Chapter 396: Words of Victims
"Take her to the dungeon," Graeme snarled to his Beta who was frozen in shock next to him, staring on at Violet who remained standing at the back door, her chest heaving with the courage that she had just displayed in accusing their Alpha of not only lying to them all about the vampire and the elders’ treachery but also being disloyal to his Luna.
"Sam," Graeme’s voice was so low and terrifying that those surrounding him submitted involuntarily, the weight of his fury so oppressive that they could not stand being near to it. "Take her. Take her, before I kill her," he commanded, breaking Sam out of his stunned state.
Violet’s mother was frozen in shock behind her daughter, her hands bracing either side of her face as she looked toward Graeme. Was Violet being honest? Or had her daughter just done the stupidest thing imaginable? She couldn’t tell, but she knew Graeme was furious. If looks could kill, her daughter would be dead right now.
Sam weaved his way through the crowd, each member also standing, confused and stunned—unsure of what to make of their sister lycan’s accusation. They felt the true union of their Alpha and Luna the night before—they felt the hope that bloomed so bright and true in their innermost being, like they had finally awoken from years of darkness that were marked by isolation and neglect, at once coming to finally realize how united and magical their existence here was together.
They were a pack. They were a family. They were united under an Alpha and Luna who burned so brightly in their center like the very Moon Goddess herself who assured them of her presence in the night sky and returned again and again to grace them with her power and protection like a sacred mother.
But now. But now. What were they to make of this story Violet was telling? What were they to make of the accusations? They were at once wishing to comfort her and also shield themselves from the words that she used like bombs, blowing apart the brilliant light of hope that had just been returned to them the previous night.
A growing faction of males were gathering on one side of the yard, Terach amongst them. But there were now also Damon and Gunnar—males who had their doubts about August or had pledged their loyalty to the elders before Graeme had shown up with the strange female experimental subject from Eliade with the golden eyes. What Violet just said—her wild accusations—reignited those flames of suspicion and rebellion within them.
"She must be protected," Damon hissed, watching as the Beta was making his way to Violet, likely in an effort to shut her up before she could reveal more of her truth and ignite discord amongst the pack members. "The elders are no longer here, and this pack has been left to the deserter and his witch mate. We need to fight him!"
"Fight an Alpha?" Gunnar questioned, having come face-to-face with Graeme’s strength and the terrifying power of the female who he claimed as his mate. "An Alpha with those eyes? What if he has those witchy powers?"
"If we all band together, we can do it. We can take him down. It doesn’t matter how powerful he is. He is no Alpha without a pack," Terach insisted.
Violet whimpered dramatically as Sam grabbed her and led her toward the dungeon.
"Let her speak!" Terach called, his hands cupped around his mouth to amplify his protest.
"She speaks lies," Lucas roared, matching Terach’s volume. "I saw the vampire with my own eyes. He attacked me last night when he was here kidnapping our Luna and others from this pack," he glanced back at Neoma whose deep brown eyes had gone large with all that was happening.
"Graeme was in the medical wing with me last night—he was checking on the alyko and others who were injured. If he was in with Violet who was also in medical recovering from her injuries, it was because he is an Alpha who is concerned for the well-being of his people," Lucas said, his lips curling up over his teeth with the fierce defense he felt surge from his core.
"You would deny the words of a victim?" Terach roared back.
"And suddenly an abusive male is defending a victim?" Lucas laughed without any humor in it. "Only because her lies are confirming what you would prefer to believe is the truth. The vampire was here. But if you would prefer to hear it from an injured female, I have another for you."
He turned to Neoma, apologizing with his eyes as he did. He shouldn’t have offered her up as witness without first speaking to her, but she nodded and swallowed as she stepped forward. She owed this pack nothing less than every detail she had about what had been occurring here and her part in it.
She waved uneasily, her small, shy smile faltering as suddenly the moment had arrived when the whole pack was focused on her. This is what she had been spared from the night before when Zagan came to take her. But she had chosen to return to this pack. She wished to help in whatever way she could, and if this was the extent of it—telling her story—then she would do it. She would do whatever she must.
"My name is..." she started, her forehead cleaving as she was faced with the choice of speaking the name she had been given by Zagan, by her pack, or by the river that saved her. It was a bizarre circumstance to be in, but here she was. What name would she claim as her own in front of others? That is who she would be known as henceforth.
"My name is Neoma," she said, feeling Lucas put a reassuring hand on her back—her friend through all of this. Somehow she had made one even though she didn’t deserve it. "I don’t know most of you, but I have been here, hidden amongst you for over four years. I was a gift to Andreas from the vampire your Alpha is referring to. The vampire’s name is Zagan."
