You Wouldn't Dare

CHAPTER 15 - VIOLET

“Khaos,” I breathed, trying to take in the sight in front of me. My stomach

lurched when I heard Logan’s lifeless body hitting the floor with a sickening

thud. I swallowed down the lump in my throat, my breathing coming in short,

terrified gasps. My heart felt as though it was going to burst out of my chest.

“Khaos...” I tried again, not knowing what to say beyond this.

“Don’t f*****g speak to me,” he roared, throwing Logan’s head to the

floor. He curled his lip as the head rolled, landing face up. Logan’s expression

would forever be burned in my mind, that awful look of terrified horror, his eyes

wide with shock. I pressed a hand over my mouth to try to hide the sob that

threatened to break through, but as usual, I could get nothing past Khaos.

“Does this bother you, Violet? I’m sorry, let me fix this for you,” he said

pleasantly as he stomped on Logan’s face, crushing it beneath his feet. I turned

my head and violently vomited as his entire face seemed to burst under Khaos’

boot, his eyes springing from their sockets. A shadow fell over me as I dry

heaved, having nothing left to bring up.

“Get up!” he ordered, his expression cold and unfeeling.

“Get away from me!” I cried, crawling backwards away from him,

slipping slightly when my hand landed in my own vomit. Khaos cursed, roughly

grabbing me by my arm as he hauled me to my feet, dropping all contact with

me instantly, as though he couldn’t bear to touch me.

“Now is not the time to piss me off, Violet,” he muttered through

clenched teeth, the veins in his neck and forehead protruding with the effort of

holding himself back.

“You killed him!” I screamed, my legs shaking as I struggled to hold

myself up.

“Ten out of ten for observation. I warned you that you wouldn’t like it if

I caught you together again, yet here you are! The minute my f*****g back is

turned!”

“You’re joking, aren’t you?! I was telling him I wasn’t interested! I told

him I was happy here!”

“Don’t f*****g lie to me!” I flinched with sheer terror. “I’m not stupid,

Violet. I saw you gazing at him with a lovesick expression! You couldn’t take

your eyes off him! Your hands were all over him!”

“No, please, that’s not what happened! You have to believe me!”

“Have to? I don’t have to do anything. You’re a liar. Just like Ryssa. All

women are the same! And to think I thought you were different!” I couldn’t take it anymore; my heart was breaking with every word he spoke. Before my very

eyes, I saw the shutters come down, saw him retreat back into the violent,

stubborn, unfeeling shell he had been when we first met.

“Don’t you dare compare me to her! I would never hurt you!”

                                               KHAOS 

Never hurt me?!

So why was I feeling as though I had given her the absolute best of me,

and she had thrown it back in my face? This hurt worse than Louisa’s betrayal,

worse than all the abuse I had suffered as a child. I had put my trust in her, made

myself vulnerable and open and she had repaid me in the most soul-shattering

way.

I would never be able to get the image out of my mind of my mate

clinging on to her ex, speaking in low, hushed tones. I wanted to believe her; I

needed to believe her. But how could I? It was too much of a coincidence that he

was here the day I decided to put my faith in her. So, I lashed out, trying to hurt

her as I was hurting.

“You,” I snarled, interrupting her begging, “would never hurt me because

you don’t have that power. You mean nothing to me; someone you don’t care

about can’t hurt you.”

“You don’t mean that,” she whispered, looking utterly crushed and

defeated. She was an excellent actor. I’ll give her that. Or maybe she wasn’t,

maybe it wasn’t me she was bothered about at all. Her precious Logan was dead

after all. She had the perfect excuse to let out her heartbreak and pretend it was

me she was crying over. I hardened my resolve. She had shown me who she

truly was. From the first day she had been insistent on returning to her home

pack, and I had allowed myself to believe that she had changed her mind.

Thinking back, I remembered the impossible task she had laid at my feet, the

way she had demanded that I become an entirely different person. Then, I had

seen it as a way to improve our relationship, but now doubts were creeping in.

Did she lay out so many terms and conditions as a sure-fire way to make me fail

her test? She was never going to stay, as far as she was concerned, she belonged

at the Atlantis pack with her parents and Logan.

“Don’t I? Ask me where I was today, Violet. Go on, ask!” I yelled when

she didn’t answer me.

“Khaos, please. You’re scaring me.”

“Ask me!”

“You - You were out on p-p-pack business.” She could barely talk as her

teeth chattered, her breathing coming in pathetic hiccups. “Right. Pack business,” I repeated. I was more pathetic than I had ever

imagined. I had spent the morning with an allied pack, finding out the best way

to bond with Violet. A warrior of mine, one of the most lethal killers I had ever

had the pleasure of working alongside, had transferred to this pack when he met

his mate. I had figured if she could forgive his sins, he could help me with my

own mate. I saw the way Violet still looked at me with veiled eyes, she still

didn’t trust me and was hesitant to let me too close. Now I knew why.

“You’re not good for this pack. You will never fit in, never belong.

We’ve worked hard for everything we have! Nothing ever came easy for us!

You spent your life hosting tea parties and playing dress-up. Your superficial,

frivolous ways are disgusting to me and a pretty face and the odd blowjob isn’t

going to cut it! But it was when we went running as our wolves that I knew for

sure. I knew that she was as pathetic as her human, too useless to contribute

anything towards the pack dynamic! I was trying to get rid of you. The “pack

business” was arranging your transfer the f**k out of here! Now I have the

perfect excuse.”

To give Violet her credit, she could disguise her feelings just as well as I

could. She threw her head back, tossing her hair over her shoulder as her eyes

met mine.

“So, let me go then. I’ll go back to my parents. You needn’t have gone to

such trouble, I’ve been asking to leave since day one. In fact, show me the way

and I’ll leave now.”

She tried to brush past me, and my hand shot out to grab her arm,

bringing my face close to hers.

“On no, little one. Not anymore. That was before you snuck off here to

be with your beloved, back when I had a tiny bit of affection for you. Back

before I witnessed for myself what a disgusting, lying little slut you really are.”

She actually had the audacity to scoff at me, the f*****g nerve to roll her eyes

with her false bravado. As far as I was concerned that confirmed her guilt. “I see

you’ve given up trying to deny it.”

“What would be the point? You live in a nasty little world, trapped in

your dirty little mind with your nasty thoughts. Of course you’re going to believe

the worst of everybody, because you yourself are the worst kind of person. So do

your worst, Khaos, you would never give me the chance to explain anyway.” I

smirked at her as an idea came to mind.

“You want to explain? Come on.” I grabbed her elbow, yanking her back

towards the house. “Let’s get you comfortable and you can explain.”

                                     VIOLET 

Khaos dragged me into the same hall we had been in last night, the scheming

look on his face both scaring me and making me highly suspicious. One by one,

wolves piled into the room, each questioning why they had been called for

another meeting so soon.

“Thank you for coming.” Khaos addressed the ever-growing crowd, his

voice booming over everyone else’s. “It appears we have a problem. This

morning a wolf was able to make his way onto my territory, contact my mate and

have a secret rendezvous with her behind my back. Isn’t that right, Violet?” I

shook my head at him, my eyes shining bright with tears. “No, sorry, you do

right to shake your head. I stand corrected - you’re not my mate, are you? We

might be fated to be together by the Goddess herself, but that’s not good enough

for our special little Violet. Is it?!” He roared when I still refused to speak. I

would dignify nothing he had to say with an answer. I would not let him

humiliate me like this in front of all these people. Khaos curled his lip at me in

disgust and turned back to the crowd before him.

“Did you all know that before Violet and I met, she was in a serious

relationship? Obviously, I put a stop to that as soon as I found out. Or so I

thought. Who were you with today, Violet? Who did I find you kissing? Whose

body were your hands caressing, whose ear were you whispering in?”

One by one the crowd looked at me, their gaze turning angry. I didn’t

need the mind-link to read their thoughts. It finally broke me into speaking up

and defending myself.

“It wasn’t like that! He came to me! I told him I was happy here, that I

wanted to stay! You have no right to humiliate me in this way! I’ve done

absolutely nothing wrong! I love it here; you’ve all been so welcoming and

gracious. I don’t know what you think you saw, but I know it’s wrong! I would

never betray you, never hurt you!” I rushed forward so I could grab his hands in

mine, pleading with him to believe me.

“You already did,” he whispered, low enough for only my ears to pick

up. The last remaining piece of my heart shattered into a million pieces as his

armour slipped for that brief moment and I saw the raw emotion, heard the

burning hurt in his words.

“I don’t want him, Khaos, I want you. From the moment we met, it’s

always been you!”

“I don’t believe you. It’s me because it has to be. You no longer have a

choice now Logan is gone. You’ve proven to me twice now that you will choose

Logan over me, why else haven’t we completed the mating? Because you didn’t

want to, Violet. Remember that. I told you we would do it when you were ready,

and never once did you want anything other than s*x. All it would have taken was one word, one small action to show me that you were ready for a life with

me, and not just horny and desperate. I offered everything I have, and it wasn’t

good enough.”

“It was good enough! It is good enough! Don’t let this ruin us, don’t let it

destroy everything we’ve worked so hard to build.”

“It’s too late. You ruined us; you destroyed my trust in you. What would

have happened if I hadn’t returned when I did? Would I even have had my mate

to return to? Would you have bothered to say goodbye?”

A few of the more dominant wolves shouted, calling out to their Alpha as

they felt the hurt over the bond. The shouts grew louder as more and more

wolves joined in, demanding that I be punished or thrown out, left to fend for

myself. Even Jasmine looked at me with disdain, her face dark with anger and

her own hurt for the lost friendship we had been forging. I looked down at the

ground, sobbing openly, not knowing how to make this pain end.

I felt Khaos gently lift my chin until our gazes locked. Before he could

say anything, I burst out, “I love you, Khaos, I would never intentionally hurt

you. I was telling Logan exactly that when he kissed me! I pushed him away,

Khaos! You need to believe me.”

He stepped back, gesturing towards the guards. “Just take her. Lock her

in my room. Leave the key on the desk in my office, I’ll deal with her later.”

The nearest guard attempted to reach out for me, but I shrugged him off,

willingly going with them as they escorted me out. At the last minute, I turned

back to Khaos.

“You’re going to be incredibly sad and lonely if this is the way you’re

choosing to end things. You know me, look past your own hurt and stubbornness

for five minutes and you’ll see I’m telling the truth. You’re blinded by your

hatred and obsession for Logan, but have you seen his death affect me at all?

Think about that.”

I was beginning to think this wasn’t worth it at all. As sweet as he could

be, I couldn’t live this life, constantly terrified of his lack of trust in me. Logan’s

parents had lost their son, I had lost my childhood best friend, but all that

mattered was how Khaos was hurting.

Yes, Logan f****d up, but did that mean he deserved to die like that? He

wouldn’t even get a proper burial. Khaos fully intended to leave him to rot in

those woods. His parents would never know what had happened.

How many more people were destined to die for the sake of Khaos and

me?

“Come on, Lu… Violet,” the guard corrected himself, looking down at

the floor sheepishly. I gave him a filthy look before turning to Khaos once more. “Whilst

you’re busy hating me, calling me out for my sins, you would do well to think of

how it was Logan managed to get onto pack grounds. I certainly didn’t sneak

him in. There’s a weak link in your armour, Khaos, and someone far more

sinister than Logan will take advantage of that one day.”

I flinched as the door slammed shut behind me, leaving me alone with

the guards who couldn’t stand to look at me.

I lifted my chin, straightening my spine. I hadn’t done eighteen years

under Amanda’s thumb without learning dignity and control in a time of crisis.

This pack would not break me, and never again would they see me cry.

The guards returned me to my room. Khaos left strict instructions that no one

was to speak to me, no one was to ask about me, and no one was to offer any

help. After everything Khaos and I had been working towards, I was back where

I first started.

Alone.

I refused to feel sorry for myself, though. I would not let him break me

like this. I had to find a way to pick up the remnants of my self-respect and get

past the hurt and betrayal, and find the strong person that lived inside me.

My wolf howled as I climbed into bed, needing to feel her mate by her

side. She had gotten so used to Khaos being nearby, always ready to soothe her

fears and lessen her anxiety.

She was terrified that he would leave her. I had let her down so badly.

“I’m sorry, girl,” I whispered to her before sliding under the covers and

falling into a restless sleep.

I woke up in the midst of a fever, my body burning from the inside out. I

clutched at my dry throat as another wave of heat blistered through me, every

inch of my skin coming alive in mind-numbing tingles.

No, no, no, not now. Please not now, I silently begged, knowing it was

useless.

The Heat was here.