Chapter 56

Alpha Hawthorne did not look happy when he came by to visit this time.

Instead, he was agitated and he seemed to be worried about something as he stood at the front door. When she stepped out of the way to let him in, he didn't take the invitation and remained standing outside making her wonder if it had to do with Ari's absence.

"Where is he?"

Seems like it is related to Ari.

"I don't know." She told him honestly not knowing or caring where her son went. "The last time I saw him, he was with one of the alphas who came to visit."

She watched as her alpha hit the side of her doorframe with his fist before he startled her with his next words. "Those alphas were found dead. Only one of them seemed to have survived that son of yours." Anger seemed to seep into his words as he told her that. It was as if it was her fault. "Do you know the trouble this is causing?"

Shaking her head, she looked at him with a face that grew paler by the second.

"I didn't- Aurelius? Killing people?" She stuttered feeling like the world suddenly stopped making sense. There was no way he could have done that. He was always so frustratingly gentle and meek. This just didn't fit with his personality. "Are you sure it is him? I assure you he couldn't have done that."

It was mostly her shock that was defending him, but really. These were unbelievable news. Her omega son wasn't capable of anything that drastic. He was weak.

Always have been.

"Then whoever did might have taken him." She could distantly hear the sound of her sink running as the alpha spoke, but she didn't want to seem impolite and mention it as she stayed quiet.

The fact that three alphas who were last seen with Ari ended up dead made it very suspicious and highly unlikely that it was anyone other than him who killed them. Still, she didn't want to voice her thoughts with something she thought doesn't concern her anymore, so she just nodded her head in agreement.

She couldn't care less if Ari was taken or dead like those alphas. He's not her problem anymore.

"I think it is plausible, yes." The sound of running water really made her worried, she thought it came from her kitchen. How careless of her, but when did she even let the sink run? "I should have known something was wrong. I can't believe someone would take him away like this."

She made sure to sound devastated, but honestly she's more concerned about her sink than her missing son. At least the alpha seemed less angry and more sympathetic towards her.

"We won't rest until we find him." Her alpha assured her and she nodded her head gratefully as she watched him leave. She had never seen him so out of sorts before.

However, when she closed the door, she came into a terrifying realization. It was quiet. The voice of the sink running had stopped, and she turned around wondering if she had imagined it.

She didn't expect to find a stranger sitting comfortably on the armrest of one of her couches, waiting for her with a relaxed smile on his face.

The fact that someone was in her house was scary enough, but this wasn't just a regular person. From a single glance she could tell it was an alpha, a very tall one at that, and he had those sinister green eyes that promised no good intentions.

A cat playfully wagging its tail as it played with its prey played in her head, and she was the prey.

She was not liking this at all.

"You're not going to explain why you're in my house?" The fear and trepidation were clear in her voice. She knew she didn't sound threatening at all, not to this guy.

As a response, she got a wave. "Hello, abusive mother."

"You know Aurelius." She realized immediately, and that's when something else came into her mind when she made yet another realization. "You're his- You're his partner, aren't you? The one who gave him his mark."

Unbeknownst to her, Constantine was distracted a bit at hearing Ari's full name. It was his first time hearing it as he thought that Ari was just Ari. Even if it was a nickname, he didn't expect Aurelius.

Aurelius and Constantine, how funny.

"That would be me." He confirmed with amusement Ari's mother didn't know the source of as she backed away. He made it clear that he had no intention of letting her go easily as he stalked towards her. "I have to say, I am a big fan of your methods. Clumsy, but well-executed."

"What are you talking about?" She hissed fearfully before quickly bolting to the door, but she tripped over something he threw at her legs and fell painfully on her chin. When she looked down at her legs, she saw that he threw one of the heavy ornaments that she adorned her sitting room with. "Wha- What?"

She found herself being effortlessly lifted up by the back of her dress as she struggled to free herself from Constantine's grip, but no matter how hard she pulled, she found herself too weak to loosen it.

It made her wonder if that's how Ari felt.

"The abuse, obviously. I was particularly fond of how you used pillows to suffocate." He told her dragging her to the kitchen as he casually spoke. Despite her still fighting to get away, he moved with complete ease unperturbed by her attempts. "Your methods might not be original, but bravo!"

"It wasn't me." She lied hoping to save herself from all this. Her chin was stinging in pain. "I don't know what you're talking about, just let me go."

Constantine stopped and frowned her. "Oh, it wasn't you?"

"No." She shook her head not realizing why he brought her to the sink. "It wasn't, I swea-"

The sounds of her loud gurgles filled the kitchen as she found her head submerged in water. "Save it." He told her with a sadistic smile on his face, enjoying this. "I'm already here, might as well. Besides, I am not stupid."

After a while of her panicking and feeling like she was running out of oxygen, she found herself coughing up water with much needed air entering her lungs. It burned. It felt awful and she cried, begging for it all to stop as she tried to pry the hand entangled in her hair away.

It was too painful.

"Please-"

Without a warning, her head was pushed again and she could only hear herself screaming and struggling as her torturer patiently took his time to prolong her suffering. There was no emotion in any move he executed, it was all done with practiced comfort born out of experience. As if it was just another day for him.

In all honesty, Constantine preferred his kills to be quicker and bloodier. He was only doing it because it was what he guessed Ari had gone through.

He was just returning back the favor.

Never in his life did he think he'd actually be patient enough to take this long, and Ari probably didn't know he was treating his mother this horribly as he pulled her head out of the water once more. It's hard to admit that he was this affected by someone.

But he guessed there are always exceptions, and Ari is one.

When he sighed and pulled her head out, Ari's mother was coughing so hard she was almost retching. There was water mixed with her tears as she cried trying to plead and beg even though it was painful for her to do so.

In her last moment she felt remorseful that she did this to Ari, and regretted every instance of it. Those regrets came out in the form of barely coherent painful cried as she hopelessly hung from his hand. She was begging to be let go of and spared. She's sorry.

But Constantine knew her type.

She wasn't remorseful because she felt sorry she had hurt Ari, but because the same was being done to her because of it. Once he lets her head go, and once she's sure Constantine would never be back, she'll torment Ari all over again with every hateful bone in her body.

In fact, she'd blame this whole ordeal on Ari as if it was his fault although it was Constantine who's doing it out of his own violation. A very common cycle of abuse that repeats itself, and it was beautifully wicked.

But if her death meant Ari would stay with him, then too bad for her.

And if she found her abuse coming back to bite her, then she only has herself to blame.

"Take a deep breath." He told her tonelessly huffing at how bored he became. "I won't pull your head out this time."

People thrashing as they panicked was always a pretty sight to him.

"No, NO!"

The splash that followed was satisfying, and it took a while before she finally drowned in her stupid sink before Constantine let go of her head. Her body fell limply on the floor, and the once beautiful face was now staring upwards lifelessly as a crown of wet hair surrounded it.

It occurred to Constantine that he didn't know her name, and he did not care to know it.

She deserved a miserable nameless death.