Chapter 462: Nightmares 2
If Violet ever looked in the mirror, she may have noticed the golden flash of her angry eyes herself. But she avoided mirrors—not wanting to look herself in the eyes, not wanting to see the female who had lost everything, including her wolf. She knew she wouldn’t recognize her.
Thankfully Sylvia hadn’t noticed either. Sylvia had such a calming, soothing presence that Violet never became enraged when she was here. It was more evidence in Cressida’s eyes that Sylvia could really help Violet if she would let her.
"He’s mine!" Violet roared in her sleep, so loud and with an otherworldly echo laced into her voice that Cressida fell off the side of her bed in terror.
She scrambled up off of the floor, pressing herself against the wall in horror with wide eyes as she looked at her daughter in bed. She had not awoken. She was still tossing and turning, but now her blanket was in shreds, falling in ribbons all around her.
How had she done that? Violet didn’t have any claws anymore—she didn’t have her wolf. Her strength was the same as a human. How had she just shredded her blanket into ribbons?
She rushed to the bed, shaking Violet awake.
"Violet!" She yelled, grasping her shoulders and turning her. "Violet!"
Violet growled, resisting the physical contact that was being forced on her. "Get off of me!" She yelled, awake but thrashing in her bed now as she imagined an attacker from her nightmares had manifested in her bedroom.
What was even real anymore? It was so hard to distinguish the dreams from the reality. Her life was like a waking nightmare.
"Violet!" Cressida exclaimed, shaking her more forcefully, believing that her daughter was still asleep.
Violet lifted her arms to shield herself and began sobbing. "Leave me alone!" she cried, feeling the presence of her attackers rather than her mother.
"Goddess, Violet," Cressida’s voice caught in her throat, her own fearful tears falling for the torment her daughter was in. Her shoulders sagged, and she sighed heavily. "Help me. What are we to do?" She raised her eyes to the ceiling, searching for an answer from above. Searching for some kind of sign. Why was this happening?
The cries from Violet didn’t cease. She pressed her hands into her eyes, trying to unsee her memories—trying to erase them and the attackers who haunted her. What she wouldn’t give to go back and fight each of those bastards again. She felt like she was stronger now—even without her wolf. She could defeat each one of them with her will alone.
"Hurt me, I dare you!" She roared, the furious tears blinding her as she screamed to the ceiling, unaware of anyone else in the room.
"Violet!" Cressida gasped, leaning back over to try comforting her with a gentle hand on her arm, but Violet rose up in alarm—the invisible force of something that had been coiled inside of her unleashing and sending her mother flying across the room.
The thud of a body hitting the wall was so satisfying as Violet growled at the intruder who had dared touch her—the sound sent a wave of calm over her. Finally, she had fought back. She was right, she was stronger now. She could take care of herself.
She swept the ribbons of her blanket away, a shiver going through her as she imagined that whoever was here had ripped through the blanket in an attempt to get to her. One of those males had found her. One of them was here—she was not safe. She would not ever be safe until she killed them all.
Even in the dungeon... even in the dungeon that bastard had appeared out of thin air. She would never be safe until she fought each and every one of them, sending them all to follow her ’mate’ into death. If Graeme wouldn’t protect her, if he was bound by puppet strings to the imposter Luna, then she would protect herself and enact her own revenge.
She stalked toward the body that was slumped against the wall, eyes wild with fury and seeking revenge. There was a new, strange essence that hovered around her like a shield. Whatever it was, she felt so powerful at last. Her time of being a victim was over.
But it wasn’t a male slumped against her wall. Her eyebrows pinched together at the clothes she recognized and then the long dark hair draped over a shoulder. The same dark hair as Violet’s.
"Mother?" She called, confused. Surely her mother hadn’t been the one to attack her in her bed.
She kneeled down, sweeping the dark hair away from Cressida’s face. How could this be? She would never hurt her own mom.
"Mother?" She called again, nudging her shoulder.
Cressida groaned and stirred, slowly sliding up to a sitting position and holding the back of her head that was throbbing horribly. She pulled her trembling hand away from the area to find it covered in blood.
"Goddess, let me call a healer," Violet gasped, rising to leave but Cressida grabbed hold of her hand.
"No," she objected. "I am fine. I will heal."
"But—"
"You did this, Violet!" She cried, her hand trembling as she held her daughter’s before finally letting it go. "Do you really want someone here asking questions? What am I going to say? That I threw myself against a wall?"
"What?" Violet asked with a tremulous voice. "What do you mean. I didn’t..."
"Yes, you did," Cressida’s tone went flat as she stood from the floor, avoiding her daughter’s eyes. She was angry and terrified, and she didn’t want Violet to see it. "We need to get you some real help. I don’t know what is going on with you, but there is something deeper that is wrong."
"Deeper?" Violet scoffed. "What could be deeper than what is already wrong?"
"You threw me through the air!"
"I... I didn’t!" Violet objected. "I mean, I didn’t mean to!"
"How were you able to do that?" Cressida’s eyes snapped to her, and then she gasped and pressed herself against the wall.
"What?" Violet growled.
"Your eyes," her mouth hung open as she gaped at her daughter.
"What are you talking about?"
"They’re... they’re..."
Violet stalked over to the vanity that she had avoided since returning home and bent down to look at herself. There, glowing like bright suns in the center of her thin, sunken face were the golden eyes of the one who marked her.
