Chapter 28: Liberation Or Cage
DAVINA
In the blink of an eye, I had flown over the school’s fence, however, the ruckus I left behind was still in motion.
But then, I had escaped, and this rebellion inside of me, coupled with my newfound strength, was starting to leave me.
The next second, I tumbled. My body staggered by the deserted road, and I had to sit at a nearby seat, burning hot from the morning sun.
I was suddenly weak, with my throat burning with an intense thirst, and at the back of my mind, a voice kept ringing in my head.
That same voice that had let me hate myself for years, "You just made a mistake. What will you do when the Alpha arrives? The brothers are not here to protect you anymore."
And then another clashed, for the first time, "You did what was right! Do you not like the strength you possessed?"
"Your outburst was long overdue."
Yes, it was! I agreed.
The fear in Aria’s eyes was delightful, and having to trick those men who had punished me was a thrill I never thought I would have. Maybe it was time to stop being an obedient and pitiful girl.
At that moment, my phone rang out, and as I took it out of my backpack almost immediately, my heart sank.
It was my mother calling.
I realized she must have heard about my rebellious stunt at school. Did she suddenly recall she left a daughter all alone without care?
I kept looking at the phone flashing, and my lips curled into a wide smile. However, it wasn’t happiness, it was rage.
I threw the phone straight into my bag, shooting up to my feet and going straight for the Packhouse. Somehow, I knew she would come running to me and finally appear after disappearing for days.
However, my phone continued to ring. She didn’t stop calling, as if she cared. And for the long minutes I walked back home, I didn’t bother picking it up.
As soon as I walked past the gates and the maid stepped out to see me, she gasped.
"What the hell are you doing back home?" She screamed.
"Nothing." I shrugged. "I just want to stay away from school today."
As I walked past her, I saw the anger in her eyes, and I knew she wasn’t about to let me go. Her hands caught my clothes the next second, and she pulled me back with so much force.
"What have you done at school, you little brat?"
I gasped, realizing she must have heard what I had done.
"So, are you going to beat me up?" I raised my brow. "I am sure you have reported me to the Alpha."
"Or did he inform you?"
"Of course!" She nodded, with a huff from deep within her throat. "You fucking don’t know what you have gotten yourself into."
"And me...?" She pointed at herself with her eyes clouding with tears, "I am going to be punished because of your stupid actions."
My brows creased, "What do you mean? This is about me, not you..."
"Yeah right..." She sneered before dashing past me and I slowly realized what I had done.
"You fucking bastards can’t even sit in a place!"
The maid had been put in charge of my affairs and I had just caused trouble. I couldn’t imagine one more person being punished for my sake.
Quickly I pulled out my phone, desperately tapping on it to call my mom to explain but the call went straight to voicemail.
At the same time, Ethan’s call came through and I froze for a moment. I watched the phone ring and when Shawn’s message came in a minute later, my stomach dipped as my eyes brimmed with tears.
The pain I felt earlier had turned into rage toward Aria but now it was fresh and stabbing. My chest heaved as I stormed to my room.
Uriel’s message came in next, "Please, can you pick up the phone?"
I threw my backpack to the floor, and I quickly took out the keys to my mother’s house. Of course, Ethan would be waiting on me to give him the keys and I wondered if they knew I was back home.
As I stood before my window, seeing the guards patrolling around so heavily today, I knew deep down a purge was coming.
Whether the Alpha was going to get his sons out of the Packs and they would turn the lands into a battlefield or not, I knew my mother and I had our fight incoming too.
A few minutes later, Ethan’s call came through again and I slowly connected it.
I pursed my lips, only listening to his heavy breaths as he spoke up, "Hello, Vina! Are you there?"
I took a deep breath, eyes closing slightly, "Do you want the keys?"
"No..." He let out a harsh breath. "Get out of that house, right now!"
"What?" I gasped. "Didn’t you want me to stay?"
"Yes..." His voice went low with rage curling within, "But you have fucking caused trouble!"
"This is not safe for you anymore. The Alpha will appear anytime soon and you have disrupted every single thing we planned."
His rage-filled voice caused my heart to tighten. Ethan had not spoken this way to me in a long while and it was because of that damned Aria.
My fists clenched, "Are you blaming me?"
"No one is—"
"Oh, yes you are! I saw Shawn’s gift and the fucking note you all sent her. I destroyed your fun love story in the blink of an eye and you dare yell at me?"
"Davina, listen. You have to calm down."
"No!" I hissed. "Go be with her, and let the Alpha do his worst! I do not care anymore!"
Beep!
The call ended and the next second, I threw the phone at the wall.
Clank!
It split into the different parts that couldn’t even be put together and slowly I slipped to the floor, finally letting my tears flow freely.
What had I done? I felt liberated today after cursing in Aria’s face and ignoring my mother, and yet, it wasn’t enough?