0042
Neah
Focussing on my hand, I run my thumb over the palm. There wasn't even a tiny mark. It had been so long since I had healed this quickly.
Over the years, Trey and the pack had great fun in trying to make the bruises last longer than a few seconds.
Hitting me harder and harder, sometimes, breaking my bones, only to hit me again once they had healed.
After I was bound the final time, the beatings continued, just not to the same extent.
They got their satisfaction by seeing me permanently wounded.
"It's the Alpha in you." Alpha Dane mutters.
"The only reason it took so long before is because of the binding."
Curling my hand into a ball, I dig my own nails into my skin, watching tiny beads of blood appear. The moment I release, the small wounds are gone and I'm just left with a few droplets of red, staining my hand.
"This is what Trey wanted, Neah. To beat you down, to take away your power, to make you little more than nothing. And you," he tips my chin up with a single finger.
"You are not nothing. I need you to see that." His hands move to my hips as he continues to stare at me.
"And we are telling the pack today."
"No." I shake my head at him. I just wasn't ready. I didn't even want to see what I looked like as a monster.
"Neah, it's time. I've held off for as long as possible. They need to know."
"I...I don't have a choice, do I?" I whisper, lowering my eyes.
"Not this time, no."
Maybe it was better that they knew. If they decide they don't want me here, it would be better to find out now. "They will want you here."
I look back at Alpha Dane to see his crimson eyes watching me. He didn't seem in the least bit worried.
Closing my eyes, I nod my head, Still not quite believing that I was agreeing to it.
"Good, the meeting is set to start in thirty minutes."
"Thirty.... Minutes?" I thought I would have more time to talk myself into it
"I will be right by your side and Eric will be on the other side of you. But there is also something else you need to do."
"I can't.... I haven't even done it."
"I'm not asking you to shift. I am asking you to make a decision about Devon."
"Oh. Do....do you think he is a risk?"
"Aero still doesn't trust him."
"What about you?" I ask quietly
"I'm still on the fence. But at the end of the day, he is your family."
I involuntarily snort. "Technically so is Trey."
"You have a point. Speak to Eric, he has been having a lot more conversations with him than I have."
"What do you mean?"
"It's a long story." He mutters. He picks up the ear plugs off the table and hands them to me. "You are probably going to need these."
Quietly pushing them back in my ears, I scan the room looking for a dustpan and brush to sweep up the broken glass.
"There will be someone along to clean it up." Alpha Dane tells me as he tries to guide me from the room. "It's time to go."
Walking over the snowy ground, we pass the training hall, travelling further south than I had ever been.
We duck into the trees, following a well trodden trail, moving deeper into the forest. Alpha Dane keeps his fingers locked around mine at all times as my nerves build.
The growing knot in my stomach wasn't helping and we had to stop multiple times so that I could vomit.
We were surrounded by some that had shifted while others were still in human form. There were so many of them, more than I had ever seen. It made it even scarier, if they attaked, I didn't stand a chance.
Beta Eric appears from nowhere, positioning himself on my left side while Alpha Dane continued to hold my right hand. His fingers laced with mine as he stood slightly in front.
Alpha Dane formally introduces me as his mate, declaring that he has marked me.
There was an eruption of cheers and applause and I just knew it was going to be short lived. The moment they found out what I was, they would turn on me and their Alpha. "Relax." Beta Eric leans in close, whispering to me. "You will be surprised by their reactions."
"As you are all aware, we have had problems with the Moonshine pack. They have not withheld their side of the contract. In fact, it was a plot to try and tear apart Black Shadow."
Alpha Dane's voice is almost deafening and I was so grateful that he suggested putting the ear plugs back in.
"We kill them!" Someone shouts out.
"In time, yes." Alpha Dane tells them, "Right now it is important for you to learn some information about my mate."
My heart was pounding and I was certain there were black spots forming on my eyes.
"Is it true?"
I recognised Raven's voice.
"That Moonshine are not like us?"
"Yes it is true." Alpha Dane responds and I notice the small curve to his lips. "They are something known as a Lycan, part Wolf, part human, like the one that was killed attacking our pack. He had belonged to Moonshine" There is a collective gasp.
"What about the new Luna?" Someone calls out and I could feel loads of eyes on me.
"She isn't a Luna." Alpha Dane grins, "She is an Alpha."
There are whispers. They move around, talking to each other. After a few minutes, Alpha Dane silences them.
"Yes, she is a Lycan. One that was torn from her position in the family. Forced to be a slave. Beaten daily until her body was barely hanging on to life. A Lycan who was bound from her abilities, not once, not twice, but four times." Tears quickly fill my eyes, I wanted him to stop.
Klaus steps forward from the crowd. "Four times?" He sounded genuinely shocked. His green eyes find mine. I couldn't tell if he was disappointed that I hadn't told him after he had revealed his past to me. "Are you certain, Alpha Dane?" He asks
The rest of the Wolves are silent, waiting for Alpha Dane's response.
"What do you know, Klaus?"
"Stories." He mutters back. His deep green eyes remain on me.
"There is nothing recorded about Lycans."
"I can't remember off the top of my head, but I have books. Story tellings based on myths and legends of wolves and other cretaures. Especially those that had been bound."
"Go look." Beta Eric snaps and Klaus quickly disappears between the trees.
There are still mutterings in the crowd of Wolves. I feel their eyes on me and the questions start.
"Is she a threat?"
"Is she going to shift and kill us?"
"Is she going to pass information back to Moonshine?"
"Is she going to turn against us?"
The questions seem to be never ending. Like Alpha Dane was purposely letting them get everything out before deciding to answer.
"Any more?" He finally snaps when the questions are growing further and further apart.
I shouldn't be here. I should be far away, hiding.
There's complete silence as Alpha Dane waits for someone to say something. But they don't, they remain quiet, waiting. They probably knew better than to speak..
"Do you really think I'm going to bring in a mate that will attack our pack? Others have tried and they have all been dealt with. Neah isn't like the others. And if anyone is questioning my decision, just remember I won't be kind and I won't hesitate."