CHAPTER 2-FINISHED

ETHEL

“Why?”

She sighed and let go of my wrist. “Just go home.”

“What does that mean, just go home? Declan is supposed to take me home.”

She shook her head and turned back to her cabinet.

“You youngsters and thinking you know best.” She let out a long sigh. "At least I tried.”

Uh… that was extremely weird.

“Okay Mrs Barlow. I guess I'll… see you tomorrow.”

She didn't respond.

I turned around and headed for the showers before she could creep me out any further. The hallway was empty, Mrs Lotham had likely left and I knew that Mrs Barlow would soon leave too. Somewhere between the infirmary and the east corridor, my thoughts drifted to Declan.

He had tried to fight Tavian for me.

My fingers drifted to my neck without thinking, specifically to the two shallow dents just below my pulse point. A month ago during our first time, Declan's teeth had grazed that spot on my neck and I felt my emotions overwhelmingly intensify. He had pressed his forehead to mine and said that he wasn't ready.

I knew that he wanted to wait until after college before he officially marked me before his entire pack. I had told him that I understood, and I did, mostly, even though something in me had ached at the withdrawal.

“Stop thinking too much about it, Ethel. It's alright for him not to be ready yet.” Besides, my mother would prefer me to finish college before taking up such a huge responsibility like being Luna.

“Mmn..”

I reached the locker and grinned at the sound of Declan softly groaning. A naughty idea came to me and I took off my cardigan. The slight rolls of my skin flexed under the feeling of freedom from the thick fabric. My fingers were three seconds close to unfastening my bra when I heard a sharper groan.

From a female.

I arched a brow and pushed open the shower doors in confusion.

“D-Declan…” My voice died in my throat.

Alicent Rowan was on top of my boyfriend.

Naked as day with his dick spewing its load inside her.

Alicent turned her head towards me and immediately rose from his thighs. A trail of cum dripped down her thighs and Declan who looked visibly alarmed couldn't say a single word.

I made the mistake to assume that he looked alarmed because I had caught him cheating.

No.

He looked alarmed because right beside them was the body of Tavian Graves with a hole in his chest leaking blood and washing into the drain. My hands flew to my mouth. I started taking a few steps backwards.

“W-What… what… what happened to him—”

Something connected with the back of my head and sent me reeling to the tiles before I could get the rest of the sentence out.

____________

When I woke up, my wrists were bound.

The back of my skull throbbed in one long, nauseating pulse and by the time my vision focused, I realized that I had been strapped to a pillar right beside Tavian’s body.

Declan and Alicent stood in front of me wearing wet robes. Her hand moved in slow circles over his forearm and his hand moved over her shoulder. When Declan's eyes found mine across the room his face was just flat.

He didn't say a single word to attempt explaining the situation.

“Declan, what is happening?” I tried to struggle against the restraints but it was too tight. “Why did you tie me up? Is… Is Tavian…”

“—dead?” Alicent laughed. “Yes honey, he is.” She watched me feebly struggle against the tight ropes. “He walked in on us and we couldn't exactly let him walk back out. Everyone was supposed to leave after school but of course Tavian here could never leave when everyone else did. He always wanted to do one more drill, one more hour on the ice.”

“What are you saying, for goodness’s sake you just killed your mate!”

She struck me hard across the face.

“Shut up. This… this isn't my fault. I had to do something. He would have rejected me, then gone to his father and tattled, then my parents would have disowned me. I would have been a laughingstock.” I witnessed a madness in her eyes I hadn't noticed before. A psychotic gleam that made me sick in the stomach. “I had to do something.”

Declan drew her closer to him.

“Relax, babe. Don't get so worked up.”

He even called her babe?

“So what is your big plan huh? You're going to keep me here until you can make a run for it? Big whoop. The Greymoore pack will never stop until they hunt you down for killing their Alpha's son.”

I almost laughed. They really didn't think this through.

But then Alicent started laughing with me.

“Who said anything about keeping you here… alive?”

My blood turned to ice and my fingers went nimble.

“You’re going to… Alicent no, no, please, my mother she… I'm all she has, if anything happens to me my mother will literally go crazy.” I started thrashing against the pillar. “Declan please, tell her—okay fine, I won't say anything. I won't say a word about today if you would please just let me go. I swear on my father's grave that I won't.”

Declan sighed and started to undo my restraints. I clasped my hands together as tears streamed freely from my eyes.

“Oh thank you, thank you.”

I didn't care that he cheated anymore.

At least he was letting me go.

I could cry about that later when I got home.

“Big Red.” He whispered. “You should have just gone home.”

I thought he was freeing me. I was so wrong.

Declan took away the restraints and pushed me against the ground. He straddled and pinned both my hands to the wet floor right beside Tavian.

“We'll make it look like a fight. Everyone knew he bullied you and maybe you finally had enough and you both attacked each other and fought… till the death.”

His palm covered my mouth with his other hand to trap my screams in.

“Do it now, Alicent. I can't hold her for long. Do it now.”

My head turned sideways to see Alicent growing out her claws. They glinted against the sunlight as she neared me. “Say hi to your dad for me.”

She stabbed her claw into my chest and twisted her hand until she was wrist deep into my chest. Everything went silent in my head. A tear slipped down my eye, my mouth fell open and my legs slacked against the ground.

She pulled out her wrist and what remained of my beating heart sat in her hand. “Oh fuck,” she gagged. “I didn't really mean for things to happen like this.”

She threw it on the ground.

The last thing my brain registered was Tavian’s fingers twitching and reaching out for mine. I don't know if I imagined it, but I felt a spark where our fingers touched.

And then my consciousness faded into the darkness completely.