I was leaning against the bars of my cell, thinking of all the ways I could kill Jem, when the basement door was swung open with a crash. A really loud crash.
“Get out!” Jem shouted and immediately I sensed the presence of my guards disappearing.
“Benjamin, leave or I will cut your head off!” he yelled.
Jeesh. Way to overreact.
I scrambled to my feet, pressing my back against the far wall of the cell. There was no chance of escape but I’d always been one for self-preservation. The further I was from Jem, the longer I would last. Yet when he appeared in front of my cell, the expression of pure rage on his face could have killed me. It was enough to evaporate all of the betrayal I’d felt when he’d sent me out like a low-class hooker fifteen minutes ago and replace it with something I never felt. Fear.
The cell door was torn off and thrown to the side. Jem, fuming and looking beyond furious, pointed at the spot in front of him. “Get here now!”
Do as he says, my wolf told me when I hesitated. He’ll only get madder.
But why is he mad? I asked her. She did not answer me. All I heard was the soft whimpers escaping her as Jem’s wolf growled at us. God, my wolf had turned into such a wuss since I’d met Jem. I swear I used to be more badass.
I stood before Jem, opening my mouth to ask what was wrong –
His hand cracked across the side of my face. The power of his hit was so extreme; I fell to the cold floor. Blood rushed into my cheek and I touched it tentatively. Before I could do anything else, I was wrenched up by a strong hand and slammed into the wall. The fire churning in Jem’s eyes was terrifying.
“You,” he growled, “are a liar.”
“What are you –?”
“Don’t interrupt me!” he roared, slamming me on the wall again for good measure. The amount of pain in his expression was so hard to distinguish I couldn’t figure out whether it was because I was hurt or he was hurting. “How dare you lie to me like that? Who the fuck, do you think you are?”
All the blood drained from my face, my stinging slap forgotten. “Jem, I – I don’t understand.”
“Did you really think I wouldn’t find out, Eva? Do I look like an idiot to you?” he snarled.
“No!” I yelled. “Just tell me what happened. Why do you think I lied?”
He tossed me to the floor and the hit pained me more than I thought. I clutched my side where I’d fallen, fighting for breath against Jem’s anger. He towered over me, eyes blazing and fists clenched like he was struggling to hold back.
I turned round and snarled at him. “Go on then. Go on!”
If possible he looked even crazier. I arched an eyebrow. “Oh so now I’m asking for it, you won’t do it? What the hell is wrong with you?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s your fault! It’s your fault I’m like this!”
“It’s my fault you hit me?”
He recoiled like he’d just been punched. Then instantly his anger flared again. “It’s your fault I can’t control myself!”
My hand went to my tender cheek again. For some reason, I couldn’t fight back. It was like some part of me couldn’t bear to hurt Jem. Apparently he didn’t have a part like that.
Jem grabbed his hair in fistfuls like he wanted to tear it out and backed up. “Look at what you’ve done to me. You’re supposed to be mine and yet you belong to someone else. Someone else you want more than me. I can’t take it.”
I sat up, staring at him, wondering what the heck he was on about. “What do you mean? Jem, what are you talking about?”
“I shouldn’t have kept you.” He shook his head venomously. “It means it only hurts more at what I have to do now.”
Panic jolted frantically throughout my entire body. What was he saying? Was he going to kill me now, before I could explain myself? Before I even knew what I’d done to make him so mad?
“Jem, I – I’m sorry, okay? I should have just done what you said,” I babbled, tucking my hair behind my ear, trying to keep him talking. Surely he couldn’t still be angry at me disobeying him in his bedroom. Yet it seemed like the only explanation for his outburst. “Let me make it up to you, okay?”
His head was still shaking slowly, a dead look in his eyes. “You’ve hurt me. Both physically and emotionally. You’ve fought against me and battled me in all the ways you could. Lying about your past, refusing to sleep with me, and even stabbing me. But this . . . this was the final straw.”
His words worried me. “Jem –”
“So I decided,” continued Jem, “that I want you to be happy. That’s all I want for you. Granted, I’d rather it would be with me.”
“Jem, what are you saying?”
“I’m letting you go,” he said, choking out the words like it agonised him. “I’m letting you go so you can be with him.”
I paled. Everything just drained out of me and suddenly I felt weightless, like I’d lost everything. I felt empty. He was going to kill me. He was going to kill me because he thought I wanted to be with Luke more than him. No . . . Was this his twisted way of getting rid of me? Was he just telling himself I wanted to be with Luke as an excuse to kill me? Had he wanted me dead this whole time and just been looking for a reason?
Tears sprung to me eyes. “You’d really do that to me?”
He stepped back, eyes glossy but he looked so lifeless you’d think his everything had been drained away as well. “You have thirty seconds to leave the premises.”
*PLEASE READ*
Sorry for the slow update, had a mental week. A French girl is living in my house and i have had no time to write. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and i will try to update soon!
Let me know what you think and what will happen next! <3
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Hunted and Tormented
Loup-garouEva Sullivan has had a pretty awful week. Accused of killing members of her Pack, one of them being her twin brother, she runs to the only other werewolf she trusts. That didn't turn out so well either. Locked up and facing death, Eva has no idea ho...
