Freeing Anvi

Chapter Fifteen

Jackson's quiet for a long time.

It's the kind of quiet that makes you realize just how deep in the sand you've dug yourself in, or when you discover that your mom has found all the report cards that you hid from her. It's that stomach churning, ear-deafening, silence that creeps along your spine and wraps like a snake around you, pushing your organs up your throat with its tail.

"I would like to believe that I'm going blind," he says through clenched teeth, his blazing eyes digging into me. I look at the ground. "But I doubt that's the case."

"No, it isn't," I mumble and hold my elbow.

Jackson releases a heavy exhale. "Anvi, I won't force you to tell me what happened at Banastre's pack," he says, although his eyes are pained. "But if he's doing something that can harm anyone else, then I have to know. It's my duty as Alpha King to take care of it...and yours as Luna Queen."

I keep my gaze on the ground. I don't know if it's embarrassment that forces me to comply in submission, or shame, but I don't - I can't look at him.

"I was a slave, Jackson," I say quietly. "My pack sold me to Banastre after my parents died. I worked for him for two years, until I met you. The brand-" I touch the mark on my stomach and try to hide my grimace. "That was his property mark. He had one on Luna Hailey too."

Jackson's hands find my elbows, then up to my cheeks. He tilts my head up and forces me to look into his eyes, and I do so, because I have no force to prevent him.

"And you didn't do anything?" Fury bubbles behind a curtain of gray. "You didn't fight back?"

"I couldn't," I whisper, my voice a bit choked. "Oscar stood up for me when he could. Luna Hailey too. They never hurt me." I need to make that clear.

"And Darcy and Amanda?"

"They...their abuse wasn't physical," I mutter and self-consciously shake Jackson's hands off of me. "It's my past, Jackson, let it go. I'm not there anymore."

"I can't just 'let it go' Anvi!" Jackson looks like he's a volcano that's threatening to explode. His cheeks are flushed and his muscles are tense. "A wolf under my command hurt you, my mate. You know what he's done before, Anvi. Banastre is a threat, and that was his final straw."

"Jackson - no!" I grab his arm before he can reach for his phone that sits in his jean pocket. "If you fire Banastre, who knows what he'll do! He could be liable to do whatever he pleases, Jackson. He won't have any rules to follow."

Jackson stares at me, then uses his other hand to take his phone. He doesn't shake me off, though. "Banastre never followed rules anyway," he says. He takes my hand, and his eyes soften. "Whatever you went through, you weren't supposed to, Anvi. He needs to be given a proper punishment. His daughters too."

"Not Luna Hailey or Oscar," I say then, realizing that I can't reason with him. "They never did anything to me. They tried to help me escape - they're my friends."

With his jaw clenched, Jackson hesitates, then nods. "Okay," he says. "But Hailey will become Luna of the pack until Oscar has completed his schooling. Speaking of..." he pauses dialing and looks at me. "Did you finish your schooling?"

I blush. "High school, yes," I mumble. "Luna Hailey forced Banastre to let me finish."

"I see." Jackson puts his phone to his ear. "We'll talk about further schooling opportunities for you later."

I nod, subdued by the blaring silence that surrounds us, or perhaps it's just in my head. My heart feels a little lighter now that I've revealed my past to someone, especially Jackson. It wasn't really how I planned to tell him, and maybe it was a tad bit too soon, but I can't deny the thriving jubilance inside of me now that I know that Banastre is going to get his lesson. It's cynical, the thought of torturing him, but I relish it all the same. Now, he'll know how it felt to be me for those two years. Him and his bratty daughters both.