Luna Revealed

Chapter Twenty Nine

Viktor leans forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. "Kotenok..." He shakes his head and smiles sadly at me. "You are much braver than I remember. Mating does good things for you."

I clench my teeth and swallow. "What do you want?"

"I didn't kill Irina."

"I don't care."

His eyes tighten. "But aren't you curious who did it?"

I shake my head. "It doesn't matter now. It was over 20 years ago. And you will be killed tomorrow."

"By you," he says slowly. "Whose decision was that?"

I look away from him, the sadness in his eyes too real. "Not mine. I found out at the same time you did."

He chuckles dryly. "I'm sure. Are you excited?" When I remain silent, he tilts his head. "To kill me, I mean."

"No," I say honestly. "I'm scared."

Viktor chuckles again, this time with more humor, and leans back. "Why are you scared, kotenok? I'm sure you've wanted me dead since the first time I took you to the prison." He doesn't say this mockingly, but fear still spikes my heart.

"Why did you do it?" I ask, my voice trembling despite my courage. "Why did you rape me?"

At first, he doesn't answer, instead just looking at me. I finally meet his eyes again and they are still soft and brown. He stands from his chair and walks to the front of the cage, resting his arms between the bars.

"In some twisted way," he starts, "I think I loved you."

I laugh, the sound bursting out of my mouth so suddenly, he jumps. "You loved me? Did you love Irina, too? Is that why you beat her to death? Is that what you wanted to do to me?" My composure is suddenly out of the window and I surge forward, my wolf jumping to the surface. "You are disgusting, Viktor Nikolayevich. You're a grown wolf who wants nothing more than a little girl who can't say no to you. Well, Viktor, I'm not a little girl anymore.

"What I said before the trial still stands. Tomorrow, when the sun rises, I will rip you apart. Not just for what you did to me, but for what you did to the women in the prison and to Irina. Irina deserved worlds more than a man who is only capable of hate. Any wolf who kills his mate deserves the pain coming to him."

Viktor's face is only inches from mine and I see no trace of his wolf in his eyes. My words don't seem to have affected him this time and it only fuels my anger. The faint scent of wolfsbane washes over me with every breath he takes and I step back, sickened by the smell and the way he looks at me. When he doesn't move to speak, I turn and walk out of the council room and into the lobby.

As soon as the doors shut behind me, I let out a sob and collapse to the floor. The adrenaline leaves my body and I feel drained and exhausted. Mikhail is in the lobby and runs to me, lifting my head to look at him.

"Dahlia," he says, concern in his voice. "Are you okay? Did Sokolov touch you?"

I shake my head, sobs continuing to rack my body. Mikhail takes me into a tight hug, letting me cry in his arms. I feel someone else's hand stroking my hair and I look up to see Ilya with a worried expression on his face.

"It's all right, solnyshko, we are here for you," Ilya mutters as he crouches down and encircles us both in his arms. Mikhail bristles at the gesture and scoffs.

"Can you please not flirt right now, Ilya?" Mikhail snaps at him, pushing his arms away from us.

Ilya gives an exaggerated pout, still crouched beside us. "Misha, there's no need to be so rude." He then complains some more in Russian, reaching out to brush Mikhail's face with his hand. Mikhail slaps it away and stands, pulling me with him.