Chapter 72

The Unwanted Bride Of Atticus Fawn Chapter 72 ~AUTUMN~

Reading my mother’s diary has become my new favorite thing to do. It made me feel closer to her. It was my only memory of her;

I could read anything she wrote for hours. Surprisingly, it was my comfort during the time I spent locked in this room.

I didn’t understand how she got the strength to kill my dad when she loved him so much. It must have broken her heart in two.

What was he like? What did he look like? Was he scary to look at? Did his eyes look cold and soulless?

I was probably better off never knowing any of these things.

I’m still unsure what the overlords plan to do with me, but I was okay with them never coming to get me.

That thought quickly gets thrown out.

My eyes are glued to the door when I hear footsteps coming my way. They were finally here for me. It’s been a day since I’ve been locked in this room, and there has been no sign of Atticus or my family.

I was worried that the overlords had lied to me. Did they harm Atticus yesterday? Was that why I’d heard an explosion? Did they also punish his family as well as mine?

There were so many questions that I wish I had the answers to.

The door flies open, and I try to act unbothered by their presence. I didn’t want to show them what they did to me.

“Come with us,” Jagger says as he grabs my arm.

Dash is also here, and I make another mental note to keep him out of my thoughts as much as possible.

Even if he could hear my thoughts, it didn’t matter, I wasn’t planning anything crazy, and it’s also possible that Atticus wasn’t coming for me.

I was alone. No one was coming for me. Not Atticus. Not my family. Not my friends. I had to sit back and watch them harm me.

“Where are you taking me?” I ask.

“We want to determine just how powerful you are,” Owen answers me. I didn’t expect him to give me a straightforward answer.

“And how do you plan on determining that?” I inquire, genuinely curious. I also wanted to know just how strong I was and what I could do. I wasn’t sure if their method would be the right way, however.

“By inflicting pain on you.” He answered me, and I immediately stopped walking.

“What?” I demand.

He quirks a brow at me, “did you think no pain would be involved? This has to be done for us to determine what to do with you. If you’re not as dangerous as your father, we can keep you alive while locked in one of our cells designed for someone like you.

However, if you’re just as powerful as your father, we will have no choice but to get rid of you.”

How could they possibly kill me? From what I’ve heard, there had to be a specific weapon to kill my father; I assume it would be the same for me. But my father wasn’t a hybrid; I am one; maybe I can be killed like any other werewolf.

Dash looks at me, and he smirks. Once again, he was reading my mind, invading my privacy.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the good guys?” I demand. “You’re supposed to protect the people. I haven’t once harmed anyone innocent. I don’t hurt others for my pleasure. Are you so scared of a girl that’s done nothing to you or anyone around you because of who her father is?”

Alistair narrows his eyes, “we are the good guys. You may think we’re being too harsh, but sometimes we need to make the hard decisions that no one else is willing to make. If you were any average person, none of this would have happened to you. You can’t change who your father was, Autumn. He’s the reason you are in this position.”

Yet another reason to hate Azai Reign. It’s official; he will haunt me for the rest of my life. He didn’t want me as a baby, and even as a grown woman, he was still causing trouble for me.

Instead of moving me to a torture room, I’m surprised when they carry me to the balcony.

Are they planning on hurting me out in the open? They tied my hands behind my back with a piece of string; it had to be something that would prevent me from using my power; they weren’t stupid enough to tie my hands with any regular string and expect me not to get free.

“I’m sorry,” Dash whispered as he finished tying my hands. I don’t have time to ask him why when the first wave of pain hits me.

My eyes widen just as a cry rocks the atmosphere. It takes me a few minutes to realize the screams are coming from my mouth.

I didn’t know what was happening; all I knew was that my body was on fire. It felt like someone had thrown me into a fire pit.

I wanted to beg them to stop; I wanted to let them know that it was too much, but I didn’t want to seem weak. I didn’t want to give the overlords the satisfaction of knowing how badly I was in pain.

I close my eyes and swallow my pain. To help, I let myself think of all the good times I had with Atticus. I imagined that he was here, next to me, holding my hands, promising me that he was near. I imagined that he was kissing me, giving me the strength that I needed to keep on fighting.

They were waiting for me to snap; they wanted to see if I could break free from their hold on me. If I showed too much power, they would never free me.

But I was weak. I didn’t have enough power to break free. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t let go. I couldn’t escape. I was not my father. I didn’t have his strength. Soon enough, they would realize that I was harmless; I wouldn’t cause the same problems that my father did.

I wince when the pain increases suddenly.

Stay strong, Autumn. Stay strong.

. . . . .

~ATTICUS~

“Is everything ready for the ambush?” Hunter asks his men.

My hands were shaking; I couldn’t control my anger and anxiety as I waited for the signal. It was taking too long; everything was taking too long to get to Autumn.

I f*****g missed her so much. I wanted to have her in my arms. I wanted to tell her I remembered her; I wanted her to know I had remembered every second of falling in love with her the first time. I wanted her to know how much she’s always meant to me.

Damon squeezes my shoulder, “don’t worry, brother. She’s going to be okay. We’re going to bring her back home safely.”

My jaw clenched; I wasn’t sure if she was okay. I wasn’t sure what condition they had her in. All I knew was that Autumn had sacrificed herself for my family. I’ve never met another woman like her. No one compared to her, absolutely no one.

“We know where all their guards are; with this information, we can easily enter their palace,” Austin says. “That’s where it will get a little tricky. They have many traps throughout that building to prevent enemies from getting to them. Prepare for the worst the moment that you step inside.”

I’m trying to pay attention to all of the last-minute warnings. We didn’t have much time to prepare. The Blackners helped leak some information to us, but we weren’t sure how accurate any of it was. Only when we got inside would we be able to confirm what was true and what was a lie.

I’m about to say something when suddenly, I can’t move. My heart and body hurt like never before. This pain was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Suddenly, I understand what’s happening; I know why I feel this horrible.

They’re hurting her. They’re hurting my mate.

I blink once, then twice, and let out an angry roar. All eyes are on me.

“What’s going on?” Hunter asks as he joins my side.

“They’re hurting her,” I tell him. “I can feel her pain.”

My knuckles tightened, and I tried breathing because f**k me, I forgot how to do it. I can’t think or focus on anything around me.

All I can think about is her and what they’re doing to her.

“It’s time to move!” Hunter roars.

“We will get to her in time,” Clarissa assured me.

Griffin and Dante are also here, and so is Autumn’s family. They’re all panicking, just like I am.

I tried to clear my head despite the constant tension in my heart.

I was coming, Autumn. Just wait a little longer for me, I’m coming for you, and nothing and no one can f*****g stop me.

. . . . . . . . . . .

~ANYA~

“Austin, Hunter, James, Lucas, Arthur, and so many others are helping them.” Our spy informs my mother. “I’ve never seen an army of so many powerful people come together to fight against the overlords. They’re going to war to free Autumn.”

I watch as my mother’s face turns red with anger. It may surprise her, but I knew how many people cared about the Fawns; I knew how many people also adored Autumn. I didn’t understand why they did, but it didn’t change the fact that it was true.

“What the hell are so many people doing helping them?” My mother screams. “They’re ruining my f*****g plans!”

Out of all the times I’ve seen my mother angry, this was the worst. Her plan was working until powerful packs decided to help the Fawns.

“You should have been prepared, mother.” I taunt her as she loves doing to me. “The Fawns have many allies; it was expected they would have help from so many people. With the kind of money that they have, they can also pay anyone to help them.”

“This is not good.” She hissed. “If Autumn gets freed from the overlords, we won’t get another chance to get rid of Atticus’s parents. They will be too powerful. No one will be able to stop them.”

“Do you think the overlords may win the battle?” I ask the spy.

He shrugs his shoulders, “I only share information, miss. I cannot see the future. But the Fawns have an almost unbeatable team on their side. The overlords possess plenty of power, and the council is there to help them, but there’s no telling who will win the fight.”

“Knowing how the council works, they will ask the overlords to let her go.” My mother says with worry in her voice. “They’re brutal fighters, but they don’t enter battles if they know there’s a high possibility they will lose.”

“Then what do you propose that we do?” I ask her. My mother wasn’t one to give up because of a slight inconvenience. Her plan was working perfectly until now. If Autumn were freed, we would need another plan. Her plans weren’t the only ones that were getting messed up by the sudden turn of events. My chances of being with Atticus had also decreased now that he was so close to getting her back. I was willing to do whatever it took to make my mother’s plan work.

“I have to attack now.” She says as her eyes light up. “It isn’t what I initially planned to do, but I’ll have to make it a surprise attack. I’ll hold them hostage until their children return. One by one, I would hurt every person close to their hearts while they watched. It isn’t my original plan, but it’s better than letting them live happily.”

She was planning on kidnapping Atticus’s parents. This is insane. This was not how the plan was supposed to go. If she kidnapped them, wouldn’t that mean they would know who I am? I wasn’t ready to reveal the truth.

“Does this mean you’ll tell them the truth about me?” I ask. “Are you going to tell them I’m your daughter? I’m not sure if that’s the right thing to do, mother.”

I had to convince her that this wasn’t the right plan.

She shook her head, “not yet.” She answers me. “I’ll wait for the last few minutes of their lives to inform them about you.”

I breathe a sigh of relief.

I was terrified of Atticus’s reaction when he finally learned the truth about me. I didn’t want him to hate me. Autumn had already turned him against me; I couldn’t imagine what would happen when he found out that my mother hated his parents. I can’t imagine what he would do when he realized that I helped my mother with many of her plans to destroy his relationship with Autumn.

We’re also the reason there will be a fight between the overlords and his family.

There’s so much that he still didn’t know, and I didn’t ever want Atticus to know any of this.

If it were up to me, he would never find out the truth.