Dead Moon Rising

Chapter Thirteen

Blinding pain shot through Belle's body like electricity, the loud ringing drowning out the screams of Marsha and Reggie. Belle fought back as best she could, but without time to shift, she was useless against Helen's strength. Helen ripped and chewed at her with alarming power until her weight was suddenly pushed off. Belle looked to the side and saw black and tan mounds dragging Helen's wolf form to the edge of the crowd. Marsha pulled Belle onto her lap and rubbed her face.

"Can you hear me?" she asked, her voice barely cutting through the fog. Belle nodded slowly and attempted to sit up. Pain prevented her for a moment, but she pushed on, leaning lazily against Marsha's body. They watched silently as Alcide and Reggie fought to cage Helen, slamming the door shut behind her. They shifted back to human form, and Reggie sprinted toward Belle as quickly as he could. His hands cupped her cheeks, worry etched in his eyes.

Belle blinked at him, hoping to convey that she was okay. Reggie smiled softly and kissed her forehead before walking over to Alcide, taking a blue towel from someone in the crowd and wrapping it around his waist.

Alcide stood bare, shoulders squared as he stared hard at the caged woman, her naked form shrinking into the far corner of the cage.

"How could you, Helen?" he asked, desperation lining his words. Helen remained silent, her eyes fixed on her feet. Alcide stepped closer to the cage. "Helen, why did you do it?" Helen jumped and met his gaze, fire igniting the darkness of her eyes. She crawled closer to Alcide, staring deeply into his eyes.

"We need a doctor!" Reggie screamed, cutting through the silence. Belle's blood covered his hands as he held her close with Marsha. He didn't care about their rivalry in that moment; he was terrified of losing Belle. Belle's hand touched Reggie's face gingerly, her soft eyes meeting his.

"I need to see what happens," she croaked, coughing a bit. Reggie felt her chest and found bruises and lumps all along her torso.

"Belle, your ribs may be broken," he pleaded. She shook her head, narrowing her eyes.

"I need to see justice." Reggie nodded and lifted her, holding her small frame close but allowing her to watch. Marsha held Belle's hand, worry etched across her face as Alcide continued.

"Helen, tell us why," he attempted the gentle approach once more. Helen sighed and parted her lips to speak.

"I'll tell you why," she began. "This pack is my family, and it's the only one I've got. I loved Maisie with everything in me, but she was in your ear, sharing all this Celestial Mother garbage among the pack and getting to you about it too. I couldn't let her bring those bloodsuckers into my home, damn it! Not after the bloodshed they've caused!" She glared at Edmund and spoke again. "I loved her more than you ever could." She spat at the vampire and turned her body toward the crowd, looking over them with stern eyes.

"I love all of you and respect the sanctity of our traditions, but you have to understand it wasn't a purposeful killing! We could have come to an agreement if it weren't for all that damn V in her system! She was crazy and would have taken this pack down to hell with her if I hadn't intervened!" Helen raised her voice and pointed directly at Alcide.

"I said nothing when you let her bring that damn vamp in here because I respect you, Alcide. You've been good for this pack, but I also know that weird bitch was in your ear, and you were beginning to listen. Some of the choices you've been making have made things worse, and I can't go on allowing these bloodsuckers and outsiders to taint the fragility of my family. There's just too much to lose," she said. Alcide ran a hand through his hair, pacing in front of the cage as the crowd buzzed with murmurs and opinions about what to do with Helen.

"And Alexander? What had he done?" he asked. Helen looked down for a moment, then back up, her eyes staring toward Marsha.

"He wanted to protect them," she spat. "He wanted to help the outsider find her place in the pack and protect the drug addict who was right alongside Maisie in her schemes." Alcide shook his head, turning his back to her and making his way toward Edmund.

"Helen Newburg, you know the consequences of your actions. Are you prepared to accept them?" he spoke coldly, showing no emotion toward the caged woman. Helen nodded, and the crowd erupted once again in furious yelps and hollers. Reggie looked down at Belle.

"Belle, I don't think you want to be here for this," he said, concern lacing his words.

"I'm staying," she replied simply, continuing to watch the exchange before her. She needed to see Helen punished for her actions. The pack was brutal, and she knew that, but she needed to know Helen couldn't hurt anyone else.

Alcide removed the chains from Edmund's arms and neck and waved a man over from the far back of the crowd. The man approached and pulled off his shirt, standing next to the vampire. Edmund began to drink from the man. His feeding seemed messy, and Belle assumed it was because of his lack of fangs. Blood splashed from his lips and ran down the man's neck as he slurped up the red liquid. Edmund's eyes began to shine, and his skin glowed. He was regaining his energy at a rapid pace, and Belle found it miraculous to watch.

Once finished, a few pack members removed the man from the room, and Edmund jumped from the dolly, making his way toward the cage. Belle noted he looked slightly younger as he approached Helen at the cage door.

"Helen Newburg, for killing the lover of Edmund, the sentence is an eye for an eye... a life for a life. You may defend yourself, but it will do no good," Alcide announced diplomatically, lifting the cage door. Helen, now in her wolf form, pounced at Edmund with all her might, baring down on the vampire's head. Edmund's hands searched the wolf's body, gripping tightly on her neck and slamming her to the ground. This was the first time Belle had seen Edmund's power, and she noted the fear in the pack's eyes as they watched in horror. Murmurs around her informed her this was unprecedented; a vampire had never entered a pack and done harm sanctioned by the pack master. She could feel the disapproval of the decision grow in the room.

Edmund held Helen to the ground with intense force, watching her squirm beneath him. A smirk formed on his lips as his other hand gripped her neck and twisted, snapping it instantly. It was a merciful death, but fear tugged at Belle's chest as she realized Edmund had enjoyed it.

The vampire stood victorious as Helen's wolf body slowly faded, magic swirling around it, leaving her naked human form behind. Slick walked to the center and kicked her lifeless body once before helping three other men carry her out of the basement. Belle's eyes began to blur once again, and she searched the room, her heart racing.

"Belle? Belle! She's losing more blood!" she heard Reggie say as the light drained from her eyes. darkness consuming her.