chapter 119 Seventeen

Evelyn's POV

My head felt foggy from his bite, and I could feel a strong urge to fall asleep. My eyes fluttered

closed as I swayed on my feet. The last thing I remember is the tingles spreading all over me as

someone tried to steady me on my feet before feeling strong warm arms wrap around me as I

plunged into darkness my body succumbing to exhaustion.

I knew I was dreaming; I knew because I had already been here before, already knew what

happened next, yet I couldn't pull myself out of the dream as I followed him toward the basement.

Three weeks. I had three weeks, and I was officially free of this hell. They would age me out of the

system. I could go out on my own, but the uneasy feeling of leaving Lana to this monster had been

haunting me.

I tried twice to go to the police station, each time standing out the front looking at the building

that was supposed to offer protection. But would they offer protection from one of their own? He

was a well-respected officer, the man with the perfect wife, perfect house, and perfect life. I was a

throwaway child, the broken foster kid that he took in. The voice in my head told me they wouldn't

believe me, then the voice, telling me it was my fault, that what happened was my fault. The thought

of having to go through the courts and tell a bunch of strangers what happened for an entire year,

have them question every detail and scrutinize everything about my childhood, about me, the victim

becoming the accused. The term innocent until proven guilty really irks me. Why must I be

questioned as if I am the guilty one? So each time I turned around, not able to go through with it,

not able to mention my biggest shame. That was what played on my mind when he told me to

come to the basement. I knew he didn't really need help to sort things, knew he only wanted me to

go down there so he could torture what was left of my soul, to make sure I was completely

destroyed beyond repair.

That sickening feeling filling my gut as my feet touched the cold basement floor. His wife was a

nurse and always worked the night shift, leaving us with this monster. I often wondered how many

before me. How many more girls had he destroyed? I wasn't sure, but I knew his next target was

going to be Lana. I couldn't live with myself knowing I left her with him, left her to this house of

horrors. I watch as he undoes his belt and points to the dusty couch in the corner. Bile rising in my

throat as I walk over to it. I could hear the TV upstairs above us, Lana watching cartoons, completely

unaware of what was happening below her. He places his belt and gun on the mini fridge before

roughly grabbing me. I tune out while he has his way with me. Only coming back to reality as he

pulls my pants back up. Tears rolling down my cheeks, I hear the TV click off, knowing it was nearly

bedtime.

I could hear him talking to me, but I didn't understand a word he said. All I could focus on was

her footsteps as they went up the stairs to her bedroom. I couldn't abandon her like that, leave her

to him to do as he pleased. Before I realised what I had done, I had picked his gun. My hands

trembled as I pointed it at him. He cocked an eyebrow at me before swigging from his bottle of

bourbon. He laughed.

“Hand it over, we both know you won't do it,” he says laughing as he moves toward me. My

hands shake as I turn the safety off, his eyes widening before he tries ripping it from my hands. We

struggle before he backhands me, my head whipping to the side and the gun falling from my hands

on the floor. He bends down, picking it up and putting the safety back on before walking up the

stairs like nothing happened. Hours I sat down there before I got the courage up to go back up the

stairs, my dream though felt like it was only minutes. Everything moves quickly, and next I am

sneaking upstairs.

Walking to his room, I find him passed out drunk. Running down the stairs, I grab a bottle of

liquor. He always smoked in bed so it would look like an accident. It was no secret the officer was an

alcoholic. Apparently, he suffered from some form of PTSD. I pour the liquor on his bed, careful to

not wake him. The smell was pungent and burnt my nose. Grabbing one of his smokes from the

bedside table, I light it. Smoking half of it before grabbing the bottle again and tipping it on him. He

wakes immediately looking up at me half asleep. A cruel smile on his lips as he reaches for me

before realising what I tipped on him. Anger blazing as I draw back on the cigarette, trying to calm

my nerves.

“Burn in hell,” I tell him before flicking it. I watch as it lands on the bed, the covers catching

alight before his clothes do. He screams. I watch horrified at what I did before my brain kicked into

function. He tried getting up, but flames engulfed him, could smell his burning hair as he climbed

off the bed frantically trying to put out the flames. I step back, watching as everything caught alight

before I run for the door. His screams will forever haunt my memory. As I ran from that room,

bolting down the stairs only to remember Lana was in the room next door to his, making me run

back up, but the hallway was already alight. The wallpaper was burning and peeling off the walls as I

run past and into her room. Shaking her, she wakes up just as the fire alarms blare.

I rip her from her bed in her Harry Potter pyjamas. Her eyes widen when we step into the hall

and she sees the flames. I shove her toward the stairs, and she runs down when I feel something fall

on me, shoving me down the stairs and I thrash, burning pain moving up my back making me

scream in agony and all I can focus on is the pain as Lana screams. I writhe in agony trying to get

whatever it is on me off.

I hear voices, they sound familiar to me, getting louder and louder.

“Evelyn, wake up, wake up.” Someone is shaking me from my dream and my eyes fly open. My

heart is pounding against my chest painfully. Sweat coats my skin and my eyes try to adjust to the

light. I scream trying to get away from the hands shaking me, thrashing to get him off.

“Evelyn, it's me. Stop.” That voice, that familiar voice ringing through my head again and my

eyes focus before landing on Thaddeus. I stop looking around the room and I am not in the house

of my nightmares but in my bed with my mates. Tears roll down my cheeks as I realise I am awake,

no longer burning, and the searing pain dissipates.

Thaddeus hands clutch my face. “You're okay, you're okay, little one. It was just a dream,” he

says before pulling me towards him and into his lap. Ryland moves closer, placing his head in my

lap, and I feel my breathing even out as reality comes back to me. Noticing Orion watching me from

the end of the bed, an undecipherable expression on his face. Looking down at Ryland, I notice

claws marks across his back, red angry lines that were nearly healed already.

“What happened to your back?” I whisper. My voice sounded hoarse like I had been screaming

and my throat hurt just speaking

“Everything you feel, we feel. That's what woke us. I thought I was on fire,” Ryland says before

rolling his head and looking up at me. I lean back against Thaddeus, his hand stroking my damp

hair from my face. Guilt floods me as I stare down at Ryland. They could feel it, feel everything, and

the thought sickened me.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“A few days,” Thaddeus answers, making my head whip to the side to look at him.

“Thaddeus marking you knocked you out. His mark did the same to us as well. Think it's

because he is a Tribrid,” Orion answers the question I was about to ask.

I nod, not knowing what else to say. Guilt eating at me as I stare at Orion. His curious gaze

watching me.

“What happened? If we are going to burn every time, you're asleep, I need to know why,” he

asks.

“Please Evelyn, just tell us so Thaddeus can take it away. I can't live like this, not knowing. At

least tell us so we understand,” Ryland says, reaching his hand up and cupping my face. I feel a

lump form in my throat, and I try to swallow it down, but my mouth is so dry.

“You have been reliving for days now, we haven't been able to wake you until now. What's once

more,” Thaddeus says, kissing the side of my face.

“Nothing will make us leave you, Evelyn. You can trust us,” Orion says, moving onto the bed

“You may just change your mind about that, if you know,” I tell him. His eyebrows furrow in

confusion.

“What do you mean?” Thaddeus asks before gripping my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes.

“You're not the only monsters. What I did made me just as bad as him. But I couldn't leave her

with him,” I whisper, looking away toward the window.

“Leave who?" he asks.

“Lana”"00000000000