Chapter 221: The Fate of the Pack Princess

Selene was a whole different story.

Unlike the others, Della had allowed the woman to burn in Moonfire for a while before she brought her here to the Darkwater Keep, in a separate chamber from others.

Della knew Katherine had been trapping Selene in sleep paralysis for weeks now, and haunting her in her dreams and even when she woke up. They’d agreed that they’d both have turns with her, and Katherine had enjoyed her time.

Now, it was Della’s turn.

Selene was leaning against the wall, her breath thinning out slowly. Half of her face looked like it had melted completely, and the elegant, prideful pack princess had never looked so lost before.

She was afraid Katherine would appear before her again. Her throat was sore from constantly screaming, constantly feeling trapped and helpless.

And when the Moonfire had poured in from everywhere, all she could hear was the sinister laughter of Katherine again. No matter how hard she’d pressed her palm over her ear to block it out, yelling for help, nothing changed.

The fire had caught her skin, and she had felt her body being chewed out by it. The pain was unlike anything she’d ever felt before, and it’d lasted for a while.

She remembered rolling around, trying to put it out, but that only made it spread faster. And the smoke had begun poisoning her. Just when it felt like death was about to swallow her, she’d felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck, and she had passed out.

Only to wake up in this place.

Pillars had fallen, and the place looked like it could shatter at any second.

The window in front of her was wide open, and she could see the Moonfire beyond the water. It reminded her of her pain. Reminded her that there was nothing left beyond the fire.

No power. No status. No spies.

Everyone…was probably dead.

Every single one.

Except…the woman standing in front of her right now.

Slowly, she forced her head up to look.

Della stared back at her, and they held eyes for a while.

“You’re alive,” Selene murmured weakly. She could barely speak. Every part of her was trembling from pain still.

“Yes,” Della replied coldly, “I assumed Katherine was done with you, so I took over,”

“Ah,” Selene smiled, already resigning to her fate, “I see. So, how is this going to work? You’re here to torture me, right?”

Without warning, Della plunged her fingers deep into Katherine’s abdomen and the woman gasped in pain, her swollen eyes getting worse, “Do you even have to ask?” Della replied, and shoved her fingers even deeper.

For a moment, all she could see was herself back in that abandoned place. Dangling in front of Katherine while the woman reached into her abdomen and crushed the head of her cub.

Or when she’d hired someone to kill Annelise.

Della could still feel the warmth leave Annelise body. She still remembered the exact moment Annelise had gone cold in her arms and stopped moving.

The pain, the agony, the horror of it all, it had never left her.

“You killed them,” Della stated, shoving her fingers even deeper till her fists was also buried inside completely.

Her chest was tight again. So very tight that she could barely breathe. If she could cry right now, she would. But they’d turned her into a monster that couldn’t even shed a single tear anymore.

Ever since she’d walked away from Malachi, ever since she’d finally killed the side of her heart that twitched, she’d become like this. She could feel all the pain, all the hatred, all the agony in the world…and express nothing.

Her eyes would remain empty.

Her gaze…lifeless.

And oh, how much she hated Selene for killing them.

“They didn’t deserve it,” Della continued, staring death into Selene’s eyes, “Annelise was just trying to help me. She was a wonderful healer and stood for what she believed. She has a beautiful life ahead of her, and you took that away from her,”

Blood rushed down Selena’s lips, and her breath kept catching.

“You had Mara kill a precious soul like her, simply because you couldn’t stand me. Because she stood by me. You called her a traitor for helping me. You made Moira wallow in tears every single night after her daughter’s death, because she trusted someone like you.” Della grinned, her eyes starting to change colour, “I’ll kill you, Selene. I’ll make you suffer for a very long time, and then I’ll finally kill you. Like you did to my unborn child, like you did to me.”

“Ughhh,” Selene vomitted more blood, “Please, I—”

“Don’t even waste your time begging me. I once begged too. I begged till my throat went dry. I begged till you crushed it’s head. I begged as the flames ate my skin, while you turned around and walked away. Oh….I fucking begged, you bitch,”

Tears rolled down Selene’s face, and Della could see the life leaving her eyes now.

She wanted it to.

She wanted to fucking kill Selene here and get it over with.

But that wouldn’t satisfy her. No.

It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.

She would torture her for the rest of her life, just as she would with the others she’d trapped at the other side of the fortress.

They would spend the rest of their lives hating themselves, begging for death, for mercy, and she would never grant it to them.

Now, she had the upper hand.

Now, they were the rotbloods and she was the wolf that would always abuse, mistreat, and most importantly, torture them all in ways that shouldn’t even exist.

Della pulled her hand out before Selene slipped into the darkness completely, and straightened up to her full length again.

Blood dripped from all her fingers to the cold floor beneath her, but she didn’t say a word.

“This is just the beginning, Selene,” Della stated, watching the woman fight for her life.

“You can’t—” Selene cracked with blood and pain all over her face, “You can’t— I’d rather die. I’d rather die!!”

“I thought you’d say that,” Della said, and then she moved.

Selene felt movement all around her and when everything finally settled, Della was standing in front of her again. But this time, Selene was strapped to the ground where she sat.

Both hands and legs were firmly glued to the floor, and Della had shoved a gag deep down into Selene’s throat to prevent her from killing herself that way.

And of course, there was the Moonfire torch burning ahead which was keeping Selene just between life and death.

Perfect.

Della crouched in front of Selene again, watching her struggle against the Mooniron restraints. The woman was crying now, her eyes filled with a desperation that almost made Della smile.

“Do you know what I love most about this?” she asked softly. “You’ve made it so easy for me to never forgive you, understand you, or convince myself that you’re worth saving.”

She reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from Selene’s bloodied face.

“You took everything from me and walked away believing you had won. Now, I get to decide what happens to you, and I want you to suffer. Not just because you deserve it, but because knowing you can’t escape me makes me happy.”

Della tilted her head, her empty eyes fixed on Selene’s terrified face, “So cry, scream, pray to whatever gods you believe in. I’ll be right here, watching, coming back to hurt you again and again. And when you finally think you’ve suffered enough, I’ll remind you that I’m nowhere near finished.” She then smiled, “Welcome to my world, Selene.”