Page 6 of Pucked Around and Found Out

“I’m gonna offer you something I have never offered anyone before.” Meekan instantly stills and stares up at Xaden relief in his eyes. “You get to choose which knee cap I break first.” I inhale sharply as the hope withers and dies in Meek’s eyes. He really thought Xaden was going to give him a choice that involved his freedom and being able to survive the night.

What a fucking idiot.

Xaden Devlin doesn’t offer forgiveness or second chances.

The devil was never offered a chance to earn his way back into Jesus’s fold. Xaden will adopt the methods of his maker and ensure the end of each of us without a worry of ever making it up north.

Cas removes his hand allowing Meekan to speak. “There is no coming back from this if you—” The warning is obliterated by a gut-wrenching scream when Xaden swings the hammer down with devastating precision, shattering Meekan's left kneecap.

The sound of bone splintering echoes through the room with a wet, crunching crack that I know I'll hear in my nightmares forever.

Bile surges up my throat. I swallow convulsively, fighting the urge to vomit. Every instinct screams at me to look away, to close my eyes, to escape this horror but I force myself to keep watching.

I can feel the ghost of hands behind me, ready to grip my face and hold me in place if I even try to turn away.

I won't give them the satisfaction.

“Scream as loud as you want, Di-Leo. No motherfucker around here will help you. This is Stormsend and I fucking own this town.” The dominance and power that follows those words can be felt. “Elbow or knee?”

Meekan splutters and shakes his head. “Stop⁠—”

“Elbow it is.” I watch, trapped in some horrible trance as Xaden circles around him and brings the hammer down on Meekan's elbow with the same brutal efficiency. He couldn’t even escape the blow since he’s restrained.

The scream that tears from Meekan's throat is inhuman.

But Xaden doesn't stop.

He methodically destroys both kneecaps. Shatters both elbows. Breaks each toe one by one with precise, calculated strikes.

When he hits one of Meekan's toes so hard it literally explodes…nothing left but a dangling piece of skin and shattered bone I nearly lose what little remains in my stomach.

He's so precise. So controlled. Moving like a predator, sleek and certain of every movement.

And my father and brother? They sit there in silence. Haven't said a single word. Haven't tried to help their supposed friend as he's systematically broken apart by the man they swore they'd destroy and claim his throne.

“Cutters.” Cas obeys, grabs the hammer from Xaden then replaces it with the cutters from the cart.

“S-stop… please,” Meek begs through his whimpers. My throat tightens as I fight back tears. I may be furious and angry but even I can’t stomach the sight of him being carved and broken like this.

“Did you stop for a single second to think about my sister and best friends when you buried the reports from the crash?” Xaden’s words are like a sucker punch. “You’re a worthless piece of shit. Your sister died and you chose greed over justice for her.” Meekan’s reply goes unnoticed as Xaden kneels behind him and⁠—

Oh God.

The bolt cutters close around Meekan's fingers.

The crunch of bone and cartilage being severed makes my vision blur. Makes the room spin.

I'm going to be sick. I'm actually going to⁠—

But I can't look away.

Won't look away.

Because this is my reality now. This is the world I chose when I decided to play in the darkness with monsters.

Meekan's screams fill the warehouse, bouncing off concrete walls, creating a symphony of agony that will haunt me until my dying breath.

And through it all, Xaden works with the focused intensity of an artist creating his masterpiece.