There was no room for argument.
Dean grabbed my arm and pulled me out of our quarters, despite me looking a mess with tears streaking down my cheeks and pieces of hair stuck to my face. He was serious. We were really going to find the girls right now.
I honestly worried for those girls. I didn't like them at all – they were cruel, but I had a feeling whatever punishment Dean had planned, was ten times more cruel than they could ever imagine.
"Can't we just go home and pretend this didn't happen?" I blubbered out as Dean hastily led me down the staircase.
"They will answer for their actions, Audrey!" Dean growled loudly, not caring who was nearby.
"I don't even know where they'd be!" I whimpered.
"I'm the Alpha of this pack. I'll have no problem finding out."
I swallowed hard. Dean was determined. He was seeing red, and there was nothing I could do about it.
I wanted to believe that these bratty girls deserved whatever was coming for them, but I just couldn't force myself to. Dean had already shown me once before that he didn't take disrespect lightly. He chained my father with silver just for looking at me the wrong way.
Once we made it down to the main level, Dean began to pull aside any pack member he encountered, questioning them about knowing any young girls named Claire or Jessica. I wanted to mention that there were three of them, and that one of them hadn't even been all that terrible, but I knew it wouldn't matter at this point.
Several pack members later, Dean was sure he had the answers to who the girls were, and I would be the one to identify them. His grip on my wrist remained steady as he pulled me back upstairs to the second floor, where the personal quarters for pack members resided.
Once we got up the stairs, Dean pulled me down the hallway to our right and began scanning the room numbers as we passed by. Once he was satisfied that we'd come to the first girl's home, he brought us to a halt before pounding on the door.
It wasn't the knock of a welcomed visitor by any means. The sound of Dean's fist pounding on the wood of the door meant serious business, and it was likely that the residents inside already knew something was wrong before they knew who was at the door.
The door slowly opened, revealing a middle-aged couple who appeared, seeming to be a fairly average family for the Dark Root pack. They shared dark brown hair and amber-toned hazel eyes, which were now filled with worry.
"A-Alpha," the man spoke, stepping in front of his mate and trying to suppress the stutter that his nervousness brought. "And Luna," he quickly added, bowing his head slightly.
"To what do we owe the pleasure?" the man asked, trying to make the situation seem like an honor, despite the fact that he knew that this visit wouldn't bring good news. The Alpha of Dark Root didn't make house calls. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that Dean had rarely ever set foot on the second floor.
"We need to speak with your daughter, Claire," Dean stated sternly.
The man's eye's widened and his mate's grip on his arm seemed to tighten.
"Yes Alpha, certainly," he replied, not daring to question his Alpha.
"Claire!" the woman yelled, calling her daughter to come to the door. I didn't miss the shakiness in her voice.
"What mother?" the young woman asked, sounding annoyed as she rounded the corner out of the hallway and approached her parents.
When her eyes landed on Dean, she froze and fell to her knees, bowing her head in submission. Nothing needed to be said. She already knew.
Once I saw her dark hair and eyes, I immediately recognized her from our encounter earlier. She was the one girl out of the three who hadn't been cruel to me. Goddess knows what she could've been thinking and keeping to herself, but she didn't voice any negative, inappropriate opinions, and that was what was important. She had at least attempted to make me feel welcome.
A low growl began to build in the back of Dean's throat, causing me to reach out and gently lay my hand on his forearm.
"Dean, not her," I said softly.
His gaze shot down to meet mine, looking both confused and angry.
"She was a part of the group, but she didn't say anything cruel. She tried to be nice," I told him honestly. This girl didn't deserve to suffer for her friend's actions.
Dean still seemed tense, but he accepted my answer with a sharp nod.
"Stand," he commanded the girl. She complied without hesitation. It was nearly impossible for one to resist their Alpha's command.
"You will gather your two friends and meet us outside in the courtyard. If you do as I say, you will receive no punishment," Dean told her, his voice still sounding heated.
"Yes Alpha," she replied with a nod. Dean moved out of the way of her doorway, pulling me alongside him, as the girl quickly exited her family's apartment.
Her parents remained in the same place, staring at us with rather horrified expressions. You could tell they didn't have a clue what was going on, and that they wanted to ask, but they didn't. They knew better than to demand information from their Alpha.
"Your daughter will not be harmed," Dean told the couple before turning back down the hallway and making his way towards the staircase, still clutching me tightly.
It was a bit of a struggle to keep up with his long strides, especially since he was holding onto my wrist. I tried hard not to stumble over my own feet, and several times I felt as if I was practically being dragged.
I may have not been good at handling my emotions, but it seemed that Dean wasn't either.
By the time we got downstairs and went outside to the courtyard, most of our pack members were out of sight. It was nearing late evening, so everyone was either getting dinner or heading back to their personal quarters for the night. Dean led me over to one of the many benches situated out front for ceremonies and pack meetings, such as my Luna ceremony. We sat down and stared ahead, although there was nothing before us other than our massive pack house.
I was tense, and I knew Dean could sense it. He could likely feel it from his grip on my wrist, and through our mate bond that had intensified from him marking me. I hadn't a clue what he had in mind for those girls, and I was honestly scared for them. They were clearly not good people, but did they deserve Dean's wrath?
"Relax," Dean said, although his voice was not calming in the least. I could still hear the anger flowing through his words, and his body was rigid as he fought to keep his wolf at the back of his mind. My wolf was flattered that our mate was so insulted by these girls' comments towards us, but I, on the other hand, couldn't fathom why Dean was so intensely upset.
I simply decided not to respond.
A few moments later, I heard the front door of the pack house open, and my head snapped in the direction of the noise. Slowly, Claire stepped outside with her two friends in tow.
When the other two girls saw Dean and I, their eyes widened. Claire clearly hadn't told them the truth about where she was taking them, but could anyone really blame her?
"Come!" Dean commanded, yelling across the courtyard at the girls. He spoke to them as if they were dogs who'd done wrong and were about to face their punishment...and I guess in a way, they were.
The girls quickly complied and scurried over to stand before Dean and myself, their eyes cast down the entire time. Claire seemed slightly more at ease, but the tension in her body was still noticeable.
"State your names."
"I-I'm Jessica... Jessica Finnigan, Alpha," the blonde girl answered first. I definitely recognized her from earlier – both her name and her face.
"And my name is Analea Highsmith, Alpha," the other girl spoke, her light brown hair falling forward to hide her face.
"Do the two of you know why you're here?" Dean questioned, finally standing from the bench, pulling me up with him.
"N-no, Alpha," Analea responded quietly.
"No, Alpha. We don't know why you've summoned us," Jessica clarified, her voice a bit more bold. I assumed she figured that her confidence would gain her the Alpha's respect. She figured wrong.
"You've both committed serious crimes against your own pack," Dean growled at the girls, causing me to grip his arm with my free hand. No matter what brutal punishment he may have planned, I didn't want him to lose control.
"The two of you insulted your own Luna. You insulted her and made her feel upset and unwelcome in her own pack. Do either of you think that's acceptable?" Dean continued to yell, his voice echoing throughout the courtyard.
I squeezed his arm again, desperate to keep him thinking rationally. If he allowed his wolf to surface, there was no telling what gruesome price these girls may pay. I was scared standing next to him as his mate, his Luna. I couldn't even begin to imagine how the girls before us felt.
The girls flinched at their Alpha's words, looking further and further down with every syllable he spat at them, "No, Alpha. It is not acceptable. We're very sorry for our behavior. We apologize, Luna."
Analea peeked up at me through her bangs as she spoke, and I saw nothing but fear in her wide, brown eyes.
"Do you two agree that you deserve to be punished for your actions?" Dean asked. He was now speaking loudly, rather than yelling, and his body seemed to have finally relaxed a bit from my touch.
"Alpha, they said they were sorry," Claire pleaded, obviously still fearing for her friends' well-being.
"Those are just words!" Dean growled again, fresh anger pumping through his veins at the girl's defense. "I advise you to leave now, before I change my mind about sparing you."
Claire quickly bowed her head to both of us before taking off in the direction of the pack house doors. Jessica and Analea looked up briefly to watch their friend run away, with expressions of betrayal slapped across their faces. They'd obviously expected Claire to either continue standing up for them, or to suffer alongside them.
"I think a public whipping is in order," Dean said. "We'll schedule it for first thing tomorrow afternoon."
I gasped and looked over at Dean, horror written all over my face. He couldn't be serious. Surely, he wasn't serious. He was just trying to scared them...right?
"Alpha, please!" Jessica suddenly broke into sobs and dropped to her knees, bowing at our feet and begging for mercy. Analea quickly followed her lead, her body trembling with fright.
"Dean," I whispered, hoping I could grab his attention and somehow talk him out of this madness. We hadn't had a public whipping in several years. It was one of the most humiliating, demeaning, and painful punishments that the Alpha could issue to anyone.
These girls may have hurt my feelings, but I didn't think they deserved such extreme measures.
Dean ignored me and continued staring down at the girls as they begged and pleaded at our feet. I wanted to pardon them, to spare them, to forgive them, but I couldn't. I didn't have the authority. Even if I did grab Dean's attention and convince him to listen to me, I likely wouldn't get anywhere.
Analea and Jessica continued to cry, the sounds of their sobs growing louder by the minute as they imagined their punishment to come. I cringed at the sound of their cries. It wasn't easy for me to cope with the thought of young girls being abused either. Not after the childhood I'd endured.
I took a deep breath, and slowly let it out, attempting to calm myself before I too, broke out into tears.
"Return to your quarters and enjoy the last normal night you'll have for a long time," Dean ordered.
Sorry for the...slightly late update? Actually, I don't think it was technically all that late! Either way, I hope you enjoyed! The next chapter will be a bit intense, as I'm sure you all can imagine. So, what do you think? I know this chapter wasn't all that exciting, but there's plenty more coming in future chapters, I promise!
Please continue to read, vote, comment, and follow!
xoxo -V