~CIARA'S POV~
He walked towards me with fluid strides and with each step he took, I craned my neck to get a better look at him.
A pointed nose which is cringed in disgust, a pouty lips drawn into a line, two perfectly shaped ears, two enchanting cobalt eyes that bled with hatred and a mop of blond hair on his head which easily made him the most beautiful man I have ever laid eyes on.
I hadn't realized that he had gotten close to me till I felt his breath on my nose, so minty with a hint of cigar.
"Don't you know it's not nice to stare."
Each word he spoke was more venomous than the last but even his toxic tone couldn't hold my tongue.
"It's not my fault you are so lovely, to look at," I said with what I can only imagine was a sly smile on my face.
Stupid! Why would you say that to him? Why do you still speak when you know what will happen when you do?
But I couldn't help myself. I can't help the way I speak whenever I'm around him. Just as I can't help the way my stomach flutters whenever he's near me.
He smirked with mischief and resentment swirled in those beautiful orbs.
A leaf slipped from the window into the confined space, it descended to the ground at a slow pace, its beauty about to get contaminated by the vile floor.
But just as our gentle leaf was about to hit, the unthinkable happened, something so unexpected that I didn't know happened until I felt a choke hold on my neck and the lack of air in my lungs.
He's choking me.
He suspended my frail form in the air and his grip on my neck tightened as the resentment in his eyes deepened, my hands were still held by restraints, meaning there was nothing I could do other than pray to the goddess that he stop his torment.
But he didn't. If anything I'd say, his grip got impossibly tighter and black spots formed in my vision but instead of begging for my life like a normal person in my position, I went ahead and asked another foolish question.
"What did I do to warrant…your hatred?."
His eyes rounded in shock and he stared at my face for the slightest hint of a joke. There was none.
The bewilderment on his face morphed into anger and he released my neck causing me to fall to the ground with a thud.
Stale oxygen forced its way into my lungs and a series of coughs left my lips. But before I could steady my breathing, a sharp pain ran through my abdomen and it took a millisecond for me to realize what had happened.
He kicked me.
He kicked me a second time, then a third and all I could do was quiver on the cold, sticky floor praying to the moon goddess that he would stop his torture.
"Stop…please."
He rained more kicks on me with so much hate glowing in his eyes.
"You want me to stop? How can you have the audacity to ask me to stop when you know what you did? How can you expect me to show mercy when all you have done is cause others pain?"
"You are making a mistake, Noah."
Another wave of pain ran through me and string of blood-soaked coughs left my lips.
"How can you still speak after everything?!" He asked angrily.
"Because I don't know what I did wrong?" was all I could say.
"You took everything from us!"
"And I said it wasn't me?"
"Then who!?"
My lips sealed, unable to answer the question that could free me from the shackles of this cruel fate, but the real question is where would I get the answer from?
"Every time I come here, I always ask you this question, and every time you fail to give me an answer–" He knelt in front of me and held my chin in a vice grip "–the hatred I have for you grows with the breath you take."
"And yet, you made it your mission not to let me die."
His grip on my chin tightened and the death glare he gave me wept with resentment.
"And what makes you think I would want to keep you alive?"
I looked him in the eye and despite the hold he had in me and how bruised my neck was, I held my head up high and said.
"Because the moon goddess gave you so many chances to end my life just as you wanted and yet you chose not to, why is that? You could have left me to die in the hands of your brother or the hands of those animals. I almost fell off a cliff and you still saved me. Why do you profess your hatred and your burning desire to kill if you can't even…"
He pulled me up by my chin and looked me dead in the eye, the hatred I dared to question staring back at me tenfold.
"Listen to me very well, you little worm, I didn't kill you then because an easy death isn't the kind of death a heartless criminal like you deserves. You, my dear–" He ran his finger over my face and if it hadn't been from the toxicity that oozed from his pores then I would have leaned into his touch "–deserves the worst kind of death, one that is filled with so much agony that you would begin to think of all the people you hurt but before I reward you with such a befitting demise, I would first break your soul."
He let go of me and my knees landed on the floor with a thud, pain settled in my knee caps and I hadn't even recovered from the pain I was feeling when I heard the metal door shut and the clanking of keys.
When I was certain that he was gone, I closed my eyes and focused my ears, trying to pick up the beating heart that even he couldn't hear.
Please stay with me.
Just as I was about to lose all hope, a silver lining dawned over me when I picked up the frail beats I've grown to love and believe in.
Thank you, goddess.
Fat, heavy tears fell from my orbs and my silent cries turned to plaintive sobs as a sense of relief and pain washed over me.
If I were a number, which number would I be? I asked myself again.
I would be infinity.
I am infinity because of the infinite amount of pain I've endured. I am infinity because of the infinite amount of injustice gifted to me. And I am infinity because of the number of times I have loved only to cast aside like I'm worth the number zero
~NOAH'S POV~ I fell to the floor with a thud and a dull ache rang in the back of my head. My heart pounded against my ribcage and it took the intervention of the goddess for me not to have a stroke. "Is that all you got, Richards?" I jolted up at the sound of that high-pitched voice and resumed the battle stance I held minutes ago. "I'm not even tired.” The smirk on her face dropped and her pouty lips drew into a line. In this pack, there are two important rules that you must follow in your life. The first is to never mess with the alpha and the second is to never anger Ava Miller. And I didn't just anger her, I pissed her off. She circled me as a predator would do to its prey and I did the same, both our eyes became instruments of observation and intimidation. The arena cleared in seconds, the tension in our bubble drew the attention of everyone else and in no time whispers began to fly. "Don't they ever get tired of this?" "How can they get so serious five minutes into t
~CIARA'S POV~ A friend in need is a friend indeed.From the days of my childhood, I have never been able to understand what this phrase meant.Does it mean that it is only a friend who is in trouble that is a real friend or is it something else entirely different? I pondered on this very riddle and I had almost given up on it.Until now.Now I know what it means by a friend in need is a friend indeed. What it means to have a friend who is there for you in tough times, What it means to have someone willing to sacrifice everything for you.What it means to have someone like Ava Miller. That girl is a rare gem and anyone would be lucky to have someone like her.Just as she had proven to me.~FLASHBACK~"I'm pregnant, Ava."Mockery. My demons were mocking me, the words they spoke revolved along the lines of me being a worthless piece of flesh that no one cares about and I tried not to believe them, I did but as I saw Ava's face get pal
~CIARA'S POV~I sat in a pool of blood that used to be the fetus in my belly and my heart was saddened with each second that passed. I have cried till I can cry no more and cursed till I could curse no more, but nothing I did could ease the ache I felt in my chest.Because nothing can bring it back to me.I lowered my head and the tears that I thought had dried up flowed from my eyes like an angered river and a sob left my lips.How could you do this to me, goddess?I looked up into the ceiling and the anguish in my soul fuelled the anger in my chest.How could you forsake me after all I have been through? How could you take the only silver lining I had in this stormy condition you gave me for life?How could you let the evils of this world take my only joy?And how could you sit there and do nothing while the innocent people suffer for what they know nothing about.My heart raced and my breathing got ragged but my head was still hel
~CIARA'S POV~ ~FLASHBACK~ "Auntie, please could you help me get my bike?" I turned from my work and stared into the pleading eyes of my neighbor's child. I've seen enough teary eyes to know the real from the fake but if there is one thing I learned from all my years of being a teacher, is that when a child wants something he will go to any length to get it, until he does. And this little boy wants something. I smiled at the mischief that blended with the innocence of his eyes and I didn't have the heart to deny the child before me of his request, even though he had an ulterior motive because every child has an ulterior motive. To explore the life that we adults are too broken to enjoy. So I set off into the forest, to find the bike of a child who would lose it again. I moved with haste, determined to make it back in time before Nana woke up so I could prepare our meal. Except, I didn't go back. I couldn't go back. Not when I was attacked by wolves who were double my size and who
~NOAH'S POV~Perspiration coated my skin and heavy pants fell from my lips as I trained by myself in the field. It's been a week since I last visited that vermin and the anger I felt then still burns brightly in my soul. Who broke my toy before I could? Who had what it took to break the spirit that had been trying to shatter for weeks? But why does it bother me? I should be thrilled that she has lost her will to resist the truth. I should be ecstatic that I am one step closer to getting my revenge on that cursed woman. And yet…why does it bother me that her eyes have lost their shine? Why did my heart ache when I didn't hear her perverted comments? Why was I consumed with guilt when her broken voice bounced off the damn walls of that cursed cell?I fell to my knees in agony as a sharp pain ran through my chest. My breathing grew frantic and my heart pounded against my ribcage as dark spots st
~CIARA'S POV~I looked at the bandages wrapped around my wrists and thighs. Frustration sat in the pit of my stomach and my hands turned to fists.It has been a week since my first suicide attempt and every night as I'm about to escape this cruel world someone crawls into my cell like the coward they are and treats my injuries.But it wasn't just my wounds they took care of. The culprit also took it upon himself to clean my cell, leave me food, and change me into fresh clothes and underwear. Disgusted that a total stranger had seen me in a vulnerable state, I moved in every position possible trying to scratch my skin against the floor in hopes that their vile touch would leave the surface of my skin. It was pointless. Because the only part of my body that touched the floor was my feet. I wasn't moved by this. I wasn't moved by the sheer possibility that there might be someone who cared for me in this wicked world.
~CIARA'S POV~I sobbed bitterly into the bandages around my wrists. My heart ached from the tidal wave of pain that washed over my being and my soul wished to leave my body to call out to his, hoping to ease the pain we both felt. But I didn't let it. As I wailed in agony on the concrete floor, the metal door cracked open and I looked up expecting to see Noah standing before me with a look of longing in his eyes. But there was no yearning look or sad cobalt eyes to get lost in and there was no Noah Richard to cry with. There was only an ominous presence and the hatred-filled eyes of the bitch who took my peanut from me.Ava. "It's been a while, Ciara," Her voice dripped with hostility and I growled at the negative energy that oozed from her pores. She raised her hands above her head in mock surrender and a smirk crawled up her face. "Relax, Ciara. I just wanted to say hello to my best frien
~AVA'S POV~*FLASHBACK*The moonlight cast a glow on my face as the omega patrollers from the Gold Bay pack dragged me from the border where I was found to the main packhouse.It was my long-awaited opportunity for revenge and I didn't care if I got caught sneaking into the pack. I pulled on the restraints on my arms and discovered how weak they were. I was trained for moments like this so it wasn't hard to free myself from the young omegas who had caught me. Their eyes grew wide thinking I was about to make a run for it.I rose my hands up in surrender as they seemed ready to attack.“Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. I just have sensitive skin you know… you were pulling on my wrists so much.”