From Rejected Slave to Second Chance Luna

Part 3

After breakfast, Spurn disappeared into the bathroom to bathe and get ready. Jacob and Tessa arrived not long after. I let them in quietly, and for a while the three of us spoke in low voices while water ran behind the bathroom door. Jacob kept glancing toward Tessa like he was afraid she might vanish if he looked away too long. Tessa sat close to him, but her shoulders stayed tight, her eyes moving often to the door as if she still expected someone from Moon Howlers to burst in and drag her back into the silence her family had been forced to carry. She was the Gamma’s daughter, not a servant, but Alpha Amos and Beta Blake had made sure the Landish name meant nothing unless they needed it to protect one of their secrets. When Spurn finally came out, she froze halfway across the room. Her eyes went to Tessa first, then to the door, then back to me, as if she was already calculating who might be punished because of her. “It is all right, Little Star,” I said gently. “She is here to help you, not hurt you.” Spurn shook her head, her voice barely above a whisper. “Tessa never hurt me. She tried to help when she could. I just do not want her in trouble because of me.” The words told me more than she realized. Even rescued, even dressed in safety, Spurn was still trying to protect everyone else from the consequences of caring about her. Tessa’s eyes filled, but she blinked the tears back before they could fall. “I am not here because I was forced,” she said softly. “I am here because I want to help. And because Jacob is my mate.” Spurn looked from Tessa to Jacob, shock loosening some of her fear. I nodded. “No one can punish her for leaving with her mate. We will make an appearance, announce the transfers, and then she will come home with us too.” Spurn did not look fully convinced, but she breathed a little easier, and that was enough for now.

Jacob and I went next door to get ready and give the women privacy. It should have been a simple thing, putting on formal clothes for a ball, but every button I fastened felt like armor. The laughter already drifting through the halls was too bright, too polished, too false. Moon Howlers was preparing to parade itself in front of visiting packs while my mate still carried the marks of their cruelty beneath borrowed softness. By the time I finished, patience had become a thin thread in my chest. I wanted back beside Spurn. I wanted my eyes on her, my body between her and anyone who thought they still had the right to make her afraid.

When I walked back into my room, every thought in my head went silent. Spurn stood near the mirror in the dress Jacob and Tessa had chosen, her raven hair swept up with emerald clips tucked carefully among the curls. A few loose tendrils framed her face, softening the sharp angles hunger had carved there. The makeup did not erase what had happened to her, not really, but it gave her a moment where the scars were not the first thing the world would see. For the first time since I found her, she looked less like a girl trying to survive and more like the woman Moon Howlers had tried to bury. Beautiful was too small a word. She looked like proof that they had failed to destroy her. Spurn shifted under my stare, uncertainty flickering across her face. I forced myself to breathe and crossed to her slowly. “You look breathtaking,” I said. Her cheeks pinked, but this time she did not immediately hide. Tessa smiled softly from behind her, pride and sadness tangled together in her expression. Jacob stood near the door, watching Tessa with the same reverence I felt watching Spurn. For one stolen moment, the room held something almost gentle. Then the clock pulled us back. Eleven forty-five. The Mating Ball would begin soon. “Tessa,” I said, turning toward her, “Do you have your things packed?” She nodded quickly. “Yes, Alpha. Jacob had already loaded them into the truck.” Good. One more innocent wolf ready to leave this house of lies. I opened the link to Jacob. Find Dr. Cross and make sure his things are ready. He stays near us. Once I announce that Spurn is leaving with me, I am not leaving room for argument. We walked out immediately.

Got it, Jacob answered. I will meet you by the stairs. He and Tessa left together, and the moment the door closed, silence settled around Spurn and me. I turned to her and opened my arms, giving her the choice. After a heartbeat, she stepped into them. The feel of her tucked against my chest nearly brought me to my knees. She was still trembling, but she did not pull away. She snuggled into my side as if some part of her wanted to believe she belonged there. “Sweetheart,” I murmured, “It is time. Are you ready?” Her nod brushed against my chest. “I am scared,” she whispered. The honesty of it cut deeper than any brave answer would have. “I know.” I pressed my cheek lightly to the top of her hair. “You can be scared. Courage is not the absence of fear. It is walking forward while fear is screaming at you to run. And you will not walk alone.” Together, we stepped into the hall. Conversations quieted as we passed. Wolves turned to stare, first at me, then at Spurn, then at the protective line forming around her. Their breaths caught when they recognized what makeup and dignity had revealed instead of hidden. Some looked shocked. Some were ashamed. Some quickly looked away. That told me enough. At the stairs, Jacob waited with Tessa and Dr. Cross. Alpha Kane stood with Morgan at his side, his expression unreadable but his body angled like a shield. For one brief second, I saw confusion flicker across Morgan’s face as she looked at Spurn. She did not recognize her own sister. That realization landed like another wound. Then Alpha Amos, Beta Blake, Dominik, Camron, Ursela, and Luna Sheila appeared in the lower hall, all polished smiles and false authority, until their eyes found Spurn. Every smile vanished. Alpha Amos’s voice boomed through the entryway. “What is that slave doing here? Alpha Damon, what are you thinking?” Stowne’s growl ripped through my chest, so violently several wolves stepped back. Kane moved forward with me. Jacob positioned himself close to Spurn without needing a command, while Tessa stepped in front of her too, small but steady, her fear no match for the determination on her face. I let my voice drop, quiet enough to make the room lean in. “Do not call her that again.” Power rolled beneath the words. Stowne pressed against my skin, furious and ready, but I held him back by a thread. “Spurn Sanders is not your slave. She is not your shame to hide, your servant to starve, or your body to break. She is my fated mate, and by the law of the Moon Goddess, no wolf in this pack has the right to interfere with that bond.” I looked from Alpha Amos to Beta Blake, making sure they both heard every word. “Today she leaves Moon Howlers with me. Dr. Bennett Cross leaves with my permission as well. Tessa leaves with her mate, Beta Jacob. Any wolf who wishes to challenge that decision may do so now, in front of witnesses.” Their faces twisted, ugly truth pushing through their carefully practiced masks. I did not give them time to build another lie. I took Spurn’s hand and started toward the front door. We were almost there when Dominik’s voice cracked through the hall. “You cannot claim her. She is mine.” Spurn’s hand went cold in mine. I felt the tiny flinch she tried to hide, and that was the only reason Dominik remained standing. Mine. As if rejection had not severed the bond. As if he had not thrown her away in front of the Moon Goddess and then decided she still belonged to him because another Alpha wanted her. I bent close to Spurn’s ear, keeping my voice for her alone. “Go with Jacob, Tessa, and Dr. Cross. I am right behind you. He does not get to touch you. He does not get to keep you. Not anymore.” She looked up at me, fear and trust warring in her eyes. Then she nodded. Jacob, take them to the cars. Do not stop. Jacob moved instantly, guiding Spurn, Tessa, and Dr. Cross out the door. I waited until they were safely outside before I turned back. Kane remained at my side, silent and solid as stone.