Chapter 2 2. Failure

ONE YEAR LATER

_Kuuf! Kuuf! _

Elana groaned as a dry cough wrecked her body, making her lean against the wall of the old restroom as she gathered her strength.

Raising her head, she took a look at herself in the mirror. Gone was the lively woman she once was.

Now, she was just a shell of her former self. Red eyes, thin face, sickly pale appearance- like a ghost.

Taking a napkin, she wiped her lips and stood straight. Glancing down at the napkin, she noticed red stains on it–blood.

'Whatever,' she thought as she crumpled it and trashed it. 'It didn't matter,'

For the past thirty minutes, she had been seated at the corner of a bar, watching Darius silently.

A smile tugged on her lips when she saw him gulp down his beer–the same beer she had poisoned earlier.

By now, his insides would be burning in excruciating pain.

She had slipped into the restroom, before she would mistakenly expose herself while other things were being set in motion.

A smile grew on her lips at the thought of Darius' destruction.

Finally, it was time for him to pay.

Slowly, she tugged the hem of her shirt down, adjusting it slightly.

A hiss escaped her lips as the cotton fabric moved against the scarred skin on her back–or what was left of it.

Opening the door, she made her way towards Darius, excited to see how miserable he would look.

Her brows twitched in pain when she had added more pressure to her leg as she walked. Sometimes, she forgot that she was limping now.

The bar was empty, his guards already distracted by the other things in play.

His fists were closed tightly on the table, his eyes closed as though he was trying to bear the pain.

"Still trying to act like the strong macho man you're not," she started.

His eyes snapped open, his gaze on her as she limped to the opposite end of his table, and sat on a chair.

"Elanaaa," he growled, his voice low and filled with pain.

Her smile grew wider, "How does it feel, Darius? Like your insides are melting?"

Without waiting for an answer, she continued, "Yeah, I made that specially for you,"

"What is this? How are you here?" he growled, turning his head to the side. His eyes grew wider at the empty bar.

"Whoops, did you just notice you were alone?" A giggle slipped out, "Your business partner won't be coming,"

"You–kuf," His words were cut short as he coughed up blood.

Elana's brows furrowed at the sight. The poison shouldn't be working that fast.

"So, all this was you?" Darius wiped his mouth, shaking his head, "Why?"

"Are you seriously asking me that?" She shot out, unhinged anger bursting within her, "That's just a taste of what you did to me."

"You had them flog me with a whip!" She sneered, her fist banging the table, "A whip with jagged edges as if I were some ordinary criminal!"

Her thoughts wandered back to the punishment Darius had given her that fateful day. Her hands went to her shoulder, "Even as I speak..." she continued, "I can feel my bones brushing against my shirt. After all, there's no skin on my back,"

An itchy feeling crept up on her wrist, causing her to look at it, "And then, there's this,"

With her left hand, she pushed the sleeves covering her right wrist back, revealing a deep red scarred mark, "It looks like a brand now,"

"I still can't believe you used melted silver on me," a chuckle left her lips, " This is a brand I'll never forget,"

"And yet, you're still alive," he gritted out, "So? Is this my punishment? Death?"

"Your death was sealed the moment you took my womb away from me," her hands touched her stomach.

"What you drank was a unique poison, that's why you couldn't smell it. Not even your healing abilities can save you."

"I guess you're satisfied then,"

"No, but watching you die slowly and have your pack, the pack I built up with my blood and sweat," she released a sigh before continuing, "watching it get destroyed...brings just a thin thread of satisfaction,"

"So, that's why you got down and dirty with the outcasts?"

Elana's eyes widened, her brows rising with shock, "How...?"

Clap. Clap. Clap.

"Oh honey!" A shrill voice came from the back of the bar, "Why did you have to spoil it so soon?"

Thalina stepped out, a sick smile on her face as she walked towards them.

"What's going on?" Elana muttered, her heart pounding at the scene before her.

Glancing at Darius, she saw that the pale, miserable look that covered his face was nowhere to be seen.

But that wasn't all. What held her attention was the small bump that Thalina cradled.

Was she preg–?

"I couldn't take it anymore," Darius spoke, his voice strong and steady as he wiped the blood off his lips with a paper napkin.

"Ketchup," he held up the napkin, "Never did like it! Ptueh" he spat, "but, my acting was good though, right?"

"What?"

Suddenly, guards dressed in black rushed in, but Darius raised his hand,"Leave this one, I'll handle her."

"How? We were careful..."

"Did you really think you could trust a group of outcasts, Elana? Your naivety doesn't seem to have an end," he chuckled as he stood to his feet.

Elan moved to stand, but her brows furrowed as she realized she couldn't move.

"Hahahahahaha!!!! Darius let out a deep laugh as Thalina came to stand beside him.

"Who was–?" Elana's question died in her throat as a familiar face trooped into the bar.

"Theo?"

What was the third-in-command of the outcast wolf forces doing here?

Shrugging, he kept his hands in his pocket as he smiled at her, "You didn't have enough money to convince me otherwise,"

"What about what you stand for? What about Ronan?" She looked sideways at the window where the wolves were supposed to be fighting Darius' guards "You looked up to him, how could you betray him?"

"Shut up!" Darius yelled as he marched towards her, grabbing her neck, "Did you really think that pathetic revenge scheme of yours could amount to anything?"

"If that coward hadn't snitched, you'd be in agony," she sneered.

Fury flashed in his eyes as he released his grip. Taking a step back, he raised his arm and backhanded her.

Elana flew backwards, her back crashing against the wall.

"Arg!" She groaned. With her elbows, she began crawling on the floor as pain wrecked through her body.

"Where do you think you're going?" Thalina screeched, smashing her heels against Elana's back

"Arrhhh! St-Stop!" Elana wailed.

"Yes, this is what I want to see," Thalina tilted her head, a crazy smile on her lips, "This is where you belong, flith!"

With her shoe, she smacked Elana's head against the floor, "Gosh! It's so disgusting to call you my sister,"

Slowly, Elana sat up, resting her bleeding back against the wall as she glared at Thalina, "I should be the one disgusted," she started, wiping off the blood spilling from her lips.

Her hands dropped to her thighs as strength left her body. "I'm the one that carried the burden of being called your sister,"

Bending at the waist, Thalina got closer to her face as she whispered, "Yeah, so what? It's all dear daddy's fault."

"Every fucking time, he looked at me with pitiful eyes. How dare he?" Raising her arm, she slapped Elana.

Elana's head snapped to the side, her cheek stinging with pain.

"He cared you, and this is the thanks he gets?"

"I didn't ask for that!" Thalina shouted as he straightened her posture, "That's why he had to go. Yeah, he was so pathetic, just like you are now..."

"What did you say?"

"That's right," Darius stepped in, grabbing Elana's chin, and forcing her to look at him, "Your old man had to go. Even after doing everything he wanted, he still wouldn't give up the map for the hidden alpha cove!"

"Th-That's why you did this?" Elana turned to look at Thalina, her eyes wide with unbelief.

"Hahahaha," laughter burst out of her lips, "Father never passed the map down. He died prematurely, remember?"

Shaking her head, she added, "My family's cove is lost, it no longer exists."

"Oh, but it does," Darius cut in, "We have already found it. We just need the key."

Elana read his eyes as he glared at her. It was clear to see what he wanted from her, but he would never get it.

With a weak smile, she spat, "Even if I had any idea where it was, I would never tell you,"

Darius grabbed her head and smacked it against the wall, turning her head to the side, "Look at that!"

He pointed to the side. Howls rang from outside the bar with some bodies laid on the floor.

"They are dead because of you. Because of your foolishness!"

Tears flooded the corner of her eyes as she recalled the people that had helped her, saved her in some ways. Her heart broke at the thought. She had led them here, convinced them that...

"Maybe next time," Darius continued, "don't bring people into your games. Oh wait, there won't be a next time, hahaha!"

Darius raised a dagger, "The key is a pint of your blood. Instead of us wasting time searching for you. You came to us,"

"You won't get away..." Elana muttered weakly.

"Oh honey, we already did!" Thalina cooed from the side.

"Ugh!" She gasped as Darius pierced her tummy, her vision turned blurry as the last of her strength left her.

After they were done, she collapsed on the floor, in the pool of her own blood.

"Burn this place down!" Darius ordered

Her last view was of them walking away. The flames of fire rose around as smoke filled the bar.

She had failed. She had failed again

"Oh fate!" She cried out weakly, "Look upon me with pity." She coughed up blood as she moved her fingers to the floor.

"If you hear this, help me. One more ..." she began drawing circles on the ground. The last teaching from her mentor flooded her mind.

"Punish them, let their souls be cursed. Let the cries of my unborn..kuf kuff!"

'Arooo!' Her wolf whined weakly inside her.

"M-Maris." Elana started, her voice growing weaker, "I was too weak. I couldn't avenge us."

"It's not over," Maris, her wolf, muttered.

"I'm sorry," Elana muttered as everything went black.