Chapter 97
1212words
'Answer me! Is she your daughter!?" Alpha Rex's eyes drifted to the sleeping Moon on the ground and Liam hovering over her.
His bloodshot eyes stared deeply at Steve's and he swallowed. 'No." He muttered beneath his breath and Joana held his hand for support.
Liam whose ears picked up the response, snapped his head towards their direction.
'What!?" His eyes were at their widest.
'You say what?" Alpha Rex asked, inching closer to the couple.
'No, she isn't ours." Steve forced the words out of his mouth, and Joana sighed; she felt weak and shaky, and now their secret was out.
'She isn't …" Alpha Rex's shaky head faced the ground, looking at Moon, who, days ago, he felt this strong connection to.
He could not forgive himself for neglecting her all this while; he wasn't sure he would forgive himself for watching her be maltreated and bullied by his pack members right under his nose, even after seeing the signs. He wasn't sure he would be able to forgive himself for being a weak Alpha, open to manipulation.
His thoughts were cut short when Olivia let out a loud cry of anguish, she would have fallen to the floor if Alpha Rex wasn't quick enough to hold her up.
'My blood, I rejected her." Olivia stared at her hands, as the memory from years back flashed through her head.
'I refused her even with she cried and begged for the warmth of her mother." Olivia continued.
She could not be consoled, seeing Moon in the state she was in brought back tears to her eyes.
Steve and Joana had their head bowed, they could not summon the courage to look anyone in the eyes. They felt ashamed, not because they regretted their actions but because they were openly exposed.
'What should we do?" Joana whispered to her mate who whispered back, letting go of her hand.
'At the count of five, we run." He mouthed, his voice only audible enough for her to hear.
Liam, who was struggling to control his anger, let it go after hearing their whispers. He saw red and with a shout of anger mixed with anguish, he made to run towards them.
In his head, he already imagined his hand wrapped around Steve's neck, holding it tightly till he ceased to breathe, but something held him back.
'Don't." She begged him.
His heartstrings got tugged when he heard her voice.
'Moon?" He sat back down to the floor, his hands desperately holding her face, his eyes intently looking at her lips, willing her to talk again.
He knew it wasn't his imagination, he knew he had heard her say something.
'Moon?" He called again.
Alpha Rex and Olivia came closer to Moon, but not close enough to touch her. They felt guilty, they felt dirty, they felt pity, they could not stand themselves. Thinking of how to apologize for being absent from her life from the very first day left them in anguish. They could not bear to talk to her and they could not bear to leave her all alone.
'Moon, talk to me. Can you hear me?" Liam almost went mad, gently tapping her face, expecting to get a reaction.
She did react. A single line of tears rolled down her left eye and her eyelashes trembled. When she opened her eyes, the green of her eyes was brighter.
Without thinking, in a flash, Liam slammed into Steve as he made to run for the open gate, making Joana scream in horror.
'Liam, don't!" Moon called, sitting up and reaching out to the air, but it was too late already; the deed had been done.
'You." Liam straightened, his suffocating aura wrapping around Joana's chest as she stared at her mate wriggling on the sandy ground.
'What happened? How did you get her?" He pointed toward Moon's direction.
When Joana looked at Moon, she closed her eyes in hate. The pathetic girl was the reason behind their stagnation all these years, she didn't beg to have her either.
'It was Alpha Victor. He gave her to us." Joana's shaky voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Liam laughed, a crazy and creepy type of laughter for a few seconds before he turned serious again.
'You can run off to Alpha Victor and deliver this message to him," Liam smirked and turned back.
Joana waited for the message but didn't get any, her brows were beginning to draw closer to themselves.
'What are you still waiting for?" Liam stopped halfway, his back to her.
Getting the message now, she contemplated taking her now-disabled mate with her.
'In the next one minute, you will be locked in the dungeon for the rest of your life if you are still not out of here." Liam threatened, and with that, Joana zoomed off, knowing that she was being followed.
Walking back to meet the sad Moon, Liam saw Harper standing a few feet away. She looked stunned and haggard.
'Moon? Are you okay?" Liam squatted.
'Am I okay? Do I look okay to you?" Moon flared; she was beginning to get mad again, remembering what she was told and what she discovered.
Standing up without any struggle or aid, Moon straightened and looked around her at the eyes that stared back at her before sniggering.
'Alpha Victor." She chuckled a bit and smirked wildly before looking into Liam's guilty eyes.
'You are the son of Alpha Victor and the brother to Diana!?" She shouted into Liam's face.
'You need to calm down Sweet…" Liam tried to appease her.
'Let's talk this out inside Moon." He pleaded but she sucked her teeth at him.
'Talk this out? Can we talk this out?" Her crazed eyes caught Harper still standing a few feet away.
'Can talking this out change that?" She pointed towards Harper, who shifted further into the dark; this time, she wanted to be invisible.
'Can it!?" Moon yelled into Liam's face.
'All I wanted was the truth, Liam! Just the truth!" She swallowed back her tears but they persisted in showing themselves.
Looking at her neck to see the mark of a butterfly, Liam closed his eyes to feel her emotions through the mate bond. She was broken, all this was just a façade, and he knew he needed to do something before she finally broke down.
'Moon, I have no excuse. I am so sorry." He apologized not minding the eyes watching him as he walked towards her in slow steps.
'Stay where you are! Don't you dare come close to me!" Moon yelled at him, but he didn't stop; he kept walking closer, allowing his emotions to flow.
'Forgive me, Moon. I do not have any excuse." He kept pleading, his eyes blinking the tears down his cheeks.
Seeing him break down in tears right in front of her and his pack members, Moon had no heart to still turn her back away from him.
She stood rooted to the ground and allowed him to embrace her, melting into her arms and sniffling back the remaining tears that tried forcing their way out of his eyes.
'Why Liam? Why?" She asked, slowly hitting his back as she, too, started crying.
