Chapter 3

TASHA

"It would've been better if she died," Kirk said.

My eyes stayed shut, but when I heard those words, everything inside me squirmed with fear.

My throat felt tight, like someone had wrapped a hand around it.

For a second, I hoped my eyes were playing tricks on me. Maybe this was a dream. Maybe I was still unconscious.

But then I heard Violet's voice.

"You're right." She whispered. "She ruined everything last night. If she had just died last night, we wouldn't be here. We need to finish what we started. We can't let her get out of here alive."

My heart jumped so hard I feared it would jump right out of my throat. I tried to force myself up, but my body felt so heavy and wouldn't cooperate. I opened my eyes slowly, my chest hurting with each breath as I saw the dim hospital room whose walls were lit up by the blue light from the beeping monitor above my head. I felt a needle in my hand, an IV line taped to my skin.

Kirk's back was turned to me while he was talking to Violet near the door.

"Who knows if she even took the pills. I am starting to think that maybe she did this on purpose," he said. "She always wants attention. Always wants everyone to feel sorry for her."

My heart cracked.

What?

Why would he think that? Why would he think I wanted to cough up blood and collapse in front of the whole Pack?

In a bid to defend myself and discourage them from harming me more than they already had, I spoke up but only a small sound slipped out of me. "K-Kirk..."

The both of them froze.

Kirk was the first to turn around. His face didn't show any relief or happiness. All I could see was just anger. Pure anger and unwavering disgust.

"You're awake," he said flatly.

Violet folded her arms and smirked like she had been waiting for this exact moment.

I swallowed hard, but winced as my dry throat responded with an ache. Then in that small voice that I could only muster, I asked. "So you... so you did this to me? You want me dead."

He stared at me like I was shit and he'd just stepped on me.

That alone hurt more than the blood, more than the agonizing pain I felt while collapsing, more than losing my only child to that monster of a woman and more than the whole last year I'd spent behind bars.

"Do you hate me that much?" I whispered.

The room went dead silent.

He didn't blink, or move, or breathe. He just looked at me.

He said nothing, instead he clenched his jaw, turned, stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him so hard the walls shook, making my breath hitch and making me flinch.

Violet didn't follow.

Instead she watched me for a moment, before slowly walking to my bedside and sitting down on the chair.

"Finally," she said with a soft, sinister smile. "We're alone."

My stomach gave a sharp twist because those words instantly reminded me about what she'd said earlier. "We can't let her get out of here alive."

"Leave, Violet. Please."

"Why?" She shrugged. "You're going to die soon anyway."

My blood went cold. "Please leave. Help!" I tried to raise my voice to call for help but my words came out in a whisper.

She pushed closer to me and once she was very close, she leaned in, so closer her warm, sickening breath fanned my skin. "I said... it was best if you died. Everyone knows it. Even your own mother. Even Kirk. You're a nuisance, a disgrace, keeping you alive would be exhausting."

My heart was slamming ferociously against my ribs now. "Why... Why do you hate me?"

Her smile was thin and cruel. "Because your presence alone ruins everything. Kirk and I are meant for each other, and as long you're alive you'll only keep getting in our way."

I tried to shake my head but my neck felt so stiff. Whatever sedative they'd given me was so powerful. The thought alone intensified the stultifying fear that'd engulfed me.

"I never did anything to you-"

"Yes, you did." She suddenly snapped, her voice sharp like shards of glass. "You made me suffer. So I returned the favour."

"Made you suffer?" My breath hitched. "What are you talking about?"

She laughed. "Do you remember the accident? The one that made you start limping for a while?

My entire body tensed.

"I caused it," She whispered like she was sharing gossip. "I loosened the bolts on your car myself. I wanted you hurt. Just not dead. Not yet."

My throat closed up. "You... you tried to kill me?"

"Oh, please," she rolled her eyes, "you didn't die. You just walked funny for a few weeks. Nothing serious."

I stared at her in horror, my mind racing.

Why?

Why would she do something that evil? I always knew she hated me but not this much.

"And your second child?" She continued.

My breath stopped.

No.

No.

Not that. There was no way she could have done that.

However, I was already simmering with anger because her inflection insinuated and suggested she was the one. She waited a while, watching as my anger transitioned to an overwhelming wave of sadness.

"What about my child, you witch?"

Her smile softened. "That was me too. A little herb slipped into your tea was just enough to... remove the problem."

What was left of my heart shattered into a million pieces. A sound came out of me that didn't feel human. "You monster-"

"Oh, shut up," she snapped. "You were never meant to have children with him. That baby wasn't supposed to exist. Kirk hated you for losing it and I made sure he believed it was your fault."

I choked on my own breath. "You were the one who told him I did it on purpose?!"

"Yes," she sounded proud. "And he believed me because he hates you. Because you're a pathetic, weak thing. And you keep clinging to him."

I wanted to scream, but nothing came out.

"He was supposed to be mine," she continued. "But then you came along with your dumb tears and your stupid loyalty. But it doesn't matter now. He's back where he belongs."

I shook my head. "You're sick."

"Oh no, sweetie," she whispered, leaning in again, "you're the one who's sick. Actually..." she reached toward my IV line, her fingers brushing the tube, "You're about to get much sicker."

A bolt of adrenaline exploded through me, awakening my flight and fight instincts, but the sedative was so strong all I could do was jerk my hand. "What the hell are you doing?"

She held up a small syringe filled with clear liquid. "Helping you speed up the process."

"Violet- stop!" I yelled, but it came out as a croaked whisper.

It was too late however, because she'd already pushed it into the IV port and emptied it.

I gasped, eyes widening as the panic clawed its way into my chest. "What the fuck did you just do?"

She didn't answer.

She stood up with a little smile and walked toward the door.

I tried to push myself out of the bed. I needed a nurse. I needed help. I needed anyone.

But then, my chest suddenly seized.

Hard.

A sharp, burning pain spread through my ribs like hot metal. My vision trembled and the monitor next to me started beeping faster.

"No... no, no, no-" I tried to call out, but my voice broke.

The pain exploded across my chest again, ripping through my heart like it was being squeezed by a giant fist. My body arched off the bed, my back slamming into the mattress again.

Every inhale felt like knives.

My fingers curled on their own, shaking violently while my legs jerked and my heart hammered so loud I could hear it in my skull-

then suddenly it skipped.

Skipped again.

Then stopped.

A long, endless beep filled the room.

But by a wild twist of fate, I was still alive, still awake, still conscious, still trapped.

That's when Violet ran out of the room.. Minutes later, the doctors and the nurses rushed into the room, barking out orders and pushing on my chest, shocking me again and again. My body convulsed but I couldn't scream. Couldn't speak. Couldn't move.

However, I was still in here.

Still aware and feeling all the pain as they tried to bring me back to life. Still listening, still trapped.

They tried all they could, but in the end... They failed.

It was after that that I heard the words that broke me more than death. "She's brain dead. Time of declaration- 11:43 p.m."

Everyone walked out of the room one by one while Violet was crying somewhere in the background, with Kirk consoling her. A few minutes after they were all gone, a nurse walked in and covered me with white cloth. She walked out right after that, but then someone entered almost immediately. I knew it wasn't the nurse because the footsteps were heavy. The figure walked up and stood right next to my bed. He was close. Too close.

And then the deep, male voice said. "You deserve this. Once you are gone... immortality will be mine."