Dillon and Oliver shifted back, joining Taffy as they followed me without a word.
Hang on, Shade. We’re coming for you.
The Sins of the Sister
SHADE
I sat on the filthy floor of a cold, dark cell. My beautiful dress was torn and tattered from my attempts to escape my captors, but my efforts so far had been futile.
The wolfsbane in my system weakened me. I couldn’t shift or howl. My only defense was my amplification, but I doubted that would do much for me now.
I had fallen right into their trap just as Alpha Huxley had wanted.
The rusty hinges on the cell door screeched as they creaked open, and Sunny came sauntering in with a cocky grin on her face. She was clean and freshly dressed, her disheveled appearance from earlier gone.
I glared at her as she closed the door and stared down at me, one hand resting on her hip as she sneered.
I can’t believe I thought she had changed. She’s never cared about anyone but herself.
“Sunny,” I croaked, my throat dry from yelling.
“Shade,” she snapped back in a mocking tone.
“You betrayed me,” I accused.
“Only because you betrayed me first,” she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
“What?” I asked in disbelief. “How did I betray you?”
“I can’t believe you’d even ask that after everything you’ve done,” she scoffed with a dramatic roll of her eyes. “First, you get our mother killed because you can’t take a joke, and then you steal my mate. I was supposed to be luna of Harvest Moon! You know that was my dream! My right!”
I shake my head, laughing bitterly as I lean against the stone wall.Some things never change.
“Then you abandon Dad and I just when we needed you the most. Now our father is dead and our pack destroyed all because of you!” she spat. “Caelan only wants you for the same reasons that Alpha Huxley does. He doesn’t really care about you. He wants your power.”
“That’s not true,” I growled.
“If I had been the one blessed by the Goddess, then he wouldn’t have even looked twice at you. He doesn’t love you, Shade. How could he? You’re a freak and a murderer!”
My hands fisted at her words.
“The Goddess wasted her blessing on you. She obviously chose the wrong twin just like Caelan did. But it doesn’t matter. Alpha Huxley is going to help me fix it. Make things how they’re supposed to be. Once he’s marked you, Caelan will have to choose me,” she said with a confident grin.
“Is that what Huxley told you to get you to betray your pack?” I scoffed as she looked away. “To betray your own sister? You really think he’s going to let you have your happily ever after? He’s a monster, Sunny! And once you’re no longer useful to him, he’s going to kill you. You can’t trust him.”
Sunny grew quiet for a moment, and for a second, I let myself hope that she was considering what I was saying. But her eyes narrowed as she glanced back at me.
“The only person I ever made the mistake of trusting was you, Shade,” she sneered. “You’ve caused me nothing but pain and heartache. Mating with Alpha Huxley is a small price to pay for your sins.”
I stared at her, utterly flabbergasted.She truly believes that. She’s actually that delusional that she thinks I owe her.
I sighed, rubbing a hand across my face.Why should I be surprised? Our father spoiled her, and he wasn’t exactly a great role model. The only mother-like figure she ever had was his conceited, power-hungry, gold-digging mate. Sunny’s literally never known anything else.
I pitied Sunny in that moment. I may have been the one locked in a cell awaiting a horrible fate, but she was completely blind to the prison she was building for herself.
She couldn’t accept that her own decisions had landed her right where she was. It was easier to blame me than accept any responsibility.
“Sunny,” I sighed. “My whole life has been about you. Everything I ever had to endure was for your benefit. Hiding who I was so I could act as your double. The training facility where I was whipped and beaten for years so that I could learn to protect you. Our father made me suffer for you.”
