chapter 10
1478 Words
Chapter 10
Iris
I stayed frozen for what felt like a long time.
My face stung from the force of the slap, but I did not speak. I did not move my hand to touch my burning cheek. Instead, I just looked at Aunty Lucy. Her face was twisted with a strange kind of triumph, as if hitting me had solved all her problems.
Then, I turned my gaze to the rest of the people in the room. They were all watching me like I was a criminal.
Finn stood a few feet away, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked at me with deep disappointment in his eyes, as if I were the one who had betrayed him.
"You are really a disappointment, Iris," he said, his voice cold and sharp. "How dare you say Uncle Grey is sleeping with Fiona? Do you have no shame? Do you even realize that Fiona is like a daughter to him? He helped raise her. Your lies are disgusting."
I couldn't help it. I let out a short, sharp laugh.
I looked at him and felt a wave of pity. He was so incredibly stupid. He stood there defending the girl he cherished so much, completely unaware that she was having an affair with his own uncle right under his nose.
He had no idea that if he actually made Fiona his Luna, he was signing his own death warrant. She would kill him one day without a second thought and hand the entire pack title over to Uncle Grey.
I realized then that Grandpa must have seen all of this. He must have known how blind and foolish his son could be. That had to be why he gave me the highest share of the pack. He wanted to make sure this stupid man didn't destroy everything Grandpa had built.
"Aunty, tell me something," I said calmly, looking back at Lucy. I ignored the throbbing in my face. "Do you usually slap people when they tell you the truth? Do you honestly think I am just speaking trash? I wasn't trying to hurt you. I just decided to give you some advice. It is best you find a suitable mate now, before you end up regretting everything later."
The room went deathly silent.
Aunty Lucy’s eyes widened, and for a second, I saw a flicker of doubt in them. But before she could speak, Finn moved.
He stepped forward and grabbed my hand with a rough, painful jerk.
"I have had enough of your mouth," he growled. "Today I will show you how an Alpha actually rules his pack. You think you can say whatever you want just because Grandpa isn't here to stop me?"
He dragged me across the floor. I tried to pull my hand away, digging my heels into the carpet, but he was far too strong.
He was a shifter in his prime, and I was just a woman trying to protect the tiny life inside me. I didn't want to fight too hard and risk hurting the baby, so I had to let him pull me toward the back of the house.
He led me to the heavy wooden doors that led down to the basement. There were several rooms down there, but he didn't take me to the finished area where the laundry was kept. He took me to a door at the very end of the hall.
This one was in bad shape—the wood was splintering, and the area around it was dark and dirty. He didn't even bother to choose a clean room for me.
He shoved me inside the small, damp space. The floor was cold concrete, and the air smelled like old dust.
"You will stay here for a while and learn your lesson," he said, staring down at me. "Maybe the darkness will help you remember how to be grateful."
I scrambled to my feet and glared at him. "You are crazy, Finn! You are absolutely sick!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.
He didn't respond. He simply shut the heavy door and I heard the lock click into place.
I got so angry that I threw myself at the door, hitting the wood with my fists over and over again. I kicked it until my toes hurt, but it wouldn't budge.
"Open this door!" I screamed, but the only answer was the sound of his retreating footsteps.
Eventually, I gave up. I sat down on the cold floor, pulling my knees to my chest. I felt a tear slip down my face, but I wiped it away quickly. I wasn't going to break.
I reached into my pocket and took out my phone. Thank God he hadn't thought to take it from me.
I called Ava. She picked up on the second ring.
"Iris? Where are you? You sound strange," she said immediately.
"I am not okay, Ava," I whispered, my voice shaking slightly. "Finn locked me up in the basement. He’s gone completely mad."
I heard a loud crash on the other end of the line, like she had dropped something. "He did what? That’s it! I am coming over right now with the authorities. I don't care if it's pack territory!" she yelled.
"No, don't come," I told her firmly. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my heart. "If you come now, it will only make things more complicated. I have a plan. Just a few more days. I am going to make sure Finn and his entire family pay the price for everything they have done to me. I want them to lose everything."
Ava was silent for a moment. "Are you sure you're safe?"
"I'll be fine," I lied. "Just don't worry about me."
I hung up the phone and lay down on the hard floor. I used my arm as a pillow and stared at the dark ceiling. I don't know how much time passed. It felt like hours, maybe even a whole day. The only light came from a tiny, cracked window high up near the ceiling.
Finally, I heard the lock turn.
The door swung open, and the bright light from the hallway blinded me for a second. I looked up and saw Finn standing there. He didn't look sorry at all. He looked down at me with that same burning anger.
"Have you learned your lesson yet?" he asked.
I sat up slowly, my bones aching from the concrete. I looked at him for a long time, not bothering to hide the hatred in my eyes.
"How can I ever be happy seeing your face?" I asked him. "Just looking at you makes me want to punch you. You are a coward, Finn."
He narrowed his eyes. "I don't care what you think of me. You are going to apologize to Uncle Grey right now, whether you like it or not. You will go out there and tell him you were lying."
Before I could answer, two large guards stepped into the room. They didn't ask me to stand; they simply grabbed my arms and dragged me up. My feet barely touched the ground as they hauled me out of the basement and up the stairs.
They took me straight to the main living room. The whole family was there again, sitting in their fancy chairs like a panel of judges. The guards pushed me forward, and I lost my balance, falling onto the hard floor. They didn't let me get up. They held my shoulders and made me kneel right in the middle of the room.
I looked around at them. They all looked so smug, so superior. Fiona was the first one to speak. She leaned forward, her face settled into that sweet, innocent look that I hated so much.
"Iris, look at what you've done to yourself," she said in her soft, high-pitched voice. "You offended Uncle Grey so deeply. As for me, I forgive you for the mean things you said about me. I really do. But you cannot leave this room until you apologize to Uncle Grey for those horrible lies."
I looked at her, then I turned my head to look at Uncle Grey. He was sitting there with his arms crossed, looking down his nose at me. Then I looked at Finn, who was standing behind them like a loyal dog.
I started to chuckle. The sound started deep in my chest and turned into a real laugh. I looked at all of them and shook my head.
"Apologize to a messed up person like him?" I asked, my voice echoing in the large room. "You guys are truly sick. You are all so incredibly stupid that it's almost funny. I would rather die right here on this floor than apologize for telling the truth."
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