25 | Peace At Last

**Trigger Warning**

(FLASHBACK)

*** POV Unknown 1

I’ve lost all sensation except for the searing pain of the silver collar fused into my flesh. It’s been my constant torment these long years, burning and binding me, preventing the shift that might offer some relief. Jansen finally slides off me, having taken his fill like a gluttonous beast, his breath heavy with satisfaction.

Tonight, something is different. The triplets came at me with a ferocity that told me this would be my last night. I won’t see the morning. Part of me is surprised they’re ready to dispose of me, but most of me is relieved. The end is near.

I can feel the wetness pooling beneath me, my own blood seeping into the cold, unforgiving ground. Javier didn’t even bother removing his chainmail tonight, and the sharp edges had torn into my flesh, leaving jagged gashes that bleed freely. But it’s Jared’s knife play that will be the death of me—he wasn’t playing, and his blades had been honed to perfection, each slice deli