That was it. I was done. I was so fucking done with her. My veins filled with so much hate, so much pain. All my thoughts as a kid came swirling up inside of me. Everything she had ever said to me all came at me in a single ring of words circling round and round as I clenched my fists so hard they bled.
I no longer had a mother in this world. I was cutting off all ties to sirens and leaving that life in the past.
The door to my room slammed open as I saw Rabid in the doorway with a soda in his hand, crushed and spilling onto the floor. His eyes were human honey brown yet soaked in betrayal. “You’re…you’re a princess? Or are you the police? Isn't that what your mother,the queen, said?”
His rigid posture, hate-filled gaze, and taut body were ready to fight. I couldn't deal with it. I couldn't deal with any of it anymore. “Get out,” I called out, feeling that cold detachment settle on my face, the face I used when talking to strangers who knew me. He bristled at my tone.
“No, you need to-”
“Get. The. Fuck. Out.” I said once more, and he stepped back like I hit him, as I just stared at him with nothing on my face.
“Celine-”
I couldn’t hold it in any longer as I screamed, “Get the fuck out now!” Yelling at him with my siren magic behind it. He flinched at my magic, feeling its effects as he immediately turned and walked out, slamming the door with him.
And now I was alone, like I always had been and always would be. I wasn't made for others. I wasn't made for things like love. My mother made sure of that. I was made because I could handle the shit the world had to give, and I threw it back at people.
My eyes caught onto a string hanging out of one of the drawers. It was a ruby red silk and looked odd in the white hospital room. I got off the bed and went for it, opening the drawer to push it back in when I saw a single rose lying in the empty drawer with a note.
In an elegant script, it read,“Come to siren port at dusk, little royal. Or all your loved ones will be dead by morning. Love, James.”
I crushed the note in my hand, feeling that hate and pain from minutes ago as I pictured him going after Duce with his perfect face and sly smile, Bricks with his soft heart and kind eyes. Gears with his sharp wit and surprising gentleness, Dino with his wicked tongue and fast temper. And Rabid, even if he hated me, I still couldn't bear the thought of something happening to him, of James destroying the goodness in him that he worked so hard at.
I knew what my next steps were. I was going to kill James. I was going to get rid of him forever. My purpose in life now was to take the hate and pain and give it to someone else, and I think I found my next target.
I chucked the note on the ground, grabbed my phone, and left the hospital. I had somewhere to be at dusk.
Chapter 25
“Comeon,Comeon.Let's go. I want to get there before she wakes up.” Duce was pushing Bricks out the door. “The doctor said it would be any time after the eight-hour mark, so let's go. We are already late.” I wanted to tell him to calm down, but I also felt the same way. Anxious to see Celine open those beautiful aqua-filled eyes and smile. I wanted desperately to replace the last memory I had of her.
I will never forget the blood blooming like a red flower from her chest. Rabid was going so crazy, shifting in the middle of holding her. Bricks had to restrain him as I tried to calm him down. Dino ripped Killian apart in the most merciless way, tearing him limb from limb as he dug out his chest, ripping his rib bones out one by one while he was still conscious. Then there was Duce, completely distraught as his mate’s eyes kept rolling shut. Her head lolled behind her when she finally succumbed and passed out. Her face pale, and her skin cold like she was dead.
I can't get that out of my head, her lifeless and cold. No more smiles, no more warmth, no more songs. Just emptiness where she used to be.
I didn't get to fall apart or take revenge. No, I was the responsible one. The one who came up with the contingency plan, and yet I failed us. Never in a million years did I think that it was possible for her to jump in front of a bullet for Rabid.
It was a strange thing to be thankful to her for saving my chosen brother but also be so mad at her for endangering her life. It made my emotions spiral, and I already wasn't good at handling strong emotions. I kept switching from being mad at her to wanting to snuggle and never letting her go. My mate. My wolf howled in my head. I'm sure he wasn't the only one doing that.
Bricks scrambled down the hallway, a blanket underneath his arms. As he saw my raised eyebrows, he lifted his hands.Just wanting to make her comfortable. Those hospital beds are the worst, and this one is soft and fluffy. He would know; he had probably been in more hospital beds in his life than any of us.
I nodded as he slipped past me out the door as Duce was arguing with Emma about her being allowed to go. "Emma! I don't have time for this. I will text you when we know when she can come home."
Emma growled as she folded her arms. "Fine. But if any of you know and I’m not notified immediately, I'm going to murder you all!"
Dino darted past the two of them as he chuckled, "I don't think our mate would like it if you murdered us." Emma's mouth dropped open, looking at Dino's back as he stepped out the door, then back over to Duce who smirked at her.
She moved to look at me. "Gears, tell me the truth."
I shrugged my shoulders, unsure of what she wanted to hear. We didn't need her to talk about it when we hadn't even spoken to Celine. "We haven't talked to her yet, so can you keep a lid on it?"
She stopped moving, her whole body rocked by the news. It took her a beat to get her wits about her and accept what we just told her. She rolled up her jaw off the ground, looking around with wide eyes shining with excitement. "So, I get a sister-in-law that I totally love?! Yes!!! The two of us will be against you all, and we will be unstoppable!"
She threw her fists in the air as she cackled to the sky. Duce motioned for us to go, giving her a small moment of victory as he whispered, "We better leave now before she decides she and Cupcake are going to go for world domination."
I puffed out a laugh. Wouldn't that be a sight?
We both turned as he shut the door, ready to go see Celine, when we all heard a rumble and looked at the gate to see Rabid coming in hot.
