48. Selene
Chapter 48
Selene
“ Y ou really should get out of our house,” Emmett says.
“Emmett, please!” I’m scared they will kill him.
How does he not understand it?
“Don’t say my name. They are your kind, aren’t they? Why the hell should I listen to any of you?” Emmett spits out.
Levi’s voice slices through the tense air. “Well, it looks like the mutt’s got some bite left in him,” he taunts maliciously.
Blake steps forward, his jaw clenched in anger. “You think you can just waltz in here and threaten us?” he challenges, with barely contained fury.
Emmett snarls, his fists tightening at his sides. “You bloodsuckers have no right to talk about threats after what you’ve done.”
“Stephen,” Levi addresses the other vampire he came in with. “I am not going to even bother. I think you can handle him.”
“Gladly, Levi.” Stephen’s lips curl into a cruel smile.
“I am not scared of you or your gang,” Emmett says to Levi.
“You should be,” Levi replies.
“You should be fucking terrified,” Stephen remarks coldly. “I think you need a reminder that this is our territory, our rules.”
I step between Emmett and Stephen, my hands raised in a gesture of peace. “Please, let’s not resort to violence,” I implore. “We can find a way to coexist peacefully.”
But Stephen’s laughter echoes through the room, mocking and disdainful. “Peace with mongrels like them? I think not.”
“Told you, brother. It is too late to reason with her,” Blake sneers angrily.
Emmett’s growl rumbles low in his throat, his eyes blazing with defiance. “We’re not the ones who sneak into people’s homes and drain them dry.”
Levi steps forward, his gaze locked on Emmett with a predatory gleam. “Watch your tongue, mutt. Or you might find yourself in more trouble than you can handle.”
But Emmett refuses to back down, his gaze unwavering as he meets Levi’s stare head-on. “I’m not afraid of you,” he declares defiantly. “And I won’t stand by while you terrorize innocent people.”
Before Levi can respond, Stephen sneers, “I know who this kid is! He’s that trash from the trailer park.”
Emmett’s hackles rise, his fists clenching at his sides as he glares at Stephen with undisguised hostility. “And you’re the bloodsucker who killed my grandmother.” His voice is trembling with rage.
Levi’s laughter fills the room, interrupting the standoff.
Stephen’s expression darkens with anger. “You dare to speak to me like that, you little brat?” His hand moves to his side, where a blade is concealed.
But Emmett doesn’t hesitate.
With a fierce roar, he lunges forward, his fists flying as he attacks Stephen with all the ferocity of a cornered animal.
The room erupts into chaos as Emmett and Stephen collide. The sound of their struggle fills the air.
Then Stephen is laughing maniacally as he slices into the young wolf’s abdomen.
I watch in horror as Emmett crumples to the ground, blood staining the floor beneath him.
“Stop!” I scream, my voice breaking with desperation as I rush to Emmett’s side. “Please, just stop!”
But my pleas fall on deaf ears as the vampires close in, their expressions twisted with malice. I know that if I don’t do something, Emmett will die here tonight.
“Levi, please. Blake! Let’s talk about this.”
Levi’s cold gaze pierces through me, and a lump forms in my throat. I have to do something, anything, to save Emmett.
“Brother, please,” I plead desperately. “There has to be another way. We can’t keep living like this in constant fear and hatred. He is a silly little kid. He doesn’t deserve to die like this.”
Levi’s smirk widens. “Oh, but darling, fear and hatred are what keep us alive,” he retorts in a tone dripping with malice. “You should know that by now.”
“But at what cost?” I challenge, my voice gaining strength. “How many more lives must be sacrificed before we realize that there’s another path—one of peace and understanding?”
Blake’s laughter echoes through the room, sending shivers down my spine.
”Peace?” he scoffs, his eyes narrowing into icy slits. “There’s no such thing in our world, little sister . It’s kill or be killed.”
I take a step forward, my gaze locked with Levi’s. “I refuse to believe that. There’s always a choice, Levi. And I choose to believe in hope, in love, in the possibility of a better future.”
Levi’s expression darkens. “You’re a fool,” he spits venomously. “But perhaps a useful one.”
I hold my breath, heart pounding, waiting for Levi’s response. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, he nods curtly, but there’s a sinister smile curling his lips.
“Very well,” he concedes. “We’ll take you with us under one condition.”
My pulse quickens in anticipation. “Name it.”
Levi’s eyes gleam with satisfaction as he leans in close, his breath hot against my ear. “You belong to us now,” he murmurs, sending shivers down my spine. “That is the only way I stand down.”
“Levi…”
“You should count yourself lucky! I keep making deals with you, which, by the way, you keep failing at. This is your last chance. You leave with us right now, or I kill Liam’s precious little wolf, and then I send the rest of the vampires after everyone he has ever cared about. Grayson, his mother, the sheriff. Every one of them dies.”
Fuck!
I can see it in his eyes. There is no negotiating with him. I know he will not hesitate to give the order to have Emmett murdered.
I swallow hard as his words settle like a stone in the pit of my stomach. “You have a deal,” I say steadily, despite the turmoil raging inside me.
“That’s more like it. See Blake, I told you all she needed was the right kind of motivation…”
“But know this, Levi—I will never stop fighting for what’s right. I will never agree with you. I will never be noble to your cause. And one day, I will find a way to free myself from your grasp. I did it once. I can do it again.”
Levi chuckles, a dark glint in his eyes. “Cocky, huh? We’ll see about that. When that day comes, I will not hesitate to slaughter every single person important to you. But for now, let’s focus on the task at hand: Getting you back home.”
As my brothers lead me away, my heart feels heavy with grief and regret. I steal one last glance at Liam’s apartment. The ache in my chest is almost unbearable.
Emmett is still writhing in pain, his blood seeping into the floor. I pray that Liam is not too late to rescue him.
I hope I didn’t just doom us all to death with this decision.
“I’m sorry, Liam,” I whisper as tears stream down my cheeks. “I hope you can forgive me.”
As we disappear into the darkness, I cling to the flicker of hope burning bright within me. Somewhere out there is Liam. He’ll find me.
Oh, my love! My Liam.
And so, I cling to the hope that somehow, someway, we’ll find our way back to each other.