Chapter 56

Trigger Warning: The following chapter contains torture scenes. Alec Have you ever felt like you've been hit by a truck? That's how I felt right now when the man in front of me opened his mouth and spoke. I've always wanted the truth about that night. I have been searching for it for years. I wanted confirmation—confirmation that Sadie was truly deceitful, a conniving, backstabbing person. Well, I've finally gotten the truth, but it isn't what I was looking for. It isn't anything like I thought it would be. My heart and chest constrict painfully as his words ring over and over in my head like a broken record. What am I supposed to do now? How am I supposed to move on from this? I was righteous in my anger three years ago because I thought I was the victim. I held on to that righteousness for three years, thinking that I was the victim. I held on to my bitterness and anger, and all for what? Only to find out that my arrogant self was wrong the entire time. "Is the Goddess punishing us?" Knox asks softly, anguish in his voice. The last time he sounded this defeated was when Lola rejected us. "Probably," I answer, feeling like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. And it was true. The Goddess was probably punishing us—punishing us for condemning and hurting an innocent person. Making Sadie our mate was the biggest betrayal I've ever seen. It's like she was giving Sadie back the power I took from her when I accused her of something she didn't do. How could I have messed up so badly? How did I not realize that she was innocent this whole time? I run my hands down my face, trying to wipe away the guilt that was starting to rear its ugly head. I've always prided myself on being a fair person, a fair leader. I prided myself on serving the right judgment and giving those who deserve it punishment, yet here I was, and for the first time in my entire life, I hurt an innocent person. My sins keep piling up; the more I think of them, the weight of them all threatens to drown me. I thought I knew pain, but it's nothing compared to what you feel when you realize that you hurt the woman who was always meant to be your mate. Calvin's screams shatter my bubble of guilt and terror, bringing me back to reality. I stare numbly and coldly as Sadie twists the knife that was lodged in Calvin's side. "You said you wouldn't hurt me if I talked," Calvin whimpers through the pain. Sadie simply smiles and tsks. "I never said anything of that sort. You're the one who willingly accepted to tell me what I wanted to know. I would have forgiven you; you know? If you had been forced or threatened into hurting us, I would have let it go. Instead, you were a greedy little coward who chose to harm others for selfish gains." Sadie wrenches out the silver knife before plunging it in again. "While you thought of the money, did you think of what would have happened to us? Did you think of the damage leaving two drugged people alone would do? You know what happened? Alec and I ended up in bed together, and because of that, his mate rejected him, and he blamed me,” she snarls in anger, before hitting him across his already swollen face. Calvin shakes his head as his body starts to tremble, but Sadie doesn't stop there. "You know what happens when an alpha thinks you betrayed him? You become a target. They thought I colluded with you to drug him. I ended up in the dungeons, and you can imagine the horrors I saw there. You're in pain; now imagine a five-foot-two woman going through the exact same thing." I stumble back and use the wall to hold myself up. Her words were crashing down on me, tearing at the seams, breaking me in ways I never thought I'd break. "This scar on my face," Sadie asks, touching her cheek. “He gave it to me to remind me that I'm a traitor. To remind me of the torture he unleashed on me. How about I give you one so we can have matching scars?" That's the only warning Calvin gets before Sadie cuts open his cheek, making him scream in agony. Sadie takes pliers, and one by one, she breaks his fingers as if it were nothing. "Please stop," Calvin begs, his voice barely above a whisper, but I know it won't do a thing. "Why should I?" Sadie asks as she looks at the various items on the table. "I paid for your sins, Calvin. I screamed and begged, but no one gave a damn. All that, and then to find out you went against an alpha for money? Well, let's just say it angers me." I'm rooted to the floor as I watch Sadie torturing Calvin for the next hour or so. His screams fill the room, bouncing off the walls. They do nothing. They don't give any satisfaction; instead, they just remind me of Sadie's screams as she cried out in pain, insisting that she was innocent. Finally, Sadie finishes and Calvin slumps forward. If it were any other alpha, I would have handed it to them for being so thorough and merciless, but it wasn't any alpha. It was Sadie. She stops and lifts her face to look at me. Her eyes are ice-cold, dead on the inside. There is no warmth, no joy, nothing. I never paid attention to her when we were younger, but I remember the warm and happy girl she was. Now, looking at her, there are no traces of that girl anywhere behind those eyes. My heart slows down, and I feel like it's been squeezed by a fist. The girl we all knew is gone—completely gone. What the hell is wrong with Piper? After seeing what Sadie could do, why is she being defiant and trying to attack her? Before she can get to her, Sadie raises her fist and punches her right in the face. The crunch of bone breaking fills the room just before Piper lands hard on the floor. "How dare you?" Sadie yells, her anger palpable as it fills the room. "How dare you?" Sadie starts to advance on Piper, as Piper scrambles back in fear. I try to get to my sister, but Sadie releases an energy pulse that stops my movement. I watch, completely horrified, as Sadie hits my sister again while I stand frozen, unable to help her. "Sadie, stop it!" I yell, thrashing to be released from my confinement. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut because it seems my voice triggers something dark inside her. She turns, her eyes completely white and glowing. Dangerous energy fills the room, sending alarm bells ringing inside my head. "Stop it?" she asks with a sinister smile. "I'm just getting started." "Please stop," Piper begs. "Hurt me, but please don't hurt Calvin." The laughter that comes from Sadie is cold, calculated, and chilling. It's the kind of laughter that even full-grown men would be afraid of. "It's funny how you are willing to defend a man you haven't known for that long, yet you never once defended the friend you knew all your life," Sadie says in that dead voice. "What's even funnier is that he's actually guilty while I was not. So tell me, Piper, should I have even called you a friend? Because from where I'm standing, you're the two-faced backstabbing traitor you all accused me of being." Piper winces in pain, and I can see how Sadie's words affect her, how they shred her into pieces. As much as I want to deny it, Sadie is right. Piper never spoke a word to defend Sadie, yet she's done nothing but defend her mate since we realized who he is. "Sadie," Piper tries to gently call her name. "Don't utter my name!" With that, she wraps her hand around Piper's neck and lifts her clean off the ground. Without warning, she plunges her hand inside Piper's chest, making her gasp in surprise. I release a roar of anger and fear as I thrash, trying to get free. There is no use because her powers are holding me in place, making sure I can't move an inch. My heart breaks at seeing the pain in Piper's face. "I remember this scene; the only difference is that the one whose life was on the line was mine," Sadie states, without emotion. She then turns to me and gives a smirk before twisting her hand, which makes Piper scream in pain. "How does it feel having someone play god with the life of someone you love, Alec?" My breaths come fast, and my hands are clenched. I swallow past the thickness that has clogged my throat in an effort to free my airway. "Those feelings right there—fear and hopelessness—those are what I felt when you did this to me. That's what I felt when I thought about Aspen. So let me ask you again, how does it feel?" Terrible. Just terrible. That's how it felt. I didn't fully grasp what Sadie felt when she told me about that day until this moment right here. I try to think of a way to stop this. She was angry, and rightfully so, but I couldn't let her kill my sister. I breathe a sigh of relief when King steps into the room. "Let her go, Sadie," King tells her softly, warmth and love shining in his eyes. Shocking enough, Sadie listens. She withdraws her hand without warning, causing Piper to hit the floor. She steps over Piper as if she were nothing but a piece of trash. "You're no fun," she tells him, pouting. King just snickers before grabbing her hand. "Come on, Aspen is waiting for us so we can have breakfast together." They leave without another look back. Released from the hold she had on me, I slump back against the chair. "Are you okay?" I ask my sister in worry. It was a dumb question, but I didn't know what else to do—not when Piper looked so lost and broken. "Yeah," she tries wiping her tears, but they keep falling. As I stare at her, seeing her broken nose, black eye, and the blood that stained the center of her top, it dawns on me that everything is my fault.