Chapter 555

Olivia

I stepped off the boat, the scent of fresh pine and earth filling my nostrils. A rush of relief washed over me as I felt the familiar air of our pack’s territory after what had felt like an eternity away. We were home, finally safe from the horrors we had endured.

It had been three days since the scene at the quarry—three short days since the world had almost ended.

Not a moment went by that I didn’t feel utterly grateful to Mira and the other escorts for what they had done. They had saved us, at just the right moment, and now we could finally go home to our children, our friends, and our pack.

There was still much to do, of course; as I reached over and took Nathan’s hand, seeing the scars and leftover bruises on his face from the brutal beatings he had endured just by seeking the truth, I knew that.

But we were together. And I knew that we could weather whatever else came our way now; whether it was more of Dan and Montgomery’s cohorts, or other dangers that we might encounter in the future.

Up ahead, I spotted Levi and Angela waiting for us. Levi stood stoically with his hands in his pockets; beside him, Angela stood wringing her hands, the wind whipping through her hair.

Without a second thought, I broke into a run, closing the distance and throwing my arms around my best friend. Tears pricked at my eyes as I held her close, so grateful to see her face again after the nightmare we had survived.

“Angie,” I murmured into her hair. “It was so awful, I… I…”

“Hey, shh,” she said softly, stroking my back comfortingly even though I knew that there were tears streaming down her cheeks too. “You’re home now. Everything is gonna be okay.”

I simply nodded as I pulled away, dabbing at my tears with my sleeve. Nathan limped up beside me and clasped hands with Levi, then pulled him into a tight hug. When they pulled apart, he turned to Angela next and hugged her as well.

“I see the pack is still in one piece,” he mused, gazing out over the town up ahead.

Levi chuckled. “Wish I could say the same about you.”

Nathan sucked in a sharp breath and looked down at his body; he was recovering, but it would be some time before he would be back to his old self. The doctor said that he had multiple broken ribs, fractures in both hands, a broken nose, a cracked skull, and a ruptured spleen.

“I’ll be right as rain soon enough,” he finally said, nodding at Levi. “For now, though, I wouldn’t mind if my trusty Beta kept running things so—”

“Don’t even say it,” Angela said, gripping Nathan’s arm and giving it a squeeze. “You’ve got to recover. Nurse’s orders.”

I couldn’t help but smile a bit. Off in the distance, I could just barely make out the tall seafoam green rooftops of our villa. Inside, Clint and the twins were waiting.

And we had plans to spend as much time with them as we possibly could. I was already imagining late nights in the nursery, family movies, and ordering all the greasy takeout food we could eat.

My reverie was broken, however, as Dan and Montgomery were led off the boat in handcuffs, escorted by a group of guards. While their goons had been taken in for questioning by the southern pack authorities, Nathan had claimed these two as our political prisoners.

As they passed by, I noticed how Dan couldn’t even lift his eyes from the ground, his once imposing presence now reduced to a pitiful husk. Seeing him like this, finally facing justice for all he had done, was even more satisfying than I had imagined.

Montgomery, however, sneered at me as he was dragged past. The tall Alpha’s connection to all of this was still foggy to me, and I only knew what I knew thanks to the snippets Nathan had shared with me whenever he could.

Time seemed to slow as he was dragged past me, those cold eyes of his boring into me with an intensity that sent a shiver down my spine. I held his stare, though, no matter how unsettling it was. But as he passed by, he hissed out a series of words that made me feel sick for reasons I couldn’t yet comprehend.

“You’re just like your mother. Pity I didn’t—”

His words were cut off by a sharp kick from one of the guards, causing him to grunt in pain.

“Stop,” I called out abruptly, unable to ignore the curiosity gnawing at me. “Let him finish. What do you mean?”

Montgomery’s lips curled into a cruel smirk as he looked up at me through his disheveled hair. “You haven’t figured it out yet?” he asked.

I paused, glancing over at Nathan; but his face was as stony as ever. When I turned back to look at Montgomery, his sneer had turned into a devilish grin.

“Then I suppose you’re not as smart as you seem, Luna.”

…

It was a beautiful day, which was ironic. The cool spring breeze ruffled my hair and the leaves overhead, the surrounding forest coming to live with the colorful wildflowers of the season.

But laying before me was the confinement pit; a large, ten-by-ten foot hole in the ground. It was roughly a fifteen-foot drop to the dirt floor of the pit, just enough to hurt on the way down but likely not enough to break any bones.

No, there was no need for broken bones. With the loose lattice of metal bars at the top and steep, slick sides made of smooth stone, no man or wolf could clamber their way out. But animals and the elements could get in; and seeing as how the pit was positioned perfectly in the center of a forest clearing, there was no cover of trees or anything else to protect the prisoners.

I shuddered as I leaned over, peering into the pit. A warm arm wrapped around me, pulling me back.

“It’s alright,” Nathan said softly. “They’ll suffer, but they won’t die.”

I grit my teeth and said nothing. Looking up, I could see that a few vultures were already drifting in lazy circles overhead, waiting for fresh meat that they hadn’t had in a long time.

And maybe I relished the idea of these two bastards being the vultures’ next meal.

Dan was the first to step forward, his shoulders slumped in defeat as he made his confession. “I aided in the sex trafficking ring,” he announced. “My role was to find new recruits as well as new customers. And…” He paused, looking over at me for the briefest moment before he grit his teeth and stared back into the pit. “I abused my wife; a woman who I also sourced from the program.”

A twisted sense of satisfaction coiled in my gut as I watched him being shoved into the pit, his tears leaving streaks through the grime on his face. The thud of his body hitting the dirt floor, followed by a low groan, made my heart skip with sick excitement.

One down, one to go.

Then, it was Montgomery’s turn. At first, he refused to confess, his expression one of defiant arrogance. It was only when one of the guards stepped towards him, weapon drawn, that he finally relented.

“I was the leader of the sex trafficking operation,” he finally growled. “I orchestrated all of it; sourcing the women, training them, brainwashing them. Whenever they tried to escape, I beat and humiliated and tortured them.”

I felt my blood run cold, and beside me, Nathan stiffened. The crowd that had gathered watched with bated breath, their faces drawn with anger. Mira and the other escorts stood amongst them, hands curled up into fists, abject fury evident in their features at the horrors they had had to endure.

But Montgomery didn’t see them. Instead, his gaze slowly turned towards Nathan, and a sickening smirk spread across his lips.

“But remember, Nathan; you may destroy one petal, but a rose has many more.”

Before anyone could react, Montgomery was shoved into the pit, the metal bars clanging shut above him. He didn’t cry out, didn’t groan, didn’t even curse. He went silently.

I turned to Nathan, gripping his arm tightly. “What did he mean by that?” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the jeers and taunts that were now being hurled at the two men below by Mira, the escorts, and the pack members.

Nathan simply shook his head, his arm wrapping protectively around my shoulders as he stared down at Montgomery with cold, steely eyes. “It was just a pointless metaphor. I didn’t destroy a petal,” he murmured, his jaw set in a hard line. “I destroyed the roots.”

As I gazed up at him, I couldn't help but be struck by how utterly transformed he seemed. Gone was the cautious, gentle man I had known before. In his place stood a true Alpha, his stance tall and unwavering, his eyes burning with a fierce determination that sent a shiver down my spine.

This was the man I had fallen in love with, but stronger, harder, tempered by the fires we had endured. A swell of pride rose within me as I drank in the sight of him, so handsome and powerful in that moment.

My reverie was broken, however, by a flicker of movement in the distance. Frowning, I followed it with my gaze, my breath catching in my throat as I spotted a lone figure dressed in black, standing beneath the twisted boughs of an old oak tree.

It wasn’t just the figure that caught my attention, though.

It was Freya, standing beside me with her wide eyes fixed on the figure—as if she had seen a ghost.