Sold To The Alpha
The Cursed Luna Chapter 18

It had been months since Charity had stepped through the barrier, the Committee after much deliberation had decided, upon learning she was a Luna to one of the strongest packs in the Northern Territories, that she was to remain a prisoner in the cells. No-one was allowed to enter her cell or interact with her unless it was to bring her food or clear the bucket she had been given to use as a toilet, it seemed that even this hermit type tribe had heard of and was wary of the Silver Cross pack.

Justin was taken out of his cell repeatedly, dragged by the arms along the ground and up the stairs by the guards, away from her earshot, each time when he was returned, he was a little more broken but would never tell her what they did to him whilst he was outside. Charity reached through the bars after he was brought back again, 'Jus?' she called sadly

Silence was all that met her for some time before a low voice replied 'Yes Char?'

Charity swallowed, not sure whether to tell him or not, worried she would break him further, steeling herself she whispered 'Its Bella's birthday today'

Her fingers were suddenly grasped tightly 'Oh Char, i'm sorry, I lost track of the days' he growled, angry at himself.

Smiling through her tears Charity replied 'I wasn't telling you off, I just can't believe i'm missing her birthday, do you think she is having a party Jus? do you think her friends are there?' she asked hopefully.

Justin chuckled, the first laugh she had heard from him since they had found themselves here 'If Mary has any say in it, they have the entire pack house decorated in streamers, 3 bouncy castles in the grounds, a conjurer, performers and enough ice cream to fill a swimming pool' he declared, amusement tickling his words.

Charity laughed lightly 'Yeah, probably' she said sadly 'I hope she's having a good day, and Aaron wrapped her presents up, I bought them but I hadn't gotten around to wrapping them' she said sadly

'Nah, that Alpha of ours won't have wrapped s**t' growled Justin 'Mary will have done it and Alistair has no doubt spent the day giving her most of a large chocolate bar he had in his pocket whilst no-one is looking'

They both laughed at the thought before sobering up 'I miss her so much Jus, what if she forgets me?' Charity muttered, more to herself than anything.

'She wont forget you Char, you are unforgettable, you are her world, you'll see her real soon, Aaron wont stop until he gets you back' he said vehemently. Deep down Charity knew he was right, but she just couldn't see how he would be able to get passed the barrier without being a prisoner himself.

'Jus' she asked quietly 'Why do you think I could pass through the barrier when no-one else could?'

'I don't know Char' came the reply, 'But if you can pass in, there's a chance you can pass out again!' he said with conviction, as they both lapsed back into silence.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the silence, soft delicate steps that told them it was not the usual warrior's who brought their food.

A young girl in her early twenties appeared by Charity's bars, with curly brown hair that fell to her waist and deep chocolate brown eyes within her heart shaped face, she was a natural beauty. 'I have brought you lunch ma-am' she said quietly, pushing the plate under the door before placing a sealed bottle of water through the bars.

'Thank you miss' replied Charity with a smile.

Despite herself the young girl smiled back before moving to Justin's cell, 'I have brought you food Justin' she whispered.

A low groan came from within, 'Hazel' rasped Justin desperately, reaching his hand out toward her. She stepped back hurriedly, turning her face from him.

'You know I am not allowed to talk to you' she said, he voice pleading with him, 'please just reject me, please, they'll stop hurting you once you do, just say the words and it will be over' she begged, a sob catching in her throat.

'Never' growled Justin 'I will never reject you Hazel, and I will never accept your rejection as I know you don't mean it, I will take everything they have until they give you to me, you are MINE' he said his voice rising with each word until it reached a deafening roar. Hazel flinched from his tone, 'Please Justin, I can't keep watching them hurt you' she begged, dropping to her knees in front of him and grabbing the bars.

Justin's fingers snaked round Hazel's holding her in place, a soft lingering sigh issued from his lips as he felt her skin beneath his own. 'Just touching your hand right now, makes every strike worth it, every barb, every slice, I would take an eternity of pain for you' he whispered 'I love you Hazel, I will never ever reject you! he said as she pulled her hand slowly away, a moan of longing escaping from him as the contact was broken.

'Hazel! come!' came a gruff voice from the top of the stairs, hazel scurried to her feet, stopping only for a moment by Charity's cell, 'Please ma-am if you care for Justin, please convince him to let me go' she rushed as tears fell from her eyes, 'please if not for me, for him, he needs to replace someone worthy' she whispered before jumping up and scurrying up the stairs into the sunlight.

'Justin' asked Charity carefully 'What do they do to you?' she was apprehensive of the reply.

'It doesn't matter Char' came the dull empty voice of her friend 'nothing does, without Hazel my life means nothing, they cannot hurt me anywhere near as much as the pain of being without her, it burns my soul Char, its like being stabbed a million times every single time she asks me to reject her'

The pain that was etched into his voice broke Charity's heart, she had been so sure that Justin, her protector, her husbands best friend was destined for happiness, she couldn't bare to hear the brokenness in his words, like he had already given up hope.

**********

Aaron was pacing his study, tearing at his hair whilst his Gamma looked up at him with worry, 'we have to replace them' ranted Aaron 'i need her back, why haven't we found a way through yet it's been months' he yelled grabbing a crystal scotch glass off the table and hurling it at the wall in temper, watching as the thin brown liquid ran down the wallpaper, puddling on the floor around the shards of broken glass.

'The pack is searching everywhere they can think of to replace a way to break through the barrier Alpha' replied Carl 'Plus the Red Moon pack have had scouts by the mountain since the Luna stepped through, no-one will be coming out of there without being caught and brought to us' he promised. Aaron flopped down into his chair, rubbing his tired eyes, he hadn't slept much since his wife had disappeared in front of his eyes, one moment she was there, her hands in front of her saying there was no barrier, the next moment she had vanished and he was left clutching at the empty air. He had screamed for her, bashing his fists and throwing his body against the invisible wall that separated them but to no avail. After hours of trying everything he could think of, the rest of the group had forced him to return to the mountain base, promising him they would return again after resting and eating. They had stayed, camped at the bottom of the mountain for weeks, each day dedicated to trying to break through to the Luna until Marcus had finally pulled the frantic Alpha to one side and suggested that it was time to return to the pack house and re-strategize.

Aaron had lost his temper, shouted and swore at Marcus, accused him of not caring for Charity if he was willing to just walk away from her, said terrible things he didn't mean when faced with his own grief. He hadn't seen or spoke to the former Alpha since, Marcus hadn't even turned up to Isabella's third birthday party, which his mother had insisted on organizing, saying its what Charity would have wanted. He had tried to smile through the party, tried not to dampen his little princess' day, the only link he had left to his love, but it was hard. Everyone sent him sympathetic looks, like he was a grieving widow, he wanted to scream that she wasn't dead, just taken from him but still retrievable, he could feel her, hear her heart beat in his head, he just couldn't reach her. He knew she wasn't dead, he tried daily to mind link but it was like a block had been placed between them.

It had been eight weeks since Isabella's birthday, the three year old had stopped asking when her mummy was coming home, seeming to have accepted that she wasn't with them. It broke Aaron's heart to see his daughter replace acceptance in her mother's absence, the little girl had taken to asking to sleep in their big bed, at first Aaron had refused but within days she was snuggled up on her mothers side, her curly blond locks covering the pillow as she slept, holding one of her mothers t'shirts that she had found in the cupboard and liked to carry around. Aaron would lay for hours just watching her sleep, scared that if he shut his eyes for just a moment he would wake to replace his beautiful daughter gone as well.

A tentative knock echoed from the closed office door pulling him from his reverie, 'Enter!' Aaron barked, the door quietly opened to reveal a silver haired young woman, barely in her twenties. Her name was Avery, despite coming of age a few years earlier, she had only recently moved to the pack house as her father had been killed when she was younger and she was needed to help look after her siblings and grieving mother. She was a shy, quiet she wolf, keeping mostly to herself, Aaron knew very little about her as she was unwilling to open herself up to others, she also seemed scared of him.

'Apologies Alpha for the intrusion' she said softly, keeping her eyes to the floor, 'Luna Mary said to bring you some tea! She walked into the room, carefully placing the wooden tray on to the office desk before bowing her head respectfully and quickly leaving, shutting the door with a soft click behind her.

Looking out of the office window, Aaron could see the frost that was starting to glisten on the grass below as December ushered its way in, he wondered if Justin and Charity were coping, were they slowly freezing to death up on that mountain, what was happening to them, were they being mistreated or well cared for? the questions that rolled around his head constantly were driving him crazy, he wasn't sure how much longer he could cope without his love, he felt lost without her.