Some Mate You Are...

After a few days of resting and spending as much time as possible wrapped up in each other’s arms, we were both feeling more like us again. We had been lying in bed together when he leaned over and offered me a gentle kiss on my lips. Before pulling away slowly and sitting up.

“Marvel…baby…” He sighed, softly. “I am afraid that there is one more thing that we have to do in regard to everything that you went through.”

I could hear the hesitancy in his voice and knew that this was not something that he was eager to discuss, but he knew that he had to. I sat up in the bed next to him, confusion flooding my brain. Harm was dead. I was home. Enzo and I were fixed…again. And Blood Moon had been happy to take Beta Zaccai as their new Alpha. It had seemed to me that everything had been taken care of. I was still healing mentally, of course, but I knew that would take some time to get past. Other than that, what more was there to do?

“I have put this off for as long as I could. But I don’t think that I can do so for any longer.” He paused a moment before continuing. “I have Cora in the holding cells.”

“What?! Why?!”

I had to admit that this had taken me completely by surprise. I did not like Cora, hated her even. But that did not mean that she deserved to be locked up. I had been in a cage. I knew what that could do to someone. I would not wish that kind of suffocating confinement on anyone. Not even my worst enemy, which if we were being honest with ourselves, Cora definitely was. Of course, I did not realize how true that statement really had been until Enzo explained himself further.

“Remember how I said that Harm had an accomplice who was giving him those old photographs of me?”

I nodded my head in response. I did vaguely recall him mentioning something of the sort as we had discussed the wall of photos in Harm’s dungeon. But there had been so much that happened that day, that I had not even thought to talk about it further.

“Well…Harm referred to this person as ‘Lady C’ and when I was at Blood Moon helping with the Alpha transition, I had the chance to tear through Harm’s office, as well as, his bedroom. I cannot even begin to tell you the stuff that we uncovered.” Enzo paused, a far off look in his eyes.

I had the sudden urge to snap my fingers or clap my hands. Anything to bring him back to me. To take him away from wherever he had just disappeared to in his mind. But I resisted the urge. Whatever he had seen amongst Harm’s belongings must have been really disturbing for him to react this way. The thought made me cringe. Enzo was not rattled easily.

“That was one sick wolf.” He finally continued, shaking his head in despair. “The things that he was into. The things that he did.” He scoffed in disgust. “I will spare you the details, but…I did uncover who exactly ‘Lady C’ had been. It was Cora. And that is why she has been locked away to protect the pack. I need to interrogate her today, so that a decision can be made about her fate.”

I could see Enzo struggling to control his rage. It sat just beneath the surface, building, waiting to explode. It radiated through our bond, and I could feel my anger rising alongside him. Not just because Enzo was furious, though that was certainly not helping things. But after everything that Cora had already done. After everything that she had put my friends and I through growing up. Her constant lectures about why she would make the best Luna for our pack...which began when we were pups, by the way.

She had the audacity. She had the gall. To turn around and betray our pack the moment that she learned it was not going to be her as Luna after all. There was no loyalty there. She had not just put me in danger. Or Enzo in danger. She had put Kiara in danger. She had put the entirety of Crescent Moon in danger. She had sided with a madman instead of considering what was best for the pack.

It was as though I could feel the Luna inside of me awaken for the first time. Roaring to life with fury. My mate. My family. My friends. My pack. All of them had been threatened by her behavior and I would have none of it.

“I want to be there.” I asserted; my feelings set on the matter.

“I don’t think that is such a good idea.” Enzo cautioned. “You have been through a lot. And this may not be pleasant. She is a traitor to the pack, and I intend to treat her as such.”

“Exactly.” I affirmed. “She betrayed the pack. Our pack. She helped that psycho with his plot against me. Against us. And I want to know why. I deserve to know why. I want to be there.”

Enzo thought about this carefully for a moment and finally relented with a sigh.

“If you are sure this is what you want then, of course, I am not going to forbid it. But if at any time while we are there, you start to feel uncomfortable, in any way, then you need to promise me that you will leave. That you will not stay if it becomes too much for you.”

“I promise.” I agreed.

But I somehow doubted that this was going to be a problem. I was actually starting to think that this could be good for me. I would never have the chance to take make certain that Harm understood everything that he had done to me. All the pain that he had caused. But I would make sure that Cora knew, and I would make certain that she paid for it.

A short time later, we stood outside of the Lockdown. The pack had agreed a long time ago not to call it a "prison" because it was not always used for criminals. Sometimes young wolves needed a place to go when they were first transitioning. It could be a difficult thing when you first changed, not being quite human, but not really being all wolf either. It was confusing for some, and they needed time and a safe space to adjust to the change. This is the part that the Lockdown usually played in Crescent Falls. There was very little crime here. However, sometimes, it was necessary to use it for more traditional judicial purposes.

“I am not trying to be pushy, but I just want to remind you one last time….” Enzo started again. “This might get uncomfortable. Some things may be said that could be hard for you. And I will do whatever it takes to get my answers. If you need to exit the situation, please do. I will handle everything, if I need to. She will pay. Don’t you worry about that. Alright?”

“I know and I have got this.” I assured him one final time.

I walked into the door of the Lockdown, forcing him to follow. I was aware that he was simply trying to look out for me, but I was certain about this. I know he wanted answers. I wanted them as well. And I was going to be there when we got them. I was going to be the next Luna of the Crescent Moon Pack and I was going to act like it, starting with taking this traitor down.

Enzo began to lead me through the building, which, admittedly, I had never been inside of before. We walked down several halls, turning left and right as we traveled deeper into the bowels of the building. Then we stopped right outside of a door that read…

Interrogation Room One.

Enzo opened the door and beckoned for me to enter first. But I shook my head and gestured for him to go before me. I knew that he was trying to do the gentlemanly thing by holding the door open for his mate. But now was not the time for that. In this moment, he was the Alpha, and he was my rock. I needed him to be strong, firm, and confident. And mostly importantly, I needed him to be in the room before me just in case I did not handle this as well as I thought that I was going to. If my anger got the better of me, he would already be there to stop me from acting out. If my sorrow got the better of me, I could leap into his arms. If my anxiety got the better of me, then there was nothing between me and the door.

He seemed to understand as he nodded his head before entering the room. I followed slowly behind him. My eyes scanned the interior, quickly finding it to be a very plain and very empty space. Bare concrete walls with a single table in the center. Tyrus stood against the far wall, obviously having been guarding Cora as they waited for our arrival.

At this time, there was nothing of the more relaxed or even the funny Tyrus that I preferred being around. He was in full Beta mode right now. His dark features set like stone as he stared down at Cora, prepared to react to even her slightest movement. The newfound Luna inside of me swelled with pride, knowing that he was the next in our line of command. A hard, firm Beta when we needed him to be. But still a happy, loving wolf underneath it all. And the friend in me swelled with pride, knowing that he was the wolf who would care for Aida and their pup. A wolf who could truly be counted on to do the right thing. Enzo had made a good choice when he had picked Tyrus for his Beta.

Then my eyes landed on Cora. She sat at the only seat available at the table. Her wrists cuffed. She looked awful, the worst that I had ever seen her. Her clothes had been taken and replaced with plain, gray sweats, something that she would have never been caught wearing otherwise. Her hair was a mess and she had dark bags under her eyes. Despite all of this, she still wore her trademark smirk. She looked me up and down as if she had still won somehow. And this only infuriated me further. I wanted to slap that smirk right off her face. But I restrained myself. That was not my place in the moment. So instead, I clenched my jaw and let my hate pour out through my gaze. If looks could kill…

However, her attention on me did not last for long. She quickly reverted all of her focus on Enzo. Batting her eyelashes sweetly at him as if he would suddenly mistake her for innocent.

“Enzo, sweetie, how nice of you to visit me. I cannot tell you how I have missed you.” She all but purred.

A growl escaped me warning her against her behavior. But I still managed to remain composed despite the desire that coursed through me to put this she-wolf in her place. That was MY mate that she was flirting with.

“Cora, let’s cut the shit.” Enzo scoffed, getting straight to the point with her. “You know why you are here. You are accused of treason against the pack and conspiring to kidnap your Luna. No matter what way you try to spin this it is not going to end well for you. Your only hope is to answer our questions completely and truthfully if you expect any kind of leniency in your sentencing.”

Hearing Enzo talk like that had an unexpected effect on me. I had never heard him speak so professionally and business-like before. He sounded like a true Alpha. And, for some reason, that caused a heat to rise in my core. I struggled for a moment to suppress it. This was not an appropriate situation for this. Though, I was able to maintain myself. Unfortunately, Cora did not show the same restraint as Enzo appeared to have the same effect on her as she basically moaned out loud.

“Are you serious?!” I snapped, quickly pulled from my own lusty haze.

I leaned across the table towards Cora with a menacing look on my face. I snarled at her causing her to flinch. Good. She was afraid of me. She should be.

“Marvel…” Enzo warned.

I knew that I needed to control my emotions better. The interrogation had not even started yet and Cora was already managing to push my buttons. If I could not keep my anger under control then I would have to leave the room just because I would be hindering the investigation.

“Yes, Marvel…why don’t you just leave Enzo and I alone. You know that he has always preferred me anyway.” She sneered.

“That is not at all what I meant.” Enzo growled in response, happy to put her back in her place. “And if you would like to keep speaking like that then I will not stop her from taking out her anger on you. I want answers, but I would rather see my mate happy again once more. So do not push me or her on this matter any further.”

Cora huffed in indignation and slammed her fists against the table in front of her like a child throwing a tantrum. Tyrus quickly growled out a warning against her actions. Anything that he deemed as threatening towards his future Alpha or Luna would be met with immediate retaliation.

“I cannot believe that you would actually choose her over me!!!” Cora cried out in frustration, her anger rolling off her in waves. “I was everything! Everything that you could possibly want me to be! I have been training to be your Luna, on my own, since I was a pup! I have done absolutely anything that you wanted me to! I have satisfied every sick desire that you had! Everything! All of it! Just so that you would choose me when the time came! But instead, you toss me aside for THAT!” She emphasized, her finger pointing in my direction, accusingly, as if I were some disgusting piece of trash that were meant to be discarded.

She turned her face towards me, her attention suddenly placed on me rather than her pleas to Enzo.

“I did it all because of you, you know.” She cackled like a wild woman. “I knew. I always knew that he loved you. No matter how hard I tried. No matter what I changed about myself to become more appealing to him. You were always in the way. That was why I bullied you and your stupid little friends when we were young. And that was why I took Alpha Harm up on his offer when he promised to make you disappear. I needed you gone because once you were out of the way there would be nothing stopping Enzo from loving me!”

“Are you insane?!” This time Enzo was the one who snapped. “What would possibly make you think that?! How could you, for even a moment, believe that I would ever stop loving Marvel? Or that I would ever stop my search for her when she disappeared? Not to mention, she would have been with one of our neighboring packs. Eventually someone would have told me where she was, or I would have found her myself. Neither you nor Harm thought this through very well.” He scoffed, his disdain on full display.

He paced back and forth in the small room for a moment, trying to get his anger under control. I had the urge to go to him. To calm him with the touch of his mate. But I was not certain that would work in this current situation. We were both furious with Cora, for more than one reason, and in this circumstance the bond was working against us, only fueling our shared fury.

“Do you even understand what kind of a man you were dealing with there, hmm?” Enzo pressed, as he stopped his pacing and approached the table once more. “Do you have any idea, the sick and twisted individual that you had connected yourself with? That you had helped in taking my mate captive, your future Luna?”

“He was harmless.” Cora shrugged dismissively. “He simply wanted the same thing that I wanted. To be with the person that he loved. I wanted you and he wanted Marvel. Our partnership was mutually beneficial.”

“He murdered his parents.” Enzo stated, flatly, looking Cora directly in the eye as he spoke.

I gasped at this revelation not having known that information before. And I saw Enzo cringe for a moment as the realization dawned on him that he probably should have shared that with me before revealing it in this manner. But now was not the time for that. We could discuss that later. Because the other thing that happened, in that second, was a very subtle crack which developed in Cora’s façade. She had not known Harm or his intentions as well as she had thought that she had.