Chapter Seventy-One
No one, no one at all was expecting Teresa to say those words. Her words seemed to have sucked the air out of all of us and out of the room that now felt cold and taciturn.
Tears continued to run down Teresa's face as her breathing became heavy following her revelation. Other than her quiet sobs and heavy breathing, nothing else could be heard in the room. Not one single sound.
Did Teresa actually say her brother raped her? Her own brother?
No, I must have misheard her. There was no way she said that.
Because he raped me too.
Staring at this broken girl in front of me I couldn't help but feel for her, my heart tightened at the thought of what she must have been through. Rape in itself was such a disgusting, damaging and traumatic act but to be forced by your own family member, your own brother, that's just cruel and devasting beyond words.
The destruction that must leave behind must be unimaginable. Being betrayed so violently by your own flesh and blood, your own kin, the people who are supposed to protect and love you must be absolutely soul shattering.
"W-what?" The Head Alpha was the first person to break the silence that had cocooned the room. "What did you say?"
I had only met the Head Alpha a couple of time now and from both meeting I had gathered that he was not a man who was easily frazzled or shocked by anything but looking at him now, he looked like a man who was on the verge of breaking down.
Teresa opened her mouth to answer him but instead a sob escaped it causing the Head Alpha's eyes to widen. He was staring at her as if she had grown another head, the look of disbelief on his face would have been funny in other circumstances but in this case it was heart-breaking.
Her words and little whimpers of cries seemed to finally hit everybody else in the room as they all began to react. Rosa's hand covered her mouth as tears began to fill her eyes, she was shaking her head as if she was trying to physically remove Teresa's declaration out of her head.
Alpha Alessandro was uttering every single swear word under the sun, his face and hands both clenched up in anger, ready to burst. He must have known on some level that his cousin was a vile, disgusting pig as he did believe me when I told him that his cousin was a repulsive paedophile and rapist but I don't think he anticipated this.
Who would?
Cami looked just as broken as Teresa and in that moment I knew both of them were relating with each other and probably would for the rest of their lives, both their lives and their perception of the world had been altered negatively by the same man and it would never be the same again.
It all fell into place now, Teresa's words and action all made sense now. Why she believed us so quickly, why she tried to help us and why she looked relieved to hear that her brother was never coming back instead of being heartbroken.
A sickening thought came into my head which I knew had a strong possibility of being true, he hadn't raped Teresa once, it must have been a continuous thing. My own eyes began to swell up as I pondered further about what had happened to her and how traumatising and triggering it must have been to hear what Cami went through yet she still stayed and still tried to help.
"Did Harlan... ra...touch you?" The Head Alpha was having trouble saying the word 'rape' as if saying it would make it more real.
"Yes." Teresa whispered causing Alpha Alessandro to let out another string of curses and his mum to let out a shuddering gasp.
That one word seemed to break the Head Alpha as his face crumpled right in front of us, he stared down at his niece in sorrow and swallowed harshly.
"If that bastard wasn't already dead I would have killed him myself." Alpha Alessandro snarled.
The Head Alpha was struggling to form full sentences as he began to process everything that had just happened. Teresa, on the other hand, seemed to be doing the opposite and recovering from her shock announcement.
"Cami didn't do anything wrong." Teresa said firmly as she briefly glanced at Cami. "She's just a child and she was defending herself. Nala hasn't done anything wrong either, she was just protecting her little sister...just like an older sibling should."
Her words hit me hard and I was unable to stop the tears that were now falling freely down my face. Her brother should have been her protector, her saviour, not the person she needed protecting from.
Based on Alpha Alessandro's family's reaction it was clear to see that no one was aware of what was happening behind closed door which made things slightly better, only slightly though. There were some people and some families where these horrific things would be happening within the family and some family members were aware of it and did nothing to stop it and instead turned a blind eye.
"When? Was it just once?" Clearly the Head Alpha was thinking what I was thinking earlier and wondering whether his nephew violated her once or if it was a continuous thing.
"I'm just going to say it once." Teresa began to say. "After today I don't ever want to speak about it again."
Both Alpha Alessandro and his dad nodded as they waited patiently for Teresa to start. I couldn't fathom how difficult it must be for her to discuss the abuse she suffered at the hands of her brother and under any other circumstances I would have suggested she doesn't until she's ready but my sister's life was on the line and no one was more important to me than her.
I wondered what was going through everyone's head as Teresa slowly began opening up. Did they have any suspicion prior to today? Did they blame themselves for not seeing the signs and not stopping the abuse?
I remember the devastation and sorrow I had felt after that fateful night, the helpless and the anger of not being able to protect my little sister like I should have. Are they experiencing that too?
"Please don't interrupt me." Teresa said before recounting her nightmare of a life.
Everyone listened quietly and intently as Teresa disclosed what had transpired between her and her brother. The level of anger and disgust on her family's face began to increase as she continued her story. Hearing what she had been through made me want to throw up so I could only imagine what Alpha Alessandro and his parents were feeling as they listened to what happened to their cousin and niece.
The abuse started early on when she was barely a teenager and the first time it happened Teresa refused to acknowledge it. Perhaps it was her brain's way of trying to protect her but she thought it wasn't real. Then it happened again and again and again and she could no longer pretend it wasn't happening.
There were many times where she had wanted to tell someone, anyone, what was happening to her but the fear and shame of it all stopped her in her tracks. As expected Harlan had threatened to kill her if she uttered a single word to anyone and had also ingrained it into her head that no one would believe her if she did decide to speak up.
The threats, the fear of not being believed and being called a liar alongside the disgust and shame she felt meant that Teresa didn't tell anyone a single word. For years she had to endure the abuse he inflicted on her in private and then publicly pretend everything was okay and that they had a normal sibling relationship.
The actions of her vile brother, if I call even call him her brother, was making my skin crawl and I had the urge to scrub every inch of my body as if it had been me who had been subjected to that sort of abuse.
How she managed to put up with that for years was beyond me and a part of me wondered if her family had seen the signs of her being abused but brushed it aside without thinking deeply about it.
Her uncle was the first person to approach her once she was done recalling her traumatic experience. His steps were hesitant and he paused before stretching his arms out, giving her the time and option to refuse his hug and touch.
Teresa let out a soft sob as she wrapped her arms around the Head Alpha and leaned into him. The Head Alpha's body was shaking as he held her and I was unsure if he was crying alongside with her or if it was from anger, or both. Alpha Alessandro and his mum then approached Teresa too and began to comfort her.
Turning to Cami, I grabbed her hand and pulled her close to me. Now that Teresa had told everyone what a vile pig Harlan was, surely the Head Alpha would excuse Cami's action as they were in self-defence.
"I love you." I whispered to Cami as she placed her head on my shoulder.
Cami gave me a watery smile. "I love you too." She mouthed the words instead of saying it out loud, I don't think she was able to talk just yet.
I didn't want to interrupt the moment they were having but I had to know what was going to happen to us now.
I cleared my throat at first to gain their attention but once that failed I began to speak. "Excuse me? Head Alpha?" I began to say softly.
They began to pull away from Teresa whose face was red and blotchy from the tears just like her aunt's whereas the Head Alpha's and his son's were more composed.
"Yes?" He raised an eyebrow and from the look on his face I could tell he was less than impressed that I was interrupting their little moment.
"What Cami did was in self-defence, she had no choice." I told him as I squeezed her hands. "Now that you know what you know."
"What's going to happen to us now?"
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A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter
Poor Teresa :( What do you think Alpha Alessandro and his dad would have done if Harlan was still alive?
Do you think the Head Alpha is going to let them go?
Let me know what you think is going to happen next
Only a few more chapters left and then this book is complete!
I will upload again soon but you can read the full story as well as the start of book two, Shattered on www.patreon.com/kayy_b
Thank you for reading :)
-Kayy xx