**Content warning: hints of r@pe and abuse. **
I softly knock on the door of the Lunas’ room, and I hear her say, “Come in.” I enter and close the door, lowering my head in submission to her, then sit in the chair beside her bed.
“How are you feeling, Luna?”
“Oh, I’m fine, thank you, Athena,” she says, but her cheeks flush and her hands nervously play with the blanket that covers her. I take a chance and reach out to place my hand on top of hers. Her hands stop fidgeting as she looks at me, her eyes welling up with tears.
“You can trust me, Luna. I promised I would protect you,” I say, trying to comfort her with my touch.
She takes the hand that isn’t holding mine and covers her eyes as she sobs. I get out of the chair and sit beside her on the bed. Jeopardizing my position by doing this without her permission, I lean in and hug her tightly. She gasps softly in surprise, but then hugs me and sobs into my shoulder. My heart breaks for her.
‘*We can’t just use her for information, Athena. She’s a victim. We need to protect her*,’ Enyo says.
‘*You’re right. This is more than just being her Delta. We will do everything we can to help her*.’
As the violent sobs rack her body, I hold her, gently rocking her and rubbing her back.
After a few moments, I hear the sobs start to subside, and she takes a shaky breath. She leans back from me, and I reach over to get tissues from the nearby table. She takes them and wipes her face and blows her nose.
“I’m sorry, Athena. I don’t know what came over me,” she hiccups, still visibly upset.
“You have nothing to apologize for, Luna.” I give her a small smile.
“Can I trust you, Athena?” She looks at me, the concern and fear in her eyes breaking my heart further.
I retake her hands and look at her. “I swear to you, Luna. You can trust me. I will do anything for you,” I say with conviction.
She looks down at our hands, takes a deep, shaky breath, and chews on her lower lip, as if debating whether to believe me. After a brief moment, she nods, as if deciding that she can.
“Alpha Damon wasn’t the one that asked for a Delta. I did…” She trails off.
I sit back, slightly surprised. “Why Luna? Why did you feel you needed one?”
She takes another moment before responding. Then, with her eyes cast down, looking at our hands, she says, “I don’t feel safe here…” She looks up at me, and I see the fear in her eyes.
“No one in this pack would hurt you, Luna. Everyone is so happy to have you here,” I try to comfort her.
“It’s not the pack I’m worried about…” she mumbles.
“You mean… Your mate?” I ask, trying to hide my fury at her being afraid of her mate.
She nods as another sob escapes her. “He’s not a good man, Athena…” she whispers. “When we met, I thought he was amazing. He treated me like his queen. But after we had our marking ceremony, he couldn’t hide his true feelings from me anymore, and he changed…” She cries again.
I wrap my arms around her again and whisper in her ear, “he’s sleeping with other she-wolves?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
She nods and sits back, wiping her eyes again. “When I confronted him about it, he went off the rails. Beta Michael had to pull him off of me…” she hiccups.
“Did he hit you?” I ask, appalled by the bastard’s actions.
She nods and adds, “and worse.”
I look at her in confusion. She looks at me, her eyes trying to tell me the ugly truth, and I gasp as it dawns on me.
“He told me he can do as he wants because he is the Alpha. That all I was to him was a piece of ass for him to use as he wished, and that the only reason he didn’t reject me was because it would weaken him,” she says sadly. “Beta Michael had to physically pull him off me. I honestly don’t know what would have happened if he hadn’t heard me crying.”
My jaw clenches as I try to keep my cool, Enyo coming to the surface as her rage intensifies mine further. I can tell our eyes are changing back and forth as I fight her for control.
A small growl escapes my throat as Enyo pushes herself to the surface, winning the fight for control. But to my surprise, she doesn’t fly off in a rage. Instead, she takes Luna Cassias’ hands in hers. “My Luna, if you wish it of us, we will kill him,” she growls again.
Her growl must have caught the attention of Luca and James because the door opens, and I see Luca’s head come into view, scanning the room.
“Is everything…” he tries to ask, but Enyo cuts him off.
“Get. Out!” she growls aggressively. Luca’s eyes widen, but he immediately closes the door.
Enyo softens as she returns her gaze to the Luna. “We can protect you, Luna. Ask this of us, and it will be done.”
Luna Cassia is quiet for a moment before gently placing her hand on our cheek. I gasp internally, shocked that she would do this.
“I knew there was something special about you the moment we met. I could feel your power radiating from you,” she smiles softly. “That is why I asked for you to be my Delta.” She removes her hand from our cheek and places it back in her lap. “I won’t ask that of you, Enyo. But I appreciate the offer.” She smiles again.
Enyo nods and then retreats to the back of my mind.
“I’m so sorry, Luna,” I quickly apologize as I regain control.
“You have nothing to apologize for, Athena. Neither does Enyo.” She smiles again.
“How did you know what my wolf’s name is?” I ask curiously.
“Nick told me. And I’ve heard her name from the warriors,” she explains.
“So, you know that I’m… Different? Like Nick?” I ask, knowing that she hadn’t seen us shift.
“Yes. But I have never felt the power radiating off you before from anyone. Not even from Nick,” she says.
“Nick said that he could feel it too,” I think back to our conversation, and it confuses me how they can feel it, but no one else can.
“One of my ancestors was a witch, so we have a little witch power in our blood. We can sense power and, occasionally, see someone’s aura. Nothing resembling actual powers or anything like that,” she explains.
I sit back, slightly shocked. I hadn’t had much experience with witches, but I knew they could be dangerous.
When she sniffs, I return my attention to Luna. “However, what Enyo said is correct, Luna. If you ask us to kill him, we will,” I say in a serious tone.
“I honestly don’t know what to do, Athena. He terrifies me. And, while I know you are strong, if you were to fail… I believe he would kill me whether it weakened him or not…” she trails off, tears filling her eyes again.
“If the pack knew what he’s done, they would protect you,” I tell her.
“He’s also my mate, Athena, so I’m bonded to him. And despite everything he’s done, I still love him,” she sobs.
I nod my head in understanding.
“Maybe we should tell her everything, Athena,” Enyo suggests.
“Not yet. I don’t want to overwhelm her.”
“She might be able to help us.”
“She still loves the piece of shit. She’s not ready yet.”
Enyo curls up in a ball in a huff and whimpers, thinking about Andreas.
“I will never let him lay his hands on you again, Luna. I will guard you day and night if I have to,” I tell her.
“It won’t work. He’ll suspect something,” she whispers, fear returning to her eyes.
“The mate ball is coming up. As Luna, it’s your responsibility to plan it,” I tell her, giving her an excuse to be away from him. “You will bury yourself in it, so you won’t have time to be around him, especially with your other Luna responsibilities as well.”
She thinks for a moment before nodding in agreement. “That might work. But what about after that?” She asks.
“Let’s not think about that for now,” I say and squeeze her hand again. “You’re going to be safe, Luna. I will make sure of it, along with your guard.”
“They can’t know,” she panics, squeezing my hand tightly.
“I will not tell them the specifics, Luna. You have to trust me now when I say that you can trust the lycan in your guard. I trust them with my life, and they will help me protect you,” I say, trying to reassure her.
She takes a deep breath and nods. “Okay, Athena. I do trust you,” she says, giving me a small smile. “Please, call me Cass when we’re alone. That’s what my friends call me.”
I return her smile. “I’m glad we’re friends, Cass.”
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**Authors Note: Hey guys! I hope you like my new cover for ‘A Deadly Obsession’! If you can’t see it, you may have to delete it from your library and re-add it. You can also see it on my f@ce book page by searching for Skye Alexander–Author. I hope you’re enjoying the story so far, and I can’t wait to bring you more of the story. Don’t forget to leave a comment! I love hearing your thoughts and theories on what will happen. Skye. **