Chapter 72: Strength Is Power
"Zeke!" Isabella exclaimed, her eyes brightening.
The crowd parted as Zeke’s familiar figure appeared, allowing him a path to walk through. He stopped right in front of us, a stern expression on his face.
"What’s all this ruckus about?" he asked sternly, his glare raking through all four of us before finally landing on me. "Do you realize that we are currently surrounded by other packs? If they heard the noise, they might think that we’re planning an attack."
"It’s the prisoner," Georgia said, pointing a finger at me as she glared hotly. "She had the audacity to claim that she is Alpha Lucien’s Luna. Everyone knows that Sienna is the true Luna of the pack."
"I never said that I was the Luna," I snapped back. "I only said that Alpha Lucien is my fated mate, which you cannot prove to be false."
"Neither can you prove that it is true," Sienna hissed in reply. She had to be supported by both other girls, her body barely covered by Isabella’s jacket.
"I don’t have to prove anything to you," I rebutted.
"Enough!" Zeke yelled.
Immediately, we swallowed the rest of our arguments and pursed our lips. He reached up and pinched the skin between his eyebrows, frowning.
"Sienna, you have been a member of Bloodmoon for a long enough time. I thought you would’ve understood how the position of Luna works around here," Zeke said with a sigh.
"I do," Sienna said with a nod of her head. "But since this prisoner isn’t aware, I thought it might be better to educate her." She glared at me, sneering. "However, I didn’t think that not only would she be unappreciative, but she would also try to resort to violence."
"Exactly," Isabella said, puffing up her chest. "Why do we even have her here?"
"Yeah!" Georgia exclaimed. "We should have her killed, just like those weak warriors in her pack. The weak do not deserve to survive, and that’s how it has always been with Bloodmoon."
My jaw dropped. I had expected them to kick up a fuss and throw all sorts of insults and false accusations in my face, but to immediately order my execution was insane. Even if I had been lying, Sienna had no right to declare what my fate might be, especially without first checking with her Alpha.
Lucien was the one who brought me back with him. Even if I were a real prisoner, I was his prisoner to deal with. If she had killed me, but he had other uses for me alive, then she would just be getting herself into trouble.
Yet, she considered none of that.
Sienna wore a broad smirk on her face as Zeke’s expression turned darker and darker. She probably didn’t care about getting into trouble with Lucien right now. Perhaps, she even thought that it would be a slap to the wrist at the very most.
After all, what was a prisoner compared to the Luna of a pack? Even if she wasn’t his chosen or fated mate, she was still his partner when it came to running this large pack of unruly wolves. I couldn’t imagine managing rogues to be easy.
"Zeke..." I trailed off, wanting to explain myself. However, he merely shot me a disappointed look.
My heart fell to the bottom of my stomach. Had I been too impulsive and sure of myself?
Maybe Lucien was never intending to claim me as a mate. Maybe he was just stringing me along all this time, just like Rowan, Soren, and Cassian did. What he said behind closed doors might not necessarily represent the actions he might take in public under everyone’s watchful eye.
Most of all, in a pack of rogues where strength meant power, and their leaders were chosen according to physical prowess, I could only be sorted to the very bottom of the food chain. After all, I had no wolf; I couldn’t shift. In their eyes, I was basically as useless as a human could be. It would be as easy as squishing an ant to get rid of me.
I pursed my lips and hung my head low. I had really gotten myself into trouble this time, and for some reason, it felt a hundred times worse than when I had been in similar situations back in Shadowclaw. Back then, I had expected the unfair treatment. But here, I had the guts to dream that it might be different.
As it turned out, no matter where I went, everything would just be the same. I should’ve learned that lesson before daring to speak out.
I gritted my teeth and forced the following words out of my mouth, "I’m sorry―"
However, I was abruptly cut off before I could finish my intended sentence.
"In that case, I suppose we should just execute Sienna right now?"
"Yes―" Georgia said with a nod before her eyes widened with realization. "Wait, what?"
My head snapped up in the direction of the familiar voice. A flurry of gasps and murmurs erupted through the crowd of people watching as Lucien strode through towards us.
He looked a little tired, covered with some fresh scratches that were still a little red, along with a few smudges of dirt. However, none of that did anything to hide his handsome features and oppressive aura.
He stopped right by my side, nudging Zeke to one side as he placed his hand at the small of my waist. Subtly, he drew me closer. The small action was immediately noticed by everyone. A short distance away, Zeke rolled his eyes and shook his head, unimpressed. I could see his lips moving, but I couldn’t hear what he had said.
"Lucien..." I muttered, looking up at him with wide eyes.
He smiled down at me. Gently, he raised his hands and swiped his thumb under my eyes. I hadn’t even realized that I had been crying until he did that.
"Sorry I’m late," he muttered in a voice that only I could hear, and I nodded stiffly in response, still stunned with awe.
Then, Lucien’s expression hardened as he turned his gaze to Sienna, Georgia, and Isabella. All three girls had pale faces as they watched our interaction.
"Strength has always been regarded as power in Bloodmoon," Lucien said, his voice low and dangerous. "For generations, that’s how the Alphas and Lunas of each generation have been selected, isn’t that right?"
"Yes..." Georgia trailed off, her voice clogged in her throat as she looked back and forth between Sienna and Lucien. "But―"
"In that case," Lucien said, cutting Georgia off. He stared straight into Sienna’s eyes. "To lose in a fight to someone you claim to be weaker... Doesn’t that say more about you than of her?"
