Slave No More: The Alpha's Broken Luna

Darek's POV:

"Perhaps the tenth promised mate would finally bring you some luck," Jarek mocked when the car stopped outside the Moonshine pack house.

"Keep your mouth shut," Eryon snapped.

"You both needed to be quiet," I growled. "Otherwise, you might say something you'd regret."

"That one would always be hopeless," Arovan, my wolf, muttered with tired amusement.

Our driver climbed out and moved to open my door, but I lifted one hand and stopped him.

"Wait a moment. I need to speak with my men."

Once the door closed again, the cabin fell completely silent. Neither Eryon nor Jarek risked saying anything else.

"Nerya isn't the same as those other women," I said in a quiet but firm voice. "Neither of you will speak to her or watch her. Jarek, control your hands because I may actually tear them off this time."

More tension sat inside me than I wanted to admit. Unlike the mates who had been brought before me before, Nerya possessed none of their practiced confidence. Perhaps her quiet manner or fragile appearance had drawn me in. Maybe I had simply grown too familiar with bold women who had been trained to charm men and bargain with them. Whatever the reason, I couldn't stop thinking about her. Arovan shared the same interest. Better yet, my wolf favored her more than every other woman we had met.

All I wanted was to keep her close.

"Take my warning seriously," I added when I noticed Jarek's disrespectful grin. "Being my brother won't protect you when you cross the line."

Jarek slid his fingers across his mouth and pretended to seal it with a zipper. At least he understood what I meant.

After leaving the car, we faced the old pack house that towered over us with its huge, worn, and gloomy structure. All three of us studied the front of the building. Only a month earlier, I hadn't known this pack even existed. My first visit had taught me one clear fact. Their Alpha was a proud idiot.

I knocked on the door. As soon as it opened a crack, I pushed through and made their Beta stagger out of my path.

Right away, I found her.

Half concealed by a corner of the hallway, Nerya stood as though she wanted the wall to swallow her.

"Have you finished getting ready?" I asked her directly.

"If you'd allow me to..."

Beta Kyron tried to answer, but my cold interruption silenced him.

"My question wasn't for you. I asked Nerya."

The look on his face almost made me laugh. His mouth fell open while his eyes widened in disbelief. Apparently, nobody interrupted him, including the Alpha he served.

With slow steps, Nerya emerged from her hiding place. A nearly empty plastic bag remained pressed against her chest. She nervously bit her lower lip before dipping her head in a slight nod.

"What happened to the rest of your belongings?" I asked. "You were supposed to pack all of them."

"You're looking at everything she has," Toren sneered as he came into sight.

My attention immediately shifted to him.

"Was that really it? Everything she owned fit inside one bag? She's twenty years old, yet she has nothing else?"

"Why would she require anything more?" his Beta scoffed.

"Kill him. Let me tear his throat open so he learns what happens when he stands against us," Arovan snarled inside my head.

"Why was everyone standing around?" A harsh voice suddenly rang out, and its piercing tone nearly shook the floor beneath us.

Turning away from Kyron, I noticed a woman waiting near the bottom of the stairs. One hand rested on a statue made in her image, which revealed plenty about the kind of person she was. Loose blonde curls framed her face, and her green eyes openly traveled over my body. As she strolled toward Toren, her hips moved with every step, and she carried herself like a woman who believed no man could resist her.

My thoughts returned to Nerya's response when I had asked about her brother's mate the previous day. Fear had locked every part of her body in place. This woman clearly terrified her, and I intended to discover the reason.

"Take her with you, Alpha Darek," the blonde instructed, and her voice scraped against my ears. "She'll probably make a decent slave for you, just as she did for us. Look at that fool. She can hardly stay on her feet."

A loud and cruel laugh burst from her mouth.

Cold anger settled into my stare.

"Don't ever refer to her that way again," I warned. "She doesn't belong to you, and she isn't anyone's slave. Alpha Toren, you should control your Luna. I won't tolerate much more from her."

"Control me?" the woman blurted out just as Nerya dropped to her knees. "How dare you accuse me of needing control? The only creature causing trouble was that filthy rat hiding near the corner."

"Who the hell was she calling a rat?" Arovan hissed.

My jaw tightened until my teeth hurt.

"You may want to look through our agreement," I replied without warmth. "Your mate clearly left out a few important details."

At my signal, Eryon approached us. From the folder beneath his arm, he removed the thick set of documents that contained the contract I had prepared.

Shock widened the Luna's eyes.

"You needed that many pages just to promise us your support?"

"My name never went on careless contracts."

I took the documents from Eryon and pressed them firmly against Toren's chest.

"We'll continue this in your office."

Toren moved ahead while his mate wrapped herself around his arm like a golden claw. Their Beta stayed close behind them because he clearly wanted to hear every word. My men followed the three of them. Instead of joining them right away, I remained behind to make sure my new mate was all right.

Nerya still sat on the floor with her bag held tightly in her arms, and her gaze moved anywhere that kept it away from mine.

"You may join us," I suggested to her. "This agreement involved you more than anyone else. If you preferred, you could take your belongings outside and wait inside my car."

"Did I have any other choice?" she murmured without lifting her eyes from the floor.

"Not at the moment. I believed you belonged in that discussion, though. Watching you upset your brother's mate would make it far more enjoyable for me."

Her vivid blue eyes stayed lowered. Both hands clung tightly to the miserable bag as if someone might still take her few belongings from her. Standing this close allowed me to see how badly they had treated her. No one should have been that thin, and looking at her almost hurt. Even the beat of her heart sounded weak and slow, as though it continued only because it had forgotten how to stop.

"Well?" I asked softly. "Which one will you choose?"

"I..."

Her attention moved between the front entrance and the hallway that led toward the office.

"I... thought I would go to the office."

"You made the better choice."

When I offered her my hand, she made no move to accept it. She rose without my help instead, though the effort left her shaking. Her body wavered for a moment before she steadied herself. I followed several steps behind her. The moment we entered the office, I noticed the vicious looks Toren, his Beta, and that hateful Luna directed at her.

"Take a seat," I murmured while walking past her.

My fingers grazed her lower back. At once, she recoiled as though even a gentle touch would lead to pain.

Instead of sitting, she froze in place. Her wide eyes darted around the room in panic before she faintly shook her head.

"Please sit," I said again, putting more force behind the words.

"She isn't allowed to do that in this house," the blonde sneered.

Slowly, I looked in her direction.

"No one needs permission to sit."

My thoughts turned to everything else they might have done to Nerya. Nothing visible marked her arms or legs. Part of me wanted to find comfort in that, but my instincts wouldn't accept it.

There had better be nothing else, Arovan growled as he stalked through my mind like a trapped animal. My wolf wanted to take her away from this house every bit as much as I did.

Shock made the blonde sink farther into her chair because she clearly hadn't expected me to answer her that way. Her lips remained parted.

"One more thing," I added as my stare fixed on Toren. "Teach your mate when to close her mouth. If you don't, I'll silence her myself."

"Alpha Darek, don't forget that you're standing in my home."

"You still needed my support, didn't you?"

Anger burned across all three of their faces. Being given orders inside their own home clearly infuriated them. Still, they had treated Nerya that exact way for years.

My finger indicated the vacant chair between Jarek and Eryon. Following a brief pause, she hesitantly lowered herself onto it.

"Let's finish this," Toren growled. "I'll be glad once she's gone."

"Reading the contract first would be wise," I insisted evenly.

"I already accepted that you could take her under the terms of our deal."

"What a fool," Eryon muttered.

Like me, he understood that signing a contract without checking every condition was a stupid mistake.

However, Toren and his followers quickly scrawled their names without reading even one sentence. Once they finished, they nearly pushed the documents into my hands.

"It's done," Toren replied.

"Excellent," his mate sneered. "Now remove her from my home."

Following my instincts would have meant taking Nerya and leaving these idiots behind immediately. Still, the contract served an important purpose. Its terms ensured that none of them could ever harm her again. Their pleas wouldn't change that. Neither would any regret they felt later. An Alpha's contract carried more weight than an ordinary promise. Once signed, it controlled them whether they had read its conditions or not.

I rose from my chair before extending one hand toward Nerya.

"Come with me. We're getting out of this miserable place before my patience completely runs out."

Unlike before, she placed her warm hand in mine and rose to her feet. Her other arm held the bag securely against her chest. Without looking behind her once, she stayed beside me until we reached the front entrance. She offered no farewell. Not once did she pause.

Her silence gave me all the answers I needed.

The hatred she carried for them matched every bit of the hatred they showed her.

The moment we arrived at the open doorway, she stopped. Her fingers slid away from mine. When she noticed the limousine waiting outside, her blue eyes widened.

"Come with me," I insisted softly.

Behind her, Eryon and Jarek watched with guarded interest.

"Was she okay?" Eryon asked over the mind link.

"Nerya?"

Moving into her line of sight, I stood directly before her, but she showed no response. Her eyes looked beyond me as though she couldn't see anything at all.

"We needed to leave."

"All right."

Her answer barely passed her lips.

One careful foot moved forward as though the air had become too thick for her to cross. Both hands closed around the doorframe. Her knuckles lost all color while the beat of her heart suddenly raced out of control. Her lips parted. A second later, her fingers loosened and her eyes rolled upward.

"I had you," I murmured.

Before she struck the floor, I grabbed her. Her whole body stiffened against me when I lifted her into my arms and carried her toward the car. The fragile feel of her frightened me because she weighed far less than I had imagined. Holding her felt no different from carrying a child.

Eryon and Jarek entered ahead of us. Once I settled into the back seat with Nerya across my lap, Jarek raised one eyebrow and gave me a smug, knowing grin.

"Whatever you're thinking, Jarek, keep it to yourself."

Carefully, I held her closer and listened while her uneven breathing and racing pulse slowly returned to normal. My fingers gently passed through her dark hair as I gave her time to regain awareness.

Without warning, she jerked upright. Using what little strength she had, she hurried away from me and pressed herself into the opposite corner of the seat, where she tried to take up as little space as she could.

Rather than pressuring her, I looked toward my Beta and brother again. We talked about pack matters while I checked on her from time to time to make sure she remained stable.

Eventually, the limousine came to a halt. I climbed out before the driver could reach the door, then held my hand toward her.

"Come on."

"I could manage," she finally whispered.

After sneaking a nervous look at the others, she carefully moved along the seat and stepped through the open doorway.

Her head tilted back as she studied my home, and a quiet breath of amazement escaped her. Our pack house stood at least three times larger than the home she had left behind. Someday, I wanted her to feel protected within these walls. More than anything, I wanted to offer her a life better than the nightmare she had escaped.

"Let me show you around," I suggested.

Once again, she hugged the bag against her chest and quietly followed me inside. Whether she understood anything I told her remained impossible to judge.

"Our Omegas take turns working different shifts," I explained while leading her through the enormous dining room, where the main table had enough room for twenty people. "The younger members learned responsibility this way before receiving permanent positions in the pack."

Next, we entered the kitchen. My hand gestured toward the whiteboard attached to the wall.

"Whenever you need something, write it on this board, and we'll have it ordered."

A small crease appeared between her eyebrows. Even so, no words came from her.

Taking the marker beside the board, I smiled in what I hoped was a comforting way. Perhaps standing near me only made her more nervous.

"Tell me what you need. I won't let you stay in my home with nothing except the few items inside that plastic bag."

Her clear blue eyes moved anxiously around the kitchen, and confusion covered her face.

"What did you need?" I gently encouraged.

"Nothing," she whispered. "I didn't need anything."

After holding back a sigh, I began making the list for her. Underwear, jeans, training clothes, dresses, shoes, sleepwear, jackets, toiletries... I included every basic item that might keep her comfortable during the next several days.

With the marker cap caught between my teeth, I moved closer and placed both hands around her waist to estimate her measurements. My thumbs almost touched over her navel, and the tips of my fingers reached her spine.

Her body was much too thin.

How had she managed to remain on her feet?