Avenging His Luna

5 Any Challengers?

Joshua

I didn’t ever want to let go of her hand. She carried herself in a meek way, but there was strength to her grip. Even her forearms as I examined the scars revealed tone and definition. Her shoulders were broad, and I loved the way loose strands of deep brown hair fell on them from her messy bun. She had cultivated muscle working to keep this house up to my mother’s standards.

As we reached the bottom of the stairs, Sam pushed the door open and stepped out, continuing to walk toward the platform. Scarlett’s feet planted firmly in place, and I knew she wasn’t comfortable going any further. When I turned to her, her face held apprehension. Her eyes scanned the crowd as if she were seeking someone out.

“Everything okay? Are you worried about seeing someone?” I asked, concern held my voice captive as I realized there could be others hiding in this pack who had harmed her. Well, they wouldn’t be in this pack, or alive, for long.

“I’m fine.” She replied, trying to smile, eyes still glued to the crowd. “I don’t want to walk out the door with you, everyone will stare.”

I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it. “Stay here. I don’t anticipate this taking very long.”

I smiled at her, trying to ease the concern that still caused her brow to furrow. She took a step back and I nodded before turning and walking out the door. I needed to be gentle with her. She needed to heal and I would give her all the time she needed.

The whole pack stood crowded in the square. Mothers held pups in their arms, teens stood glaring as if they were about to challenge me, males stood in small groups quietly talking. I was sure they were trying to figure out what kind of Alpha I would be, trying to decide if they had anyone who could challenge me. They didn’t.

Even after six years in jail, my body healed quickly thanks to good food and medical care provided by the Red Savage Pack. Clara made sure I had everything I needed. She was a great sister. It pained me that she too went through so much abuse while I was away. I had assurance she wouldn’t face that ever again. Damien was a great Alpha and the prefect mate for Clara. She was safe and would never want for anything. Scarlett was now out from under my mother’s thumb, and I would make sure her fate matched Clara’s. I just needed to mend the damage my father did to the pack.

Silence fell over the crowd as I reached the platform and ascended the stairs. Sam waited on top, still smiling, looking relaxed as ever, arms crossed over his chest.

“Alpha.” He was enjoying this more than he should. Did he have any clue how much work we were in for, or was he just riding the high of having a title? I looked out towards everyone.

“I am Joshua Black. I realize this is a shocking discovery to some of you as my father made you believe I ran away and abandoned the pack. This was a lie. I have spent the past six years in the pack prison. The Alpha of the Red Savage Pack organized and executed my rescue thanks to Sam here and my half-sister, Clara. She is not dead. That was another lie my father told.” I looked out at the confused faces of my pack and realized how out of touch my father was with them. Only half of them looked like they knew at all what I was talking about.

“My father died today at her hands. We all owe her a debt. He was not a good leader for you. He let this pack down and used you for his own power and greed. I plan to fix that, but I can’t do it without your help. This will not be an immediate change, as I need time to get caught up on exactly how the pack has been running and see what changes need to be made. I know there are a lot. I see your hunger. I see your need for roofs, doors, and even clothes.” Some of the mothers hugged their pups clinging to the hope of a better life for them. The weight of those hopes started to fall on me and I looked around for an anchor point. There she was. I figured she was going to stay in the house, but Scarlett had come out and stood up against the wall leaning with a … smile… yeah, a smile on her face. She nodded at me to keep going. It was as if her support was all my wolf needed.

“I will work on this as quickly as I can and will hopefully have a plan for you by Monday. Until then, I may call on several of you for council about what you would prioritize for the pack. This has to be a group effort from all of us. Now for the official part.” I smiled. This really did feel right. “I Joshua Black take over as Alpha of the Crescent Pack following the death of my father, Felix Black. I appoint Samuel Reid Beta of the Crescent Pack. If there are any challengers, let them come forward now.” My voice held authority as I scanned their faces. Pack members started looking around to see if anyone would dare step up.

“Oh, come on, make it a little fun, the guy’s been locked up for six years. He has tons of pent-up aggression to get out.” Sam joked. The pack all laughed and slowly turned, heading back to their own homes.

“Well, looks like you’re officially the Alpha.” Sam said, smacking my shoulder. As we walked down the stairs, we saw my father’s old Beta walking over to us.

“John.” I acknowledged him.

“Alpha, if it would help, I know I wasn’t Beta long, but perhaps I could assist with some of the administrative turnover of the pack. I would be more than willing to walk you through what Felix had me do.”

I shook his hand. “Thank you, John. I would really appreciate it. Would you mind showing Sam now? I have a few things to do, but Sam is free.” I laughed.

“Yeah, I have no mate to get to.” Sam replied, shaking his head as he taunted me.

“We have a Luna?” John asked. “That’s wonderful. Why didn’t you introduce her to us?”

I could have killed Sam. I shot him a look and he immediately realized his mistake.

“We met just before I addressed the pack. She isn’t ready for that yet. In fact, I would appreciate it if you could keep this between us.”

“Absolutely, Alpha. Please, go to your mate. I will show Beta Sam to the office. Have you given thought to a Gamma yet? Your father never replaced Gamma Benjamin, but I know the warriors would like to get back to training.”

“I have. I’m hoping to take care of that tomorrow. In the meantime, Sam will lead training.”

“Woohoo… this Beta thing is awesome. I never knew how many opportunities it would provide. Come on, John, let’s go jump into this paperwork!” Sam said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes and opened the door for them to enter the house. They walked down the hall toward the office, and I looked around figuring I would see Scarlett waiting for me. She wasn’t. I started walking up the stairs when her scent hit me from down the hall and I turned to follow its sweet aroma past the living room, the dining room, and into the kitchen. Scarlett zipped around the room. More tendrils of hair had escaped her bun and she had a smear of flour on her face. An apron was tied around her waist, making her hips look even more curved when she turned. Her jeans cupped her ass perfectly and I couldn’t help but enjoy the way her breast pulsed as she pressed and rolled on the dough in front of her.

“How on earth did you make all of this from the time I got done talking to when I walked in here?” I asked, amazed.

She stopped and looked at me almost worried. “I didn’t realize the time. The pack will be here soon to eat, and I didn’t get the bread made. I figured biscuits would do.”

She could cook. There was an added bonus. I could barely make scrambled eggs and that was before I went out of commission for six years.

“Okay, how can I help?” I asked.

She looked at me shocked. “You can cook?” She asked.

“Not in the least bit. But burnt food is better than no food, right?” I smiled.

She looked like she was weighing that thought in her mind.

“Can you use a knife?” She asked.

“Oh, now that I can do.”

“Good, there is a pile of vegetables over on that counter, they all need to be cut into small cubes. I’m making soup.”

“Okay. Small cubes. Got it.”

“Are you really going to help? You know you’re the Alpha of this pack, right?” She asked, giving me a questioning look.

“You know you’re the Luna, right?” I asked, copying her face.

Her eyes got big, and I could tell she didn’t know how to answer. This was fun, joking with my mate. I had no idea how I would make long vegetables into cubes, but I didn’t care what I was doing as long as I was doing it with her.

“Do you always cook dinner?” I asked as I started hitting a carrot with a knife. Now I have circles. How cube-like did these need to be?

“Yes,” She laughed. “And breakfast and lunch.”

“Who helps?” Looking around, I noticed the kitchen was spotless. There was no dust or old food splatters. All the dishes were organized, and the silver was polished. My parents must have kept on some Omegas to keep up appearances.

“Just me. There used to be other girls, but once they went to see Alphas,” her voice started to trail off and she stopped rolling the dough as much, “Well, some died, and others came back, but they weren’t able to keep going long. There was Abigail, but Alpha Felix gave her to the head of the Blue Moon Pack a few months ago and she died shortly after she came back. Since then, it’s just been me.” She finished before resuming her rolling. Her face had fallen and I felt her sadness at losing her friend.

“Scarlett, how did you start working here?” I asked, holding my breath and trying to mentally prepare for her response.

“My parents sold me to your father.” She replied, not stopping her work.

I couldn’t continue mine. I needed to set the knife down as anger filled me.

“I don’t want to push, but why did your parents sell you?” My heart broke asking. How could they not love her like I do already? I may have only met her today, but she’s been the only thing keeping me going for so long. She is a force of nature. How do you sell that?

“She stopped cutting out biscuits and looked at me smiling. “I told you earlier. I felt your pain. I searched and searched, trying to find you, until I came upon the jail. My parents thought I was sleepwalking, and they got concerned listening to me go on about my tortured mate who I could feel screaming in my mind. I used to sit and cry, wanting to find you and fix what was wrong. I thought for awhile you were one of the guards and I would watch every shift go to and from the jail. My parent’s breaking point was when I would walk to the far end and sleep outside huddled by the wall. My mother cried, but I don’t think my father cared. That’s what hurt. They went to your father for guidance, and he convinced them I was unstable. They had other children to look after, and everyone was struggling to keep up with food. When he offered to take me off their hands, they took the money and were rid of my strain on their sanity."

My heart felt like it was being stabbed. It was because of me. Our bond caused her to be in this situation. I couldn’t change the past, but I am here now.

“I’m sorry that happened. I’m sorry our bond caused your parents to think you were insane and my father to capitalize on their concern. I’m sorry your friends went through similar situations because of my father’s greed. I’m glad you’re still here and didn’t get sent away like them. I can’t imagine the pain if you had died.” I couldn’t read her face. It almost seemed puzzled.

“I was sent away.” She said.

My heart dropped and I felt nausea coming up while sweat broke out on my brow.

“Right after my parents sold me, your father sent me to an Alpha on the other side of the mountains. Then he came back the next day and picked me up.” Her face didn’t leave the biscuits she placed in a baking dish.

What the hell? He had traded my poor mate. He pimped her out as part of some backdoor business deal. I couldn’t keep the anger down. My whole body was tense, and I felt like I wanted to rip someone apart.

She looked up at me and her face turned to fear. I tried my best to settle down.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to scare you. I can’t kill my father for doing that to you, he’s already dead. But I wish I could. I wish I had been here to protect you from it.”

She gave me a half smile and returned to placing the biscuits in the dish. “You need to chop those carrots, or they will still be raw when everyone comes.”

Fuck them. They knew what was happening. They sat back and watched. Why the hell had the pack not done something about all of this? Sam had some explaining to do. He was a warrior under my father. Maybe I didn’t want to be Alpha. Maybe we need to go somewhere else and just forget this pack exists. How was she possibly going to heal when she was surrounded by those who turned a blind eye to her pain? How could she heal living in a house where she was abused? How was I going to make any of this right?

“It’s going to mean a lot to everyone that you helped make their meal. Your father didn’t care about them. They were all scared. With the food shortage, even his warriors weren’t a match for him. It will be nice for everyone to feel included and safe."

There it was. The reason she was my mate. The Moon Goddess had destined her to be a Luna. She stood doing the tasks she was assigned as a slave and continued them, wanting the best for the pack.

“How do you care so deeply for those who watched you suffer?” I asked.

She shrugged. “We all suffered. It just looked different for each of us.”