Chapter 36: A Threat
-Nova-
I wasn’t sure how much time passed. My brother and I just sat in that cell and waited, and waited, and waited … until suddenly, just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard voices coming our way. I shook my brother awake, who was looking really bad. He had healed a little, but it was happening so slowly because of how badly they had treated him.
“W-What?” he asked.
“Someone is coming,” I whispered.
We both turned to the door, just as we saw it open and a whole bunch of people appeared. They quickly came towards us and pulled us up from the ground, dragging us with them. I saw my brother fighting back, but he was too weak right now. He shouldn’t be fighting.
“Stop it, Keith!” I yelled. “Just let them.”
Keith looked at me, shaking his head a little, but he knew it was pointless to fight back, so he just let himself go limp and pretty much get carried. We were brought up to Rogan’s office, where we were placed in front of him on our knees. My brother was almost tipping forward, and I reached out to stable him. *He shouldn’t be this bad*, I thought, but maybe I had no real idea how badly he was hurt.
“We gave you a chance, Nova.”
I turned to look at Rogan but only looked at him shortly before glancing at Rhys, who stood in the corner of the room. Rogan was leaning against his desk while he watched us, but Rhys wasn’t looking at me.
“I know,” I said, and looked down.
“We were ready to welcome you into our family.”
My brother started to laugh, which earned him a kick from the other warriors.
“Stop it!” I pleaded as my brother groaned in pain. “Please!”
I pulled Keith closer, almost like I could protect him with my own body, and I could see the shocked look on everyone’s faces. Why would I sacrifice myself like this? But he was my brother, how could I not? Of course, they had gotten to know me not as Keith’s sister, or my parents’ daughter, but just as me.
“You’re going to kill us, so just get it over with!” Keith got out.
“Keith, quiet!”
He turned to me and shook his head.
“No, what are you thinking?” he asked. “You think they will still spare you? Me?! They might not kill you right away because of *him*, but they will kill you.”
He pointed to Rhys, who finally turned to look at us.
“You are nothing to them,” he said. “You should have come home.”
“I tried!” I said, feeling the tears press in my eyes. “I did!”
“You are a rogue, and now you will truly feel what that means,” he said.
“Keith …”
“Stop telling her lies.”
We turned to Rhys, who had finally stepped forward.
“Rhys …”
Rhys shook his head as Rogan began to speak.
“She did mean something, and we did not intend to treat her as a rogue. She was my mate, it made her more,” he said. “She is not nothing, and she is not just a rogue, but at least now I see why she had to prove herself so hard. You made her believe she is nothing and never will be anything.”
“Don’t fucking lecture me about my sister, you are the reason why we are without parents!” he shouted.
“I can’t take responsibility for my parents’ choice, but in this case, I wish I could,” he said.
“Do you see?” Keith asked me and turned to me. “He will never care for you. Not truly. He might try because you are good at making people believe you, but he will soon realize what you truly are. It is why you belong with us.”
I couldn’t figure out who to listen to, but then I turned to Rhys and saw him lightly shake his head. He did care for me. He even loved me, and how had I repaid him? I looked down feeling so guilty, but I could not abandon my family.
“Get it over with,” Keith said and turned to Rogan. “You know you want to.”
“Now that I know it is your family who runs this, I don’t think I can get much more out of you,” Rogan said.
“No, you can’t,” Keith said.
“No, please!” I begged as a warrior got my brother to stand. “Please!”
“Now you see, sister. You see who they truly are. They are ready to slaughter me in front of you!” Keith said.
I felt the tears stream down my face and turned to Rogan and the others, but everyone ignored me.
“No! He is my brother!”
“Nova, we have to choose our family,” Serena said. “You understand this.”
“Serena … no …”
But then the warrior took out a knife, and I didn’t think. I jumped to my feet, just as everyone was distracted, and threw myself towards them. We tumbled to the side but were all able to stay on our feet. It had given Keith the opportunity to get the knife though. Everyone drew their guns and pointed them at him, but then he grabbed me and placed the knife at my throat.
“Stop!” he said. “Or I will kill her.”
“Are you crazy?! She is your sister!” Rogan said.
“Keith … what are you doing?” I whispered, but my brother just pressed the knife closer to my skin.
“Let fucking go of her!” Rhys growled.
“Or what? You will shoot me? You will hit my sister first,” he said.
“You fucker!” he growled.
“We are just going to back out of this room slowly, and you are all going to let us go because I think you actually do care for my sister. Like truly. She is a good actress, and she made you feel like she was one of you. So, you aren’t going to shoot.”
“Keith …”
“Quiet,” he growled in my ear. “Car keys, someone!”
Everyone looked at each other, not sure what they should do.
“Now!” my brother shouted and pressed the knife closer to my throat, so blood started to dribble out.
Rhys quickly reacted and pulled a set of car keys out of his pocket before throwing it to my brother.
“Someone get the door,” my brother said, and someone opened it behind us.
“You’re as sick as your parents,” Rhys said.
“We were turned into this by yours!” he growled. “You can thank your parents for where we are today.”
Everyone was so tense, as we slowly backed out of the room. They still had their guns raised ready to fire.
“Using your own sister like that,” Rhys said and shook his head. “You are insane.”
“You were ready to let your mate watch her brother get his throat slit. Who is the one who is really crazy?” he asked.
“You don’t understand,” Rhys said. “She isn’t the problem.”
“No? Really? You trust her?” he asked.
Rhys turned his eyes to me, but he didn’t keep them there for long before he turned to my brother.
“That is what I thought,” Keith said. “We are always the problem in your eyes, never able to see the mistakes you make yourself.”
“You like to talk,” Rhys just growled. “But you are not getting away with this.”
“I already have,” he said, and then lowered the knife, grabbing my hand, and then we ran.
“Keith! Wait!”
He didn’t and shots were fired.
“No! Stop!” Rhys shouted. “You’re going to hit Nova!”
We ran down the stairs and outside with the rest behind us, but we were already in Rhys’s car, as they came outside and Keith quickly got it going and sped out of there, while I watched everyone grow smaller and smaller through the back window.
“You can thank me later,” Keith said, but all I felt was anger and no gratefulness.
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