Reyna rubbed her face as she walked into her apartment building, a sigh escaping her lips. She really needed to stop staying over at people's houses after having sex with them. If someone else caught them by surprise, she would probably lose it. Running into Piper and Annabeth after sleeping with Jason was bad enough, but Piper's father? It couldn't get any worse.
If there was one bright side, it was that sleeping with Piper was actually great. She didn't have a panic attack until after her nightmare, and a nightmare was to be expected. It was just nice to wake up and realize that she was lying next to Piper: someone who actually cared for her.
And Piper really showed that she cared. She only did whatever Reyna was comfortable with and listened to her. Reyna made sure to return the favor. It was nice to have that mutual trust and confidence in each other. She was content, and she hoped that the problems between her and Piper would be cleared up.
Reyna just had to stop hating herself, which was asking a lot. The best solution would be to keep herself in check around Piper.
Reyna shivered and stuck her hands into her pockets. She slowly made her way up the stairs. Despite how relaxed she felt, guilt still gnawed at her stomach. It was dumb of her to leave Hylla alone for that long; not to mention selfish. How could she not check on her sister? It wasn't like Hylla could easily grab anything that she needed. Reyna did get her crutches, but that wasn't going to help her much.
As Reyna made it to her apartment, she grabbed her key. She unlocked the door and walked inside. Her gaze washed over the couch, and she saw that Hylla was sound asleep. It looked like she was in a deep slumber. Hopefully, she didn't need anything while Reyna was gone.
Reyna's nose picked up something that smelled off. Her ear twitched a moment later. Reyna turned and punched forward. Her fist connected flush with someone's face, and they fell back into the wall. A second punch to the stomach caused them to double over.
"Who the fuck are you?!" Reyna questioned as she grabbed the intruder and slammed them into the door, closing it shut. She buried her forearm against their throat. The intruder wore a mask, but Reyna wasn't fooled. "This is a shitty attempt to hurt me or my sister."
"I would never hurt Hylla," the intruder choked out. A woman, and she sounded a bit older than Reyna. "I was coming here to save her!"
"Save her?" Reyna repeated incredulously. "Don't bullshit me. Exterminata sent some of their best to teach her a lesson. And, I can smell those bastards on you. So, I will repeat this one more time: what the fuck do you want?"
A rag suddenly pressed against her mouth and nose, forcing her to breathe in the sweet chemical invading her nostrils. Reyna elbowed her attacker hard in the gut, but they didn't let go of the rag. The woman in front of her grabbed a needle and moved it towards Reyna's neck.
Reyna tried to throw her attacker over her shoulder, but two legs wrapped around her waist, dragging her to the floor. The woman pinned her as well and stabbed the needle into her neck. She pressed in on the plunger. Reyna felt the medicine slip into her veins, but it wasn't silver. Reyna tried to fight, but it was useless as the medicine and the rag worked together to drag her into unconsciousness.
When Reyna's eyes opened, she knew that she was in trouble. Her body tensed as she instantly went into flight or fight mode, but her limbs were bound tightly. Reyna's eyes shot up, and she saw that her arms were strapped to her bed posts. Her ankles were trapped to the bottom.
"Fuck," Reyna hissed as she tried to pull down on the handcuffs. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!"
Reyna yanked hard on her restraints as much as she could, but the silver of the handcuffs stopped her. She tried to move her feet, but it was just as futile. Reyna swallowed painfully and closed her eyes. She felt sick to her stomach because she knew what was coming next.
A deep breath left Reyna, but she couldn't just give up. She had to get out of here. Her eyes quickly scanned her surroundings. She was laying in her room, and her head was resting on her favorite pillow. Hopefully, they hadn't moved it, and the gun would still be underneath. She just needed to grab it.
Reyna slowly moved her right wrist to try and break free of the silver cuff. Brute force wasn't going to work. The silver-infused handcuffs had made shallow cuts into her wrists, allowing some silver into her bloodstream without it being fatal. Just enough to weaken her.
The handcuffs were tightened enough that she couldn't gain any leverage. She took a deep breath and started to twist her right wrist. Her wrist was going to be destroyed by the end of this, but it was better than being dead. Reyna kept twisting and pulling just enough to try and free her hand. Could she somehow break her thumb?
Reyna heard the door creak open, and she turned her head to look at the two women that walked in. One had auburn hair and anger boiling in her eyes. She wore a jacket and gloves, and her black pants would hide the blood she would soon be soaked in.
The other woman had an air of power about her. She had silver hair that flowed down her back, but it wasn't from old age. Her eyes were the color of steel, and there was a cruel grin splitting her lips. Reyna averted her gaze and tried to control her rapidly accelerated breathing.
Reyna was stripped naked, and that was because the two were going to dissect her and leave her corpse there for someone to find. Reyna kept grinding away at her wrist as the panic became too much. She had to get out of here.
"Kinzie, would you so kindly get Hylla?" the woman with silver hair asked. She adjusted the backpack on her shoulder before walking toward the bedside table.
"Yes, Otrera," Kinzie replied. She turned and walked out of the room.
"You leave my sister alone, you fucking bitch!" Reyna snapped. Otrera looked at her and opened her backpack. She grabbed a rolled up item, and as she untapered it, Reyna saw a vast array of surgical tools and knives. Otrera grabbed a scalpel.
"Do you understand what I am going to do to you, Reyna?" Otrera asked.
"Fuck you!" Reyna barked in sheer defiance. She shivered as Otrera's eyes studied her exposed body, mentally detailing each part. Reyna shifted uncomfortably.
"I'm sure you do. Your father taught you well," Otrera commented coolly. She placed the blade to Reyna's side and started to scrape it against the three scars from Reyna's past. "Until you killed him."
The scalpel slid into the scar that was near the top of Reyna's rib. It cut through her skin like a hot knife through warm butter. Reyna clenched her jaw as tightly as she could to keep herself from crying out. Otrera grabbed her jaw and forced her head back.
"Patricide was looked down upon in ancient times," Otrera hissed as she opened the middle scar. "In ancient Rome, offenders were sewn into a sack with wild dogs and thrown to the side to be ravaged. Now, we are more refined than those barbarians, but you do deserve to suffer."
The third scar was cut open, and Reyna let loose a cry of pain. Otrera put down the scalpel and grabbed a rag. She shoved it into Reyna's mouth and grinned down at her. Then, she placed her three fingers on the scars. Otrera leaned in close, "And, I will make you suffer."
The fingers impaled into Reyna's freshly opened scars, earning another agonized cry. Then, the fingers dug deeper, sliding in between her ribs. Reyna's screams eclipsed the room as Otrera pulled on her ribs. Her body tensed up on her as breathing began to fail her.
"Otrera... w...what are you doing here?" Hylla slowly asked. Reyna could barely turn her head to see her sister. Hylla was gripping her crutches as she stood at the doorway. Kinzie stood behind her.
"Ah, Hylla. I'm sorry. I got started without you," Otrera excused almost politely. She retracted her fingers, and Reyna let out a miserable cry as she tried to curl up to deflate some of the pain. Otrera just placed her finger to the top of Reyna's chest and slowly moved it down to her stomach, using the blood to mark where she wanted Reyna to be cut open.
"W...what are you doing to her?" Hylla asked. Horror flooded her face, and she was staring in shock. Otrera looked at her and hummed softly.
"I'm prepping her for dissection," Otrera answered bluntly as she cleaned the scalpel. "I know I should have waited for you, but I have not done this in such a long time."
Reyna let out weak rasps as she tried to quell the agony in her torso. Otrera studied her body, eyes lingering on each scar. Hylla spoke, "D...don't-"
"Don't cut her open before you can? I agree," Otrera said. She motioned for Hylla to walk over. Hylla hesitantly did, and Kinzie followed behind her.
Reyna tried to speak through the gag, but Otrera just stuffed it further into her mouth. Hylla stared at her at the older woman. That mortified look still fractured her face, and there was such conflict in her eyes.
"Hylla, I understand that you made a mistake by not killing your sister. I understand that I was asking a near impossible task of you. It's okay, though. You learned your lesson, and you were strong enough to survive. That means you are strong enough to kill your sister."
"I want you to begin the dissection," Otrera continued. "Then, all of your sins will be forgiven. You will be welcomed back to your family."
Hylla slowly looked at Reyna, and Reyna could only stare at her sister in shock and terror. Fear gripped her body because there was nothing she could do. No one would be checking on her until long after she was dead. And, Reyna would be kept alive for the worst of it.
"Your family has never given up on you, Hylla," Otrera claimed. She walked towards Reyna and pulled the gag out of her mouth.
"Hylla, please don't," Reyna begged. She knew it was what Otrera wanted. That bitch wanted Reyna to beg and plea for mercy, and Reyna would. She wasn't ready to die. Not with her new friends and with the chance to finally have a normal life. "Please don't do this. I'm your sister."
"You're a monster," Otrera growled at the werewolf. "You murdered your father in cold blood."
"I didn't," Reyna whispered. She tried to calm herself as tears blinded her. More ragged breaths left her. "Please don't do this, Hylla. I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I didn't want to kill him. He was going to kill me, and I'm-"
"You killed him in cold fucking blood!" Otrera snapped, her patience fading away. "I saw the reports. I saw his damn body! You tore his bloody throat out!"
"He was going to kill me!" Reyna repeated as she stared at Hylla. Through her tears, she could see the conflict on Hylla's face.
"Because you're a heathen," Otrera spat coldly. "And, we are going to do to you exactly what your father was going to do. I'm sure he's watching proudly."
"Fuck you!" Reyna heaved at Otrera. She looked at Hylla. "Don't listen to them, Hylla! They'll just kill you after-"
Reyna cried out in agony as Otrera tore the scalpel into the scar on her face. Otrera grabbed her jaw with one hand and started to twist the razor-sharp scalpel like pliers pulling on teeth.
"You were someone's toy, weren't you? I heard werewolves could handle a lot. Should we see how much?" Otrera asked as she leaned in close. Reyna stared in horror as tears of pain flooded her eyes. Otrera grinned and removed the scalpel. "Hylla, are you ready to receive your forgiveness and to be reunited with your family?"
Reyna's whimpers filled the room before Otrera stuffed the rag back into her mouth. Hylla had shunned away from the sight. Reyna let out ragged gasps from the anguish in her side and face. She could feel her blood staining the rag, and she felt sick to her stomach.
Hylla slowly looked back at Reyna. Then, that look in her eyes hardened. Hylla looked back at Otrera and nodded, "I'm ready to be reunited with my family."
Reyna let out a whimper as tears filled her eyes, her death now certain. She tried to twist out of her restraints, but Otrera dug her fingers back into the scars on Reyna's side. A howl of agony was muffled by the rag. Tears of pain and sadness streamed from her eyes.
Hylla carefully walked over, and as she made it to the bed, she put her crutches against the end table. She grabbed the scalpel from Otrera and stared down at Reyna. Miserable cries left the werewolf as she failed to hold it together.
Hylla stared down at Reyna. Then, she placed one hand near the pillow to steady herself. The other hand moved the scalpel to Reyna's chest. Reyna closed her eyes tightly, and she felt her fear terrorize her stomach. She wanted nothing more than to vomit. How could this happen?
Why didn't Reyna move? Why didn't she cover her tracks better? Why did she let her sister back into her life? Why didn't Reyna just run? Why the fuck did she allow herself to hope?
Hylla pressed down on the scalpel. Tears flowed from Reyna's eyes, and she felt Hylla shift. Then, the pillow moved. Reyna jumped as she felt the gun being removed from behind her head. A loud bang resounded throughout the apartment. Her eyes snapped open in time to watch Otrera collapse with a bullet in her forehead.
"Otrera!" Kinzie yelled as she went to move forward. Hylla moved the gun to aim at her. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"What the fuck do you think I am doing?" Hylla snapped. "You can leave, or you can die with her."
"Hylla, you won't get away with this," Kinzie swore. "Exterminata will-"
The gun fired again, and Reyna flinched as Kinzie fell back with a bullet in her shoulder. Hylla slowly spoke, "Kinzie, don't make me do this. Just go and take Otrera's position. I know you wanted it for years now. Just go. Now!"
Kinzie glared at them and stood. Her hand became bloodied as she gripped her shoulder, and tears welled in her eyes, "Hylla…"
"Go!" Hylla repeated. Kinzie looked conflicted, but she suddenly jerked her arm up. Hylla fired the gun again, and Kinzie hit the ground a moment later. Reyna looked on as she saw that Kinzie's gun was almost out of its holster.
Hylla limped towards Otrera and grabbed the handcuff's keys from her. She turned and slowly shuffled back to Reyna and unlocked her restraints. Reyna just stared at her sister as tears obscured her vision. A whimper left her as the rag was pulled from her mouth, "Hylla."
"Shh. It's okay," Hylla whispered. She turned and grabbed her crutches. Hylla carefully made her way to the bathroom. Reyna laid her head back and placed both hands to her face as she started to cry miserably. Pain tore through her side, and she curled up in the opposite way to try and relax.
"Reyna, it's okay. It's okay," Hylla cooed as she placed a towel on Reyna's side. She helped her sit up and wrapped her in a blanket. Reyna turned and buried her face into her sister's chest as she cried. Hylla rubbed her back and gently kissed the top of her head.
"I'm sorry," Hylla whispered softly. "I am so sorry that I told our father about your transformation. I should have just kept it a secret. I'm so sorry Reyna. But, I wasn't lying to Otrera. I'm ready to be back with my family. And, you are my family."
"I haven't treated you like my sister," Hylla said, and her breath shuddered as she sounded like she was holding tears back. "I'm going to make up for that. I promise. Starting now. Just relax. I'm going to handle this. Just stay right here and don't do anything."