Chapter 13
Chapter 13 Mirage Is Dead
+25 Points
I heard his breath hitch at my outburst and threat. This would take him back, as Liam had never listened to my voice so tightly controlled. It was as though he froze for a long moment before
finally responding.
“Sweetheart… don’t do this. There is no need for violence. I just want to put this whole thing behind
Finally–his surrender.
I exhaled, my rigid posture collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut.
“Good. Tell him to pick me up at the hospital. Ten minutes p>
Not interested in speaking with him any further, I hung up and immediately tried to stand.
Shards of glass littered the floor. Liyah stared at me, wide–eyed.
his feral. She’d also never felt my aura
In all our years of friendship, she’d never seen me like
presence. I was destined to be a Luna, whether the Sterlings recognized it or not. It meant that I would carry a weight on my energy, and although I rarely lost control over my emotions, it was
there. Waiting to come out.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Liyah said, stepping in front of me while shaking her head disapprovingly. “Look at you–you can barely stand p>
I shook my head right back at her, I have to. Something’s wrong, I have this dread that if he can’t
be found, that it’s because they-” My voice cracked with the thought of what I hoped didn’t happen. I exhaled a deep yet shaky breath. “I need to see Mirage for myself p>
“Claire–bear, I agree. I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them. Especially after that disgusting
video and Alpha shitheads justify the abuse, but you can’t go.” Liyah tried to reason, but my mind
was set.
“I am going, so, are you coming or staying p>
“Girl, you know I am going where you go. I just got you back, I ain’t separating now.” She winked.
She was right. I allowed Liam to isolate me from everything in my old life, including my best friend.
I am finally awake and taking it all back.
Gamma Soren Voss drove them to a crumbling warehouse by the sea. I noticed Soren was
unusually quiet the entire car ride. Before the car even stopped, the stench hit me–rotting meat, thick and cloying.
4
25 Points: 13 Mirage Is Dead
ever
re
behind net
aura
that lat i
‘as’as
can’an’t
in’t
schuraging
mindind
Minked.
estoriend.
as
ng meat,
+25 Points
d toward Soren, my voice brittle. “This doesn’t feel right, Gamma Soren. You’re telling me ige is here p>
se is inside.” I noted that he wouldn’t meet my eyes. His voice was clipped when he spoke.
h hitched. No, no, no. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t a place you kept a horse.
reacted to my thoughts. I was moving, sprinting across cracked concrete, the smell thicker with every step.
gged, covering her nose. “God, what is that p>
n’t slow down. I couldn’t. I knew what I was going to find, I could feel it in my breaking t I prayed to the Goddess that Liam wouldn’t do this.
dn’t allow something like this when he knew what Mirage meant to me. When he saw how
ed after learning he had taken Mirage away the first time, he gave him to a good home. ouldn’t do this.
rehouse’s darkest corner lay a still, shadowed shape.
“I called out, followed by a whistle–a whistle he had consistently recognized and ed to in the past.
ach flipped, I had to press my shaky hand to my mouth, and I forced myself to move
to the warehouse. The stench was overwhelming now–decay, burned flesh. An omen of omed over the building.
was mere feet before me. The stallion’s once–glossy coat was matted with dried wax, his
in of stab wounds and scorch marks.
ggered back, her voice breaking. “Oh my Goddess. They–they tortured him p>
ayed. Something inside me snapped.
orror at Mirage’s lifeless, scarred body and made a silent promise. They would all eir crimes. I would spare no one from the Sterling pack.
drag me out of the warehouse; my eyes were cold and dark. I saw Soren flinch when
to them.
a back, I rewatched the abuse footage on loop. Henry Sterling had it deleted from all
the Criz family saved their own copy, and now I was using it to fuel my plans.
a Soren return Liyah and me to the hospital, but we didn’t go inside. I had other plans
and didn’t need Liam’s unit interfering. THIZ +25 Points “I want names.” I didn’t turn away from the video, as I had said to Liyah, but I heard her call her brother, Kian Cruz, who was the active Gamma of the Crown of Thornes pack. It turned out that they had already captured the five men responsible and were waiting for me to reach out for justice. I used Liam’s money and paid them generously to have each one beaten bloody in the same fashion they did to Mirage while I watched. I then hired a team to remove Mirage from the warehouse, clean him as thoroughly as possible, and arrange a burial plot for Mirage. When I finally dragged myself home, the sun dipped below the horizon. I couldn’t return to the hospital; I needed to sort out my exit strategy because there was no going back, but I needed to be smart. The house was colder than the grave had been as I toed off my shoes, a familiar warmth pressed against my back–oceanic cologne, expensive and smooth. “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in days. Did you find Mirage?“Liam’s hands braced against the foyer cabinet as he leaned down. He dared say that name. I shook off his hold and stared frostily at him through the mirror before us on the wall. “Save your false concerns for someone who cares to have it, cause I don’t want to be anywhere near you right now. Mirage is dead. Are you going to stand here and pretend that Breanne didn’t tell you p> I hung up my coat, my fingers stiff with suppressed rage. Liam’s expression flickered–shock, then disbelief. He didn’t believe me; I could see it in his eyes. That made zero sense, considering his own Gamma took me to where the body was waiting for “No, Claire, that is impossible. Breanne said they were just–letting off steam. They wouldn’t do something like that. Breanne isn’t that type of person.” He paused, coming to terms with my words. He swallowed hard. “Are you sure, Claire? Is he really gone p> “ Stop pretending. You let her torture him to death.” I shouted. “That’s insane. Neither Breanne nor I would do something like that. There’s got to be a mistake p> His face darkened. I shook my head slowly in absolute disbelief. He was still defending Breanne. He was always protecting het, even against his mate. My throat burned. I shoved past him with as much strength as I could muster. “This was it, Liam. We’re done. You sicken me, and I want nothing more to do with you. I can never forgive you for this I am filing for an official rejection clause. That’s it.” I threw my hands up and turned to leave Lucia Morh Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.