Chapter 4

~Valerie~

“Whip, whip” The tongue of the whips tore through my skin like a knife slicing through a portion of red meat. The pains ricocheted through my body, making me weak. I had lost count of the whips that I had already been given. All I wanted to do then was probably join my dead parents in whatever world they were in right now. I am mad at them. Yes. Mad for letting themselves get murdered. Mad for leaving me all alone in this world. And mad for not leaving me under any insurance at all.

An omega? I killed them? I couldn’t believe how my life turned upside down in the blink of an eye. 

“That is enough. You will kill her at this point” a voice filtered from the doorway. I looked up from where I was sprawled on the floor and saw Cordy standing there.

And why in the heavens is the son of the bald alpha not with his mother yet? Is he here to make sure that the pain is served cold?

“Alpha Lockwood ordered that hundred strokes…” the guard started.

“I said, enough!” Cordy growled. “Get out. Now!”

With some reluctance, the guard left the room. I crawled to the far end of the wall and put myself so that my split flesh didn’t come in contact with it. I felt a myriad of emotions within me as I looked at him.

“Valerie” Cordy whispered and strode towards me. He knelt beside me and took my face in his hands, scanning the fresh wounds on my body. I flinched as his fingers touched a spot on my back.

“Get your filthy hands off me!” I said through gritted teeth.

“I am so sorry Valerie. I never knew they would do this to you. Are you alright?”

I scoffed and dragged his hand away from my face. “Do I look alright to you?” I said, weaker than I’d like to sound.

He must have noticed the hate in my words and actions so he stood and took a deep breath. I swallowed the bile of tears that wanted to escape my throat and looked at him, unblinking. 

“What was all that about? You weren’t with me last night?”

“I’m sorry. I was looking out for myself. But I promise to get you out of this situation as quickly as I can”

You can call me a sucker for love and affection but his words and those eyes which always had me captivated, softened my heart. For a moment there, all I could see was Cordy who would do anything to make me happy. A glint of hope rose in me.

“You have bruises all over. I’m sure you'll heal very soon. Your wolf will make sure of that”

A crease of worry formed on my forehead. “About that…I haven’t felt my wolf since last night. It’s like she’s trying to take all of my sufferings on herself and I’m afraid that it may have made her too weak.”

Instead of the concern that I expected from him, all I saw in his expression was scorn. “So you’re not just promiscuous, but now you’ve become wolf-less as well? I made a good decision in rejecting you”

Did he come here to taunt me? Then why has he been giving me mixed signals? Is he intent on crushing me before I accept his rejection?

“But why?” I wailed. “We have always been good with each other. Is it about the murder charge? Do you really think that I am capable of doing that to my parents?”

“Look, I don’t know! Okay? I don’t know what you’re capable of; I don’t know what I’m capable of; I don’t know what anyone is capable of!” 

He huffed and fixed me with a disappointed and disgusted gaze.

“I know that you had an affair with my Beta. My mother told me ''.

“What? No! I would never do that to you. And who told her this lie?”

 “Betty, your best friend. She saw you IN BED with Brad. She initially didn’t want to say something because she valued your friendship but her guilty conscience couldn’t let her sleep either. So she had to come clean to my mother”

“Is this some kind of joke?”

“You couldn’t control your hormones because I wanted us to wait till we’re married? I never realized that you are such a whore.” He spat.

“I did not do that. It is you that I have always wanted. It is you that I still want. Please, I don’t know what is going on right now but…” 

“I slept with her too. Twice”

I froze. Then gave a confused laugh. He couldn’t possibly be serious. “You’re joking.”

“After I found out what you did with Brad, I was so mad. I was hurt. She was there trying to comfort me. We made out. It was good so we did it some other time too. I wanted to take a chance last night. I was willing to put everything aside and begin a life together with you but now I can see that my father is right. You are no good for me. And I am so grateful that I didn’t get to mark you last night”

The tears came loose. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “No, Cordy. You don’t think that about me. You love me.”

I forgot about the pain I felt in my body and wrapped my arms around him. “I’m innocent. I never did any of those things. You have to believe me please”

He untangled my hands from around his neck and pushed me back away from him. I couldn’t recognize the man in front of me anymore. This wasn’t the warm, loving Cordy that I knew; he was someone else with icy cold, unreadable eyes.

“You have to accept me back. I can’t live without you Cordy”

“I can’t do this anymore. You have a lot of charges on you right now. You have been demoted to an Omega, and your wolf is now dormant. You will just be a hassle as a luna.”

“Please, don’t do this. I don’t think I can bear any more pain”

“I’m sorry. I will give you time to process and accept my rejection”

I didn’t want him to see how messed up I was. I waited until he stormed out of the dungeon before I dropped to the floor. The agony of his words was like splinters of a knife in my gut. The hurt in my heart escalated from a dull throb to a burning glaring pain.

My life has become a series of bad news. 

My eyes fell on a tiny shard of glass by the window. Determined, I walked purposefully towards it and picked it up. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to feel all the pains that I might have withheld. When I opened them, I slowly brought my hand up and positioned the glass shard on my wrist.