Page 141 of Second Chance Mates

Fuck.

“You tried to kill her,” I spit.

She snorts and paces with trembling knees. “She was never part of the plan. I put her in Lucien’s path for a reason. I didn’t think she would escape their pack, and I never thought she’d run into you. But when I had people keeping a close eye on you, I knew I had to finish you both off.”

“Why?”

Julia barks out a laugh through her dry lips. “Why? Are you seriously asking why I did this, Jaxon?”

“Yes,” I grumble under hooded eyes. “Tell me why.”

“Because of your father and the pain he caused so many people.”

My head shakes before she finishes speaking. “No. He didn’t do anything wrong. It was a misunderstanding. He never wanted to hurt anyone. He was trying to help the district, but those rumours got out of control.”

Julia lunges for me, but she can’t go anywhere. “How dare you,” she yells. “He killed people he thought threatened his life, his pack. In. Cold. Blood. Why do you think your parents ran away into hiding?”

“They were banished. They had to leave because people were after them. We were exiled. We had to leave our homes.”

“That sounds like something someone who is guilty would do.”

“They weren’t guilty.”

Julia growls, “I lost my little brother because of your father. I saw the state he left him in. Sick creature. My parents couldn’t live with the grief and went off the rails. I wanted him to go through what it felt like to truly lose someone. And because he decided to fuck off, you were the next best thing.”

I stare back at the woman I shared too many years of my life with. “You’re not going to believe what I say,” I snarl at her. “That’s fine. But it doesn’t matter anymore because you’re not leaving this cell. You are not getting out alive.”

Julia breathes heavily. “I still got to see you suffer.”

“Ava did nothing to you.”

“She existed, which was bad enough. I couldn’t let you get on with your life after your father destroyed mine. Eye for an eye.”

My gaze narrows at her. “Fuck you.”

“Yeah, you did that.” She flashes me a cunning smile. “You made love to me.”

“Love isn’t even close to what I felt for you. It was a deception. That’s not a true representation of my feelings for you. I never loved you because it wasn’t real. None of it was.”

Julia’s expression hardens as my words sink in. “I made you feel things.”

“By manipulating my mind,” I seethe. “None of it was true. Everything I feel with Ava is authentic because we built a bond on trust. The love I have for my mate is beyond time and measure. It could never compare. It’s not even on the same scale.”

She growls, “I should have slit her throat right there and then.”

I almost reach into the cell and tear her head from her body. “But you didn’t. You’re never going to touch her again. But unfortunately for you, your fate is going to be a lot worse. You wanted me to suffer? Well, I’m going to fucking torment you until you are begging and screaming for mercy. Even then, I’m not going to give it to you. I’m going to let you burn, Julia. Then, I’m going to spend the rest of my life happy and in love with my Luna.”

48

AVA

Awave of heavy discomfort flows through my body. I try to open my eyes, but they remain glued shut. All of my limbs weigh a tonne. I attempt to move my little fingers, but it’s no use. I can’t move.

Why is this so hard?

A harsh thumping in my head has me flinching, but I don’t move. It’s a mental reaction. My body doesn’t feel like my body. My mind doesn’t feel like my mind. Nothing is right.

This time, I attempt to curl my fingers as they twitch in desperation to move. I groan internally, which makes my chest burst into heated flames. My nostrils flare.

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