Chapter 6: Almost Got Eaten

Chase’s P.O.V

I sank to my knees.

The second she said it—those words, that she loved him—that nothing had changed while my world felt like it was crumbling right in front of my eyes—It was like the fight just drained out of my body. All the confusion, the anger, the heartbreak—it turned into something else.

Something heavier. I felt it in my chest, pressing down until I couldn’t breathe. My hands trembled as they hit the floor, and I just stayed there, stunned and silent, like the truth itself had ripped the ground out from under me.

“Chase!” I heard her voice crack as she rushed to my side. “Oh, sweetheart—please, please look at me.” Her hands were on my arms, trying to lift me, comfort me, but I couldn’t look at her. I couldn’t even bring myself to blink.

“You knew,” I whispered hoarsely. “You knew about everything. About him. And you didn’t say anything?” I finally looked up at her, eyes stinging with the threat of tears. My voice broke, and I hated it, hated how small and raw it made me sound. “How long, Mom? How long have you known who he is?”

Her face crumpled. There was guilt there, deep and worn into the lines of her expression like something she’d carried for years. “Before I even married him,” she said, her voice soft and shaking. “I knew, Chase. I knew exactly who he was.”

I stared at her, horror twisting inside me like a knife. “And you still went on like everything was normal? You let me live here—be in the same house with him—without ever saying a word? How could you do that to me?”

“I didn’t mean for it to happen like this,” she said quickly, desperation rising in her voice as she knelt fully in front of me. “I thought I could... manage it. I thought if I could hide it from you a little longer, I could spare you from the truth until you were ready. I wanted to protect you—”

“Protect me?” I laughed, but it was hollow, almost manic. “From what, Mom? From the threat that you brought upon both of us? From—” I choked on my own words, the reality of it all crashing down on me again. “The monsters were in the house mom…then what were you trying to protect me from?”

Her hands gripped mine tighter. “Chase, please. Listen to me. I never wanted to hurt you. I just... I didn’t know how to break it to you. How do you tell your son that the man I’ve married is—” She stopped herself, but I saw the conflict in her eyes. The same conflict that had probably eaten her alive all this time.

I pulled my hands away. “So you lied. You let me build my new life around a lie. Made me uproot my whole life and come all the way here…for a lie?”

“I was going to tell you,” she said, tears in her eyes now. “I swear I was. I thought... I thought maybe one day, when you were older, when things were different, I could sit you down and explain everything. I wanted to ease you into it, not—” she swallowed, “not like this.”

“Is that so?” I asked bitterly, as if she wasn’t just talking about hiding such a monumental truth.

She looked at me, quiet for a long moment. “Something must’ve happened,” she said slowly. “Something that made you find out. What is it, Chase? What happened? Wait…is that blood? Chase—”

She reached out, brushing the side of my face like I was still her little boy, like my life hadn’t just crumbled in front of her.

I let out a short, sarcastic laugh that didn’t quite reach my eyes. “Oh, something definitely happened,” I said, moving away from her touch, trying to play it cool despite the sting still burning under my skin.

“I almost got eaten alive. Half the school wanted a piece of me—and let's not forget my loving step-brother. Great first day, really.” I scoffed, shaking my head, bitterness lacing every word. “But hey, somehow I managed to survive. Barely.”

There was a heavy silence in the room for a split second, the kind that creeps into your lungs and makes it hard to breathe. It was clear they weren’t expecting this. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself grounded, my pulse still racing from everything that had happened.

Just as someone opened their mouth to say something—probably to try and placate me or worse, explain things—his voice cut through the air like a knife.

“If I wanted to eat you alive, Chase,” Alex’s smooth, venom-laced voice echoed from the doorway, “you wouldn’t have managed to escape.”

I froze. Every muscle in my body tensed instantly. That voice—calm, casual, terrifying—set every nerve in my body on fire. I turned my head slowly, and there he was, leaning against the doorframe like he owned the damn world. His sharp grin stretched across his face as he raised a hand and mockingly waved at me like we were just two friendly siblings.

I instinctively took a step back, heart thudding in my chest. I hated that he had this effect on me, but there it was. My brother—my step-brother. He wasn’t just eavesdropping, he enjoyed it.

“Cut it out, Alex.”

Landon’s voice cracked like a whip through the room, drawing everyone’s attention. His eyes were narrowed, his expression thunderous. “You didn’t handle things the way we discussed. You let it spiral, and now everything is out of control.”

Alex raised his brows, clearly unbothered, but he didn’t argue. That alone was unsettling. He shrugged once, pushed off the doorframe, and stood straight, still grinning, still smug.

Landon, clearly fed up, turned away from Alex and fixed his eyes on me—and then he turned to my mother.

“It’ll be better if you explain things to him,” Landon said, tone softening in a way I hadn’t expected to, especially not after what I learned. “Let him come to terms with his new fate. He needs to hear it from you.”

With that, he gave me one last look, turned on his heel, and left the room. Alex didn’t follow immediately. He lingered just long enough to let his presence dig under my skin, his smirk twisting just a little more before he finally turned and sauntered after Landon, like this was just some game to him.

And suddenly, it was quiet again—except for the deafening sound of my own heartbeat. I stood there, waiting. Waiting for the truth. For whatever the hell they were hiding from me. Because whatever it was… I had a feeling that near-death by social execution was just the beginning.

“You heard him,” I muttered bitterly, not even looking at her. “So go ahead. Ruin the rest of my life.”