WARNING: SLIGHT MENYION IF RAPE AND TOTURE
ROWAN
“Don’t growl at me,” I say with a lazy drawl. “It doesn’t do shit.”
“Cool it, Sven,” fun tells him before turning to me. “Can you explain what you mean by that?”
“I am saying, you packs are not the saints you claim to be. Honorable, just, fair.”
“Yo-”
“Many, and by many, I mean most if not all of us here, in this coalition are all victims of your packs.”
“How dare you?!” Sven snaps as he rises to his feet. “How dare you disparage the packs. We are noble. Honorable. Not some fou-”
“You do realize,” Lisa cuts him off. “My dear Alpha, that rogues didn’t become evil or twisted when they were outside the pack. They became that way inside it. It makes you wonder, what would cause a noble, honorable wolf to descend that far, doesn’t it?”
“What did you mean?” Fin asks
“I am saying that usually people are quiet when a weak or the destitute are abused and it is only when those same to tortured souls lash out that they become evil. No one says a word about how they were made that way.”
“Many of us here,” Rina adds. “We’re abused by our sect. Many of the women here were either raped and discarded by the powerful ones in their packs and when they made to ask for justice, they were blamed. Some of us didn’t have the chance to ask for justice, we were just left for dead. The men are not exempt either. Some spoke up against a transgression, or maybe they didn’t bow enough, or maybe they weren’t just strong enough, can you honestly sit there and claim that you have no idea of some packs among you that keep having vanishing wolves?”
At her words, all four alphas exchange glances.
“I won’t deny that there are some wolves that don’t deserve to be cast out or are way beyond a second chance,” I speak up. “That will be naive of me. But that is not what or who the coalition stands for. We are a shelter for those who have been beaten down and betrayed by those they called their own. Maybe if you all were more humane in the way your packs were run, maybe they would not have been silenced or had to turn rogue. If there was a just system that could fight for them, maybe there wouldn’t be rogues. But there isn’t, and all those abusers and killers hide under the umbrella that all rogues are evil in order to hide their sins. After all, who would care about them, who would believe the words of one cast out from the pack against the pack members themselves?”
The dining room is silent at my speech as all the alphas stare at me in shock and drawing despair.
“You…” Maxwell begins. “This … this su a lot to take in.”
“And yet, it is the truth,” I say. ‘The reality of our lives. All you have to do is take the example of that murderous son of a bitch, Dominik. What did we do to him? What did we do to any of you? No one, except Viktor , knows what actually happened to those wolves, but due to the mere fact that we were in close proximity to them, we are blamed. We didn’t even know they were there until someone smelt the blood!
“It doesn’t matter that it is suspicious enough that a bunch of wolves were coming towards us. Of course it doesn’t, we are rogues. And if we did know, would it be so wrong to defend ourselves against what was clear to be an attack?! Tell me, if the same situation had a occured to any of you, would they be so quick to muster their troops to attack that pack? No, they wouldn’t. Your laws are fickle and only serve those who control it. Any other person can only hope to survive it.”
“Hmm. I was going to ask what we would have gained in joining you in an alliance,” Fun speaks up. “But you have made some very disturbing points. Your animosity towards us might be justified. But you can’t hold us all responsible for the actions of some packs.”
“No, but I can hold you for those of your packs,” I retort
“What?” Maxwell exclaims. “What are you insinuating?”
“I am saying that among us here, right now, there are people from each of your packs.”
“No!”
“Oh, yeah. One was recently brought in. A little orphan girl, she was quite bruised. Tell me alpha Sven, from your… noble and honorable pack, has a child gone missing recently?”
Horror clouds his face as realization dawns on him.
“Katya!” He gasps.
“Right on the first count,” I say with a savage smile. “Well done.”
“What… how… I… I was told… oh, goddess!” He gasps as he gets to his feet. “Take me to her!”
“No, can’t do.”
“Why the hell not?!”
“Our therapist says that she is to be kept away from all males for now.”
“Ma… male…males?! She is twelve for goodness sake!”
“Why the hell are you shouting at me for? I am not the one who hurt her!” I snap at him.
“Take your seat, Sven,” Maxwell urges him. “And control yourself. You said… that we all had… people from each of our packs?”
“Yes.”
“Can we see them?”
“I don’t know,” I reply. “I will have to ask for their permission. Most of them are pretty traumatized and would love it if they never saw a pack again.”
“But you are a pack,” Fin says. “Whether you admit it or not, you operate as a pack.”
“We are a shelter that offers comfort and peace to those who need it. If they have healed and are ready to move in or return to their pack, we do not stop them. Over the years, many have come and gone, we don’t tie anyone down. All we do is provide shelter with no judgment. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some people to put to bed.”
“Who?” Sven asks.
“It’s not only adults here, there are also children amongst us.
“What the hell?!”