Leilani.
By the time Gavin finished with me, I was bleeding, raw and sore. Most of my slowly healing injuries had reopened and I was now spotting a huge deep gash on my forehead, one that disappeared into my scalp.
He stopped to access the injuries on my skin like an artist admiring his work, and with a grin flashing across his face, he spat; "Make sure to remember this the next time you think about hurting Chalice." He drawled, and with that, walked away from me without sparing a second glance at me.
However, as I watched Gavin stalk out of my room with his belt clutched in his hands like a prize and his face frozen into a satisfied grin, I made a resolve:
I had to leave. Now.
Family or not. Mates or no mates.
Even if the rejection process would turn out to be a success or a failure, I had to leave.
At this point, I wasn't even sure I wanted to stay back for the ritual anymore. I wasn't sure I could bring myself to look at these people one more time without throwing up.
My body ached tremendously. My skin burned in places that Gavin's belt had struck me. Tears streamed down my face, but this time, it wasn't from the pain— at least the physical one.
It was from the emotional turmoil.
The years and years of disappointment and betrayal.
The injustice of it all… and the fact that grandma's death will never be avenged.
Gavin used to love me. He used to adore me and protect me. Now, he was the monster that haunted my dreams. The boogeyman that would break me if I did nothing to help myself.
If I didn't leave this place pretty soon.
—And it was all because of Chalice.
My hands shook as I fished out a blank piece of paper from my bookshelf, then picking up a ballpen, I began to write a single letter… to my parents… to my mates… to Gavin.
And even to Chalice.
It took me about three minutes to finally be done due to how brief the letter was— I really had nothing to say to them, and by that time, my tears had long since stopped streaming down my face. My skin was clammy, my face blotchy and swollen. My eyes were red and stung painfully.
But it was nothing compared to the pain shredding my heart into a gazillion pieces… or the several years of accumulated emotional and physical abuse.
I was done.
I poured out the contents of my duffel bag quickly, picked up my laptop, phone and flash drive instead, and without stopping to think my actions through, I shot a quick text to Jarek informing him of my decision to flee from my pack and then I slipped out of the room; that is after strategically placing the letter on my bedside table, along with the court ordered letter of emancipation that I'd received several days ago.
I had no idea what was happening in front of the house but a lot of people were gathered there. Even from here, I could hear my father's deep voice reverberating through the air as he seethed;
"Where the hell is she?!"
"I've punished her. I beat her so much, I doubt she'll ever be able to recover." Gavin responded, pride dripping off each word like honey.
"Good, but I don't think that's enough punishment!" My father bellowed. "I mean, look at Chalice! Her engagement party is in a few weeks and Leilani's ruined her face?!"
"Papa, please stop!" Chalice cried out in her usual self-righteous manner. "Leilani's suffered enough! And I can heal quickly, this is only a scratch!"
"It is not just a scratch!" Father argued angrily. "You've always been very fragile. Very quick to fall sick, and you possess a skin so smooth even a piece of paper can hurt you. She had no right!"
"She was only mad at me and I understand!"
"You're too fucking kind!" Gavin seethed this time in rage, "…and that's why she never takes you seriously. And the reason that wench will continue to hurt you."
Chalice sniffled loudly at that, whilst burying her face into father's chest. "B-but I just want her to l-like me. I just want us to stop fighting."
I rolled my eyes.
"Well, she doesn't want that. So for hurting you, we should also ruin something on her face… permanently this time!" My father supplied. "Maybe this time, she'll learn to keep her hands away from my daughter!"
'My daughter' like I was a stranger.
Or an enemy.
I blinked back the tears pooling in my eyes. And then, like a light bulb had suddenly been turned on, the implications of what his earlier statement meant finally dawned on me… slowly. I gasped.
"Well, she doesn't want that. So for hurting you, we should also ruin something on her face… permanently this time!"
My eyes bulged.
No. No. No.
Father cannot really be thinking like that, or can he?
He cannot truly be considering hurting me so badly that I scar permanently, right? RIGHT?!
But why am I so surprised at that when only a day ago, he'd even wanted me dead for his daughter and had the effrontery to say it to my face?
Why am I so shocked if all he's ever done since my birth is put everything else before me, and that includes his servants?
Despite these thoughts, I still couldn't shake out the hurt… the pain, the—
I angrily wiped off the tears now streaming down my face and slipped out of the house from the back door.
My body and lips trembled as I raced through the flower garden, and as I ran, I couldn't help but pray that no one would notice my absence… yet.
That no one would see me.
That no one would—
"Arghh!" I groaned as I jumped down the high fence, but because I didn't have the stamina or agility that most wolves possessed, I hit the floor with a loud thud. Hard. And loud.
I winced, shuddering as immeasurable pain lanced through me. But that didn't deter me.
I also wasn't deterred when I realized that one of the welts at my back had broken again and this time, when I felt the warm liquid trickling down my back, I didn't panic. I simply continued to run until I managed to slip out of our estate.
But then—
*Crash*
Because I'd been too distracted, and too afraid, I hadn't noticed the sleek black car skidding toward me. And by the time I finally noticed it, it was already a little too late. It was already too close.
I vaguely heard the owner honking his car at me then I heard the sound of my bones cracking as I hit the floor. Hard.
But I didn't feel any pain.
I didn't feel nothing…
The world went black.