Sinner (MATURE 18+)

31

A/N: Trigger warning: Violent rape and sexual assault are mentioned in this chapter. Please proceed with caution.

Chase's POV

I sat alongside the other high council members, tapping my pen against the table impatiently. I checked my wristwatch.

Elena was ten minutes late.

I began to grow anxious because Elena was seldom late to council meetings. Especially since her coronation, she made sure to arrive early so the lords and ladies could see how dedicated she was. Lord Cleanthe clucked his tongue on the roof of his mouth, shaking his head.

"She is the one who has insisted on this meeting, yet she is late. God damn-"

"I suggest you watch what you say. This is the Queen you're talking about," I interrupted. The door opened and Elena entered. We all stood, bowing our heads to her as she walked around the table to the head.

"Please sit," she said, taking a seat herself. Leia remained standing.

"The council stands today on the request of our beloved Majesty, Queen Elena Kathryn Ambrose. We stand to serve her and protect the Angels of the West," she started. "Now, we will listen to her Majesty speak." Elena cleared her throat and I finally got a good look at her. She had lost a significant amount of weight, that much was obvious. Her collarbones stood out more, the blue under her eyes showing through her makeup.

"Chase?" she asked, gesturing to me. I stood, my hands shaking slightly. Honestly, I was nervous. Intimidated by the high people I sat with. I knew they didn't want me on the council, hell they wouldn't want to be less than thirty feet of anyone who wasn't wealthy.

My mother was an old friend of Elena's father, Raphael. He grew up alongside my mother in a middle-class family. Elena's mother, Evangeline, and Raphael met in college and fell in love. So, after they had Elena and my parents had me, naturally we became best friends. And oddly enough, neither of us had parents anymore after my mother was murdered and my father left us.

"Yes. Her Highness has requested for me to see the statistics of reported violent incidents post union and it has decreased by 2%. Almost half of these notified encounters have occurred between an angel or devil and has started over arguments and boasting. All of these brawls have resulted in a death on our side," I said, taking a breath. Elena raised her hand.

"And the other half of the encounters?" she asked, brows drawn together. I looked down at the papers in my hand and set them down slowly.

"Sexual assault," I replied. Her eyes closed and her lips pursed together.

"Any survivors? Or are they all dead?" I shook my head.

"Dead." She let out a shaky breath. "I also have some more stats-"

"Let's take twenty," Elena called, abruptly standing. The council members looked around startled but had no option but to listen to their Queen and dispersed. Elena sunk into her chair, resting her head in her hands. I walked around to her side of the table, dragged a chair over and sat beside her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked. She didn't respond so I placed a gentle hand on her arm, rubbing it up and down. I repeated my question, softening my voice.

"No, I don't want to talk about it," she whispered after a minute of silence. I pulled her hands away from her face so she was forced to look at me. For a second, I didn't recognize the person in front of me. Her eyes were distant, cold, in a way that I haven't seen them in years. The last time she became so distant, was after her father died and I accepted her shutting me out. She stopped talking to me for months, but I wasn't going to let that happen this time around.

"Elena, you know you can tell me anything, right?" I was panicking. I wanted to help her, to console and comfort her. "Is it Carsir?"

"No," she laughed, "I wish it was about him." I frowned, brushing her hair away from her face.

"Alias?" Her face stilled in my hands, eyes casting downward to not meet mine. "Look at me, Elena," I demanded. She didn't listen and my anxiousness squeezed me harder. "Look at me!" I shouted. Her eyes snapped up to mine, fear dripping off the orbs.

"Yes," she murmured. I was right, it was about Alias.

"What did that bastard do to you?" Elena was breathing heavier and I moved my hands down to hold her own. I squeezed them lightly.

"Nothing," she said. I felt her hands starting to sweat and my eyes narrowed.

"Did he say something?" I prayed that was the most he did. I prayed he didn't lay a finger on her. But I already knew the answer. "Did he -touch you?" The room around us disappeared and only the two of us were present. She met my eyes and a single tear slipped down her cheek.

She nodded her head.

I willed myself not to jump to my feet, run to Alias and rip him apart with my bare hands. I needed to listen to Elena, I needed to support and be there for her. "He touched me," she repeated, her eyes far away as if she was watching a movie in her mind.

"Did he rape you?" I hated that word.

"Yes."

Fury.

Red, hot fury spread through me like wildfire. I wanted to do nothing but tear his limbs off piece by piece and feed them to wolves. I wanted him dead.

"H-he owns me, Chase," Elena stammered, face crumbling. I wrapped her in my arms, her head burying in my chest. Silent sobs racked her body, her hands knotted tightly in my shirt. "I sold my soul, I sold myself." I kissed the top of her head, brushing her hair back.

"I'm here for you, Elena. I'm going to help you through this," I murmured. I felt guilty for pressing her to tell me. Maybe she needed more time and I pressured her into telling me.

"You can't tell anyone, Chase. Promise me," she pleaded, looking up at me. "Especially Carsir. He can never find out. Ever." I was conflicted. I knew that Carsir was the only person that could bring Alias to justice and give him punishment, but I had to respect Elena's wishes.

"I promise, Elena. I won't tell a soul."