Candace
"Guards, drag this murderer into the packhouse."
The moment Uncle Nathan barked the order, two hefty guards wearing black uniforms stamped with the pack crest stepped into the pig sty.
Panic surged violently through me. My bloodied hands slid desperately over the hay as I tried backing away from them, but it was useless.
Their grips closed around my arms before I could even properly move, rough fingers digging painfully into bruises already blooming beneath my skin.
"No, please," I cried weakly. "Please just listen to me."
They did not, the guards hauled me across the floor without mercy. Agony exploded through my body as rough hay, dirt, and scattered stones scraped across my torn skin.
Every movement reopened wounds Aunt Elena had already burned and beaten into me earlier that day. Jagged rocks bit into my back while broken cries tore helplessly from my throat.
This was unfair. I was the victim, I was the one Dylan attacked, I was the one who almost got raped, yet somehow I was the criminal.
A choked sob escaped me as another stone tore into my shoulder. My vision blurred harder with tears and blood, but even through the haze, I could still make out the figures following behind us.
Their grim expressions promised nothing except more pain. Aunt Elena's shrill voice pierced through my agony while she continued crying dramatically about her precious son.
The sound clawed painfully against my skull, but it still hurt less than seeing my mates walk beside her instead of beside me.
Once upon a time, those same boys used to beat up anyone who made me cry. I still remembered Ryker bloodying a senior's nose because he spread rumors that I kissed too many boys at school.
Reign had gotten suspended for shoving another student down a staircase after hearing him call me spoiled. Ragnor used to stand silently behind me whenever boys flirted too aggressively, his massive presence enough to scare them off immediately.
Back then, they acted like nobody was allowed to hurt me except them teasing me harmlessly.
Now they were the ones leading my torment.
That was the part destroying me most. I could survive the hunger, the insults, the humiliation, and the endless punishment.
But this? This felt like somebody slowly ripping my heart apart with bare hands.
Why would they not believe me?
Every single time they called me a liar and a murderer, every single time they silenced me before I could defend myself, it felt like another blade sinking into my chest. Little by little, they carved pieces out of me until I barely recognized myself anymore.
A scream ripped from my throat when my back slammed against the concrete steps leading into the packhouse.
Fresh agony exploded through the burn Aunt Elena pressed into my skin earlier. My torn dress snagged against the rough stone while blood smeared behind me where the guards dragged me upward.
This punishment felt different. It was not like the time Deidre accused me of pouring dye into her bathwater and they forced me to crawl through the mansion while servants whipped me for staining the carpets with blood.
It was not like when Dylan lied that I slapped him and Aunt Elena forced me to kneel outside beneath the scorching sun for two day days while flies fed on my wounds.
Had I truly become such a monster in their eyes that my pain no longer mattered?
They already took everything from me so why did they want to take more?
Just before the guards dragged me completely inside, my eyes lifted weakly toward the moon hanging high in the night sky.
The sight filled me with sudden rage.
Do something.
The scream echoed silently inside my head.
Why would the Moon Goddess allow this to continue when she knew the truth?
She watched Dylan attack me. She watched the pack destroy my life piece by piece. Anger surged beneath every stab of pain crawling through my body.
Anger at the pack, at the Goddess and at the triplets.
The guards finally flung me violently into the main hall. For one horrible second, my body soared weightlessly through the air before slamming face-first against the marble floor.
Pain erupted instantly. Fresh blood burst from my split lip and mangled cheek while dizziness swallowed me whole.
The sharp smell of leather polish filled my nose. Fear prickled violently across my skin.
The real torment was only beginning. I trembled helplessly on the floor while trying weakly to crawl away.
Then Uncle Nathan's boot slammed into my ribs. A broken cry tore from my throat as blinding pain exploded through my chest.
"That's right, honey!" Aunt Elena screeched somewhere behind him. "Teach the ungrateful bitch a lesson!"
Uncle Nathan drove his boot harder into my stomach. I curled instinctively around the pain, but it only seemed to anger him more. He stomped down again and again like he was crushing some disgusting insect beneath his feet.
This man was my father's brother. My father loved him. My father would have died for him without hesitation.
Yet here he was beating me mercilessly while blood pooled beneath my body.
"You wanted to kill my heir, didn't you?" Uncle Nathan snarled before grabbing my hair violently. "You cursed little pig."
"Unc… please," I choked out weakly through blood-filled lips.
"All my poor boy did was come fetch her because I asked him to," Aunt Elena sobbed dramatically.
Another kick landed and I felt a crack inside my ribs. Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face while agony spread through every inch of my body.
"What if she attacks me next?" Deidre whimpered softly. "I never imagined Candy could become this cruel."
"She deserves worse than this."
Ryker's furious voice echoed sharply across the hall. My breath caught painfully.
Even from several feet away, his words still managed to hurt worse than Uncle Nathan's kicks. My mates were watching this happen.
They were standing there while I got beaten bloody for defending myself and they hated me for it.
Desperately, I turned my head toward them through blurred vision. The sight nearly destroyed me completely.
Ragnor, Ryker, and Reign surrounded Deidre protectively while soothing her like she was the victim here. Ryker rubbed her shoulder gently while Ragnor murmured something low into her ear. Reign held her close against his chest while glaring coldly in my direction.
"Look at her," Aunt Elena hissed viciously. "That is the face of a killer. Murder runs through her veins. She'll kill all of us in our sleep if we keep letting her live."
"I didn't…" I sobbed weakly.
Uncle Nathan slammed his boot down harder against my side. Pain ripped violently through me.
I curled tighter into myself while wrapping my arms around my stomach protectively.
"S-Sorry," I cried helplessly. "I'm sorry."
"Get your filthy hands off me, you wretch!"
Uncle Nathan spat before delivering one final brutal kick toward my head. The impact sent ringing pain exploding through my skull.
My body went limp immediately afterward.
Distantly, I watched Deidre continue fake crying against Reign's chest while the triplets comforted her softly.
Had they forgotten the promises we made beneath the persimmon tree?
What happened to us?
My vision darkened rapidly. Then suddenly, through the haze, I noticed something Deidre's cruel smile hidden carefully against Reign's chest where nobody else could see it.
Her fingers curled possessively against Reign's shirt while her fake sobs continued
Then Reign's eyes locked onto mine before they suddenly squeezed shut like he physically could not bear looking at me anymore.
My chest clutched in pain. Reign knew something was wrong, yet he still stood beside her.
"Take Dylan to the infirmary," someone barked distantly.
Darkness swallowed my vision rapidly afterward. The last thing I saw before darkness claimed me completely was Deidre's secret smile and Reign's tightly shut eyes, like he hated himself for watching me break.