Red Moon (Colors of the Moon #2)

Chapter 34

"What? No, I..." Actual tears began forming in the corners of her eyes. Goddess, she was pathetic.

"Lavinia?" Blake sounded more confused than hurt.

"I did." Lavinia cried out, as the tears spilled out. "I said all of those mean things to Ren, I admit it. But I never betrayed the pack. I swear it! I don't know what ring you're talking about, but I swear I didn't steal anything."

The weak she-wolf actually crumbled to the ground, big sobs rocking her body. I couldn't believe that this woman ever thought to undermine me.

A huff of disbelief escaped my lips. Before I could open my mouth, however, Blake's hand on my shoulder stopped me. He stepped in front of me and looked down at his blood relative.

"Why?" It was the only thing he asked.

"I'm so sorry." She sobbed, earning her an eye-roll from me. "I... I was afraid that once she became Luna, you would no longer need me. I have no mate and the only reason I was allowed to join the pack was because your mother was the Luna...

"Ever since she passed, I had tried to make myself a vital part of the pack... Then she came and I was afraid... But I would never do anything to betray this pack. You have to believe me, Blake. I would never do anything to betray you. You're the only family I have left."

Damn it. Looking at her, I realized she was telling the truth. She might have said all of those things, but she wasn't the traitor we were looking for.

"I would never make you leave the pack, Lavinia." Blake said, as he knelt in front of her. "This is your home and you're my family. What you did was wrong and you will have to make it up to Ren. But I know you're not a traitor."

As I didn't want to see the gushy moment between them, I averted my eyes to the other direction. Hunter was still standing in the doorway, looking lost to what exactly was going on.

My breath hitched, as I caught a flash of platinum blonde hair behind him. It passed so quickly, it could have been just a play of light. However, deep down I knew I saw it.

My instincts kicked in and I ran out of the kitchen, following the retrieving figure. He was fast. I only managed to tackle him when we were already outside the pack house. I landed on top of him, preventing him from escaping.

However, as we lay there I realized two things. The person I thought was Snider, was actually a woman. And I finally knew why she had seemed so familiar the first time I laid eyes on her.

Before either of us could do anything, I was hauled off her and captured against a hard chest. The steel strong arms around my stomach sent sparks flying through my body. I struggled to get free of his grip, but he refused to let me go.

"Ren, stop it!" His voice held the authority of the Alpha. I couldn't believe he would dare to use his Alpha voice on me. "This is no time for your jealousy."

He thought I was jealous? Seriously? The guy needed a good beating, if he thought I was doing this because I was jealous of her.

The she-wolf shot up to her feet and turned around to make a run for it. However, a strong grip on her forearm from Hunter kept her from going anywhere. At least he was on my side.

"I don't know what's going on here, but you're not going anywhere." He yanked her, so she was forced to turn towards Blake and me.

"Ren, what are you doing? You can't just go accusing every pack member of being the traitor." Blake ignored everyone else.

I continued to squirm in his arms for a few further seconds, trying to break free. When I gathered that my actions were futile, I finally gave in and stopped struggling. I felt Blake relax against my back, but he still kept his arms locked around my middle, just in case. Clever man.

"I'm done accusing anyone. I already know it's her." I spat out, my eyes locked on the bitch. "I know why you seemed so familiar the first time I saw you. You've done a good job at hiding the truth, but I know who you are."

At first, she didn't show any reaction to my accusations, but the moment I told her I knew the truth her muscles flexed. She fought hard to keep a composed expression, but I saw through her pretense.

"What are you talking about?" Hunter sounded irritated, as he was once again left out.

"She's Snider's sister." I came right out with the truth. There was no point in postponing it. "She's the traitor."

"Snider had a little sister." Hunter remembered. "But she found her mate in another pack and moved away. That was years ago." He focused his eyes on the girl frozen in his hold. "She has the same hair."

"So what if we have the same hair color? It doesn't prove anything." The she-wolf spoke for the first time. If looks could kill, I'd already be six feet under right now.

"You came from a different pack, I know that." Blake's hold on me tightened, as he probably still thought I might lunge at her. "When your mate died, you told me you had no family left. It's why I allowed you to stay."

"Oh, she's got family; a deranged psychopath and a drunk of a mother."

I knew I hit the nail on its head, as her mouth formed into a snarl and her canines elongated.

"You bitch! You'll pay for this. You destroyed my brother! You're a disgrace to the pack! Snider was right when he told me the world would be better of without you."

"Take her to the cells and don't let her escape." Blake's loud order boomed, shutting her up.

As a few warriors took her from Hunter's hold, I finally realized what kind of crowd our little spectacle had caused.

"Can you now explain what the hell's going on?" Hunter had run out of patience. He lasted longer than I expected.

With a sigh I told Blake he might as well gather Easton and some of his top warriors. I didn't feel like explaining it more than once.

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Much love

                - E