Sinful Mates 1-3

chapter 119 Seventeen

Evelyn’s POV

My head felt foggy from his bite, and I could feel a strong urge to fall asleep. My eyes fluttered

closed as I swayed on my feet. The last thing I remember is the tingles spreading all over me as

someone tried to steady me on my feet before feeling strong warm arms wrap around me as I plunged

into darkness my body succumbing to exhaustion.

**********************************************************

I knew I was dreaming; I knew because I had already been here before, already knew what

happened next, yet I couldn’t pull myself out of the dream as I followed him toward the basement.

Three weeks. I had three weeks, and I was officially free of this hell. They would age me out of the

system. I could go out on my own, but the uneasy feeling of leaving Lana to this monster had been

haunting me.

I tried twice to go to the police station, each time standing out the front looking at the building that

was supposed to offer protection. But would they offer protection from one of their own? He was a well-

respected officer, the man with the perfect wife, perfect house, and perfect life. I was a throwaway

child, the broken foster kid that he took in. The voice in my head told me they wouldn’t believe me, then

the voice, telling me it was my fault, that what happened was my fault. The thought of having to go

through the courts and tell a bunch of strangers what happened for an entire year, have them question

every detail and scrutinize everything about my childhood, about me, the victim becoming the accused.

The term innocent until proven guilty really irks me. Why must I be questioned as if I am the guilty one?

So each time I turned around, not able to go through with it, not able to mention my biggest shame.

That was what played on my mind when he told me to come to the basement. I knew he didn’t really

need help to sort things, knew he only wanted me to go down there so he could torture what was left of

my soul, to make sure I was completely destroyed beyond repair.

That sickening feeling filling my gut as my feet touched the cold basement floor. His wife was a

nurse and always worked the night shift, leaving us with this monster. I often wondered how many

before me. How many more girls had he destroyed? I wasn’t sure, but I knew his next target was going

to be Lana. I couldn’t live with myself knowing I left her with him, left her to this house of horrors. I

watch as he undoes his belt and points to the dusty couch in the corner. Bile rising in my throat as I

walk over to it. I could hear the TV upstairs above us, Lana watching cartoons, completely unaware of

what was happening below her. He places his belt and gun on the mini fridge before roughly grabbing

me. I tune out while he has his way with me. Only coming back to reality as he pulls my pants back up.

Tears rolling down my cheeks, I hear the TV click off, knowing it was nearly bedtime.

I could hear him talking to me, but I didn’t understand a word he said. All I could focus on was her

footsteps as they went up the stairs to her bedroom. I couldn’t abandon her like that, leave her to him to

do as he pleased. Before I realised what I had done, I had picked his gun. My hands trembled as I

pointed it at him. He cocked an eyebrow at me before swigging from his bottle of bourbon. He laughed.

“Hand it over, we both know you won’t do it,” he says laughing as he moves toward me. My hands noveldrama

shake as I turn the safety off, his eyes widening before he tries ripping it from my hands. We struggle

before he backhands me, my head whipping to the side and the gun falling from my hands on the floor.

He bends down, picking it up and putting the safety back on before walking up the stairs like nothing

happened. Hours I sat down there before I got the courage up to go back up the stairs, my dream

though felt like it was only minutes. Everything moves quickly, and next I am sneaking upstairs.

Walking to his room, I find him passed out drunk. Running down the stairs, I grab a bottle of liquor.

He always smoked in bed so it would look like an accident. It was no secret the officer was an

alcoholic. Apparently, he suffered from some form of PTSD. I pour the liquor on his bed, careful to not

wake him. The smell was pungent and burnt my nose. Grabbing one of his smokes from the bedside

table, I light it. Smoking half of it before grabbing the bottle again and tipping it on him. He wakes

immediately looking up at me half asleep. A cruel smile on his lips as he reaches for me before

realising what I tipped on him. Anger blazing as I draw back on the cigarette, trying to calm my nerves.

“Burn in hell,” I tell him before flicking it. I watch as it lands on the bed, the covers catching alight

before his clothes do. He screams. I watch horrified at what I did before my brain kicked into function.

He tried getting up, but flames engulfed him, could smell his burning hair as he climbed off the bed

frantically trying to put out the flames. I step back, watching as everything caught alight before I run for

the door. His screams will forever haunt my memory. As I ran from that room, bolting down the stairs

only to remember Lana was in the room next door to his, making me run back up, but the hallway was

already alight. The wallpaper was burning and peeling off the walls as I run past and into her room.

Shaking her, she wakes up just as the fire alarms blare.

I rip her from her bed in her Harry Potter pyjamas. Her eyes widen when we step into the hall and

she sees the flames. I shove her toward the stairs, and she runs down when I feel something fall on

me, shoving me down the stairs and I thrash, burning pain moving up my back making me scream in

agony and all I can focus on is the pain as Lana screams. I writhe in agony trying to get whatever it is

on me off.

I hear voices, they sound familiar to me, getting louder and louder.

“Evelyn, wake up, wake up.” Someone is shaking me from my dream and my eyes fly open. My

heart is pounding against my chest painfully. Sweat coats my skin and my eyes try to adjust to the light.

I scream trying to get away from the hands shaking me, thrashing to get him off.

“Evelyn, it’s me. Stop.” That voice, that familiar voice ringing through my head again and my eyes

focus before landing on Thaddeus. I stop looking around the room and I am not in the house of my

nightmares but in my bed with my mates. Tears roll down my cheeks as I realise I am awake, no longer

burning, and the searing pain dissipates.

Thaddeus hands clutch my face. “You’re okay, you’re okay, little one. It was just a dream,” he says

before pulling me towards him and into his lap. Ryland moves closer, placing his head in my lap, and I

feel my breathing even out as reality comes back to me. Noticing Orion watching me from the end of

the bed, an undecipherable expression on his face. Looking down at Ryland, I notice claws marks

across his back, red angry lines that were nearly healed already.

“What happened to your back?” I whisper. My voice sounded hoarse like I had been screaming

and my throat hurt just speaking.

“Everything you feel, we feel. That’s what woke us. I thought I was on fire,” Ryland says before

rolling his head and looking up at me. I lean back against Thaddeus, his hand stroking my damp hair

from my face. Guilt floods me as I stare down at Ryland. They could feel it, feel everything, and the

thought sickened me.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“A few days,” Thaddeus answers, making my head whip to the side to look at him.

“Thaddeus marking you knocked you out. His mark did the same to us as well. Think it’s because

he is a Tribrid,” Orion answers the question I was about to ask.

I nod, not knowing what else to say. Guilt eating at me as I stare at Orion. His curious gaze

watching me.

“What happened? If we are going to burn every time, you’re asleep, I need to know why,” he asks.

“Please Evelyn, just tell us so Thaddeus can take it away. I can’t live like this, not knowing. At least

tell us so we understand,” Ryland says, reaching his hand up and cupping my face. I feel a lump form

in my throat, and I try to swallow it down, but my mouth is so dry.

“You have been reliving for days now, we haven’t been able to wake you until now. What’s once

more,” Thaddeus says, kissing the side of my face.

“Nothing will make us leave you, Evelyn. You can trust us,” Orion says, moving onto the bed.

“You may just change your mind about that, if you know,” I tell him. His eyebrows furrow in

confusion.

“What do you mean?” Thaddeus asks before gripping my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes.

“You’re not the only monsters. What I did made me just as bad as him. But I couldn’t leave her with

him,” I whisper, looking away toward the window.

“Leave who?” he asks.

“Lana”