Chapter 4

Elena

My hands instinctively flew to cover myself, but the hot brewing coffee still hit my chin, the delicate skin on my neck, and the side of my face. My body went into shock as the burning sensation spread everywhere the hot liquid touched. The room was filled with gasps, but I knew no one would intervene, so it hardly mattered.

As soon as the coffee came in contact with my face, my skin began to burn in a way I couldn't put into words. My skin had always been sensitive to heat, and this woman must have known it from the other two girlfriends of the Triplets. That's exactly why she did it.

A scream escaped my lips as I felt the unbearable burn spread throughout. It felt like that burn was digging holes into my skin, piercing through my flesh, like sharp knives.

God...this was so painful.

I tried to rush to the kitchen to splash cold water on my face and find some relief, but Alice had other plans. She seized my wrist.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked, her laugh telling me that she clearly enjoyed the situation, "You have to endure the pain, you fucking bitch. You have to stand still here and finish your damn duties and then only you are allowed to leave."

Fuck duities and fuck her. They could both go to hell.

With one swift jerk, I pulled my hand from her grip, causing her to stumble backward.

"Stay the hell away from me, got it?!" I shot her a fierce glare and without sparing her another look, I rushed to the kitchen. I quickly turned on the tap and splashed cold water on my face.

It provided some relief, but the pain was still excruciating.

Tears flowed uncontrollably. If my dad had been here, I wouldn't have to go through this...

The more I thought about it, the pain of this burn seemed far less than what I had lost.

I went to the refrigerator, searching for ice, and thanked God when I found a few cubes. Just as I was about to retrieve them, I felt a sudden sharp pain in my foot.

A gasp escaped my lips, my body still reeling from shock as I looked ahead to find Alice standing there with a smirk. The high heel of her shoe was literally dug into my foot, and blood was oozing from the wound.

This time, I fucking lost it. It was more than enough. Fucking enough!

Without a moment's hesitation, I raised my hand and landed a sharp slap across her face. That miserable bitch fell to the ground with a loud thud, her bloodied lips matching my intention.

Perfect! That was what she deserved, even though this was the least.

She appeared utterly shocked, as if unable to believe she had just been slapped.

This bitch should have seen this coming!

"I told you to stay fucking away from me, Lucas's whore, didn't I?!" I shouted, "You exist to please him—engage in whatever he desires—spread your legs before him on his bed, get fucked, suck his dick, and satisfy his whims. But don't even think about hurting me or deluding yourself into thinking you have any authority over me. Know your damn place. Sluts look good only in the bedroom!"  With that, I bent down and applied pressure to the deep fresh wound on my foot to stem the bleeding. She had driven her heel in deep enough to make it bleed almost uncontrollably.

Fuck. Could this day get any worse?

Alice eventually got to her feet, and just as I thought she might leave, I was proven wrong. She had other intentions. I heard some movements while I struggled to stop the bleeding, and then her voice caught my attention.

"Look here, wretch."

I turned my gaze to see what she was up to, and to my horror, I saw her holding the large kettle of boiling water intended for the second batch of tea.

A gasp escaped my lips involuntarily, and my eyes darted to her and then to the doorway because of the sudden sound of footsteps, where I could see the Triplets rushing toward us. My body froze for a moment, my mind ceased to function.

She was about to....

Just as Lucas, Alex, and Caleb reached the door, Alice wasted no time in opening the kettle and throwing the boiling water on me, drenching nearly my entire body. The immediate effect was an excruciating, searing pain that spread through every inch of my skin.

"Alice, no..." Lucas shouted with widened eyes at the exact moment the boiling water struck my skin.

"Aaah!" I screamed, collapsing to the ground, my entire body feeling like it was on fire,as if it was about to fall off of my skin.

Words couldn't convey the intensity of the pain coursing through me when the scalding water made contact with my skin. I had instinctively shielded my face with my hands, but my hand was exposed to the boiling water, causing it to burn, and parts of my body were subjected to the burn as well.

A screeching cry of anguish escaped my mouth, as I clutched at my shirt, curling into a ball on the floor.

My eyes struggled to stay open, catching a glimpse of Alice's victorious smile displayed on her face—she'd indeed succeeded. Despite the continuous screams that involuntarily left my mouth, my body felt out of control. My hands began to numb, and everything around me turned blurry.

Was I dying? Maybe yes.

After death, it all will end, won't it? I would feel nothing.

I managed to notice the horrified looks on the Triplets' faces. Alex, Lucas, Caleb, all of them—they surely looked different for the first time in all these years.

For some reason, their expressions seemed filled with concern, something mixed with guilt and pain—perhaps my mind was playing tricks on me. They could never care about me, ever.

"How dare you?" Suddenly, amid the chaos, I heard a familiar voice.

I strained to look at the doorway, trying to stifle my own cries to prevent myself from appearing more miserable than I was.

I saw Jake—my one and only friend in this whole pack. The only person who had ever shown me kindness in these six years and stood up for me. He was the current beta, the Gamma's son. Even after enduring his father's lashings, he had continued to speak to me, sneak me food, and support me. He was my best friend, the one who had secretly given me clothes, the one who had defied his father to help me.

"Elena..." his eyes widened in horror as they landed on me. He rushed to me at full speed and quickly sat down beside me.

Jake's hands shook violently as he hesitated to touch me; my entire skin had reddened at this point, and blisters might even appear soon.

"Elena... oh my god," he was on the verge of tears as he croaked out my name. He wrapped his hand gently around my waist, helping me sit up, and pulled me into his chest. I clung to him with all the strength I had left, releasing all the sobs I had been trying to suppress.

Hugging Jake hurt with my burned hands, but I felt safe, at least for now.

I screamed loudly while burying my face in his chest, desperately searching for a way to numb the pain, but only my insides were growing numb, not with just the physical pain that had me in its grip.

"Shhh! Elena, it will be alright. I'll take you to the doctor right now," Jake said, rubbing my back soothingly.

"It's hurting so badly, Jake. Please, just kill me. I can't bear it. Please, please, please," I begged pathetically, losing my sanity at this point—It wasn't just the pain. It was the breaking point for me. The last line was not there anymore. All I could see was hopelessness and cruelty of fate.

Jake didn't respond.

"Please, Jake. I want to be with my dad. He'll never hurt me. Please, Jake. I'm begging you."

"Right, you want to be with the Traitor, just like yourself. You deserve to rot in hell, you disgusting piece of shit," came Lucas's girlfriend's nasal voice, "I shouldn't have just thrown the water at you; I should have shoved your disgusting face into the stove, you bitch!"

"Shut up, Alice," Surprisingly, Lucas's shout was heard, but the voices around me began to fade.

A heaviness was pulling me into an unknown place, somewhere far as if I were descending down an endless, dark path. Was I dying?

"Baby, you..."

"Enough," Jake shouted before he called the guards.

"Take her to the dungeons," he ordered the guards while he lifted me gently into his arms, I buried my face into his neck, my breathing coming out as pants as the sobs continuously left my mouth..

My strength to cry was dwindling gradually, and my sounds were fading already.

Was I truly dying? I had wanted it to end, but at the same time, I was reminded of the promise I made to my father. How could I be selfish and wish for it to end just to find peace with him?

"But..." one guard hesitated, and Jake cut him off.

"I, the beta of Shadow-Hunters, order you to place her in the dungeon," Jake ordered with his beta tone, and without further ado, the guard began to drag her out of the kitchen.

"How dare you? Lucas, say something to him. How can he do this to me?" Alice's voice was heard.

"If the Alpha says anything about this matter, it would be an insult to his position," I sensed Jake looking at Lucas. "And I think he knows that standing up for an offender should not be his top priority, but rather carrying on his father's legacy."

Surprisingly, there was no protest from Lucas.

The guard dragged her out of the room, and her cries faded until there was nothing at all.

"Thank you, Alpha, for remembering your duties, at the last moment," His tone was bitter, full of venom, "But I wished you would have remembered it sooner." With that he left the room with me huddled in his arms like a ragdoll.

My eyes grew heavy as darkness surrounded me from all sides. My body finally started to go numb.

"I'm coming to you, Dad..." That was all I could muster before descending into the deep, endless ocean of darkness.