Page 94 of Blood and Reign

“Broken. Fragile. Useless.Thisis how your mates see you and how youreallysee yourself.”

They don’t see me like this. They can’t because I haven’t told them everything I went through for this very reason.

I wanted to push it all away and forget about it. Forget about what King did to me all those years and move on. I didn’t want them to think of me like this, a damaged mess. And the thought of seeing their pitying looks makes me feel weak and useless.

The energy shifts over me once more and I watch in the mirror as the mangled face slowly disappears. I release a harsh breath before freezing, my eyes growing wide with disgust at what I see.

Like I’ve been shot over and over, holes appear all over my body and face. The wounds bleed, running down my body to the floor.

Seconds pass before it changes again to one where I’m missing a limb and then a finger.

My chest grows tight as it goes on and on, the energy shifting over me again and again, showing me all the things King did to me. All the horrible things my body went through over the years.

The more I watch my body change into the broken mess before me, the more the small light inside me dims. It’s not long before I feel more fractured and fragile than I have in a long time.

Or maybe I’ve always been this broken and just hid it well. I thought I was stronger. That I had become the person I always wanted to be. But as I continue to watch the images of my tortured body grow more mangled and disgusting, I start to feel anything but strong.

The small seed of doubt grows into vines that wrap around me, holding me hostage. My knees meet the ground as I look down at my scarred hands full of open cuts and bruises.

“You finally see the truth. Your mates have already given up on you, so you might as well give up too.”

Back then, giving up was never an option, not when other lives depended on me. Not when I had something to fight for.

It’s not in me to give up, so what am I doing now? Am I really giving up? Is it that easy to break me?

I fist my hands tight and watch the cuts bleed and cover my hands.

No. No one can really break me unless I give them the power to do so. And Hell will freeze over before I let someone have that control over me.

My past may be full of memories I’d rather pretend don’t exist, but I can’t just push them to the back of my mind and ignore them, either.

A sliver of energy slides through me, growing until I find the strength inside me to stand back up and face my fears.

I look in the mirror just as my body morphs once more, but this time I look past the grotesque wounds and scars and see them for what they really are… remnants of my strength. Of when I never gave up and fought to survive long enough to be free.

Iamstrong and just like every time before this, I will fight and be free once again.

The scars on my hands start to heal as I turn to King and I look right at him.

“You’re lying. My mates would never leave me.” Reaching down inside me, I push and push until I feel the connection between us. I pull it to me, letting it wrap around me until it’s all I feel.

The connection is right where it’s always been, and it’s stronger than ever.

A smile crawls across King’s face. “Are you sure?”

My lips twitch as I give him a blank stare. “Positive.”

His smile wavers. “They lied to you.”

“No,you’rethe liar. You’ve always been the liar, the manipulator.”

He takes a step back as I move forward.

“Without you, I would’ve had them by my side all these years. There would be more people around me that cared for me. I was foolish once, but not anymore. I see you for what you really are.Nothing. And that’s all you’ll ever be.”

His smile drops as he takes another step back. He keeps going until suddenly he stops, dipping his head.

I feel a shift of strange energy again, but this time it’s in front of me. This time it’s coming from King.

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