Chapter 38

I wake up in the morning, stretching my arms above my head with a yawn. I glance around the dark room to see Hell isn't here still. When I came back last night, he was missing. I tried to stay awake as long as I could, but the alcohol was too strong and won. I throw the duvet off me before getting up, walking to the bathroom to release my full bladder.

When I am finished, I head back to the bedroom, throwing on some clothes and shoes. Once ready, I go to the door, opening it and head downstairs until I spot Soul and Wrath seated at the table.

I pause and look between them both as their eyes meet mine. "Where's Hell?" I ask, curiously.

Wrath's jaw is set tight as he looks away and Soul answers, "I think he's in the woods."

I eye him suspiciously before giving a small nod and then I leave the trailer.

As I stride through the dense forest, it's early and foggy. The sky is a gloomy gray, and the air is cold. My thoughts drift to last night, to how Hell fucked me in a way that set my entire being ablaze. It was so passionate that I could hardly breathe. The memory of those soft strokes, how deeply he embedded himself inside me, the weight of his heavy body on top of mine, and those intoxicating neck kisses linger in my mind.

Fuck. I'm falling for him way too hard. He solidified it for me at that moment. I couldn't help but cry. I have never been fucked with love. It took me to a different universe when I came.

Once I reach close to Hell's underground chamber, I notice the doors are wide open. I trail along the field, eager to see him, but also curious about why he didn't come back last night. I stare down the dark hole in the ground before finally, slowly descending the steps. When I reach the bottom, I see right away that the door at the furthest end of the passageway is wide open—a room I haven't been inside before. I take cautious steps forward until I am walking past the threshold.

As soon as I enter the dimly lit space, there is a huge pinboard in front of me, full of photos of all different people that lure my attention. I continue with gradual steps until I stop, my eyes scanning over all the faces, none I recognize until suddenly I am drawn to one in the middle. My breath catches in my throat, staring at it with wide eyes.

My hand shakily reaches out until my fingers are softly brushing over it. Pinching it, I pull it away from the pinboard and gaze down at myself through blurred vision, confused.

"Do you know her?"

My body jumps so much that I almost leap off the ground at the sound of Hell's voice behind me. As I spin around to face him, I see that he is sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, shrouded in the darkness, only his menacing outline and spiral glowing orbs visible. Tears stream from my eyes, I can't help it and I swallow hard.

"No, who is she?" I try to say confidently, although my body is trembling, and my heart is pounding.

He gently stands, and I watch his every move as he stalks toward me, gradually emerging from the shadows until he is entirely in my space. His eyes scrutinize my features before he takes the photo from my hand.

"She killed my cousin," he responds in an eerily calm manner.

My eyes expand, and I shake my head once. "What?" I manage to whisper, feeling my anxiety peaking.

He walks around me, sizing me up, but I try to keep my cool around his threatening aura. "She killed my cousin, Haze, Noir."

My chest tightens like nothing I have ever felt before and my eyes close, more tears dripping down my cheeks.

"What happened?" I murmur, trying to do anything I can to delay what is about to transpire.

"Well, around one year ago, Kai was found lying dead on the kitchen floor of his dad's mansion," he explains sternly. "After his throat was sliced, his cock and balls were stuffed down his fucking throat."

My brows pinch with confusion, almost ready to confront him until suddenly a flashback enters my mind. I stand in Kyro's kitchen, staring down at Kai on the floor, blood soaking my white nightdress and hands.

I shake my head, squeezing my eyes shut when he mentions his name. "No," I whisper before another dream-like sequence rushes through my thoughts.

"We need to get you out of here…" Arabella pleads, her words ringing in my ears from behind me.

When my eyes ping open, reality hits me, and I spin around, running out the door. I bolt up the steep stairs, hearing Hell hot on my tail, and as I stumble over the wet grass, I weep, desperate to get away.

"HARLEY!" He shouts my real name, his angry voice booming through the open space, and I come to a sudden stop.

The name hits me like a sledgehammer, reverberating through my mind as soon as it rolled off his tongue.

Harley. The name now feels alien, like a ghost from the past. I struggle to breathe, images of the day we fled becoming clearer, the murder we left behind, and I whirl around to face Hell, my eyes broad with dread.

My body is rigid as he takes a few slow steps over the grass. "You're Harley?" he asks, his finger pointed in my direction.

I sob uncontrollably and shake my head. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I can't remember. I don't…"

He unexpectedly storms toward me with murder in his eyes, and I spin around to run from him. He catches up with me so quickly that I let out a high-pitched scream when he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder as if I weigh nothing. As he carries me through the woods, all I can do is cry and beg for him not to kill me as I sag in defeat. I can feel the anger and hurt radiating from him with each step, but he doesn't let me go.

The name Harley echoes in my mind, a haunting reminder of a past I've tried to forget. What the fuck have I done? The questions swirl around me, suffocating me, as Hell's grip tightens. I realize that everything has finally caught up with me and in the worst possible way. The man I have fallen so deeply for is related to Kyro.

His uncle. He isn't going to forgive me for this.

As we enter The Hollow's trailer, I catch a glimpse of Soul and Wrath behind my hair, still in the kitchen. Hell jogs with me up the stairs until we're in his bedroom, and he kicks the door shut behind us, locking it. Before I know it, I am being tossed onto the mattress, but I scramble back, kicking my feet over the bedding to get away from him. With no emotion in his eyes, he kneels on it, grabbing my leg and yanking me back down beneath him with force. I press on his chest with my palms, my body shivering, trying to create some distance.

"Tell me," he growls, but not in a way that would usually rumble to my core. This growl is vicious. I stay silent, my eyes wide, my chest expanding as I hyperventilate.

"TELL ME!" he shouts in my face, and my body tightens.

"I can't remember..." I whisper through a sob.

"Just like you're completely oblivious to the fact you called me a fucking abuser the other night when you slit your arms."

I shake my head. "What?"

"You said I was just like "them," he declares before his jaw tenses. "Just like you told me you will never be owned AGAIN!"

Tears streak down from my eyes, and I turn my face aside, but he snatches it, forcing me to look into his swirling, furious depths.

"Stop fucking lying to me. You have one chance to tell me why and what, or I won't ever hear you out again."

"What do you want to know?" I croak.

"Fucking everything."

"I... I don't even know where to start."

"Kyro." The name rolls off Hell's tongue like a venomous river, and I feel sick to my stomach.

"My stepfather," I whisper.

"What?" I sense the confusion and shock in his tone as he slowly releases my face.

"He was married to my mom before she died."

He stays silent, his face painted with bewilderment before he finally answers. "But I don't know you. Why the fuck wouldn't I know you?"

My teary eyes meet his. "Because no one knew I was alive. He kept me locked away. Everyone presumed I had died along with my mom in that car crash."

His lips part in almost surprise before he responds, "You're my fucking stepcousin?"

I shrug my stiff shoulders, searching his shocked orbs before he comes back to reality and his face falls expressionless again.

"So why the fuck would he lock you away?" he breathes out bitterly, almost as if he doesn't believe me, and I start to feel defensive.

"Why don't you ask your uncle?"

His jaw tenses before he lowers his face to mine. "I'm fucking asking you. Don't fuck with me, Noir, although we've established that ain't even your real fucking name. You killed my cousin."

I narrow my eyes, lifting my head, my lips touching his. "If I killed him then I think we've established I am not afraid to fucking kill anybody. Not even you." I grit out with anger, the threat mingling with our heavy breathing.

I see the anger flash across his eyes before he grabs my throat and I raise my chin. "I could snap this delicate little neck like a fucking popsicle. You can act like the badass girl all you want but remember who the fuck you're lying beneath."

I swallow hard against his hand, more tears cascading from the corners of my eyes.

"FUCKING TELL ME!" He shouts in my face again, his rage spilling forth and I can't help but flinch. I find it hard to get the words out. The words I have never said out loud.

"NOIR!"

"THEY RAPED ME!" I scream back at the top of my lungs, and his face falls. "OVER AND FUCKING OVER UNTIL I WAS NOTHING!"

The words vibrate through us both and the room. He scans my eyes to try to detect the lie, but he will never find one.

"Since I was twelve," I murmur, the pain clear in my voice. "I was chain and became nothing but amusement to them, Hell."

His eyes drift close, a slight wave in his posture as he takes in my words, then lowers his head, gently releasing my throat.

"That night is only coming in small flash backs, but not fully. I don't know what happened" I sob, "He had my sister too, in the other room, but I don't know where she is. We escaped together."

He lifts his head, his gaze meeting mine, "Kyro never mentioned a sister." I close my soaked, sore eyes and I look aside as he continues, "He only mentioned you."

"Then he must still have her." I mutter, my heart hurting.

He stares at my side-profile, "I'm ordered to kill you, Dolly. It's my duty since you killed one of the Shadow's Society, members. I took the fucking hit." My eyes don't meet his as he continues, "And if I don't do it, someone else will."

I gently blink, the reality seeping into my bones, but I know he's only being truthful. "So kill me. I am not running anymore. I should have been dead a long time ago. I'd rather you do it than him."

He suddenly pushes himself away from me with a growl, and I perch on my elbows as he heads for the door, "Hell? Where are you going?"

"To get some fucking answers." He grits out.

"But—" Before I can say anything else, he unlocks the door, walks through it, and slams it behind him.