Fanning the Flames of Rebellion [A Lunar Chronicles Fanfic]

Chapter 52

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The trial had been going on uninterrupted for two hours already. Wolf didn't move a single muscle for the entirety of it, nor did his eyes leave Scarlet's slumped figure in the center of the courtroom. When he first saw her walk onto the camera, millions of  thoughts invaded his mind and millions of emotions pooled in his eyes. All this time Wolf had thought she was dead. But there she was, in flesh and bone, beaten and battered. He longed to reach through the screen and pull her into his arms.

Nobody said it, but they all thought it. It was too late.

"Mademoiselle Benoit, you have failed to give me and my thaumaturges any information on the whereabouts of your fellow fugitives." Levana said, shaking her head. "Since you will not speak, I shall have no use for you any longer."

"You had no use for me a long long time ago." Scarlet spat. "That's why you gave me away to be a 'pet'. You just wanted to see me in pain. You're sadistic."

The Queen smirked, unfazed by her words, "You are quite something. Unfortunately, nothing you say will save you now."

Wolf's eyes widened. What did Levana do to her? What did she do to his alpha? He was supposed to protect her, but he failed. Who knows what she went through.

"On several counts of attempted murder, assisting wanted fugitives, and resisting arrest, I sentence you to death by firing squad."

"No!" Winter shouted. The whole room gasped. "No no no no please, no. I think I'm hallucinating again. No no. This can't be happening!" She began pacing the room.

Time seemed to freeze. Wolf sat on the small wooden chair, frozen. Unable to breathe. Unable to blink. He stared straight at the screen as Scarlet, his alpha's knees buckled and collapsed on the floor.

"Your execution is scheduled for 11:00 in three days time." Levana continued. "You are dismissed."

Two guards appeared and pulled her up from the ground, leading her off the screen.

"They-they can't do this." Cress said. "She's from Earth. She can't be sentenced on Luna. Scarlet's not even supposed to have a trial there."

"She's lunar." Wolf stated.

"W-what?" Winter asked, wiping her tear streaked cheeks.

Wolf turned around, facing them, his face the epitome of blankness. "She's half lunar. It doesn't matter where she's sentenced."

"How do you know she's lunar?" Thorne asked.

"I just do." He snapped, not wanting to talk anymore.

See, Cinder. I told you. He thought. I told you it was going to be too late.

Wolf abruptly stood up, sending the chair flying backwards. The room silenced. "We waited too long. I told her and I told her and I told her. But she never listened."

"Hey bud, don't go blaming Cinder for all this. She didn't know this would happen." Thorne said defensively.

Wolf laughed, a short, unamused laugh. "You know what? I don't care. If we hadn't followed that ship after Scarlet was taken--"

"We'd all be dead, Wolf." He cut him off. "Cress and I would have been caught in that desert. Kai would have been married to that witch. You would have bled to death and Cinder would have been attacked trying to get Scarlet back. She did what she had to do, you know that."

Wolf shook his head. "No. She did what she had to do. All of this, for her."

"Wolf, I don't know where this is coming from. She did all of this for us. She rescued both you and Scarlet from being ripped to shreds back in Paris. She came to Cress to rescue her from her entrapment in the satellite. She rescued Kai from walking blindly into a deadly marriage. She rescued all of us from being crushed by asteroids in space. She's rescued all of us several times from near death." Thorne paused. "At what point has she ever done anything for herself? You think she wanted to be in this situation? I know that everything she's done now was for others."

"Maybe you don't know her as well as you think you do because she didn't listen to me once when I told her we would be too late to rescue Scarlet." Wolf side-stepped Thorne and stomped into the other room, leaving shocked faces and wide eyes.

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A/N: Sorry for the short update! I needed to cram this one in before I left for Florida tomorrow morning. I've just got back from vacation in Michigan on Sunday so it's been a pretty eventful couple of weeks! If any of you ever have any question, feel free to ask them! Also, if you want, please leave your birthdays in the comments for happy birthday shoutouts in my stories! I really need to wrap this story up before November 10th! Less than three months away :O Thanks for reading!