"Olivia," Talia called gently. She could use her Alpha command to force Olivia to obey her, but she wanted Olivia to do this on her own.
In order to help Olivia see the situation clearly, Talia used her aura to obstruct the mate bond between Olivia and Luis. That bond was set to pull two together, no matter how toxic the situation was.
"Do you remember how you read the Cinderella story to me?" Talia asked. "I loved it because a prince came and rescued a poor girl. I spent my days imagining I was Cinderella and Omegas in the packhouse were my evil stepsisters. I was living in the attic and waiting for my prince to rescue me." She glanced at Damon. "I believe that fairytales can come true. Maybe not in the literal sense, but they tell us there is such a thing as a happy ending, and we don't need to suffer abuse and neglect."
Talia held Olivia's hands and squeezed a little. "I remember how happy you were when you told me you found your mate. Look at him. He is not a prince. He is a monster. Being alone is better than this. I want to rescue you, but you need to be strong enough to push him away. Reject him as your mate. A mate should love you and treat you well, and not make you shrink in fear."
Olivia took a few shaky breaths and then looked at Luis who was sprawled on the floor, unable to get up under the pressure of Damon's Alpha aura.
With the pull of the bond diminished, Olivia saw Luis in a different light.
Somehow, the so far intimidating Luis looked small, and he would be pitiful if not for that sneer on his face. Why was she infatuated with him? When she left the Red Moon pack, Olivia was full of hopes and dreams, and Luis shattered them all at once to show her that reality was ugly and full of pain.
Olivia had no idea what Talia was offering, but nothing could be worse than this.
With that, Olivia gathered what was left of her courage and said, "I, Olivia of the Shadowbite pack, reject you, Luis, as my mate."
Olivia inhaled sharply, waiting for the gut-wrenching pain to come, but it didn't. The only odd thing was the burning sensation on her neck, but the pain in her hip overshadowed it. Olivia could see Talia looking at her with a pair of silvery eyes, and she barely noticed that Luis was wailing on the floor.
"Stop being a whiny-ass baby!" Damon said irritably, and he said in a deeper voice that echoed against the walls of the cabin, "Accept her rejection!"
Luis didn't want to, but his mouth opened on its own, and the words came out.
Olivia felt something was missing inside her chest, but it was not painful. It was like a burden was taken away.
"Should I denounce my pack?" Olivia asked Talia.
"Not yet. We will do that last because your Alpha will find out about it."
Olivia nodded in understanding. "What are we waiting for?"
"Pack your things," Talia said. "If there is anything you can't leave behind, take it with you. We will leave as soon as you are ready."
Olivia left into the adjacent room, and Talia turned to Luis.
Damon watched as Talia's hair turned silver, and he knew that Talia was looking into Luis' memories. He didn't know how many secrets Luis held, but even some were better than none. There was no way they could leave him alive after this. Luis saw too much.
Damon was alerted when the air filled with tangible hostility, and he saw black streaks twirling in Talia's eyes.
"Damn it!" Damon cursed under his breath when he realized that Talia also saw what Luis did to Olivia over the years, and probably more than that. Double damn it!
Damon put his hand on Talia's cheek and forced her to look at him. "Kitten, snap out of it. It's over. Whatever he did…"
Damon's voice trailed when a series of rapid snaps came from the floor. It's not that he wanted to spare Luis' life, but he didn't want Talia to carry that weight. Well, what was done was done.
Damon wanted to pull Talia into a hug, but Talia raised her hand to stop him, and she looked at him seriously.
"We need to leave," Talia said. "The moment he saw me, he mind-linked his Alpha about intruders. They will be here any minute."
Olivia was at the door, now pale as a sheet of paper. Talia didn't know if Olivia's horror was because Luis was dead or because of what Talia said. Olivia was clutching a bundle made out of a bedsheet that reminded Talia of the bundle she had taken when she fled the Red Moon pack.
"Denounce the Shadowbite pack," Damon said to Olivia with urgency.
Without delay, Olivia spoke, "I, Olivia of the Shadowbite pack, denounce the Shadowbite pack as my own, and I reject Alpha Silas as my Alpha."
Olivia clutched her chest as the pack link broke, and Talia pulled her to stand between her and Damon.
They all saw the door flying open with several people there a split second before violent winds enveloped them, and the three of them appeared in the garden behind the packhouse of the Dark Howlers pack.
Talia smiled. "We did it!" Talia's smile fell when Olivia plopped down like a ragdoll.
"Olivia!" Talia cried.
'She is seriously hurt,' Liseli said. 'She has severe injuries that are old, and some internal organs ruptured when her mate hit her. Breaking the mate bond and pack link only added to it. She was running on adrenaline, but her body couldn't keep up.'
'We need to save her!'
'You can't,' Liseli said. 'All this teleportation drained you, and mate doesn't look like he is in top condition either.'
Talia looked up at Damon to see that he was pale. Their mate bond allowed her to use his energy when they resonated with each other, but they had already teleported twice, and it was obvious that Damon was not well.
She wanted to save her friend, but not while risking her baby or Damon's wellbeing.
There was only one thing to do.
"We need to take her to the doctor!" Talia said to Damon.
"Let me take her."
Talia's head whipped there to see Valerian approaching from the side.
Valerian spent a lot of time in the garden, mostly keeping to himself, and sometimes Talia would forget he was there. Talia believed that her ability to conceal her presence came from her father.
In the last month, Valerian was resting, eating, and exercising under Travis' and Keith's supervision, and he was visibly better. The emaciated man they found in the dungeon was long gone. Now there were muscles, and even though he was still lean for an Alpha, Valerian was filling up nicely.
Valerian scooped Olivia in his arms. "I know the way. Mind-link Travis, so he knows to expect me."
With that, Valerian dashed in the direction of the pack hospital.
Talia mind-linked Travis, 'Doctor, a patient is coming to the pack hospital.'
'Situation?' Travis asked without wasting time on pleasantries.
'It's a victim of abuse. Her body is in bad condition, and her wolf is weak. I'm unable to come, so my father is bringing her. She is unconscious.'
'Alright.'
'Travis?'
'Yes?'
'Please, take care of her. Olivia is my friend.'
'Of course, Luna. I will keep you up to date with the situation here.'
With that, Talia closed off the mind link.
Talia wanted to go with Olivia, but she decided against it. Travis was an excellent doctor, and she would be there as a decoration (probably getting in the way) while Damon needed her.
"Don't worry, kitten," Damon said. He didn't hear the conversation between Talia and Travis, but he saw Talia looking in the direction of the pack hospital with worry on her face. "Travis is the best doctor, and Olivia is a she-wolf. It might take time, but she will heal."
Talia was touched that he was comforting her, despite his weak state. She tugged Damon's hand, and they moved to sit on a bench.
"How are you feeling?" Talia asked Damon.
Damon rubbed his face. "Let's not do this again."
Talia moved to sit on Damon's lap, and she smiled brightly. "We won't do that again."
"Are you happy your friend is here?"
"I am happy she is out of that hellhole! I hope she recovers soon. I would love to have Olivia as part of our big ceremony."
Damon shook his head helplessly.
Talia tried to think about what she got from Luis' memories. There were images of other females that were submissive, but she didn't see any in bad shape like Olivia. However, that didn't mean abuse didn't happen outside of Luis' sight. The Shadowbite pack allowed their males to treat females as possessions, and no one would interfere. What was the possibility that Luis was the only one violent?
"Damon?"
"Yes, kitten?"
"Do you think that other females in the Shadowbite pack…"
Damon put his finger over Talia's lips, preventing her from speaking further. "Let's not jump to conclusions. Maya is from that pack, and she told me that the situation there is bad for females, but there was no mention of this level of abuse. I will get our spies to investigate and see what's going on before we do anything."
Talia nodded in agreement. "How long will that last?"
"As long as it takes," Damon responded. "We can't rush this. If we gain the reputation of aggressors, people will resent us, and that will create openings for others to attack. No matter how big and strong we are, if doubts creep among our ranks, we will collapse like a house of cards."
"You are a wise man, Damon Blake."
Damon smiled smugly. Talia praising him will never get old.
