Chapter 12: Regret
Chapter 12: Regret
Serena's POV:
Shirley's words had stunned everyone yet again.
Tyler was absolutely petrified, rooted to his spot.
Tyler had great expectations of Brandon, but he hadn't expected that Brandon would expose Shirley's secret plot today.
Tyler was happy that Shirley was Brandon's mate at first, but now Shirley also stabbed Tyler behind his back.
As soon as Shirley opened her mouth, she kept shouting and pinning the blame on Tyler desperately.
She thought if Tyler would bear the main responsibility, her punishment might be lighter.
"Think about it.I'm just Brandon's mate.I haven't even become Luna yet.How would I have the power to sell a werewolf from the Black Moon Pack? Tyler didn't approve of Serena and Brandon's relationship, too.I just mentioned in passing that we could possibly sell Serena as a slave, but Tyler was the one who really decided to sell Serena off...If you don't believe me, you can ask the slave trader himself.They'll tell you who gave the order!"
Tyler's face turned red in anger.
He pointed at Shirley with a trembling finger, his lips shuddering but unable to speak.
All of a sudden, Tyler stopped breathing.
His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell to the ground.
"Tyler!" Zoe shouted and rushed to check on her husband.
Tyler had fallen unconscious.
Zoe slowly raised her head, glaring at Shirley before she tackled her.
Zoe grabbed Shirley's hair in one hand and slapped her face multiple times with the other.
"You ungrateful bitch! Our family has been so kind to you, and this is how you repay us? Tyler fainted because of you!" The two she-wolves were fighting on the ground.
They were scratching each other's faces and tearing each other's clothes.
It was a total catfight.
The onlookers were stunned silent and motionless.
No one went up to pull Zoe and Shirley apart, and no one helped Tyler up either.
Finally, the two elders couldn't stand it anymore and pulled Shirley and Zoe apart themselves.
"Ladies, enough! It's not proper for you to fight like this in front of elders! We've made a decision.Both Shirley Hunter and Tyler Trump are suspected of selling a free werewolf.For now, we are going to take Shirley Hunter away.As for Tyler Trump..."
Elder Flint cast a disgusted glance at Tyler, who was still lying on the ground. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
Tyler probably fainted from extreme anger.
Only the whites of his eyes were visible.
His hands and feet slightly twitching from time to time.
"We won't take Tyler Trump for the time being, since he has become like this.But as of today's events, it is clear that he is no longer qualified for the position of Alpha.He'd better step down as soon as possible and give this position to his son, Brandon!"
The elders dragged Shirley away.Shirley was still making a desperate scene, but the elders ignored her.
Peter and I were both shocked by this wonderful turn of events.
The Trump's family turned against each other, and we didn't even need to meddle or plead our case anymore.
The Trump's family had been torn apart by their own selfish interests.
Zoe spent a good amount of time scolding Shirley and Brandon, but the grief she felt over Tyler's situation was almost unbearable.
Then, she sent Tyler to the hospital with his Beta.
Brandon then walked up to Peter and me.
"Serena, I..."
Brandon voice trailed off as he hesitated on his words.
His expression was complicated, a mixture of pain, guilt, and regret.
"Hey, thank you for testifying for me."
Although I despised and hated Brandon, I still had to thank him for what he had done for me today.
Brandon was a coward, but his actions had proven that he was finally learning how to stand up for himself.
"Serena, this is all my fault.I know it's useless to apologize now.But since I'm going to be Alpha soon, I can finally decide who I want to be my Luna.Please, stay with me." Brandon pleaded.
Without a second thought, I shook my head.
"Even before you were going to become Alpha, you had already chosen Shirley.You could have resisted then, Brandon, but you didn't.And now, things are the way they are because of those actions.It's too late now, Brandon.I don't feel anything towards you anymore.Besides, I've found my mate."
Peter stepped forward and partially stood in front of me.
"That's me.I'm her mate.I know you were the one who harassed her last time.For the sake of your help today, I can let you go.But if you dare try and hurt her again, I will not hesitate to get even with you."
Peter wrapped his arm around me and we turned around, leaving Brandon in defeat.
Brandon's POV:
I sat outside of an emergency room.
My father had been rushed to this hospital to receive treatment as soon as possible.
Shirley had just been taken away by the Elder Council.
Serena and Peter also left.
I didn't want to stay in the chaos, so I came to the hospital where my father was.
But when I got here, I felt it was not much better either.
My mother sat next to me, gritting her teeth.
From time to time, she would burst out and curse Shirley, sometimes even me.
Her shrill voice filled my ears and gave me a splitting headache.
I wanted to leave, but I just let her scold me while I sat in silence.
My heart was full of regret, not because I told on Shirley, but because I regretted everything I had done to Serena.
I should never have let my father or Shirley humiliate her.
If I had just stood up for her before, she would still be with me now.
It would never have come to this.
The Elder Council demanded my father to step down, making me the Alpha, but it didn't matter to me anymore.
The grief and regret from losing Serena was all I could think of.
Mom's voice jolted me back to reality.
"....That bitch, Serena...Somehow, she seduced the next Alpha of the Red Maple Pack.Now she thinks that she got someone powerful by her side.Even after we have raised her for so many years, she still came back to accuse us.That ungrateful bitch..."
I stood up all of a sudden, shocking my mother.
"Stop it, Mom!"
I roared, "Stop blaming Serena!"
My mother was stunned for a while, but burst into anger a second later.
She jumped up, too and shouted, "How dare you yell at me to defend that bitch Serena! Why shouldn't I blame her? If she hadn't taken Peter Westwick with her and complained to the Council, our family would never have ended up like this! Because of her, your father is still in the emergency room.You're not worrying about him, and you're still defending that bitch.You are such an ungrateful bastard of a son!"
My mother's words were true, and for a second, I didn't know what to say back.
‘Why am I the ungrateful son? Is it not my father's own fault that he is where he is now?’
Disgust started to build in my heart.
My parents tortured Serena in every possible way every day, and even took Shirley's adivce to sell her as a sex slave.
Even after all that, they did not feel an ounce of guilt at all! This was my family.
It was a disgusting, virtueless family.I had enough of hearing my mom talk.I couldn't take any more of it.
Without looking back, I turned around and left her alone.I wasn't going to give up on Serena.
She belonged to me, and I was going to make sure that she would belong to me again in the future.