Content Warning: Mention of r@pe
“Fuck you, Damon. You’re a worthless piece of shit,” I snarl at him.
Damon charges at me and backhands me across the face, splitting my lip. “YOU WILL ADDRESS ME AS ALPHA!” His Alpha aura radiates from his body as he screams in my face.
I laugh in his face, and he slaps me again, making me laugh harder. “You’re no Alpha. You’re nothing but scum.”
He raises his hand to strike me again, but Nick catches his arm. “How are you fighting his Alpha command?” Nick asks, eyeing me curiously.
“I don’t take commands from filthy mutts.”
Nick drops Damon’s arm and points to me. “Command her again,” he tells Damon.
Damon lowers himself to my eye level. “SUBMIT TO ME!” He roars in my face, unleashing his full Alpha aura and shaking the vases in the room.
When he’s finished, I look at him blankly and then laugh again. “Wow, that was a good one, Damon. It felt like you blew your entire load on it.” Damon steps back in surprise as he realizes he really can’t command me.
“You can’t command her…” Nick looks at me with his brows furrowed in confusion. “Tell me how you’re doing that, Athena.”
“I’m not telling you anything. Why are you working with this sick fuck?” I ask Nick, nodding towards Damon.
“He works for me, actually. Damon has been with us for quite some time,” Nick says, but pauses. “What do you mean by sick fuck?”
“Who’s us?” I ask.
“Tell me what you meant, Athena.”
I snort in disgust. “How will Cassia and Jess react if they discover you’re working with Cassia’s abuser?” I ask him, and his pupils dilate to where they are nearly completely black.
“Is that what that little bitch told you?” Damon screams, but Nick has him by the throat and up against the wall before he can do anything.
“Damon, did you break your promise?” He asks, his voice feral.
“That’s Alpha to you!” Damon yells at him, and Nick tightens his grip on Damon’s throat.
‘Enyo, do you think you can shift?’
‘I don’t think so. The drugs seem to be wearing off, but I think there was silver mixed in the drugs.’
“What promise?” I ask Nick. “Did you know what he was like?” I concentrate hard, and I’m able to extend my claws while Nick is distracted with Damon, and I begin to cut at the rope slowly.
“I knew he was scum, but he promised not to hurt Cassia,” Nick says, growling in Damon’s face.
“He did more than hurt her! He broke their mate bond by cheating on her and then raped her when she confronted him about it!”
“YOU WHAT!” Nick roars in his face, smashing him harder into the wall.
I feel the last rope come loose from my wrists and fall to the floor, and I leap to my feet and sprint for the office door, swinging it open and running out.
“Shit!” I hear Nick yell as I run down the hall of the pack house.
I run faster as I hear footsteps chasing after me, and I try not to trip in these damn heels as I burst out the front door and down the steps of the pack house and straight into Tony’s arms.
“Athena! Where have you been? You mind-linked me, then closed the connection,” he asks, looking worried.
“I’ll explain later. Run,” I say, taking his hand and pulling him behind me. I run to the right towards the hall as I hear Nick and Damon yelling after us.
“Athena! What’s going on!” Tony asks as we run through the hall’s front door, and I stop in the middle of the dancefloor, anxiously looking for Uncle Alex or Ryna when I hear Damon yell.
“Warriors! Seize Athena!” He roars over the crowd, causing everyone to freeze and fall silent.
I turn quickly to see Damon and Nick near the front door as the warriors still under Damon’s control make their way through the crowd towards me.
I see Uncle Alex and Harry out of the corner of my eye trying to get to me, but I smirk and return my gaze to Damon.
‘It’s time,’ I send out the mind-link to everyone as Tony punches a warrior who tries to grab my arm.
I close my eyes and relax, feeling for the power within me, and when I feel it, I take a deep breath before opening my eyes and roaring. The entire room gasps and falls to their knees as the room shakes, but they all do something that I didn’t expect. They all bare their necks to me in submission.
I look around the room, shocked. It feels like a dream, as if time has stopped as I look around the room, and even the visiting Alphas and Lunas in the room are baring their necks to me. When I see movement near the door, I shake my head, realizing I’m not dreaming. Nick has a shocked expression on his face as he stands and rushes out the door, so I quickly make my next move before Damon can do the same.
“Crescent Warriors!” I yell, and their heads rise from their kneeling positions on the ground. “Take Alpha Damon into custody and bring him to me.”
They nod, and I hear gasps throughout the room as fifteen warriors rise and approach Damon.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Damon yells as he gets to his feet. “I am your Alpha! Warriors! Seize Athena!” He tries to command the warriors again. But those still under his command remain kneeling, puzzled, as the Crescent Warriors take Damon’s arms and drag him through the crowd. The two warriors carrying Damon throw him to the ground at my feet and stand at attention next to him, while the rest of the warriors surround me, protecting me.
I look down at Damon and smile as I address the people in the room. “Ladies and gentlemen. I apologize for interrupting your evening. However, because there are so many important people here in attendance, I thought I would take this opportunity to—” I’m interrupted when the hall doors open, and members of the Elder Council fill the doorway, shocked to see everyone kneeling on the ground.
“What’s going on here? What’s the meaning of this?” I see one of them step forward and drop his hood, and I see that it’s Elder David. The one who tried to threaten me at Moonstone.
“Ah, Elder David. I’m so glad that you and the Elder Council have arrived,” I say, smiling innocently at him.
“She’s lost her mind! Do something!” Damon screams at them, fear lacing his voice.
Elder David begins to approach me, but the Crescent Warriors growl and crouch down, ready to shift, causing him to stop.
I swallow and clear my throat, ignoring the Elders. “As I previously stated. Because there are so many important people here tonight, I thought I’d use this occasion to expose Alpha Damon for the monster he is.”
More gasps and growls echo around the room as members of our pack and others whisper, wondering what I’m talking about.
“Luna Cassia, would you like to join me?” I turn to Cassia and motion for her to come to me. Jess helps her stand as she visibly shakes, but Cassia nods her head and makes her way to stand next to me.
“Alpha Damon, is it true that you have broken one of our most sacred rules and betrayed your fated mate?” I ask him.
“What?! I would never do that,” he says in disgust. “Cassia, please, baby, why are you doing this to me?” He begs at her feet.
“DON’T LIE TO ME,” I yell at him, forcing out my aura like Cassia has been teaching me, causing Damon to cower away from me and bare his neck. “You betrayed her, didn’t you?”
His face turns red as he fights my command, but finally, he answers. “Yes! Yes, I betrayed her!” He yells in defeat, and everyone in the room growls in response.
I turn to Cassia as I mind-link her. ‘Stand up tall, Cassia. You have nothing to be ashamed of.’ I mind-link her and see her straighten her posture and hold her head up high. ‘Are you sure you want me to continue?’ I ask her, and she looks at me for a moment, her eyes burning with anger, before simply nodding.
I return my attention to Damon. “Not only did you violate your vows to your mate but also to your pack. You cheated on your Luna, abused her, and raped her, didn’t you?” I ask Damon.
“Yes!” he exclaims, sitting back on his heels, his head bowed in shame.
The hall erupts into growls and angry yelling as Cassia takes a step forward and slaps him hard across the face. “I, Luna Cassia of the Blood-Moon pack, reject you, Damon Poulos, as my mate and Alpha,” she says coldly, clenching her chest as the bond breaks, but she stays standing tall as Damon screams.
“NO! You can’t do this to me!” He grabs his chest, hunching over in pain. “I don’t accept your rejection!”
“This is enough!” Elder David yells as he makes his way through the crowd. I glare at him as he approaches Damon, but the Crescent Warriors block his path and stand in front of him.
“I AM NOT FINISHED WITH HIM!” I yell, my aura radiating from me again, causing the Elder to stumble backward and fall to his knees.
“How did you do that?” he yells. “I am an Elder! No one can command me!”
I notice movement from the other Elders and Elder Laskaris approaches me with a slight grin on his face. “Shut up, David,” he says to Elder David as he walks past him. “This pathetic excuse for an Alpha needs to answer for his crimes,” he says as he comes and stands next to me, motioning for me to continue.
“Is there anything else you wish to confess?” I ask Damon, who whimpers and shakes his head. “No? What about the attack on our pack two years ago?” I ask, and his head whips up to look at me.