I know, I know, I know. These last few chapters were ROUGH, but I need you guys to trust me here. This story is dark. Darker than anything I’ve written so far. But please trust me when I say that no matter how thoroughly Ophelia breaks, she will rise like the phoenix she is. And when that time comes, everyone will burn. Also, what’s the thing they say about hitting rock bottom? Oh, yeah! You have nowhere to go but up.
JudeOne Hour Ago…I landed in the empty lot outside my place, feathers cascading down around me like wisps of shadow.Rage boiled in my veins, clogging my lungs until I could no longer breathe. I wanted to scream. I wanted to unleash every fucking ounce of my power until the sky cracked in two.I could still hear her sweet little voice in my ears, and I hated it. I hated what it did to me. What she did to me.My mate.My. Fucking. Mate.The girl I dreamed about as a little boy long before my mother and her sick friends destroyed every loving bone in my body.Please, she had said, begging me not to kill the sack of flesh she claimed to be dating.I stormed up to the front of my place and slammed my fist into the metal siding. It did nothing to quell the desire to storm back there and kill that shitstain of an Alpha right in front of her.Feeling like this was completely out of my wheelhouse. I didn’t feel shit! I landed another punch and felt my knuckles split this time, coating the m
Jude Her chapped lower lip quivered. “You’re a monster.” “You have no idea.” I started with Jameson, strapping him to the table and slicing the jumpsuit from off his body. He screamed pitifully as I cut his pinky off, but not as loudly as Chloe did when I tossed the bloody digit at her head. As much as I wanted to rage and tear Jameson to shreds, my work was methodic. In between the cuts and burns I asked questions about Alpha Hunter, none of which he answered. In fact, none of the coven members confessed the truth. Jameson spoke in between sobs, “I-I told you, man. Alpha H-Hunter wanted to come here for some c-chick. That redheaded girl in your coven, O—” I held the scalpel between his legs, “Say her name and the next body part I remove is your cock.” “He came here to see her. He didn’t want Alpha Ryker knowing.” I looked over at my brother, waiting for his decision. He tucked his phone into the pocket of his suit jacket and frowned at the six of them. Without so much as flin
OpheliaEven as Jude’s scent wrapped around me, mixing with the warmth of his body to slowly coax me into awareness, there was a part of me that didn’t want to wake up.I wished I could forget. I wished I could write it all off as one big nightmare, but the moment my eyes fluttered open I knew that would never be the case.Arielle, Sarah, Denver…they had been torn apart. And Coop, kind-hearted, goofy Coop was possessed. It was a fate worse than death.Trauma was a cage forcing you to relieve the darkest moments of your life, and that’s exactly what happened as I sat up in bed, pulling myself out of Jude’s hold. My stomach twisted until I keeled over, dry heaving until my eyes watered.It wasn’t until I felt Jude’s hand on my back, rubbing it in soft, awkward circles that I finally snapped back into the present and remembered he was here.We locked eyes, and I hated what I saw there.Jude, the psychopath, the enforcer who killed mercilessly, was looking at me with pity.I scooted furth
OpheliaThat day, after Jude and Ryker reluctantly left, I set about making the first of many changes.Neither one of my mates wanted to go, but I couldn’t get things done with them hovering over my shoulder, constantly waiting for me to break. Little did they know I was already broken.This was me piecing myself back together, and it was something I needed to do on my own. Letting them do it for me would’ve been easier, but it would’ve resulted in me being even more attached to them than I already was.If Ryker could bottle all his emotions up, and Jude could funnel his into rage, then I could do the same.First thing first, I tossed out every crumb of Dark Matter I owned. Every speck hidden in the back of the top drawer of my bedside table was thrown into the trash, consumed by the smoldering embers of what had once been my favorite sundress and jacket.The mere scent of the herb brought me back to last night, causing me to run to the toilet before I could vomit on the floor.I skip
OpheliaThe next three days went exactly the same.Ryker would pick me up early in the morning, always with breakfast despite me having absolutely no appetite, to take me to the library where I’d read everything I could get my hands on until my classes started in the evening.He didn’t comment on the bags forming under my eyes, or the fact that I’d worn the same long sleeve t-shirt twice in a row. Just as he didn’t comment on the slight tremor in my hands, or the fact that I was more irritable than usual.I could tell he wanted to. I could practically feel his brain working every time he noticed an after effect of trauma or the withdrawal of the Dark Matter, but he didn’t.He continued to try and take care of me though, being there for me in his own way.So long as I ate what food he brought me, he didn’t blink when I snuck into the crafting lab to pilfer ingredients for various potions and spells. It was oddly calming having him there, interjecting with tips that might enhance my spe
OpheliaA wave of nausea hit me at the sight. My fingers trembled, and not from the Dark Matter withdrawal.Dark Bonds weren’t well known. In most packs they were nothing more than twisted folklore, legends of darkness and slavery. Even now, I had no clue how Alpha Hunter knew about them. I had thought it was an infected mate bond until he told me the truth that terrible day.I quickly devoured the text, latching onto the bits of history that detailed the festering mark on my wrist.In 1492 Alpha King Archibald Westland retaliated after a Luna of a nearby settlement rejected his advances for marriage. Desiring offspring with her powerful magic, the Alpha King called forth his witch practitioners, each one masters in the dark arts. On the night of the Blood Moon, Alpha King Archibald Westland sacrificed seven of his strongest warriors to summon forth the father of all demons. The demon granted the Alpha King with magic of his own, along with the ability to bestow a mark containing pur
OpheliaI looked up at her, scanning my eyes over the sheer cardigan, pink blouse, and dark slacks she wore. “Yes?” Her eyes crinkled at the corners, “I noticed you’ve been in here a lot this week studying. I know exams are awhile away, but I wanted to offer you something that might help with your…ah, spells.” She motioned for me to follow, and I did. “These rooms are typically reserved for seniors since they aren’t as reckless with their magic, but I think a safe space to practice might do you some good.”The Librarian led me down a hall to the left of the room, one hidden behind the third row of book cases. Along the walls were doors trimmed in silver. They had symbols stamped on them in dark paint.She unlocked the first door with a standard metal key and ushered me inside. The room was entirely empty apart from a metal table against the far wall. One look and I knew it was bolted down. In between the light fixtures embedded into the ceiling were heavy duty sprinklers.“What is th
Ophelia“Ryker! Hello Ryker? I need you to talk to Jude! I’m pretty sure he’s hunting me.”My hair whipped at my face as I took off down the hall. I shoved past students who cursed and snarled at me for slamming into them, but I couldn’t stop. Adrenaline was keeping me going, forcing my legs to run faster and faster.Goddess why did this school have to be so damn big?I reached out again through the mind-link, trying to call for Ryker. A gasp tore from my throat as I took the hall to my left, only to see a flash of dark clothes, pale skin, and arms covered in ink.Nearly tripping over my own two feet, I stumbled back and took the hall to the right, clipping several students in the process. Picking up speed, I ducked under an open locker. At the very end of the hall were a set of double doors leading outside.“Hello? Damn it! Ryker, answer me right now.”I felt a rush of awareness as Ryker tuned in to the mind-link. Several seconds of silence rang out where I could hear only the beatin