Chapter 13 - Broken

151K 4K 1.1K
                                    


~Chapter contains triggering violence~


Sleep didn't come easy to me that night.

At some point, I ended up dozing off, but not until I'd tossed and turned for hours. Dean seemed perfectly relaxed and drifted off long before me. Not only did I find it a miracle that my excessive movement didn't wake him, but I didn't understand how he could sleep so peacefully, knowing the punishment he'd sentenced those girls to.

It was moments like these that made me question the Moon Goddess's decision. How could someone like Dean truly be my perfect match? My other half? I would never deny that I cared for him, he was my mate, after all, but I felt like every time we made progress, something came up to put us back at square one.

Would I even be able to look him in the eye after tomorrow?

~~

When it was time for me to get up and get ready for my day, I realized very quickly that I'd only gotten a couple hours of sleep. I'd slept on less before and would be fine, but my body had slowly become accustom to the luxurious bed, comfort of our mate, and the soothing sleep that followed.

But it was hard to be soothed by your mate's presence knowing he would be publicly abusing young girls the next day.

Dean had already left our wing, of course. I'd woken up around my normal time despite my lack of sleep, and Dean had already gone to his office for the day to take care of whatever necessities before the public whipping.

Did one dress up for these occasions? Although I was dreading it, something told me Dean would expect me to look classy and put together, like a true Luna. I may not agree with this whole ordeal, but I didn't want to upset him, and I certainly didn't want to appear in front of my pack looking messy and unprofessional.

With a long sigh, I finally slid out of bed and walked over to the closet to pick out something to wear. Most of the clothing the maids had gotten for me were neutral colors, which was fine by me, but I felt the need to dress dark for the occasion. Professional, but dark. Behind several pairs of pants, I found a black pencil skirt tucked away and plucked it from its hanger before beginning to rummage through the blouses.

Most of my tops were lighter in color and didn't really match the vibe I was going for with this outfit. As I continued to slide through the hangers, I grew frustrated. Was there not one black shirt in this closet?

Just as I was about to give up and create with some excuse as to why I couldn't attend this so-called event, I spotted it. At the very back of the closet hung a single black blouse. It was a long sleeve button-up made of a silk-like material, and it was perfect.

Feeling satisfied with my funeral-like clothing, I got dressed and then went to the bathroom to finish getting ready. Although I knew there was a high chance of me crying at some point during the day, I decided makeup was necessary. I needed to show that I could be a proper Luna, even if there was a risk of me falling apart in front of my pack.

After staring at myself in the mirror for several minutes, I decided I was satisfied with my appearance, or as satisfied as one could be knowing they were about to witness a very brutal, disturbing scene unfold.

It was time to meet Dean in his office.

As I started to make the short walk that I'd become quite familiar with, I noticed my anxiety grew faster than normal. I was only a few steps out into the hallway, and my hands were already trembling. My heart hadn't begun pounding just yet, but I knew that familiar feeling would follow close behind.

Luna AudreyWhere stories live. Discover now