BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN • mikaelson mate

chapter three

*TRIGGER WARNING*

CHAPTER THREE
three years ago

I let out a chuckle as my big brother's thoughts invaded my brain. I was sitting opposite him at the dinner table but his eyes were firmly on the blonde girl sitting next to him, his mate, Jenny. As hard as he tried, my brother Aidan could never keep a secret from me.

"More wine, Bree?" My big sister, Cassidy asked from beside me and I grinned as I held out my glass for her to refill.

"Do you want any more, Mom?" I asked my mother, who stood by the fireplace with two of her mates.

"No thank you, Bree, one glass was more than enough!" She smiled warmly as she cuddled closer into Simon's arms whilst her other mate, William, gently stroked her hair.

"Ew, get a room you guys!" Cassidy grimaced as Simon kissed our mother's neck. I grimaced as well when my mother's thoughts filled my brain, confirming that getting a room was their plan.

"Mom, have you heard from Dad yet?" I asked. My Dad, Alexander, was my mother's third and final mate.

"Yes, dear, he's on the road now and should be home in just over three hours." My mother told me before chuckling at something William whispered in her ear.

Aidan let out a sigh and looked over to Jenny, who gave him a quick nod of approval. He stood up, pulling his mate up with him. An expectant silence fell upon the room as all eyes fell on them both.

"I wanted to wait until Alexander was here to announce this but he won't be home before Cassidy gets blackout drunk and can't remember a thing tomorrow!" My brother began and my sister let out an offended huff, "Jenny and I have decided to get married."

Joyous cries filled the room as we all offered our congratulations. My brother thanked us all before narrowing his eyes at me.

"You don't look very surprised, Bree." Aidan began in a prompting tone, "Did you read my thoughts again?"

I held my hands up in surrender as I grinned, "It was an accident!"

"Of course it was!" He grinned as he pounced on me and began to tickle me so much that I could barely breathe through my laughter.

"It was an accident!" I laughed as I punched him lightly in the stomach to get him off of me, "Trust me, your thoughts are not a place I would willingly venture to."

"My thoughts are amazing!"

"Your thoughts have traumatized me!" I retorted as I stood up and began stacking up the used plates on the table and placing them in the sink. I opened my mouth to tease him further when the sound of screaming filled my ears.

My family and I exchanged worried looks before Simon and William headed towards the direction of the sound, instinctively wanting to protect the other members of the pack.

"What's going on?" My mother whispered to her mates, who stood by the window on high alert.

"Nothing good." William said regretfully.

"You all head upstairs to safety, Will and I will go check it out." Simon told us.

They were halfway to the front door when it flew off its hinges. My mother gasped as the door collided with her mates and they fell to the floor. In the doorway stood a man, a man who was looking straight at me.

His eyes were angry and his fits were clenched as he slowly walked towards me. I inhaled sharply. He was a vampire, an old one. My brother charged forward, diverting the vampire's attention. Aidan threw himself at him but in less than a second, the vampire had plunged his hand into my brother's chest and ripped out his heart.

Jenny let out a scream of agony at the sight of her mate's body as my mother and I let out similar cries of anguish. Simon and William pulled themselves from the floor, identical looks of horror on their faces. Cassidy's hand grabbed mine as she trembled beside me.

"Who are you?" William asked the man who had just killed my brother.

"I am the Destroyer."

Jenny let out a war cry as she raced towards him, a kitchen knife in her hand. The vampire grabbed her by the throat with ease. William and Simon raced towards them but seconds later, Jenny had met the same fate as her mate. I let out a cry as I cowered further away, Cassidy's hand still firmly in mine.

"Run!" Simon shouted to us as they fought him.

I pulled my sister with me as I turned and ran, my heart pounding. We made it out the back door and into the garden when her hand left mine. I turned to find my sister in the hands of the Destroyer.

"Please." I begged helplessly as Cassidy sobbed.

I launched myself at him in a feeble attempt to save my sister but he caught me by the throat. I dangled above the ground, pleading with the stranger to spare us. He gave me a chilling smile as he took her head clean off her body. I let out a gurgled scream as he released my throat and I fell to the ground, tears streaming down my face.

"Why?" I whispered as I cried, "Why would you do this?"

I tried to find the answer in his thoughts but all I could hear were his plans for me.

"Because they deserve it." He said as he backhanded me and I fell face first into a puddle of blood on the grass.

"Please," I cried as I turned my head to look up at the cruel man, "Please just kill me."

I could read his thoughts; I knew what he planned on doing to me. It was a fate worse than death and there was nothing I could do to stop him as he descended upon me. All I could do was scream.

Originally published: June 27th 2024