Cynthia had brought this upon herself. She had begun to believe in her dreams which she had known fully well was based on a foundation of lies.
“What is your connection to the rogue attack?”
She couldn’t speak. How could she? Dorian had just shown her how powerful he was with the recent rogue attack and how quickly he could upend her life.
If he has zero problems attacking them such that Calvin nearly lost his life because she had refused to return to him, she could only imagine how he would react after finding out that she had spilt his secrets. She would have better luck shooting herself in the head.
If she revealed his truth, and he would know – he always did – she had so much to lose. Cole and Calvin.
The taser came down on the juncture of her arm. She bit back a scream at the surge of electricity that zapped her. It was worse than the one that had preceded it. It would seem that it was increasing in intensity with every zap that hit her.
“You should speak now, we will only continue to amp up the voltage.” The pack warrior informed her.
She had known the risk when she decided to come here. She had known the risk when she had decided to stay.
Cynthia remained silent and the taser came down again. And again. Sweat coated her skin only making the pain worse, her hands and feet strapped down ached and her lower back felt detached from her body.
She had begun to sob silently now, her body was tiring out and she was a second away from crying, screaming. She would have started talking long ago if it was only her life at stake but she couldn’t.
Her mind seeking to escape from the pain latched on to the memory of the shock on Calvin’s face when she had admitted the truth. The disbelief. He had been ready to stand against Ava for her. Maybe it was better this way.
He deserved way better than a self-serving bitch who had only been using him from the start.
“Who was the head of the rogue attack?”
She was mute. The taser came down again and the intensity of the shock she felt nearly made her blackout.
The pain flowed and ebbed, a constant wave that drew her until she was so submerged in it that she barely felt anything.
It was crazy that at this point all she could think about was Calvin and Cole. Would he blame Cole for her mistakes? No. He was a good person and a better father. Even if she died here, she would do so knowing Cole would grow up with the best parent he could possibly have.
*******
When Ivy woke up, her father wasn’t in the room. She turned on her bed, her hand drifting to her middle. Her eyes stung with unshed tears and she nearly screamed in pain, anger and frustration.
After her ghastly encounter and narrow escape, she had gotten home having lost what felt like a ton of blood. The doctor waiting for her had done his very best all to no avail. She lost her child.
She had been shocked at the intensity of emotion that had followed the doctor’s report, she cried for a day and barely ate or drank. She has only seen the child as a means to attain more power and yet now that she had lost it she felt so lost and unmoored. She might have gone hungry for longer if her father hadn’t shown up at the end of that day without notice.
“The pack was under attack last I saw it.” He bit into his fried chicken noisily. “Might have fallen. Adrian left the place defenceless and that Calvin is too wrapped up in a woman’s skirt to actually be able to do anything.”
It felt like he was just carrying on. What was her business if the pack fell? Her child was dead.
“I miscarried.” She informed her father.
“Miscarried?” He seemed confused, probably wondering how that fit into his conversation. Everything was about him. It all had to be.
“My unborn child died.” She reiterated feeling her heart crack with each word she said.
Her father paused his eating. “Huh.” He seemed to consider it. Then he continued eating. “Just like that, huh? No matter, I no longer want Adrian as an in-law. I will find someone better placed to be your husband and get my revenge on what is left of the Mountain Coast pack and that ass Adrian and his bloody mate.
Naturally, everything revolved around him. His wants, needs and desires. He didn’t even offer her his condolences. That was the sort of family she had.
Her child would have changed her narrative. She would have loved it so much and it would have loved her in return.
She tried not to think too much about it or she would cry. Again. The last person she wanted to cry in front of was her father so she spooned some of the food into her mouth, the food tasting like ash as it went down.
They were trying to lay low for now until they could ascertain the situation on the ground at the pack before they could think of what to do. Once everything was sorted, she would avenge the death of her child. That was the only thing that could give her purpose now.
“You seriously didn’t expect me to share a bed with you, did you?” Ava looked from the emptied-out connecting room to Adrian who was looking way too innocent and unassuming.
“I have no idea how that happened.” Adrian shrugged. “Maybe Ivy did it or something.”
“Right. Thanks for reminding me. You and your consort probably couldn’t even wait for me to be out the door before being together.” Ava filed at the thought of what could have led to Ivy clearing out the best in the connecting room.
Adrian groaned. “Seriously, Ava? My supposed consort who shot me when I came to rescue you?”
Ava looked away unpacified. It was crazy that she was obsessing about this but she couldn’t help herself. “How am I to know what is going on in your heads? Both of you are crazy and fit together. The perfect couple if you ask me.”
She shut the connecting room door and sat on the bed. Adrian sat with her, nonplussed.
“Are you crazy? I’m taking the bed. Go and find an air mattress or something.” Ava said, shoving him out of the bed.
Adrian looked at her incredulously. “Wow, and how would that look? I’m getting an air mattress to sleep next to my mate on our bed? If you are worried enough about what the pack members will think to share my room then that may not be a wise decision.”
Ava blushed and looked away. “You’ll figure something out, I’m sure.”
“Figure something out? Ava this is my room, not yours and you are the one insisting on sleeping separately. You figure something out.” Adrian said petulantly.
With that Adrian settled back down on the bed.
Ava glared at him as though she wanted to strangle him. “Nice. Classic Adrian. You are blaming me for this right? Was I the one who made you sleep with Ivy and do this to us?”
“For the hundredth time Ava, I’m sorry. I was drugged.”
“And I am tired and pre–” Goddess, had she almost slipped up and told him that she was pregnant? “I’m tired and pretty pissed. You can stay on the bed if you want to. I’ll just sleep on the floor instead.”
She wasn’t actually planning on sleeping on the floor that would be unbearably cold and uncomfortable.
Adrian was a gentleman. He wouldn’t let her sleep on the floor. Sure enough, as she stood up, he caught her wrist.
“Ava you can’t sleep on the floor, be sensible… you should sleep on the couch.”
Ava wanted to slap the smirk off his face.
“Fuck you, Adrian.”
“Are you offering?” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
“Shut up, Adrian.”
Sometimes it was like they were still younger. Some things would never change.
Ava grabbed a pillow and some sheets to cover herself then she walked angrily to the couch while Adrian watched her with barely restrained amusement. She fell asleep in seconds despite her anger.
When Ava woke up the next morning, she was in the bed alone swaddled from head to toe and Adrian was nowhere to be seen.
She found herself smiling stupidly thinking of how Adrian must have carried her to the bed gently and wrapped her up so she wouldn’t be cold.
She shook her to rid herself of crazy thoughts and moved to start her day.