AVA HAYES
Everytime I say no to Sebastian, he stands Dante, doing more damage to his already battered body.
I have begged and screamed for him to stop but the more I do, the worse Dante's punishment becomes.
Sebastian wants one thing and one thing alone- he wants me to accept him as my mate and he wouldn't stop until I do so.
Dante's life is at the palm of my hand and I had two choices, accept Sebastian or watch Dante transition to the moon goddess.
"Please, stop. You are hurting him." I choke out, my voice shaky and horse from the amount of times I have screamed my lungs out.
Sebastian chuckles like an evil man on crack, his eyes crinkling with mischievous evil and amusement. "I have told you, Ava. It's all up to you. I'll stop once you promise to accept me. By the way, I don't think he has more than a few seconds to live."
Sebastian laughter echoes around the cell, the chest of the woman restricting me from helping Dante also vibrating in her own laughter.
Sebastian laughs again as he stabs Dante for the tenth time, intentionally pushing the sword deeper because he knows I'm watching and I'm already close to the brink of breaking.
Dante's pained cry goes straight to my heart and soul, shattering it into pieces and creating a deep unfixable hole in my soul.
I don't think I would ever be able to live with the fact that the love of my life went through so much pain and trauma because of my stupid decisions.
Dante turns over to me, clutching his heavily bleeding stomach tightly, tears flowing down his eyes like a stream, silently begging me to help him.
One look into his eyes is all I needed to know that he can't take the torture anymore. One more strike and he will be gone for good.
When Sebastian raises his hands for another stab, I don't hesitate to put an end to his heartless act. "Stop! You fucking bastard! Stop hurting him. I accept you. I…please, just let Dante go. You can have me. Just leave him out of this." I blurt out, my voice sounding like a frog's as my emotions overwhelm me.
The female guard lets go of me the moment the words fall out of my mouth and I collapse, tired and afraid, sobs wrecking through my body.
Sebastian smiles widely, drops the sword with a loud clank and rushes over to me. He pulls up and pulls me in for a kiss, completely ignoring the tears on my lips.
When he pulls away from the kiss, he gives me a small smile, then turns to the guard still awkwardly standing there. "Prepare for the coronation, Lila. I just found a new queen."
"Yes Alpha," she bows and walks out of the cell, leaving me Dante and the psychopath that is unfortunately my mate alone.
There's a tense silence as my frantic mind battles between going to help Dante and staying with my mate.
Going to Dante would most likely rekindle Sebastian's anger so I cancel the idea the moment it comes.
Sebastian walks around me like a predator ready to attack its prey."Ava Hayes. What a sweet little name for a sweet little girl."
My grief, pain and sadness suddenly morphs into extreme anger and I want nothing more than to inflict Sebastian with more pain than he inflicted on Dante.
"Who the hell are you?" I hiss, baring my canines at him in a threatening manner.
"Sebastain Wolfe. And you, my dear, would become the Luna of Crescent Pack in less than twenty-four hours."
The world stops as the name "crescent pack" is repeatedly chanted in my head like a mantra.
My world crumbles like the wall of Jericho as the pack I'm in and the Alpha I'm mated to invades my head like a plague.
I gag, almost retching up bile as memories of the things I've seen and the stories I've heard about Crescent Pack running through my head like a short movie on display.
"I can't. No, I can't be mated to you. That's impossible. You're the devil himself." I stutter, creating distance between me and the heartless Alpha.
He says nothing but just watches my movements, his previously joyful expression being replaced by a blank calculated look.
"I don't want you, Sebastian. Even if Dante isn't in the picture, I can't want you. You're are a fucking monster. You killed…"
He cuts me off, his evil eyes staring into my soul. "It is amusing that you think you have a choice, darling. I'll kill your pretty little boyfriend if you don't behave."
"Kill him. Fucking kill him. When you are done, I'd love you to kill me too. I would rather watch you kill my man and kill me after than be with you."
The bile I managed to keep down my throat forces itself out of my mouth the moment I remember how I let Sebastian kiss me a few seconds ago.
I puke all the contents of my stomach, trying also to vomit the guilt, fear, and regret I felt.
I can't be mated to Sebastian Wolfe. I can't be mated to the Alpha of Crescent Pack.
What sick game is fate pulling on me?
Is this the punishment I get for everything I said to my father? Is this a punishment for eloping with my lover?
It can't be a punishment, can it? The moon goddess wouldn't possibly give me a punishment ten times worse than my crime, would she?
Mating me to a man that cuts the fingers of his prisoners off and forcefully feeding it to them?
Mating me to a man that kills any of his subjects that does as much as looking at him.
Mating me to a man that killed his own wife?
The moon goddess would be so cruel to do such a thing to me, would she?
This must be a nightmare. It must!
"Since you've clearly made up your mind, I'll gladly grant your request and make sure you and your lover have the most painful death in the history of deaths."