Page 24 of My Only Luna

“Scarlett, can you please share when this took place? With as much detail as you’re comfortable with?” Dad asks her gently. His eyes flicker to my hands. She nods before she begins briefing them about the party, the drinks, the run and how they had lured her away from the others.

The room is silent, filled with tension that could be sliced with a knife. When she is done, only Derek looks ashamed.

“Now, I will ask the five of you if this is the truth or not?” Dad asks. His voice is menacing, but he hasn’t commanded them with his Alpha aura. Derek is the first to bow his head.

“It is the truth, I’m sorry-”

“What the fuck? You can speak for your fucking self!” Callum spits, grabbing Derek by the collar as he shakes him violently.

“Enough!” Dad snaps as Uncle Nick pulls them apart. “Derek, continue.”

“I was really drunk. It’s not an excuse, but Hank said if I helped, he’d help me rise up from my lower rank. So, I went with them. I thought we were just going to check if she was a she-wolf, and I know that’s wrong in itself. But then it got out of hand…” he whispers, looking guiltily at Scarlett. She looks back at him blankly.

“So, in turn, starting from you Derek, how far were you willing to go?” Dad growls, his Alpha aura swirling around him.Derek bows his head.

“I didn’t want to rape her. I liked someone already,” he whispers, his face pale, his eyes on the ground under his Alpha’s wrath. I clench my jaw, wanting to kill them. Scarlett places her hand over mine comfortingly, as if trying to soothe my wolf, who is ready to spill blood. I look down at her, her touch calming me. I’m holding on to this Red, that you aren’t entirely giving up on me, and I’ll wait forever if I have to. Knowing she isn’t totally shutting me out helps, even if she is giving me hot and cold signals. There’s hope.

“Callum, tell me what happened that night,” Dad hisses. The room is silent now. Hank isn’t here to defend himself, but under Alpha command, these men are bound to speak only the truth. He clenches his jaw, trying to disobey, but he can’t.

“I was happy to go along with Hank. It-it was his idea. We all know Scarlett was the one girl who played hard to get. She always acted better, tougher, and stronger than us. When she got her wolf, it was a blow to our egos,” he admits through gritted teeth, making his dad, Jake’s eyes darken in anger.

“Bastard, this isn’t how I raised you!” he snarls, his eyes burning.

“So, you were willing to go through with raping her?” Dad asks, his eyes burning with unbridled rage.

“Yes, to show her who’s fucking stronger,” Callum spits through gritted teeth. Jake closes his eyes in disgust, turning his back on his son. Most of the room is appalled.

Dad asks each one under Alpha command, and unlike Derek, the rest were willing, wanting to break Scarlett to see her crumble under their dominance. It goes on, each statement is sickening and in line with the others.

Scarlett’s heart rate is the only thing that betrays her. I know this isn’t easy on her. I can see the looks and expressions on the faces of the others in this room, and if they aren’t able to handle this then what about the victim herself?

Hearing their morbid confessions, and knowing they live amongst us is beyond disgusting.

“Throw them all in the cells, they will get the strictest of punishments!” Dad hisses.

“What! For her?!” Callum shouts.

“We all know you like to play hard to get Scarlett! You know you would have fucking loved it, six fucking dicks!” Kyle shouts as several men escort them out. “You’re just a fucking slut!”

That fucking does it. I feel the control snap on my rage, my wolf surging forward, a menacing growl ripping from my throat, and I see red. I’m across the room in a flash, throwing Kyle to the ground. His head hits the tile with a resounding crack. One that satisfies me.

“Elijah!” Scarlett shouts, but all I can see is the look of contempt that he still wears.

“No one gets to speak to her like that!” I snarl, my heart pumping loudly. He gives me a crooked smirk and my eyes flash cobalt blue, in a flash my claws come out and I tear his heart out, sending a gasp of horror through the hall, but I don’t fucking care.

I look at the heart in my hand before I crush it and toss it aside. “I may not be the Alpha yet, but I will never support rapists or any type of abuse in this pack. I don’t care if it’s ruthless, but I won’t pardon heinous crimes. Ever! May this be a fucking lesson to everyone,” I say quietly, my eyes dark and dangerous as they turn on the other four men who stand there inshock.

“Before you go, apologise to her. Even if you don’t mean it, get on your fucking knees and at least beg for forgiveness. I might make it a little less painful,” I spit. I made the mistake once of letting a danger to her walk free, never again. Derek is the first to turn, and he looks at Scarlett.

“I am sorry… I really am. I know it’s not enough. I promise if I’m ever set free, I will make sure I never make the same mistake again. Sorry won’t make what you experienced go away, but I’m happy that you got rid of Hank. You’re a badass and your mate will be lucky to have you,” he says, smiling sadly. Guilt and regret are clear in his eyes. Scarlett gives him a small smile.

“Thank you, Derek,” she says quietly.

At least one apology that might mean something, “I just wish you came forward and confessed earlier. That would have amounted to something.” I say quietly.

Derek hangs his head. “Yeah, I wish I did, too.”

I glance at the other three and they instantly turn to her, but apart from fear and regret for their own future, they don’t really seem to care for their actions.

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