"Enough!" Alpha Declan roared, his dominance radiating through the room. "This is not the time for petty arguments."
"Petty?" Elder Aldrich growled. "My daughter's well-being is far from petty."
"Your daughter," I thought bitterly, "is the cause of all this chaos." But again, I kept my silence, swallowing the bile that threatened to rise in my throat. It was becoming harder and harder to ignore the trauma that clawed at the edges of my mind, threatening to consume me whole.
"Let's get one thing straight," Alpha Declan said, his voice ice-cold. "I am still the Alpha, and you will respect my authority."
"Respect?" The word fell from Elder Aldrich's lips like acid. "That's something you have to earn, Declan. And right now, I see no reason to give it to you." As their exchange grew heated, I felt myself shrinking into the background, desperate to escape the maelstrom of emotions that swirled around me.
"Who the fuck is she, anyway?" Elder Aldrich barked, his gaze fixed on me with simmering fury. Gregg, still in his wolf form, growled at him, a deep rumble that vibrated through the air. I watched as both Elder Aldrich's and his son's eyes glazed over, clearly receiving a mind link. I glanced back down at Heidi, who was now smirking up at me, obviously providing them with information about my identity. As the connection between them ended, both men glared at me, their animosity palpable.
"Look," I began, trying to keep my voice steady despite the volatile atmosphere, "I don't have sympathy for your faking bitch of a daughter. If she hadn't attacked me twice already, and tried to kill me, then maybe I'd feel differently." My words were laced with bitterness, but I knew they were the truth.
The moment I finished speaking, the air around us crackled with tension and fury. Gregg, still in his massive wolf form, leapt in front of me, growling at Elder Aldrich with bared teeth. But Louis, like a coiled snake, lunged past Gregg and slammed me against the wall. His hand wrapped around my throat, effectively cutting off both my air supply and any hope I had of voicing my protests.
"Knew you'd be trouble as soon as I heard you were joining our pack," he snarled, his amber eyes filled with hatred. Panic swelled within me, threatening to drown out everything else. As much as I tried to fight him off, my hands clawing at his vice-like grip, the size difference between us was insurmountable.
"Get your hands off her!" Damon yelled, rushing over to my aid. He tried prying Louis' fingers from my throat, but the rage-addled man managed to knock him away with a swift elbow to the chest. Gasping for air, my vision began to blur, dark spots dancing at the edges of my sight.
"Women are good for one thing," Louis sneered, his free hand grabbing my breast, and I felt disgust rolling through me like a tidal wave. "Getting my dick wet. Time to show this little whore how it's done."
"No, you don't!" Damon roared, returning with renewed determination. In one swift motion, he yanked Louis into a choke hold, pulling him off me. The sudden release sent me crumpling to the floor, lungs heaving as they desperately sought oxygen.
"Stop it! All of you!" Alpha Declan's voice boomed through the room, silencing everyone.
Gasping for breath, and my body trembling with fear and violation. My heart pounded in my chest as fragments of a memory from years ago threatened to pull me under, a time that still haunted my dreams and left me gasping for air like a fish out of water.
"Alpha!" Damon shouted, his voice strained as he held Louis pinned on the ground. "Do something!" As my vision blurred, the scene before me seemed to slow down. Alpha Declan had Elder Aldrich cornered, his dark eyes burning with authority, while Damon's arms shook from the effort of keeping Louis restrained. The room felt thick with tension, the overwhelming force of the Alpha's power making it hard to breathe.
"Is this how you repay me, Aldrich?" Alpha Declan roared, his voice echoing through the room. "After I saved your pack and made you an Elder?"
"Declan," Aldrich spat, his face contorted with anger. "You should've never brought that girl into our pack. I warned you."
"ENOUGH!" Declan's rage erupted like a volcano, and the sheer force of his command sent Aldrich crumbling to his knees. "I am the Alpha, and it is my choice who joins this pack. Your insolence will not be tolerated!"
As the men continued their heated exchange, I struggled to keep the panic at bay, the sensation of Louis' hand around my throat and the ghostly grip of past memories threatening to suffocate me.
"Erica?" Damon's voice reached me, laced with concern. He'd managed to subdue Louis and now knelt beside me, his hands hovering uncertainly.
"Stay away," I choked out, my voice barely audible. My mind was a whirlwind of fear and anger, the memories of past traumas swirling together with the present and threatening to drown me.
"Erica, let me help you," Damon pleaded, his dark eyes filled with worry. But I couldn't let him close, not when every touch felt like fire on my skin and sent shivers down my spine.
With a heavy sigh, Alpha Declan turned away from Aldrich and addressed Heidi.
"You haven't learned your lesson," he said, his voice cold and stern. "You'll be escorted home to clean up, then taken back to the cells for three days."
"Please, Alpha," Heidi begged, desperation in her eyes. "Reconsider." He didn't even acknowledge her plea, turning instead to Louis.
"Attacking a pack member is unacceptable. You will also spend three days in the cells." The weight of his words hung in the air as he continued, "Both of you will lose your warrior status, and all three of you will be demoted to low-family rank." I watched Damon's eyes glaze over just before the Alpha's expression shifted to one of rage. My chest tightened, unsure of what had transpired between them through their mental link. In a swift motion, Declan lifted Louis by his throat, slamming him against the wall.
"I will not tolerate sexual assault on one of my pack members!" he roared. The fear that gripped me intensified at his words, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. He changed Louis' punishment to two weeks in chains, silver chains, the kind that would dampen a werewolf's abilities and inflict unbearable pain.
"Take them away," Declan commanded, and the guards rushed to obey.
As they dragged the siblings out of the room, I struggled to control the panic attack that threatened to consume me. Declan approached and knelt in front of me, his dark eyes filled with concern. My breath hitched when he touched my arm, causing me to flinch involuntarily.
"Erica," he said softly, but it was enough to shatter the fragile hold I had on my emotions. Tears streamed down my cheeks as flashes of past trauma crashed into my mind like tidal waves, overwhelming every inch of my being.
