44. Mine

Anxiety coursed through my veins as we waited. Everyone I knew in this world besides Vaila and Lucinda were in this room. No one else knew about me or my situation. No one had reached out to check on Ellie either. As far as I knew, Odie and Cy had no one else in their lives that would simply pop by.

That left Gerard and Oliver.

My muscles tightened as footsteps came down the hall. First, the maidservant stepped into view, then another well-dressed woman with long black hair and a pinched look to her face walked in.

"Carmilla Vohn is—"

"Gerard, so sorry to barge in, but I think we have some things to discuss, hmm?" Carmilla's light brown eyes landed on me as multiple chairs scraped back.

Her gaze held mine, and I couldn't look away.

"Thank you so much, Oliver, for clueing me into this little…" Carmilla paused with a deep breath for dramatic effect, ending my trance. I truly disliked her, and she had only been in my presence for ten seconds. "Shall we call it a nuisance? It certainly is a nuisance to have to deal with things like this. Why can't Humans stay in their place and accept that they will never be one of us?"

"But she is one of us. You and the rest of the council hid that fact." Odie made sure her body was between Carmilla and me, blocking my view of her.

"Semantics." Carmilla waved Odie off. "We keep them separate for a reason. Anarchy and chaos would ensue if word got out. They aren't like the Half-Breeds."

"Meaning you can't use them for your own gain," Ellie ground out.

I knocked on the table and signed to her. She snorted and added on to her statement.

"The only people, Primarch or otherwise, who do that are truly weak. Oh, and fuck you for interrupting my family dinner. So great of the council to give a shit about me and the others who were saved. Fuck right off, Carmilla."

"What a mouth on this one. Gerard, were you really going to let her take your place?" Carmilla sneered, her lip curling in disgust.

"That's her decision, not mine. I happen to agree with her. Now, are you going to finish playing this silly little game of yours and tell us exactly why you're here?" Gerard stood tall with his hands behind his back, glaring down the bitch.

Carmilla sighed as if we were ruining her fun. "Oliver contacted me a week ago with information about our little Human turned Primarch, and you know we can't let that stand. That information must be stopped at the source."

"Oh, and how do you plan to do that?" Gerard rolled his eyes.

Everyone in this room, in this mansion, knew about me. She'd have to burn us all alive—

My eyes grew wide, and I looked back at Cy, my pheromones swirling inside me and yet they refused to break out. I had shoved them down like everything else in my life, and my actions were working against me once again.

"Have you sorted it out? Carmine certainly has." Carmilla tilted her head enough to see me past Odie.

"It'd be far more noticeable if an entire mansion with specially trained guards on the premises turned up dead than us keeping her presence a secret. Why not add her to the list of Primarchs, backdating everything to cover the trail, and leave it at that. It would be like she had always existed. Whatever your plan is, Carmilla, it's foolish." That was one point for Gerard.

"You're right, but that's not what the council decided on. Just like her parents, we have to snuff out the little flames that keep popping up. As I said, it's a nuisance."

The fuck did you just say? I shoved past Odie, about to punch the cunt.

Odie's arms wrapped around me, holding me back, as Carmilla grimaced down at me. She was a few inches taller than I was, but I couldn't tell if it was only thanks to the stilettos she wore or if she actually had some height on me. Either way, I didn't care. I'd kick her ass.

"She was certainly raised Human, wasn't she? I know you're mute, but are you deaf as well? I was very clear. Your parents figured out the secret, and now they are gone. Tada, big reveal. Too bad the curse didn't finish the job. We wouldn't be in this mess."

Odie released me, and I pounced. My fist connected with Carmilla's nose, and I hoped I broke it. She wailed as blood flowed.

I didn't even notice when Oliver stepped forward to intervene.

"Well, if we're all going to die anyway," Cy said as she jumped on the table, then tackled Oliver to the ground, pulling a knife out from nowhere.

Before Oliver could shift, she sliced off his finger and the ring along with it.

More cries and blood entered the mix.

"Stop!" Carmilla yelled, her Omega pheromones filling the space.

"Nice try, bitch." Ellie grabbed the knife from Cy's hand, and I felt one slide into mine thanks to Odie.

Thank fuck my Alphas were always prepared, and that told me Carmilla wasn't as strong as she thought she was. Odie couldn't fight Gerard's command, but this felt too easy for her to break.

Although Cy, Odie, and Sloane were near frozen and battling Carmilla's command, the rest of us were unaffected.

Leona and Iker leapt onto the table, ready to fuck shit up and back us while Alastor stood back enough that he would be the third line of defense, although his eyes never left Ellie.

"What's the plan, Carmilla? Going to fight us all alone?" Gerard taunted as he walked around the table and stopped by Oliver.

"What made you think I was alone?" Carmilla smirked.

Well, in that case… I stepped over Cy and loomed over Oliver with a sinister grin forming on my lips. He scooted back until he was pressed against the wall. He knew he was fucked. If it was one on one, even with the missing finger and lack of ring, he'd win. There was no doubt in my mind, but I had backup that actually gave a shit about me.

I also had a massive build up of rage simmering inside that didn't have an escape. Things were good until he butted in. The future was supposed to be bright and happy, but no, he messed it up again.

First, he helped kidnap me. Then he took my arm. Now, he pulled the council into this and doomed us all.

This fucker was out of time.

Without asking, Leona jumped down to help me. The others were having a verbal sparring behind us, but I tuned them out. Oliver didn't deserve a happy ending. I had a smidgen of hope that he would change and fully accept what he did and grovel, but that hope was gone.

Leona wasn't taking any chances, and I wasn't going to toy around with him. This had to be quick so we could get out of here.

She kicked him in the face, slamming his head against the wall. His head bobbled, and I hesitated. I thought about taking his life, but I never expected to actually be in the position. When Cy tackled him, I thought that was it, that he would be done for, and I could move on with a little bit of peace.

"The first one is hard." Leona placed her hand on my shoulder, giving me her support.

I never wanted to be in this position again, but I wasn't going to wimp out. This was for what he did to all of us and the pain that would forever linger because of his idiocy.

I took one last deep breath, gripping the knife in my hand with the blade facing down.

One slice, one cut, that's all I needed, and he would be finished. I fell to the ground, bringing the blade with me. My arm swung, and the knife slammed into his chest, right over his heart. I wasn't taking any chances and didn't want to have to repeat this.

Oliver gasped, and blood gargled from his lips as he raised his hand to the hilt where my hand was still wrapped around it. His bloodshot eyes met mine.

Where I had expected to see pain and regret, I saw anger and repulsion. That sealed it for me. I would never regret this. He didn't deserve redemption. He deserved nothing, not even a thought after this night.

I pulled the blade out as I stood up, then handed it over to Leona who took it freely.

"I'll make sure he stays dead." I barely heard her as I turned around to see what the others were dealing with.

The Alphas were still frozen in their spots, but now, Ellie was on top of Carmilla, beating the shit out of her. Due to her holding the knife with the blade pointing down, she effectively sliced the fuck out of Carmilla's face on repeat. She deserved the scars and so much more for her hand in this shit. The entire council should be as ugly as they are on the outside as they are on the inside.

I did raise a brow in surprise though, but if I had enough anger to stab Oliver, this was only a fraction of the fury she was feeling.

Footsteps rang out from multiple directions, then hell really broke loose.

Ellie was ripped off of Carmilla as a storm of guards swarmed the space, and Alastor was too slow to save her. Carmilla vanished, guns were pointed in all directions, and everything started to go black. They were going to die. Everyone was going to die because of me, just like I feared.

The council would kill us all, leaving nothing behind of the "crime" we committed.

Screams filled the space, and Gerard argued and demanded they stop at once, but they didn't listen to him. We were the enemy in their eyes.

The hold on the Alphas released, but it was too late. They were knocked out by the butt of a gun or a tranquilizer. The rest of us were next, sending us all to the ground, unable to fight for the ones we love.

Although, now loved was probably the better word.

My pheromones burst forth, taking some of the guards down, but it was too late. The world swirled around me as I collapsed to the floor. This was what I had always expected, not the happy future they had almost given me. Truthfully, the only thing I regretted in this moment was not being able to say goodbye.

I didn't get to say it to them, my parents, or my grandma. They were just gone, and I never saw them again.

History repeated itself, and my world vanished.