Page 11

Elijah

I had motioned Dad to summon them since wolfsbane from the bullet was still in my system. Although it is healing, it’ll take a short while longer to clear the poison from my system.

I wouldn’t have expected it to be them, and to think these men were constantly around Scarlett, even Hank, like at the club. She had to tolerate them again and again as they continued to undeservedly live among us. It’s hard to control the blistering fire of rage that wants to unleash my wrath on all of them, wanting to end them for what they did.

I watch Scarlett, incredibly in awe of how fucking strong she is. Even now she sits there with defiance, although I know it’s taking a lot from her. She refuses to let that show. I only know because I have seen the vulnerability within her, seen the her she hides from the world. She now sits there, glaring back at anyone who looks at her with contempt.

The moment the men enter, by the pale looks on their faces, I instantly realise they’ve been warned by their families, who are also present. Logan is sweating, and Kyle looks even paler than usual. Dad steps forward, looking at me.

“Let me handle this. This happened under my care,” he says, his eyes full of pain and anger. I nod. Although I want to tear them to pieces, Dad loves Scarlett, and knowing she went through all of this under his authority is probably fucking him up. He needs to do this. I step back, placing my hands on Scarlett’s shoulders, making her heart rate spike as I begin rubbing comforting circles along her collarbones.

“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 in shock.

“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.

“Sorry,” they say in unison. I force myself to turn my back on them before I end up killing all of them.

“Get them out of here,” I growl.

Aaron and a few others move forward and they are escorted out. Two omegas come in quickly to clean the mess I made, and two men take Kyle’s body from the floor. Dad glances at me, still looking pale after what occurred, but he doesn’t comment on it. But the look in his eyes is a clear warning that he’ll be having a word with me later.

I can almost smell the fear from the audience, my actions having made many restless and uneasy. I glance at Scarlett. She’s worth it. She’s never going to be alone again. I’ll always have her back. The reminder that I failed her once more returns, drowning me in guilt all over again.

Dad now turns to Meredith.

“Put her in a cell for attempting to attack an innocent member of this pack and for shooting her future Alpha,” he says before glancing my way, watching as I wipe my hand on a cloth. Liam places a tray containing a knife and a vial of wolfsbane on the table. Before I can reach for it, Scarlett moves it closer.

“Will you be my volunteer, Alpha?” she asks. Her voice does things to me that I cannot put into words. It feels good to hear her not simply ignoring me.

“Sure…” I say. Everyone watches, confused as to what is happening. She dips the tip into the wolfsbane before taking my wrist and making a 6-inch-long cut. It isn’t deep, just nicks the surface, but it is enough for it not to close instantly. I frown, watching as she now takes the wolfsbane and pours the rest over the blade. Everyone watches, stunned, as she pushes up her own sleeve, gritting her teeth, and drags the knife through her skin, hard and deep.

“Scarlett!” Jessica screams as Dad snatches the blade from her hand. I growl at her for cutting herself so deeply.

“Scarlett!” Dad panics as Jessica runs over, her face grey. She gives them a small smile as she stands up and holds her arm out next to mine. Those who were sitting now move forward to look. To their utter surprise, Scarlett’s deep, bloody gash is already beginning to close whilst mine still bleeds pitifully in comparison, although I can feel my healing kick in.

I smirk slightly despite the situation. Within moments, it’s gone, and I whistle. That’s fucking impressive.

Scarlett’s cut has healed. What remains is just the smear of blood, no sign of the wound left.

“Wow…” I breathe. I knew she healed fast, but that... No wonder she had said to me the first time I had licked her wound that she’d heal. That wound had been terrifying deep, but I hadn’t thought much of it. The fact she was able to move at all had given me the impression it just looked worse than it probably was.

Jessica’s gasp of horror brings me from my thoughts, the whispering across the room is loud but my attention is on Jessica, who has her hands on Scarlett’s shoulders as she stares into her eyes, terror like I’ve never seen before fills her eyes.

“How long have you been able to heal so fast?” she asks in a hushed whisper. Scarlett looks into her mother’s eyes.

She isn’t going to tell her.

“When I-”

“Since she was a child,” I cut in. She needs to know, for Scarlett to be understood and for them to realise, Jessica needs to fucking know.

My eyes meet Jessica’s, who staggers back, breaking into heart-wrenching sobs. Scarlett glares at me, anger clear in her eyes, but I shake my head.

“She needs to know. You can’t keep fighting the world alone,” I say quietly. Her eyes harden, her brows furrowing.

“I am alone now. I was alone and I always have been,” she retorts icily. Her words cut deep. It fucking hurts that I couldn’t protect her. Jessica whimpers, shaking her head, and I can almost see the pieces of the puzzle falling into place in her eyes as she looks at her daughter with tear-filled eyes. Amelia wraps her arm around Jessica and guides her to the far corner of the room.

Scarlett now looks at everyone who seems too shocked to say anything, the murmur of whispers fading away as silence falls.

“You won’t find a wound on me because I heal incredibly fast. Yes, Hank threw me around like a doll, but no bruise is going to remain on my body long enough to be shown as proof. If that medical file and the confessions of those five aren’t enough proof, then my healing should be,” she says quietly. The room is silent as she looks around at them.

The sadness, disappointment and guilt on the faces of the men as they look back at her makes me so fucking proud of her. I look at her with pride.

My Kitten did it. She spoke the truth and got the justice she should have ages ago.

“So, we will conclude Hank Williamson was killed in self-defence when he tried to rape Scarlett Westwood. Due to his crimes, he will not be given a proper burial,” I say, my voice powerful and clear as it rings through the room. “You can do what you wish with his filthy body,” I add, glaring at Hank’s father.

Dad gives a curt nod in agreement as he stares at Scarlett’s arm.

“At least let us bury him properly,” Fiona pleads. I glance at her. Her hazel eyes are full of sadness as she comes over to us, her gaze fixed on Scarlett. How dare she talk to her? My anger begins to rise.

“Please, Scarlett?” Scarlett frowns coldly at her before looking away. She then looks at me, but before I can even reply, Scarlett shakes her head, not even glancing at me as she moves away, ready to walk away now that the meeting is over, but I grab hold of her wrist.

She looks over her shoulder at me, her eyes blazing silver.

“You promised to talk,” I remind her quietly. Fiona reaches out to touch me, but I growl at her. “Back off, Fiona! He will not be allowed a proper burial. My word is final. Learn your fucking place or I won’t mind throwing you out of the pack!”

She flinches, but I don’t fucking care. Without another word, I lead Scarlett from the room.