Rejected And Reborn As The Alpha King's Luna

chapter 17: "From Protector to Prisoner"

"I love you," he said fiercely. "Everything I've done since finding you has been to protect you, to save your life. I defied my own pack, my own father, to keep you safe."

I wanted to believe him. The mate bond made it almost impossible not to trust him completely. But I'd been betrayed by too many people who claimed to love me.

"Your father is coming here, isn't he?" I asked.

Xavier's silence was answered enough.

"When?"

"I don't know," he whispered. "Soon."

I closed my eyes, trying to think through the implications. Alpha Damien wanted to use me against the Tee pack, then eliminate me as a threat to his power. Marcus wanted to use me as a bargaining chip to regain territory and influence. Everyone wanted to use me, even the pack that should have been my refuge.

"Thelma," Xavier said urgently, "we can run. Right now, before he gets here. We can disappear, find somewhere safe.."

"There is nowhere safe," I said flatly. "As long as I have this power, as long as people think they can use me to get what they want, there will never be anywhere safe."

"Then what do we do?"

Before I could answer, a commotion outside the healing hut interrupted us. Voices, lots of them, and the sound of many feet approaching fast. Sage, who had been quietly tending her herbs in the corner, suddenly straightened up with alarm on her ancient face.

"He's here," she whispered. "Damien is here."

My heart sank. Alpha Damien had arrived sooner than expected.

"How many?" Xavier asked, already reaching for his clothes.

"All of them," Sage replied grimly. "The entire pack leadership, plus guards. They're surrounding the hut."

I quickly pulled on the simple dress Sage had provided while Xavier threw on his shirt. Through the small window, I could see dozens of wolves in human form forming a circle around us. There was nowhere to run.

A deep, commanding voice boomed from outside. "Xavier! Come out immediately, and bring the girl with you!"

Xavier's face went pale. "My father."

"Son!" the voice continued. "You have ten seconds to emerge, or we're coming in after you!"

I looked at Xavier, seeing the conflict written all over his face. He was torn between his loyalty to his father and his love for me. But the mate bond had shown me his memories, his heart. I knew which side he would choose.

"Whatever happens," he said quietly, taking my hand, "I'm with you."

"I know," I said, surprised by how calm I felt. "But Xavier, I need you to understand something."

"What?"

"I'm done being everyone's victim. I'm done being used and manipulated and treated like a tool. If your father wants me, he's going to have to fight for me."

"Thelma.."

"TIME'S UP!" Alpha Damien's voice roared.

The door to the healing hut exploded inward, torn off its hinges by massive claws. Through the opening stepped the largest wolf I'd ever seen in my life.

Alpha Damien was enormous even in human form, standing nearly seven feet tall with broad shoulders and arms like tree trunks. His gray hair was streaked with silver, and his cold blue eyes immediately locked onto me with predatory intensity.

"So," he said, his voice like a grinding stone, "you're James and Catherine's little girl."

I stood up straighter, meeting his stare without flinching. "I'm James and Catherine's daughter. And I'm nobody's little girl."

He smiled, showing teeth that looked far too sharp for a human mouth. "Oh, you have spirit. Good. That will make breaking you much more satisfying."

"Father," Xavier stepped forward, "you need to know that Thelma is.."

"I know exactly what she is," Damien cut him off. "She's a weapon. A very powerful, very dangerous weapon that's been wasted on weaklings and fools. But I intend to put her to proper use."

"I'm not a weapon," I said firmly. "I'm a person."

"You're whatever I say you are," Damien replied casually. "And right now, I'm saying you're my prisoner. Guards!"

Four massive wolves stepped into the hut, silver restraints in their hands.

"Take her," Damien ordered. "And if she resists, break something non-essential to encourage cooperation."

That's when Xavier moved between me and the guards, his own wolf rising to the surface.

"No," he said, his voice carrying surprising authority. "I won't let you hurt her."

Alpha Damien's expression shifted from amusement to cold fury. "You won't let me? Boy, have you forgotten who you're talking to?"

"I haven't forgotten anything," Xavier said steadily. "Including the fact that you ordered me to betray my own mate."

"Your mate?" Damien's eyes flicked between us, taking in our bonded scent, our defensive postures. "You completed the bond with her?"

"Yes."

For a moment, I thought Damien might explode with rage. His eyes blazed with fury, and I could see his wolf struggling to break free. But then, unexpectedly, he began to laugh.

"Perfect," he said, his laughter cold and cruel. "Absolutely perfect."

"What's so funny?" I demanded.

Damien's smile was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen. "Don't you understand, little girl? By mating with my son, you've just made yourself a member of this pack. And in this pack, I am the absolute authority."

He gestured to the guards. "Take them both. Lock them up until I decide what to do with them."

"Father, you can't.." Xavier started.

"I can do whatever I want," Damien snarled. "And what I want is for both of you to learn the price of defying me."

As the guards moved toward us with their silver chains, I realized the horrible truth. I hadn't escaped my captors by completing the mate bond with Xavier. I'd just traded one prison for another..