The Alpha's Stolen Luna - Chapter 163: Chapter 163

: Sutton
I expected Mason to have another outburst, maybe even Anders, but there was no response. I looked over in surprise. Mason’s face was red, jaw clenched, I could see the vein bulging from his neck even from where I stood. He was obviously uncomfortable. Anders must have commanded him to stay quiet and he was trying to fight it.
He was losing.
“We will take your request into consideration, Alpha Lucas,” Councilman Erhardt stated before turning to address the room. “Given this new evidence along with Alpha Lucas’ testimony, I am going to ask if any of those who came forward prior to this session would like to recant their statements?” The room remained quiet. The silence broken only by the uncomfortable fidgeting of a few attendees in the room, and even a few council members. “Very well. You will be released for lunch while the council deliber…”
“Wait,” I shouted, getting to my feet.
The entire room turned to look at me. I felt the edge of panic start to creep in but Nova quickly pushed forward in my mind and chased it away.
“Ms. Langston,” Councilman Erhardt said, “is there something you wish to say?”
“Considering I’ve been talked about as if I’m not here for the past two days, I would say yes,” I stated. “Or am I not entitled to give my own testimony?”
Erhardt gave me a sympathetic look. “Of course you are, Ms. Langston,” he replied. “Given the circumstances, I did not want to subject you to any undue distress.”
“That is very chivalrous of you, Councilman,” I commented. “However, despite what others would have you believe, I’m not too weak to tell my story.”
Councilman Erhardt gestured for me to take the podium. With my head held high, I walked up in front of everyone. Lucas brushed my arm as he stepped aside. He resisted the urge to kiss me before moving back to give me space. I needed to do this on my own.
“Ms. Langston, what do you remember of the last night you were with Beta Mason?” Erhardt asked.
“Everything,” I replied.
“I’ve looked at these photos of the condition in which you were found,” he stated. “They are quite concerning. Are you able to tell us who did this to you?”
I nodded. “I can, but I’d like to say something first.”
The councilman gestured his permission.
“I was raised in human territory,” I began, “with a human family. I did lose my mother at a young age. That was very hard on me but I had my family. Together, we made it through the hardest parts. It wasn’t until I was eighteen that I found out my mother had been born a lycan. What happened to her wolf, I unfortunately can’t tell you. It was something about my mother I had never known. Still, when my sister fell ill and the offer to go and work for Alpha Anders to help cover her treatment came along, I was more than willing to take it. It was a way to feel closer to my mother somehow. Even if it wasn’t with her pack or family. Any perceived hesitation that may have occurred was simply a young woman being nervous about leaving her family for the first time.”
“How did you come to be with Beta Mason?” Erhardt questioned.
I swallowed. “The truth is, that’s kind of a hard thing to pin down,” I said. “I started working as a cleaner in the packhouse right away. Beta Mason was nice to me. He showed me around. Seemed to show an interest in how I was settling in. It was comforting but nothing… romantic. Then one day, Alpha Anders called me into his office and said that Beta Mason wanted to take me as his mate. I didn’t really know what that meant. I was still so new to pack life and lycan culture. And in truth, I hadn’t really made many friends among the pack. They didn’t seem to want to associate with the Alpha’s pet human.”
“They didn’t explain what you would be agreeing to?” Councilman Erhardt pressed, his eyebrows raised.
“Briefly, but not in full detail,” I said. “Yet, I agreed nonetheless. I guess I was hoping it would help me belong better. I held onto that hope after he marked me… until the first time he hit me. So, yes, the last night I spent with Beta Mason… I stabbed him.”
I paused as the murmurs began and quickly died down.
“Five years, two months, and eleven days,” I stated. “That’s how long I was held prisoner by Beta Mason. That’s how long I was subjected to his temper, his mood swings, his utter need for complete control. Half-starved, half-dead. Most days, Helene’s medical treatment was the only thing keeping me hanging on.”
“Until the night in the cabin…” Erhardt surmised.
I nodded. “I fought back,” I said. “I truly believed I was going to die that night…”
“You lying bitch,” Mason’s enraged voice echoed through the room. I looked to see three Dawn Stalkers holding him back as he tried to lung at me. “You pathetic little whore. You really think anyone is going to believe anything you say? Look at what she did to me? You heard her admit it.”
Unbuttoning my blazer, I stepped in front of the podium, standing in full view of the entire room as I locked eyes with Mason.
“You’re right, Mason,” I told him calmly. “I did do that to you. It was fair for you to show everyone. And now… now they’re going to see what you did to me.”
I pulled the jacket from my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. The jumpsuit I wore beneath it was completely backless. Exposing every inch of my back and sides. Showing every scar I carried from his hands. His claws. His teeth.
Horrified gasps echoed through the room from the Council behind me. Unable to resist his Alpha’s command any longer, accepting his utter defeat, Mason fell back hard into his chair. Dragging my eyes away, I turned back to Councilman Erhardt, making sure everyone else saw what they had seen.
“Beta Mason kept my wolf suppressed for years,” I announced. “He used me for his own sick entertainment all while I was marked by him. He used the mate bond against me. Forcing me to submit to unspeakable things. Now, he and his Alpha came before you with the clear intent to make you believe I am weak. That I am fragile. That I am incapable of thinking for myself. They wish to challenge my claim as the Luna of the Ironpaw Pack.
“Beta Mason tried to break me,” I continued. “But he failed. I stand before you now because no one can break a true Luna.”