. Evander stayed occupied, making phone calls, texting, sending emails—his fingers hammering angrily at his keyboard. He was burying himself in work, maybe trying to bury his anger too.
And now we were back home. My eyes drifted toward the driveway, the same path we had run down together just the morning before he left.
"I love you, Catherine."
His words replayed in my mind, and I let out a sharp sigh, forcing fresh tears back. He had lied. He looked right at me and spat out a lie—not once, but twice. He didn't love me. If he did, he wouldn't have let me leave. Evander was going to kill me now, and I was coming to terms with it.
I hoped it would be quick. Like the others he'd killed right here in our living room. A bullet to the head. Maybe two in the chest. It would save me and my child from more suffering, an act I was sure we'd both appreciate.
Evander stepped inside first, ripping off his suit jacket and handing it to a maid without a word. He rolled up his sleeves and adjusted his waistcoat, every movement tight with anger.
I followed, a heavy lump lodged in my throat. Bridget, the second wife, walked past and deliberately shoved her shoulder into mine. Evander moved into the living room, and the other wives arranged themselves elegantly on the couches, legs crossed, watching. I stood alone in the center, head bowed.
"Shameless slut."
"I'll give it to her though, never thought she had that kind of bravery."
"No wonder he couldn't stay away from her."
"Marie must be so ashamed. Soren left her for *this*."
Whispers of disgust swirled around me. I absorbed every one. This was the price I had to pay for daring to taste freedom. For rebelling. For feeling, even for a moment, what it was like to be free from this hell. This was it.
"You know," Evander began with a cold scoff, "when Regina told me she suspected something, I gave you the benefit of the doubt, Catherine. I brushed it off. Thought it was just Soren having his fun. But this…" He let out a bitter laugh. "This is disgusting."
Slowly, he stood. His hands went to his belt, unbuckling it smoothly. He approached me with darkness in his eyes—a predator closing in on wounded prey. I swallowed hard but kept my head down. I had nothing to say. I just wanted it over.
When he reached me, he slowly wrapped the belt around my neck, forcing my face up until our eyes met.
"Trust me," he growled, "you do not want to know what happens when you lie to me." The leather tightened. I gasped. Someone in the room chuckled softly. "Why did you do it, huh? What did he give you that I couldn't?"
I didn't answer. He wouldn't want the truth. Soren gave me more than Evander ever could. He gave me back the soul Evander had stolen.
The back of Evander's hand struck my face. Pain flared hot across my cheek, but I stayed silent, tears tracing paths down my skin.
"You're a bloody cunt, you know that? A whore!" he yelled, his eyes bloodshot, nostrils flaring. His grip on the belt tightened. I could hardly breathe. My legs trembled, but it was nothing new. I'd been dead inside for so long this almost felt like nostalgia.
"So what? He fucked you better than me, is that it?" he barked. "Answer me!"
I pressed my lips together, trembling but stubborn. "I'll keep Evander away… make sure you're protected." Soren's promise echoed in my mind. Another lie. Another bitter taste of reality. I fell for the devil's temptation only to be stabbed in the back. It was always going to end like this.
Evander finally released the belt from my neck. Then the leather cracked against my side, brutally tearing through my dress and skin. I stumbled backward, crying out as my body hit the cold floor.
"Useless! You're completely useless! It had to be him, of all men, Catherine! And now you're pregnant?!"
Gasps filled the room.
"Pregnant? A human and a lycan?" Theresa's eyes went wide.
"It's not possible… I made sure she never missed her contraceptives," Regina said thoughtfully. "I put Gen in charge."
"Contraceptives?" I repeated weakly.
"You didn't actually think we'd let you have a hybrid child in Black Moon, did you? Let it become an heir?" Regina snapped.
So that was it. All those times they mocked me for being barren, for being less than a woman… they knew. They were making sure I'd die alone. They were going to ruin me, keep me hopeless until my last breath.
"It doesn't matter now," Evander cut in sharply. "He must have found a way around it. Do you have any idea what you've done? That thing in your womb is nothing but a curse. You are a curse. A disgrace. A shallow being who doesn't deserve to live!"
"Then kill me!" I screamed back, tears streaming freely now. My hair fell loose around my face. "Yes, you heard me! Fucking kill me already! Yes, he treated me better than you. Yes, I love him. Yes, he fucked me better than you could ever dream of. If he didn't, I wouldn't have gone back for more. And you want to know the best part?" I watched his face flush deeper, his grip on the belt turning white-knuckled. "He's even bigger than you."
That shattered the last of his control. He lunged, grabbed me by the hair, and punched me square in the face. My head snapped back. Blood sprayed from my mouth. Stars burst behind my eyes as I crumpled to the floor. My vision blurred, sounds muffled and distant. Maybe that was a bad idea.
Through the haze, I heard him scoff.
"You can't kill her here," Regina said calmly. "He's going to come for her. You saw what he did at the wedding."
"I don't care!" Evander roared.
"You have to. We can't have Soren turning on us now, not with the pack already struggling. This reunion is the best thing that's happened to us. Have the guards throw her off a cliff or something. We'll say it was suicide out of heartbreak from the wedding,"
"Killing two birds with one stone," Bridget chirped. "The mother and the cursed child."
I could feel his eyes on me as my consciousness faded in and out.
He cleared his throat. "Call the guards."