Page 33 of My Only Luna

“Mama, it’s okay. I handled it. Yes, he took advantage of it, knowing I could hold out longer than both of you, but I’m fine. I got through it.”

“Tell me what he did,” Mama orders, her eyes flashingangrily. “I want answers.”

“Can we not do this right now?” I ask. Elijah leans against the wall, but it’s obvious he isn’t going to defend me. He wants to know too…

I clench my jaw, refusing to speak.

“We are doing this here and now! How can I help you when you are always so stubborn?! Please, Scarlett!” Mama snaps, wiping her tears in frustration.

“Your mother has a right to know,” Grandma Amelia says. Dad nods. Standing up, he places his arms around Mama, who is staring at me.

For a moment, flashes of my traumatic childhood flit through my head, sending chills down my spine. I hate thinking about it, hate the knots of fear that it causes within the pit of my stomach, fear that I’ve tried to subdue.

Elijah walks over to me, taking a seat next to me. He places his arm around my shoulders, stroking my arm as if he can sense my emotions.

“It’s high time you stop fighting the world alone, Red,” he says softly. I don’t look at him, although I feel comforted in his embrace. Taking a deep breath, I look at Mama instead.

I guess I don’t need to tell anyone exactly what he did, but I have to stop hiding it. There is no way out of this mess, and they all want answers. Telling the pack about Hank and the others has lifted a burden from within me, and perhaps this might do the same.

Enough hiding the secrets of your past within you, Scarlett,I tell myself, sensing my wolf stir.

Well, here goes nothing.

“In the garage, he had this room – his lair, as he called it. It was my special room. I never left for training camps, Mama. I never left pack grounds at all. When I was gone for days on end, I was down there, being his little torture toy. He’d watch the wounds close, then reopen them, laughing like a maniac trying to find out what he could do to keep me from healing so fast. He’d drive nails into me, poison my open wounds so they were excruciating. He’d beat me to an inch of my life and then do it all over. He told me I was created for him to abuse… because why else did the Goddess not give him an heir?” My voice is soft and quiet, but it is extremely loud in the now ever-so-silent room.

I look at their stunned faces, each one wearing a mask of horror at my words.

I’d Always Choose You

Jackson

Scarlett gives me a small smile, one that I know is a defence mechanism. Her eyes holding the ever-so-familiar expression that we have seen over the years. And now I realise it’s an expression that has hidden so much from us, but it is her next words that tug brutally at my heart and I’m certain at the hearts of all the others present.

“But it’s okay; I got used to it. I accepted it. I could handle it. I have the ability to heal, after all.”

“No, no Scarlett. It’s not ok,” I growl quietly, glancing at Elijah who is pale and tight-lipped. No one deserves that, especially not a child. I don’t even care when Elijah pulls Scarlett close and buries her head in his chest. “He’s messed up and needs to be punished for his actions.”

My gaze flickers to Jessica, and I can feel her emotions bleeding through the mate bond. For years I thought I knew the extent of her suffering, but it was barely the surface. Mating and marking opened the doors to nightmares that keep me up at night. I now know the truth about the abuse she has suffered at the hands of Zidane, abuse that now plagues her mind andawakens her far more than it used to.

And now, knowing that Scarlett has suffered so much… and she didn’t see it. I know the guilt that eats at her. She remains silent, but the conflict and anguish in her eyes are making my wolf restless. Her pain is ours.

“Nothing I say can ever make up for my failure,” Jessica says.

“So, can we change the topic?” Scarlett requests, looking uncomfortable as she tugs away from Elijah, giving him a small, comforting smile. I can feel his rage filling the room, growing rapidly. “I’m fine.” Elijah doesn’t reply to her, simply kissing her forehead, making me frown.

“Since we’re on the topic of the bastard Zidane, let’s finish it. You said you wanted to help the pack members, correct?” I ask, frowning deeply.

“Yeah, there are so many in that pack who are abused. It’s my job as their Alpha to take charge,” Scarlett replies firmly. I nod. I am proud to see the strength she continues to hold.

“Let’s talk to our allied packs. We have enough to rally with Scarlett, and overthrow Zidane,” Elijah suggests.

I look at him thoughtfully. “Usually we can’t get involved in other packs and their business. However, Scarlett is their Alpha heir and wants to protect them, but for our allies to believe that, Scarlett will need to prove that she is an Alpha. We can call for a meeting,” I say.

“That sounds like a good idea. I’m sure some of Zidane’s pack members will willingly help Scarlett over him if they knew it means they’d get a chance at a better life,” Amelia says. I nod in agreement.

“I’ll start contacting our allies then,” Elijah adds, frowning.

“Yes, we can’t waste any more time.” I look between the two.There is one more issue that needs to be addressed, and we need to do it now.

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