05~ I'll Finish What You Started

Avery's Point Of View

Days had bled into weeks since Julian chose Sophia and rejected me. Every moment since had been a slow, agonizing descent into hell.

I lost count of the nights I cried myself to sleep, of the times I bled so much I thought death might finally take me. The pain was a constant companion, a searing, unrelenting reminder of Julian’s betrayal. It wasn’t just emotional, it was physical. A curse. A punishment. Every time he touched Sophia, every time he let her near him, my body burned as if my veins were filled with molten lava. My loins would catch fire, the agony spreading through every nerve, every muscle, until I was nothing but a trembling, gasping mess on the floor.

"Argh!"

A soul-wrenching scream tore from my throat as I dropped the glass I’d been holding. It shattered against the stone floor, the sound lost beneath the roar of my own suffering. My body convulsed, my back arching as the pain ripped through me, a thousand knives twisting in my gut. I knew what this meant.

Julian was with her again.

This was the pain he’d warned me about, the reason he refused to let me accept his rejection. He wanted me to suffer. He wanted me to feel every moment he spent with Sophia, every touch, every kiss, every whispered word. He wanted me broken.

And it was working.

"What have I done to deserve this?" I sobbed into the cold floor, my fingers clawing at the stone as if I could dig my way out of this torment. Other werewolves had mates who loved them, who cherished them. But mine? Mine was a monster who took pleasure in my agony.

Then, a memory surfaced... from days ago... one I’d tried to bury.

I had been passing by Julian’s study, my steps light, my heart still foolishly hopeful. The door had been ajar, and I’d heard voices... Julian and his friends, their words sharp with amusement and something darker.

"You’ve got to let her go, man," one of them had said, his voice laced with unease. "She’s an omega, no wolf, no strength. What’s the point of keeping her around?"

Julian’s laugh had been cold, sending a shiver down my spine. "Because she’s mine. Having my mate with me makes me stronger. Sophia is my Luna, but Avery? She can be my plaything. An omega has no place beside an Alpha, but she can make a good whore."

"You’ve hurt her enough," another had argued. "Let her go."

"No." Julian’s voice had been final, possessive. "She’s my mate. And I’m not letting her go. I want to break her slowly, until she has no choice but to remain with me. I want her to know that no matter how much she hates me, she’ll never escape. She’ll crawl back to me, begging for scraps of my attention, and I’ll remind her every day that she’s nothing without me."

I’d frozen, my breath catching in my throat. That was the moment I realized, he didn’t just want me. He wanted to own me. To destroy me. To make sure I had nothing left but him.

And the worst part?

I’d still stayed.

**********

The pain gradually subsided after what felt like hours, leaving me weak and hollow. I dragged myself to my feet, my limbs shaking, and began picking up the broken pieces of the glass. I was almost done when the kitchen door swung open.

Sophia.

Her smirk was immediate, her eyes gleaming with cruel satisfaction as she took in my trembling form. "Bitch," she purred, stepping closer, her voice a mocking coo. "How does it feel? How does it feel to know your mate is busy getting pleasure from me while you, his supposed mate, are wallowing in pain?"

I didn’t answer. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

She tilted her head, her smile turning sickeningly sweet. "Does it hurt, Avery? Knowing he’s with me? That he only looks at you with disgust while he can’t stay away from me?" She laughed, the sound like shattering glass. "Some people just aren’t worthy of a mate. And we both know that’s you."

I turned to leave, but she shoved me backward, her strength fueled by her wolf. Before I could steady myself, her hand cracked across my face, the slap echoing through the kitchen.

"When I ask a question, you answer, bitch!" she snarled, her eyes flashing with malice.

Then, footsteps.

Sophia’s smirk widened. She grabbed a knife from the counter, dragged it across her palm, and let it clatter to the floor before collapsing dramatically, her body hitting the stones with a thud.

I gasped, realization dawning like a punch to the gut.

She set me up.

Julian stormed into the kitchen, his eyes dark with a rage that seemed to consume the very air around him. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t ask. His hand coiled around my throat, slamming me against the wall so hard the breath was knocked from my lungs. The impact sent a jolt of pain through my spine, but I refused to show it. I refused to give him the satisfaction.

"This isn’t a mate," I thought, my mind racing even as my body screamed in protest. "This is a monster."

I couldn’t breathe. My fingers clawed at his arm, my nails digging into his skin, but he didn’t flinch. His grip was iron, his eyes burning with a cold, cruel amusement. Sophia stepped closer, her smirk widening as she watched me struggle.

"It’s fine, Julian," she purred, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "I took her mate. It’s understandable."

Julian’s grip tightened, his voice a low, dangerous growl. "Mate? She’s no mate to me. She’s my omega. My property. And nothing more."

Sophia’s smirk faltered for just a second, her eyes flickering with something almost like unease. But she recovered quickly, stepping even closer to Julian, her hand resting on his arm. "Of course, my love. She’s nothing. Just a toy for you to play with."

I didn’t say a word.

I just laughed.

The sound was bitter, broken, but it was real. And it was enough to make Sophia’s smirk slip, her eyes narrowing in fury. Julian’s grip on my throat loosened slightly, his brows furrowing as he stared down at me, confusion flickering in his gaze.

Then, I moved.

My hand slipped into the pocket of my dress, my fingers curling around the small knife I’d hidden there. In one swift motion, I slashed it across Sophia’s arm, the blade biting deep into her flesh. Blood sprayed, splattering across the floor, and Sophia screamed, her hand flying to the wound as she stumbled back.

"Now," I said, my voice steady despite the pain still throbbing in my throat, "I did slash her. Do your worst."

Julian’s eyes widened in shock, his grip on my neck faltering as he took in the scene. Sophia was clutching her arm, her face twisted in pain and fury, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The kitchen was silent except for the sound of her blood dripping onto the stone floor.

For a moment, no one moved.

Then Julian’s hand released me entirely, his expression shifting from shock to something darker, something more dangerous. But I didn’t care. I stood my ground, my body trembling but my resolve unbroken.

"Give her 120 lashes of the silver whip," Julian ordered, his voice cold, his eyes filled with disgust. "No food. No water. Three days."

The guards dragged me away, my body too weak to fight. The dungeon was worse than I imagined... damp, rank with the scent of blood and mildew. The air was thick, suffocating, as if the very walls were pressing in on me.

I was forced to my knees. Water was poured over me, the cold shock stealing what little breath I had left. Two guards stood over me, each holding a silver whip.

The first lash landed.

Fire erupted across my back, the pain so intense my vision whited out. I bit down on my lip, tasting blood, as the second lash followed. Then the third. The fourth.

1… 2… 3… 4…

I counted silently, clinging to the rhythm like a lifeline. Each strike burned, the silver searing my flesh, but I refused to scream. I refused to let them see me break.

"Jeez! How can someone be flogged with a silver whip and show no reaction?" one of the guards muttered, his voice laced with disbelief.

I didn’t answer. I didn’t care.

I focused on the pain, let it fuel the fire inside me. Julian would pay. Sophia would pay. They would kneel at my feet and beg for death, and I would deny them. Death would be too easy.

When the guards finally stopped, I slumped forward, my body a mass of agony. They left me in the cell, and I crawled into a corner, my back screaming with every movement. I let myself breathe, let the anger settle, and pushed back the tears.

This wasn’t the end.

I would make sure of that.

**********

Hours later.... or maybe days, the cell door creaked open. A guard grabbed me, dragging me from the filth. "The Alpha wants you in his study."

I was thrown into Julian’s room, my body barely holding itself upright. The moment his eyes landed on me, they darkened, not with anger, but with something far worse.

Lust.

Beast, I sneered inwardly, my gaze filled with contempt.

"Strip," he ordered, his voice low and twisted with amusement, eyes raking over me like I was nothing more than a toy to be used and discarded.

I froze. "What?"

"Don’t make me repeat myself, slave," he growled, stepping closer. "Strip. Now."

My hand slipped into my pocket, my fingers curling around the syringe I’d hidden there. I’d stolen it days ago, planning to end my own suffering, to finally escape the torment Julian had put me through. But now, looking at him, at the way he leered at me like I was his property, I realized something.

He needed it more than I did.

With a surge of defiance, I drove the syringe deep into his neck.

Julian stumbled back, his eyes widening in shock as he clutched at the injection site. "What… did you do…?"

"Wolfsbane," I replied, my voice steady, my smirk cold. "Not just any wolfsbane. Violet Monkshood Wolfsbane."

His knees buckled, his wolf howling in agony as the poison spread through his veins. He collapsed to the floor, his strength fading, his arrogance crumbling. The wolfsbane wouldn’t kill him... he was too powerful for that, but it would weaken him, break him, just as he had broken me.

"I would rather die than let a shame of a wolf like you touch me," I spat, stepping over him. "Now, I’ll finish what you started."

His eyes widened in horror as he realized what I was about to do.

"I, Avery Smith, accept the rejection of Julian Styles, Alpha of Krypta Clan, as my mate and Luna."

The words left my lips with a finality that shook the room. The bond between us snapped like a frayed thread, the relief so sudden it made my knees weak. The pain, the suffocating tie that had bound me to him for so long, was gone. I was free.

Julian’s howl of agony filled the room, raw and broken, as he thrashed on the floor. Footsteps pounded down the hall, but I didn’t wait. I turned and sprinted for the window, leaping through it without a second thought.

Then I ran.

I ran with everything I had, and I never looked back.