Ruby
I was dragged through the familiar hallways of the pack house, and the memories of my haunting happy moments resurfaced with each reluctant step I took.
“Please, I beg you, take the child and let me be. Take the girl, take the money, take the glory, but set me free.” I pleaded, shouting desperately, for the rude man to hear me and spare me from facing Liam.
A sense of dread washed over me, remembering the pain he had caused me in the past. I was done playing Super Hero. I was no super hero.
“There’s no escaping from this now.” The man barks back as he carries the little girl. Out of shame, I couldn’t meet her eyes.
Just as I prepared myself for the worst, the scent of authority lingered in the air as we approached the alpha’s office, a place I never wished to revisit. The men pushed open the grand brown door, revealing the imposing figure of a person who was seated backwards behind an ornate desk.
However, anger replaced my fear when the seat slowly turned around, revealing a woman dressed in black clothing whose red gaze met mine, and an unsettling tension filled the room.
Lilith?
What the hell was she doing on the alpha’s chair?
It was forbidden for a Luna who wasn’t the true mate of an alpha to sit on the alpha’s chair as a replacement, as it was an insult to the moon goddess.
This was an abomination; she should be whipped for it. Where was Liam?
“Oh, what an expected surprise! I was definitely not expecting to see your ugly face this soon.” Lilith sneered, drumming her long red nails on the desk.
Just as I was about to open my mouth and lash out at her, I heard the door opening, and someone with a higher aura entered but was not powerful enough to be an alpha, and I sighed in relief, knowing it wasn’t Liam.
It must be beta. Liam beta Daniel.
“Luna,” Daniel greeted Lilith, who was still seated with a smirk on her face. Her legs were crossed, and her back was relaxed on the chair as she sat in a sophisticated manner.
There was something suspicious about the office; it wasn’t decorated as I once knew it, as nothing I remember that belonged to Liam was there, not even his father’s picture, which he cherished so much. It was like Lilith owned the office, which was supposed to be for the alpha, as the whole office was covered with her images.
“What’s going on here?” He questioned them just as the men who were holding me roughly pushed me to the ground while the rude man dropped the little girl on the floor, not so gently.
At this point, the poor girl has stopped crying and is just sitting on the ground like a lost puppy. I felt pity and guilt eat me up at the fact that I was also ready to sell her away just to save myself.
Poor her; now she will realise that I was no angel.
“Beta, we are here as people who love justice, so when we saw this woman trying to choke this little girl to death, we were fast enough to rescue her,” the man said, smirking at me while I gasped in shock.
Did they just say I tried to kill her?
Fuck.
“How dare you try hurting a little girl? You must be some crazy ani-” Daniel began angrily but paused when I gazed up from the cold floor to meet his eyes.
Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise as he recognised me. “Ruby? Is that you? What brings you here?”
“Beta, do you recognise this evil woman? She needs to be stoned to death for what she did to the sweet little girl.” The rude man said before I could respond and continued to spin their false narrative, accusing me of harming the little girl.
Stoned to death? That’s what I get for playing hero.
Daniel had a mixture of confusion and disbelief etched on his face. He turned his gaze from the manipulative men to me, expecting me to say something, but I stood there feeling short of words as the accusations against me were high.
Daniel was a good man or tried to be, but I never saw him defend me when Liam kicked me out of the pack or when I was stranded outside and forced to step down from my position, so I found it weird that he was acting nice now.
Although I was desperate to save myself, I was sure my eyes showed it to everyone. How would I be able to defend myself against the tangled web of lies they had spun?
“Beta, why aren’t you taking action already against this woman? She is a menace! She tried to harm this innocent child,” the woman wearing a black dress said, pointing an accusing finger at me.
“That’s not true! I saved her, or else they all would have killed her out of delay. They only care about her because they found out she is the daughter of a high-ranking wolf.” I retorted, finally finding my voice, although it was shaky with frustration.
“That’s a lie, you filthy omega. Save her? From what? Your twisted plans? This was an opportunity to climb up to a good position.” The other man chimed in, adding fuel to their fabricated story. The beta ran a hand through his hair, and I could tell he was torn between the tales being spun before him or believing his ex-Luna.
“Ruby, is there any truth to their words?” he asked, his gaze searching mine for answers.
“No, Daniel. They’re lying. Please, you have to believe me. You know I would never do such,” I implored, desperation evident in my voice. All this while Lilith was quite like she was enjoying the show; actually, I bet she was enjoying my mystery.
Daniel’s expression shifted from surprise to suspicion, and he raised an eyebrow. “I find it hard to believe that Ruby would harm a child,” he remarked, looking at the men for an explanation.
They were all speechless at the fact that their beta was defending an omega, and for once, I felt hopeful by the fact that I wouldn’t be flogged.
“You can never know what someone is capable of doing, especially after seven years of losing everything she owned,” Lilith finally said, standing up from the chair and walking towards me with a smirk on her face-a smirk I so badly wanted to wipe off with a punch.
Daniel’s eyes narrowed as he took in Lilith’s words, still torn between the conflicting narratives. I felt a rising sense of frustration, knowing that the lies were clouding his judgement.
“You can ask the girl. She is the victim. She would say the truth,” I said, urging them to ask the little girl, but she was shivering in fear, caught in the crossfire of deceit. She looked traumatised, and Daniel noticed it too and sighed, clearly sensing the tension in the little child.
“There’s no need to waste our time; she must be whipped according to the law for trying to kill a little girl. We can’t believe her, as she has no witnesses. Throw her in the cell.” Lilith commanded the men, who turned to smirk at me.
“No, Luna Lilith; I have known Ruby since my childhood, and I bet with my life that she would never harm a child or anyone else.” He said this while I smiled sadly as memories of the past flooded my mind.
“Daniels, are you willing to risk your life and position as the beta just to save a seemingly worthless omega? Do you intend to squander the second chance I’ve given you? You’ve disappointed me, your Luna,” Lilith stated, glaring at him with gritted teeth.
“Ruby will always be my Luna first,” Daniel declared, leaving everyone, myself included, in shock. I saw fire come out of Lilith’s eyes and smoke come out of her eyes. She was mad and getting hot like a volcano, which was on the verge of eruption.
“How dare you insult me for this seemingly insignificant omega?” She screamed, advancing to forcibly lift me by my hair.
“Let her go, Lilith; there’s no need to escalate this.” Daniel warned.
“Oh, you made this a significant issue first,” she taunted, intensifying the pressure on my hair. Despite the pain, I stifled my scream, unwilling to give her satisfaction.
“You’re even weaker than I remembered, Ruby,” she sneered, her hand moving swiftly towards my face.
Suddenly I felt an unexplanable surge within me-a power I hadn’t known existed flowing through my veins. Just as Lilith’s hand was about to touch me, it stopped mid-air, suspended by an unseen force. It couldn’t be my wolf? She was practically dead, like me.
My eyes met hers in shock as I was speechless, but soon determination replaced the fear that once lingered in me. I didn’t care what power filled me, but I was going to use it to my advantage.
“Strength isn’t always measured by appearances, Lilith,” I said, surprising even myself. The air crackled with tension as everyone watched, wide-eyed. As Lilith struggled against the invisible hold, I stood my ground.
“Don’t mistake silence for weakness,” I declared, realising that I had just shattered the perception they held of me. For the first time in my life, I felt strong and was ready to embrace the strength I didn’t know had been hidden within, and the tide of judgement began to turn.