The Secrets of a Luna

Chapter Forty-Two: A Surprise After Dark

Hudson:

Raven slept next to Evie, Evie draping her arms over her protectively. The two of them passed out the moment they got back, the memory of laying down on her made my heart flutter. Her fur had been so soft, her lips pressing into a thin line. Raven dropped to the floor, Stephan wandering in.  The outing was going to be a cover, a secret hiding in his shifting eyes.  

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out for breakfast, Raven." He asked cautiously, Raven's eyes beginning to well up. "I wanted to take you to our spot." Leaping to her feet, her arms wrapped around his neck. Adjusting the collar around her neck, Evie swung her feet over the edge of the bed. Cracking her neck, her fingers paused on a dusty doorknob. Not wanting to turn it, the door swung open on its own. Tears welled up in her eyes, her eyes fluttering at boxes of stuff from her parents' home. A lump formed in her throat, the labeled boxes haunted her. Opening the first box, her fingers wrapped around a photo where she was smiling with her family. Her fingers trembled, the picture crashing to the ground. Glass spread across the floor, a white towel covered in dried blood fluttered to the floor. Peeking in, horror widened my eyes. This box was a museum of her abuse, my fingers slamming it shut. She sank to the floor, her quaking fingers attempting to pick up every piece of glass. Every attempt to touch her resulted in a hurried slap to the top of my hand, ruby painting floor. Soft sobs shook her body, her fingers curling around the photo. An unknown force knocked the box down, every single record of her abuse tumbling across the floor. Cupping the sides of her head, photos of a bloody and bruised Evie taunted her. The images haunted me, my arms wrapping around her shoulders. Whistling sharply, James came rushing in.

"Burn everything in these boxes!" I yelled furiously, my voice cracking. "This shit is just gathering dust." His eyes fell on the images, his head nodding once. Scooping up Evie, she buried her head into my shoulder. Setting her down on the toilet in our bathroom, she held her hand out numbly. Clear glass quivered in her palms, the despondent expression in her eyes alarming me with each piece of glass coming out her hand. No reaction occurred the moment I cleaned the wounds. Wrapping the gauze around her hand, she rested her head on my shoulder. Tears soaked my shoulder, the boxes leaving the room to our burn pit. James knocked on the door, her important documents in his hands. Seeing her in such a state riled up my inner wolf.  

"Everything else but these were a souvenir of her abuse. Why did your parents have all of  this? The boxes weren't moved here, they were always here." He explained calmly, confusion written all over his face. "What aren't you telling me?" Evie struggled to her feet, brushing past us both. An intense hurt darkened her eyes, the front door slamming. Attempting to go after her, James put his arm up. Shaking his head, he adjusted his sleek ash gray suit. This type of behavior wasn't like him at all. 

"I will not let you go unless you tell me everything you know. I have been kept way too far in the dark." He demanded angrily, a piece of his hair falling in front of his face. "She will be fine. I just saw Grappy flying over her." Swallowing the lump in my throat, he did deserve an explanation.

"My parents hid it from me. I didn't know that they had all that." I urged desperately, hoping that my answer would suffice. "I would have stopped it if I knew. I am wondering the same thing myself. They even sold her off to other alphas." James shook his head, his arm lowering. Taking a deep breath, he passed me some official looking papers. Hatred burned in his eyes, his eyes refusing to meet mine. The folders were thick with an endless tale of some sort, his rare show of emotions throwing me off.

"This is your reason why. Your parents were nasty bastards who wanted her dead along with her parents." He stammered brokenly, tears flooding from his eyes. "They were going to kill her on her eighteenth birthday. They were all fucked up. Did you know that the adults at the time wanted her dead as well? No one wanted her alive. I hate people. I have to go before I blow my top." Rushing off, he ducked into the office. Flipping through the myriad of papers, a thunderous roar burst from my lips. The death order fluttered to the floor, her picture staring back up at me. So everything was true, my heart shattering. A gentle knock alerted me, Evie's slender hand picking up the paper. Bowing her head in shame, her tortured smile showed how she felt.