CHAPTER 26: THE BITCH IS DEAD

Jason’s POV

I looked up at the figure standing at the door.

He was frozen, clearly shocked as his gaze shifted between me, the bloodied torture tools, the unconscious naked bitch tied to the chair, and my pets still crawling over her trembling body.

I returned my attention to cleaning the tools in my hands, stained with her filthy blood with the cloth from my toolbox.

"I was just getting some useful information out of her," I said casually.

Lucian stepped inside, his eyes sweeping over her pale, limp form. Her body was covered in red, swollen bite marks, mingling with old scars and the new wounds I had carved into her skin.

"Is she dead?" he asked.

"My pets aren’t venomous," I replied, not looking up. "Their bites won’t kill her. But I can’t say if her soul had fled the moment she saw them so closely."

I pulled the long needle from her toe and wiped it clean, placing it neatly into its place in the box along with other tools.

Lucian checked her pulse at her neck and sighed a relief. "She’s alive. Good. Otherwise, I don’t know what Kael would’ve done."

"This bitch should be grateful to Kael," I muttered. "He’s the only reason I let her live."

Lucian gently picked up one of the tarantulas still resting on her face. He ran his fingers across its legs softly. "You had fun with her without me. That’s not fair," he said, smirking. "I wanted to see how she screamed when you tortured her."

I hummed and closed my toolbox. "Indeed, you missed the perfect show."

"I’m sure she started talking like a damn parrot the moment you used your pets. She’s used to be terrified of even the tiniest spiders. And these must’ve felt like her worst nightmares crawling over her skin." Lucian commented, placing the tarantula back inside its cage. "Tell me what she told you."

"She confessed she loved that asshole Keiren, that’s why she betrayed us. But didn’t tell any secrets of his pack." I picked up another tarantula that was on her stomach which had its fangs in her skin. Seemed like he loved biting her, knowing the kind of wicked bitch she is.

"Even after this torture?" Lucian asked, surprised.

I hummed. "She must be fucking loyal to that bastard. But don’t worry. I only used two percent of my methods. The rest of it will make her talk."

Lucian hesitated, his expression shifting slightly. "She’s arachnophobic. If she didn’t talk even after this... maybe she really doesn’t know anything."

I snapped my head toward him, eyes cold. "Don’t tell me you’re starting to pity her."

He scoffed. "She doesn’t deserve any pity," he said coldly. "Maybe Keiren just used her as a fuck toy. Got the information he wanted about our pack and never gave her a single secret in return. She was young back then. Easy to manipulate. Easy to deceive. Especially for a bastard like him."

"None of us ever fucked her," I said flatly, "but she still knew enough about our pack to sell us out. And she expects us to believe she didn’t get anything from the man she loved spreading her legs for?"

Lucian hummed in agreement, and turned his eyes back to her motionless form. "What do we do with her now? We can’t let Kael find out about this."

I stood up to put my toolbox and my pets in their place and answered, "Kael has given her responsibility to me. He won’t bother to check on this bitch. Rafe avoids her like plague, and Roman doesn’t look like he’ll be going anywhere near her. That leaves just us. And we’re not telling anyone."

Lucian’s smirk twisted into something darker. "That sounds better. And it means we can torture her whenever we want without anyone knowing. But next time, we’ll use my new drugs. I’ve been dying to test them."

Without a doubt, I agreed to it. When it came to cruelty, both of our brains worked at the same frequency. No conscience. No guilt. Just pain, and results.

"Let’s patch her up and dump her back in her room before anyone notices she’s missing," Lucian said, already moving to the task.

I taped up her bloodied toes, while Lucian retrieved a long leather coat hanging on the wall and draped it over her limp, naked form.

"Can’t touch her disgusting body directly," he muttered as he wrapped her up.

Then, I slung her over my shoulder like a sack of meat and we walked back to the house in complete silence.

Reaching her room, I laid her down on the bed. Lucian pulled off the coat and replaced it with a sheet, covering her bruised, battered body.

We left the room as if nothing had happened.

-----

Lucian’s POV

The next morning began like any other day.

Jason was already in the kitchen, preparing breakfast always. With Roman still absent from the dining area, I decided to lend a hand.

Kael came down the stairs shortly after, looking like he hadn’t slept a wink. His skin was pale, almost sickly, and dark shadows clung beneath his eyes.

"Another sleepless night?" I asked, watching him head straight for the fridge.

For the past six years, he often had terrible nights where he was unable to sleep. What kind of nightmares he had, only he knew. He never talked about it.

He simply hummed in response and poured himself a glass of water.

Rafe came out as well, looking all fresh and rejuvenated. I could tell the smug bastard had fucked a few bitches when he went to look for Roman and drained at least one of them out of blood. Caston must be furious for sure and I have to go pacify him.

He and Roman returned home late, just a few hours after we had put that bitch in her room.

"Roman?" Kael asked, barely glancing up from his glass.

"In his room," Rafe replied, settling into his chair and looked at Jason. "And please don’t tell me there’s shitty porridge again for breakfast with that disgusting celery in it."

I smirked, teasing, "Even if it is, you can always drink my blood for breakfast, little bat, if fucking and draining a bitch still wasn’t enough."

He smirked back at me, his eyes glinting with something hidden. "Speaking of blood, I smell a stench, and it’s not yours."

The smirk on my lips narrowed down as my gaze brushed past Kael, who looked at me just after he heard Rafe.

’Damn. This little bat seems to have smelled her blood. Her toes were bleeding badly even after we taped them.’

"I butchered fresh lamb this morning for our meal," Jason called from the kitchen, not missing a beat as he flipped something over in the pan. "If you don’t like the smell, don’t eat."

I released a quiet sigh of relief as Jason covered for us.

Kael took his seat at the dining table, resting his elbows on the polished wood, and looked toward Jason.

"Have you cooked something light for her?" he asked.

"I didn’t," Jason replied flatly, not even looking up from the stove. "If she’s hungry, she can cook for herself."

I silently cursed Jason for his damn stubbornness. This wasn’t the time for it. What if Kael decided to check on her himself?

I stepped in quickly. "Don’t worry, Kael. You know how he is. But he’ll cook for her. I’ll make sure of it."

Thankfully, Jason didn’t contradict me this time. But—

"Rafe, go check on her," Kael said suddenly, his gaze pausing on both Jason and me.

’Shit. He’s suspicious.’

I shot to my feet. "I’ll do it. Rafe can’t stand her stench anyway."

But Kael ignored me completely, his eyes still on Rafe, his voice cold, "Are you going?"

Rafe let out an annoyed sigh, but stood up anyway. "Fine."

Jason and I exchanged a glances.

’If this little bat finds anything... we’re screwed.’

I hoped him to return without even checking that bitch properly.

After a minute, he returned and said casually, "I think the bitch is dead."

The moment he said it, a heavy dread settled in the room.

Jason and I looked at each other again—then at Kael.

He was staring directly at us now, eyes cold and unreadable. Not a word. Just that glare.

’We’re done for.’