2

The door slammed shut, and I turned to face Shannon. “You did this?” The disbelief in my voice surprised even me.

Shannon laughed. “Of course I did.” She walked closer and crouched over me. “Don’t you understand what is happening yet?” I kept my face blank and waited. Shannon always enjoyed boasting. The grin that spread across her face made me want to puke. “You took something that was mine. So, I took it back.”

“Brandon was never yours. He was my Goddess-given mate.” I gritted out. The pain was still wrecking my body. The blood pooled under me.

“So what? He was mine first.” She pushed up from the ground. “He was mine in high school, until your eighteenth birthday, and then, like a light switch, he was yours.” She walked away. “And that just couldn’t happen. I loved him, and I knew he loved me.”

“Shannon, you fucked everyone.” I called out the truth, and she whirled.

“HE WAS MINE.” She slung the whip over her shoulder. “And then you stole him with your fucking bond.”

“You are my sister.” I spat out, watching the whip, waiting for the strike.

She laughed again, this one a little more hysterical. “You are acting like my hatred of you is fucking new. Amy, we hated each other for your entire life.”

“But that changed.” I thought back over these past six years. “We grew up.”

Shannon threw back her head and laughed. Then she crouched and leaned over my broken body. Her voice dropped low enough that the guard wouldn’t overhear her. “I played you. Don’t you get that yet? I needed you to trust me so I could get close enough to take Brandon back. He would trust me more if I were your best friend struggling with my loyalty to you and telling him the truth about your affairs.” She turned back. “And he did. He ate it out of my fucking palm.” She stood back up and struck out with the whip, but this time she didn’t stop after the first stroke. She hit me over and over. The pool of blood grew faster with every strike. And I knew she was bent on killing me.

I held out my hands in surrender. I choked on the blood pooling in my mouth, but I coughed to clear my throat to offer one last plea. “Kill me if you must, but save my child.” I crawled closer, begging on my knees as I did the only thing I could to protect my son. “I’ll say whatever you want if you save my son.”

I saw a new light enter Shannon’s eyes. But the door slammed open, and Brandon came storming back in, with guards following him. Shannon gave a tiny growl as she stepped aside. “Grab her.”

Shannon reached for Brandon. “Where are you taking her?”

Brandon shook her off. “I’m going to end this fucking farce once and for all.” The guards grabbed me and ripped me off the floor. I screamed, and my vision faded to black. I hung there between the men in an awkward, painful display. “Take her to the med building.” Shannon gasped.

“But why?” Shannon stepped in front of the guard. “We can’t parade her through the pack. She still has supporters.”

Brandon laughed. “Like who? Her maids, her friends, her parents — they are all dead.”

His words slapped me in my face. “How?”

Brandon bent down and smiled, his eyes cold. “I already told you I wiped out your father's pack yesterday. Your mother must have felt her true mate dying, because she lost control. She went into labour.”

“So why would that kill her?”

Brandon laughed, but it was dark. “Because I’ve been slipping tiny amounts of wolfsbane and silver into her since Shannon told me the truth.” He reached out a hand and cupped my face. “Did you think I would allow anyone with your bloodline to live after you fucking betrayed me?” His thumb dug into the slice on my cheek, earning another screech from me. “She died on the table with her pup.” Shannon's face paled.

“How is my father?”

Brandon rolled his eyes. “He’s fine.” He turned his attention back to me. “But Shannon was right about not taking you through the pack.” He grinned. “I built a room especially for you.” He leaned back. “Take her to the white room.” He turned his back on me, but I heard a mild link that he sent out. Doctor, meet us in the white room. Now. He turned back to face me. And bring your surgical kit.

Shannon turned back to me, and a new sly smile broke across her face. She nodded towards the door, and the guards filed out, twisting out of the way of the silver bars to miss them. But they pressed my shredded back against the bars to protect their skin as they carried me through. The pain made everything go black, and my consciousness floated away.