Chapter 54
Chapter 54
Chapter 54 The Victims
“Let’s go somewhere and talk,” Thea said.
The terrified girl nodded. She was shaking, emaciated. Thea put her hand around her boney shoulders and guided her out of the cafeteria. Other girls saw, got up, and ran after them. Thea told the triplets in their minds where she was going. She kept her thoughts open to them.
Once they were outside and out of earshot, Thea turned to the girls.
“I think I know what you want to talk about,” Thea said. “ Did Xavier use his Alpha tone to keep you silent?”
The girls’ faces said yes.
“Okay. You can’t say anything, but I can talk, and you can nod or shake your heads.”
They nodded. Other girls found their way over as she talked. She noticed they were all omegas from other packs. No one from her pack was in the group.
Eventually, Thea got the information she needed. Xavier had been using his Alpha tone since the beginning of the school year when he shifted. He didn’t stop after he assaulted Thea or after his punishment.
“Are any of you in Xavier’s pack?” Thea said.
Two girls raised their hands.
“If he becomes Alpha, you can join my pack. You don’t have to stay there,” she said.
“That goes for anyone who doesn’t want to live under his rule.”
The girls started to cry.
“Thank you,” they said.
“Is this happening anywhere else? Is it only Xavier, or are there others?” Thea said.
The girls gave her a look. They wanted to say something but were compelled not to.
“What pack are you in?” Thea said.
“Crescent Moon,” a few girls said.
“Cold Moon,” another said.
“Eclipse.”
“Far Side.”
“Storm Moon.”
“Mead Moon.”
Thea felt sick. She had no idea so many packs were having this problem.
“Is it your Alphas’ sons doing it?” Thea said.
The look they gave told her it was.
“I’m not familiar with the Alphas of these packs. Are they good men, or are they like Xavier?”
“Crescent Moon’s Alpha is like Xavier,” the girl who came up to her in the cafeteria said. Thea learned her name was Alessia. She was from Crescent Moon. “He mostly uses the slaves as his playthings. They don’t go to school, so he can do whatever he wants with them around the clock.”
“Ours too,” the other girls said.
Thea sighed.
“Anyone who’s being mistreated can join my pack,” Thea said.
“Anyone who wants to can join my pack. No one should be afraid of the leaders that are supposed to protect them. Spread the word inside your packs, especially to the slaves. I can’t get to them inside pack lands.”
They nodded.
“There’s nothing that will fix what happened to you, but I’m not going to let it continue. If you’re afraid your family may get hurt if you leave, bring them.”
“We don’t have any family,” one girl said.
“I think that’s the other thing they look for—no one to protect us,” Alessia said.
Thea seethed. She wished she had a wolf. She’d challenge these Alphas for their packs right now and free everyone in them.
“Everyone knows not to mess with the girls in New Dawn. They know they’re protected,” one girl said.
“We were shocked when Markus and his friends tried to jump you,” another girl said.
“I can’t believe Xavier tried with you, being the future Luna of New Dawn. He always goes for the girls who have no protection or power.”
“Does anyone know of anyone else being hurt? Or anyone else doing the hurting? Or anything else that’s going on that shouldn’t be?” Thea said.
The girls looked at each other.
“Anyone who thinks they can get away with it does it. Warriors. Higher ranking members of the pack. They each find their own toys, so I’m not sure of all the people involved,” Alessia said.
“My older sister left our pack and went rogue to get away from the abuse,” a girl named Jessica said. “I don’t know where she is or if she’s even alive. A lot of people have left that way.”
Thea put her hand on her shoulder and squeezed as the girl cried.
“If you can get a message to her, to any rogues, tell them to come to New Dawn. To the gates. Ask for asylum under the future Luna. They don’t have to be rogues anymore.”
The girl sniffled and nodded.
“The group of guys that jumped you used to do things,” Alessia said.
“They went for the weak or unprotected too. They didn’t have the Alpha tone, but there was no point in telling on them. The Alpha wouldn’t punish them. It would have made everything worse. But those boys haven’t done anything since the day they attacked you, and you put them all on the ground. Even when you weren’t at school.”
“That’s something,” Thea said.
“If anyone is in any of their packs and doesn’t want to be, the same offer stands. I can’t protect anyone when they’re inside other pack lands.”
The girls nodded. NôvelDrama.Org: text © owner.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been at school the past few months,” Thea said.
“Maybe you could’ve come to me sooner.”
“No one else even made the offer,” Alessia said.
Thea was angry with everyone that failed these girls. “If you think of anything, if you hear anything, if you suspect anything, come to me,” Thea said.
“Here, take my phone number. You can text or call anytime. To get around any Alpha tone commands, text me, ‘let’s go to the bar,’ and I’ll know what’s going on. You can give my number to anyone who needs help. If they don’t have a phone, come to the gates of New Dawn and say those words. If they want to leave their pack, remember they have to reject it formally.”
The girls who had phones all programmed her number into them. Half the girls didn’t have a phone, but they wrote her number down and put it in their school bag.
“You should know, New Dawn doesn’t have omegas or slaves. No one who joins our pack will retain those titles.”
The girls looked at each other, hope in their eyes.
“My brother,” one girl said. “He gets abused too.”
“He can come too,” Thea said.
“Absolutely. Male or female. You need help, come to New Dawn. No one needs to explain why or what happened.”
Tears spilled out of the girl’s eyes.
“On that note, are any of you willing to come forward to Alpha Knight? I know he’s a good man. I think he’ll strip Xavier of his title and give it to his younger son, Garret, who is a far better person. Alpha Knight may need proof to do it, though.”
The girls nodded.
“I’m going to look into the other packs and Alphas,” Thea said.
“Thank you, Luna,” a girl said.
“Yes, thank you, Luna,” they all echoed.
To use that title, they were symbolically asking to be under her protection and accepting her as their leader, their ceremonial mother. Thea held back tears at the gesture. They needed strength right now, not tears.
“I’m not Luna yet,” she said.
“You can call me Thea, and you’re welcome. I’m sorry it took so long for this to come out. It’ll be over soon. Tell people they can also come to any of the triplets. Use the same words, ‘let’s go to the bar,’ and they won’t ask questions. I know they’re intimidating, but they won’t hurt you. They’ll protect you.”
Thea went back to her lunch table with five minutes left before class started.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Thea said.
“This is worse than I thought. It’s not just Xavier.” She asked if any of them knew anything about the packs the girls mentioned.
“Crescent Moon is small. A lot of omegas and slaves. It’s right next to my pack,” Misty said.
“My father hates their Alpha. We don’t have a friendly relationship with them.”
“The kid who assaulted you was from Crescent Moon, wasn’t he?” Conri said.
“Yeah, the one who grabbed your chest,” Lizzy said. Thea looked at Misty. Misty nodded.
“Yeah, I remember. It was Markus from Crescent Moon who grabbed you,” Misty said.
“I told the girls if we couldn’t fix things, they could join our pack,” Thea said.
“Of course,” Alaric said, proud of her.
“If anyone says, ‘let’s go to the bar,’ to you, they’re asking for asylum. Help them. They’re being abused. Most likely, they’re saying that to get around an Alpha tone command because they can’t tell you outright that they’re in trouble.”
“Got it,” the triplets said together.
“You can tell them they can come to me too,” Lizzy said.
“Maybe I will take my dad’s Delta training after all.” Thea looked at her. Lizzy was pissed off.
“I’ll talk to my dad when I get home today,” Misty said.
“ See if he’s willing to take people in too.”
“Thanks, Misty. We might want to get as many packs behind this as possible,” Thea said.
“Agreed,” Misty said. number and told them to pass it out to anyone in trouble. I told them to come to the gates at New Dawn if they don’t have a phone. I hope I can follow through for all of them. First thing first, we need to talk to Garret Knight.”
“First day back, and she’s already uncovering secret abuse and saving the victims,” Misty said.
“That’s my girl,” Kai said.
He hugged Thea, buried his face in her hair, and breathed in her scent. Thea squeezed his arm.
“Did you eat enough?” Alaric said. “You need to keep up your strength.”
“Um, probably not. What do you have left?”
“Here, eat this.”
Thea wolfed down whatever Alaric handed her.
“Let’s go find Garret. Can you sniff him out, Con?” Thea said after she finished eating.
“Yeah,” Conri said.
They all got up, and a few minutes later, they came upon Garret Knight at his locker.
“Garret,” Thea said.
“Uh-oh,” Garret said.
“Yeah, it’s not good,” Thea said.
“After the scene in the cafeteria, a lot of girls came up to me. Xavier’s been doing this all year long, and he didn’t stop after his punishment. The girls will talk to your dad if he needs to hear it from them.”
“I’ll tell him,” Garret said. “And see how he wants to proceed.”
“You should know, the reason you couldn’t find any others besides me is that he used his Alpha tone to compel them to stay silent. Your dad will have to use his Alpha tone to override Xavier’s.”
Garret sighed. “I don’t know how he went so wrong,” he said. He shook his head.
“There are a couple of girls from your pack,” Thea said.
“ But most were from other packs. I don’t know how their Alphas will react when they find out.”
Garret nodded.
“We might offer Xavier up. Let them all tear him apart.”
Alaric put his hand on Garret’s shoulder.
“You’re a good man, like your father. People know that. Xavier’s sins won’t follow you around.”
Garret looked up at Alaric. He smiled. “Xavier was so wrong about you guys.”