Chapter 26 #2
I pulled back and looked up at him. His face was dark, eyes full of suppressed rage. But when he looked at me, that rage softened slightly into worry and pain.
We walked side by side toward warehouse 3. The old docks were desolate, littered with abandoned containers and rusted frames. The air reeked of salt water mixed with rust and mildew. Wind blew in from the sea, lifting my hair and stirring the sand on the ground.
Warehouse 3 was at the far end, door ajar, weak light leaking through.
Lucifer walked ahead, shielding me. I took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
The warehouse was huge, stacked with abandoned containers and wooden crates. A dim yellow bulb hung from the ceiling, swaying, casting flickering light across the space. In the clearing in the middle, Liam and Anya were tied to chairs.
Blood covered Liam's face, running from his temple to his chin. His shirt was torn, exposing a long gash along his ribs. But he was awake, eyes locked on Anya, as if making sure she was okay.
Anya was crying, face streaked with tears, mouth taped shut, only able to make muffled sounds.
"Mommy—"
She saw me and struggled frantically, the chair scraping harsh sounds across the floor.
I started forward. Lucifer grabbed me.
"Careful."
As he spoke, several figures emerged from behind the containers.
Black clothes, faces masked, knives in hand. The blades glinted cold in the light.
I counted. Five total.
My wolf growled inside me.
"Finally."
A woman's voice echoed from the depths of the warehouse, laced with sick laughter.
Then she stepped out.
Lina.
Black bodysuit, hair pulled back, face twisted in a smile. Her eyes gleamed with madness in the dim light, like a wounded beast.
My breath stopped.
"Lina—" Lucifer's voice came through gritted teeth, every word dripping with suppressed fury. "It was you."
"It was me." She laughed until tears came. "Surprised? Shocked?"
"You're insane," I said, voice shaking. "Lina, let them go! They're children!"
"Let them go?" She tilted her head as if considering. "Why? Elena, you know what? I've waited for this day for a very long time."
She stepped forward, each step heavy, boots thudding on concrete.
"Do you know who founded the Butcher Squad?" she asked, voice suddenly light. "Me. It has always been me."
My breath stopped completely. Lucifer's fingers clenched. I could feel the heat rising in his palm, the wolf instinct awakening.
"Since I was little, I was bullied because of my mixed blood," Lina said, every word laced with hatred, yet also reminiscent.
"I was a bastard. The viscount's shame! They called me disgraceful, a stain, a failure of their family line.
They beat me, cursed me, locked me in the cellar, didn't feed me, didn't clothe me.
" Her voice began to shake. "They said if it weren't for me, they could have become pure blood nobility.
They said I should never have been born. "
"So I killed them." She smiled, tears streaming down her face. "While they slept, I poured oil throughout the house and lit a match. I stood outside, watching the flames rise, hearing their screams, and I smiled."
"That was the happiest day of my life."
My hands were shaking. Lucifer stared at her, fists clenched. "No wonder you wouldn't investigate—"
"Then I founded the Butcher Squad." She continued. "Used my family's witchcraft from Silver Thread to hide my mixed blood. I wanted to kill all the pure blood werewolves. Kill them all, then hybrids would be the purest, wouldn't they? Then no one could discriminate against me."
"But then," she looked at Lucifer, her expression suddenly softening, "I met you."
"I fell in love with you, Lucifer." Her voice went soft. "You were the first person who was kind to me. You took me in, gave me a home, gave me status. I wanted to marry you, build a family with you, have your children."
"So I drugged you." She smiled. "At the Maple Hotel. I drugged you. I wanted you to marry me, even if it was forced."
Lucifer's face darkened terribly.
"But instead," Lina's voice turned sharp again, "instead, it was her who slept with you that night!"
She pointed at me, finger trembling.
"If it had been me that night," she said, tears streaming, "if I'd been the one with you, I would have given up the Butcher Squad. I would have married you, had your children, and been your Luna. I would have let go of all the hatred, just to be with you."
"But it was her!" Her voice rose, echoing through the warehouse. "She took you! She took everything from me!"
"So I'll destroy her." Lina's eyes were full of madness. "I framed her, got her thrown out. I had her dumped outside! I thought she'd die out there, but she survived and came back with a child!"
"Worse," she stared at me, hatred practically spilling from her eyes, "you still love her! The way you look at her, the tenderness you show her—you never gave me any of that!"
"So I'll kill your children." She said, smile twisted, hand gently stroking Anya's face. "Let you taste loss too. Let you suffer, let you despair."
My wolf roared inside me.
"Lina," I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice calm. "Calm down. Actually, we're distant relatives."
She froze, smile stiffening.
"Gray family branch line." I raised my hand, trying to soothe her. "A line that split off centuries ago. Your grandmother and my mother's grandmother were sisters."
Lina's expression changed.
"So we share blood," I continued. "Lina, do you really have to be so obsessed? You're a hybrid, I'm a hybrid. We should understand each other, support each other—"
"Shut up!" She screamed, the sound piercing. "Don't give me that! Distant relatives, so what? Why do you get to be so happy? You're a lowly hybrid too, aren't you? Why do you have children who love you, a man who loves you, your own business, and everyone respecting you? And I have nothing?"
Tears streamed down her face.
"Why?"
She waved her hand sharply.
"Kill them!"
My bones cracked; I dropped to all fours, fur sprouting from my skin. My vision sharpened, my sense of smell intensified. I could smell blood, the children's fear, the twisted hatred radiating from Lina.
I lunged at the masked figures.