Chapter 20
1081 Words
Chapter 20
ZIRAEL
ZIRAEL
Solaya was speaking again, her voice filled with smug satisfaction as she circled the bound woman like a predator playing with wounded prey.
"Look at that. The little brat is just as weak as her mother. Without a wolf, she's nothing."
She moved closer to Avaline, her perfect features twisted with malice that made her beautiful face look ugly and distorted.
"And with her eighteenth birthday tomorrow, I'm not sure she'll even get her wolf. The Moon Goddess doesn't favor the weak."
"Tomorrow?" Dion asked, his interest clearly piqued as he turned his attention from the unconscious child to her mother. "She's coming of age tomorrow?"
"That's right," Solaya confirmed, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "Which means dear Avaline here needs to remember her place. She shouldn't force Alpha Monroe to make one of you mate her tomorrow night."
The implications of her words hit me like a physical blow. They were threatening to force Avaline into a mating bond with one of the Alpha's sons – essentially condemning her to a life of servitude and abuse. And they were using her daughter as leverage to ensure her compliance.
"You understand your position, don't you?" Alistar said, his voice carrying a note of false concern that made my skin crawl. "You're human, powerless, and completely dependent on our family's mercy. If you want to keep your daughter safe, you'll do exactly as you're told."
Avaline's eyes were fixed on Aida's motionless form, tears streaming down her battered face. The child wasn't moving at all, and I could see the panic building in her mother's expression as she struggled against her bonds, desperate to reach her daughter.
"I understand," she whispered, her voice broken with despair and resignation.
"Good," Solaya said with satisfaction, smoothing down her dress as if she hadn't just participated in the beating of a defenseless woman and the brutal assault of a child. "Then we can all be civilized about this."
The three of them began to walk away, leaving Avaline bound and Aida unconscious on the forest floor. The casual cruelty of it, the way they simply abandoned an injured child without even checking if she was seriously hurt, was more than I could bear to witness.
I felt Lucerion tense beside me, his muscles coiling in preparation to strike. His fangs were fully extended, and I could hear the low growl rumbling in his chest – a sound that promised death and destruction.
But as they disappeared into the trees, I held Lucerion back with a firm grip on his arm. "Not yet," I said quietly, my voice barely above a whisper. "Let's see what she does."
He looked at me with confusion and fury warring in his pale eyes, clearly struggling to understand why I would delay our intervention. But he trusted me enough to wait, though every line of his body screamed with the need for violence.
Avaline was already moving the moment her tormentors were out of sight, dragging herself across the forest floor despite her bound hands. Her knees scraped against rocks and roots, leaving bloody trails in her wake that glinted in the moonlight, but she didn't stop or even slow down until she reached her daughter's side.
"Aida," she whispered, her voice breaking with emotion as she pressed her face against the child's small form. "Please, baby, wake up. Please be okay."
The child's eyes fluttered open after what felt like an eternity, unfocused and confused as she tried to orient herself. A thin line of blood trickled from the gash on her forehead, and I could see the way she struggled to focus on her mother's face.
"Mummy?" she whispered, her small hand reaching up shakily to touch the blood on her forehead, her fingers coming away red and sticky.
"I'm here, sweetheart," Avaline said, tears streaming down her face as she tried to work her bound hands free so she could properly examine her daughter's injuries. "I'm here. Everything's going to be okay."
But I could hear the lie in her voice, the way it trembled with uncertainty and fear. She didn't believe her own words, and neither did I. Nothing about this situation was okay.
Aida tried to sit up but immediately swayed, her small body trembling with pain and shock. "My head hurts," she whimpered, pressing her hand against the wound that was still bleeding steadily.
"I know, baby, I know," Avaline said, her voice raw with anguish as she finally managed to loosen the ropes binding her wrists. The moment her hands were free, she pulled Aida into her arms, holding her as if she could shield her from all the pain and cruelty of the world through sheer force of will.
I watched as she carefully examined the gash on Aida's forehead, her fingers gentle despite their trembling. The wound was deep enough to need stitches, and I could see the fear in Avaline's eyes as she realized the severity of her daughter's injury.
"We need to get you to a healer," she said, trying to keep her voice steady and calm for Aida's sake.
"No," Aida said immediately, her small voice filled with panic as she clutched at her mother's torn clothing. "No healers. They'll tell the Alpha, and then you'll get in trouble again."
The fact that this child was more concerned about her mother's safety than her own bleeding head wound spoke volumes about the life they had been forced to live. It made something dark and furious coil in my chest, a protective instinct I hadn't felt in centuries.
"Aida, you're hurt," Avaline argued, though her voice was weak with exhaustion and pain. "You need medical attention."
"I'll be fine," Aida insisted stubbornly, though she was still swaying in her mother's arms. "We can just go back to our room and clean it up ourselves. Like we always do."
Like they always did. The casual way she spoke about treating injuries without proper medical care suggested this wasn't the first time they had been forced to hide evidence of abuse. How many times had this child been hurt and had to suffer in silence to protect her mother?
Avaline pressed her forehead against Aida's, her tears falling freely now as the weight of their situation crashed down on her. "I'm so sorry, baby," she whispered, her voice breaking completely. "I'm so sorry I can't protect you. I'm so sorry you have to live like this."
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