Beyond These Walls

Chapter 31

I didn't even have to tell the children to leave. They darted out as soon as those words left his lips whilst I remained frozen, glaring down at the woman who was still struggling desperately in Xerxes's bruising hold.

He waited until all the children had left, before gripping the back of his mother's neck and smashing her head against the silverware on the table painfully.

A whine escaped her lips pleading, her eyes brimming with tears. There was no trace of mercy on Xerxes's face as he grabbed her neck once again and turned her to face him.

"Watch." He growled to her, gripping her neck and forcing her head down so she would be looking at the hand which he held in his other hand.

He gripped her fingers and pulled them backwards and down, until sickening cracks filled the air, followed by her screaming.

I felt like throwing up. The way her fingers were now twisted unnaturally and limp was horrifying.

He continued holding her broken fingers down, staring into her eyes. "You are lucky to be my mother," He snarled. "Otherwise I would have killed you."

Idina nodded her head, tears streaming down her face and onto her lips which had held a smirk as she slapped me a few minutes ago.

"P-please. I was wrong-"

Xerxes cut her off, grabbing her throat, his silver eyes livid. "Did I tell you to speak, woman?"

Idina just sobbed.

"I'm not finished with you yet. You slap my mate and your Luna and then expect me to simply just break your fingers?" His roar was deafening and the people around us trembled.

Idina bowed her head, sobbing silently. She was scared of what was coming; her eyes, silver like her son's, revealed this.

The room was silent as Xerxes twisted his mother's arm painfully, until the noise of a bone being cracked erupted into the air. I looked away briefly as she screamed.

When I decided to look back, I wasn't quite prepared for what I was going to see. Her arm was twisted unnaturally, and it was obvious that a bone under her flesh had moved. It appeared as if the bone was in fact pushing against the skin. Her eyes were glazed in obvious pain. Blood dripped from where skin had been ripped open and her face was a red flush, her body shaking as she tried to stay on her feet.

It was clear, that even though she was a werewolf, she wasn't as strong as most were. I had expected her body to heal rapidly but the process hadn't started. But through the pain she felt, she dared to step forward, to attack her son, only for him to grasp her throat, squeezing it until she lost conciousness, his claws digging into the skin of her neck before finally dropping her to the floor.

"She will receive no medical treatment." Xerxes stepped away as he spoke, never looking away from Idina's crumpled body.

Xerxes turned his back to her and faced me. His fingers clenched as he eyed my cheek. "Let's get you some ice for that." He told me, taking my hand and leading me out the room, leaving silence behind us.

***********

(Xerxes's POV)

I swung open the fridge door and grabbed a packet of ice. Silently, I turned around to Rebecca, who sat on a chair behind the kitchen table, watching me cautiously.