Chapter 12 – Broken Things and Bitter Truths
1189 Words
Chapter 12 – Broken Things and Bitter Truths
Ava’s POV…
I took Catherine into the small, cramped room and laid her on the old bed. I peeled off the dirty, oversized shirt she wore—probably one of the ones thrown at her by the Luna’s guards—and what I saw made something inside me twist.
Her back was a mess of welts and bruises, red lines slashed across skin that should never have seen this kind of pain. She whimpered even as she slept, fever burning under her skin. I reached out and touched her forehead. She was burning up, hotter than before.
My jaw clenched. What the hell was Clara doing to them? To girls like Catherine? This wasn't discipline. This was cruelty.
The door creaked, and I turned just in time to see Ali and Alex step inside, their faces drawn and tired.
“Thank you for helping her,” Ali said quietly, almost like she didn’t believe anyone would.
Alex added, “Whatever the Luna gets, she deserves it.”
I looked between them. “Is this... normal? Is this how she always treats the pack?”
Ali hesitated, then gave a weak laugh. “Not always. She wasn’t like this before. Not until the Alpha got sick. After that, she just… changed.”
That drug. The one I saw Clara hide, the one her mother passed to her like it was nothing. My heart skipped. That memory flashed again—the way Calra had taken the druges, her eyes too alert, her fingers too careful.
What was in that bottle? And more importantly—who was taking it?
Alex caught the shift in my expression. “Hey, um… is it true?” she asked. “About the Rogue Alpha? Is that really him outside?”
I gave her a small smile. “Yeah. That’s him.”
Her eyes widened. “I’ve heard rumors… about him. That he’s cruel. That his pack is filled with monsters.”
I shook my head. “Not true,” I said, and this time the smile on my face came from somewhere real. “Before I became a rogue, I was surrounded with people who didn’t care about me. I came across the Rogue and they helped me and that was when I found a family.”
There was a long pause. Then Alex glanced down at her hands. “Can I ask… how did you become a rogue?”
I stood there, still for a moment. The images came without mercy. Chains biting into my wrists. My body dragging across dirt and gravel. Kyran—my mate—giving the order for them to tie me to the back of a horse and drag me through the pack grounds like I was filth.
The humiliation. The betrayal.
I swallowed hard and forced a smile. “Maybe I’ll tell you later.”
They didn’t push.
Instead, I turned back to Catherine. I pulled out the herbs I’d brought with me—some needed soaking, others I crushed with my fingers into powder. I rubbed them gently across her back, and she cried out in her sleep, twitching beneath my hands.
“It’s okay,” I whispered. “I’ve got you.”
Her pain settled into silence, and then I placed my palms on her back and let the healing move through me. Warmth spread from my chest to my fingertips, weaving through the damage Clara had done.
When I was done, I stood and faced Ali and Alex again. “She needs rest. No one should disturb her all through today.”
They both nodded quickly. “Of course,” Alex said. “Thank you. Honestly… you’re the best thing that’s happened to this place in a long time.”
“It’s nothing,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m just doing what anyone should.”
Ali gave a small laugh. “No one else did. You’re the first person to ever stand up to that witch of a Luna. Finally, someone gave her a taste of her own medicine.”
I smiled faintly. “Right now, the most important thing is making sure Catherine recovers. Keep the room quiet. Let her sleep.”
“We will,” they said in unison.
As I stood by the doorway, I looked back at Catherine one last time. Her breathing was steadier now, her body still. She looked so fragile, like she might shatter under the wrong touch. And for a second, I wondered why I even cared.
These were the people who let me be cast out. They watched and did nothing.
So why was I here?
I sighed. “I’m going outside for a bit,” I said. “Watch over her.”
They nodded, and I stepped out into the cool air.
Kael stood near the edge of the small door, his arms crossed, the moonlight catching on the edge of his jaw. When he saw me, his expression softened.
“You ready to leave?” he asked.
I stopped a few feet away from him. “No. Not yet.”
His brow furrowed. “Why not?”
“There’s something wrong,” I said. “Something I can’t ignore. Kyran—my mate—he didn’t just fall sick. It doesn’t make sense.”
Kael tilted his head. “What are you suggesting?”
I looked up at him, my voice low. “I saw Clara with my stepmother. They were passing something between them. A small bottle. Drugs. I don’t know what it was, but Clara’s been different ever since. This whole place has changed.”
Kael stepped closer, his voice low and urgent. “Ava, you don’t owe these people anything. They threw you away.”
“I know,” I whispered. “But not all of them deserve what’s happening. Not the girls like Catherine. They didn’t choose this. They’re just… surviving.”
His jaw tightened. “And what about you? What about your survival?”
“I’m fine,” I said.
“You’re not.” He reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “I don’t want to watch you fall apart again. I swore I’d never let anyone hurt you the way they did.”
I gave him a sad smile. “You’ve already done more than anyone. And I’m grateful.”
He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “I’m leaving tonight.”
I nodded. “When I’m done here, I’ll come back.”
His expression darkened. “If I wait for you and you don’t return—if anything happens to you—I swear I’ll burn this pack to the ground.”
A laugh slipped from me. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I mean it.”
I met his gaze. “Thank you. For everything.”
He turned and walked off into the shadows, not looking back.
As I stood there, the silence around me heavy, I whispered to myself, I’m going to find out the truth. Whatever Clara and my mother are planning… I’ll uncover it.
- Writer
