Chapter 25

I watched as Alistair marched up to the cage while donning a pair of black leather gloves. Inhaling deeply, he walked in and undone the silver cuffs, before dragging a screaming Julianne out of the cage and dumping her trembling body at my feet like a sack of rubbish. Grabbing her hair roughly with one trembling hand, I pulled her head backwards before leaning in close next to her ear.

“You best start telling me the fucking truth,” I hissed, feeling my fangs protrude out of my mouth. “Or else you will see a whole new side to me that you’ve never seen! I swear to god, I will have you skinned alive and fed to my pack for dinner! Do. Not. Push. Me!”
“Haha. Why should I tell you anything?” Julianne chuckled quietly. “You won’t do anything. You’re weak. You’re useless. You’re worthless!”

Before Julianne could mutter a single word, I lifted my left hand and brought it down hard right across her face with a resounding smack. Small gasps echoed around the room followed by a pained squeak uttered by Julianne who now lay on the floor in a heap, moaning quietly. Not feeling any flicker of remorse, I walked over to the trembling heap and pulled her up into a sitting position, which revealed Julianne, with a bloody and bent-out-of-shape nose – evidently broken.

“Now, are we going to start talking?” I ordered loudly with not a care in the world. “Trust me, I’ve got all day to be getting answers from you and my wolves are hungry. Unless you don’t want to be their new chew toy, I suggest you start talking.”
“Okay, okay,” Julianne whimpered softly, gingerly wiping away a small trail of crimson blood from her nose. “I did it. I faked your parent's death and hid them in the basement. It was all my idea. No one else’s. You can let James go.”
“James is here for his own reasons! Why did you do it?” I replied slowly, feeling my brain rapidly fill up with a thousand burning questions. “Did James know? Did he help you? What about Louisa? Did she know about my parents!?”
“I was jealous! Pure and simple. Yes, your mum was my best friend, but I’d had a crush on your father for years. Ever since we were in school together. Of course, when your father met your mother and declared her as his Mate, I was heartbroken. I always thought it was going to be me,” sighed Julianne softly while wincing in pain. “James didn’t know because I never told him. Neither did Louisa. I kept the basement door locked for a reason. So that no one could find out about what I had done.”
“Tell me more,” I demanded angrily, while I struggled to contain my anger. “How did you get my mum down into your basement? And my dad. I need to know everything!”
“For years, I kept my jealousy and rage buried deep within me. I watched as your mum became pregnant with you and welcomed you into the world. Every day, your father became more and more besotted with your mother, pushing me further away, until eventually, your dad forgot about the connection we once had. For 16 years, I stayed at your mother’s side watching everything as her best friend, until one day, I could no longer contain my hurt and anger.”
“And? What did you do? How did she end up on the cliffs?” I demanded loudly, my heart beating faster with every word Julianne muttered.
“Christine didn’t end up on the cliffs. I put her belongings there to make it look like she jumped,” explained Julianne quietly. “I met her outside the gym that morning like we always did. While her back was turned, I used wolfsbane soaked in a cloth to subdue her while dragging her back into an alleyway beside the gym where my car was waiting. Once knocked out, I put her in my boot and brought her to my house where I dragged her to the basement and put her in the cage.”
“And my father? He went to work that day. How did he end up in the dog cage? Did you use wolfsbane on him too?”
“No, his abduction was more, shall we say, brutal,” chuckled Julianne gleefully. “As much as I loved Paul, he pissed me off!”
“Pissed you off!” I choked angrily at her apparent lies. “You never loved my father. That was a lie! You two were always arguing at the end.”
“That’s what pissed me off about Paul. Even though he married me, he still loved Christine. It was clear to see!” seethed Julianne angrily, disgust etched all over her face. “When your mother ‘died’, I watched as Paul sank into a deep pit of alcoholic despair. I knew that I was the one who could save him and free him from his demons.”
“You tricked him!” I asked incredulously, not believing how low Julianne could stoop. “You used his feelings as a ploy to get your claws into him. Are you even for real!?”
“Yes, I tricked him. And so, what!” cackled Julianne loudly while an evil glint sparkled in her eye. “You have no idea how happy I was when Paul finally started showing me attention once more. It felt so good to be loved. Like I was finally wanted by someone. It felt like I was finally home again! But there was always that part of him that could never let Christine go, and I hated him for it! The argument we had that morning finally tipped me over the edge! If he loved her so much, then he may as well join her!”
“So, what did you do to get Dad into the basement? Did you drug him?”
“No. I stood in the kitchen with a metal baseball bat and patiently waited until he finished work. As soon as he walked in through the door, BANG!” chuckled Julianne apprehensively. “He hit the floor like a sack of shit. Ten minutes later, he was safely stored away beside his forever Mate, finally reunited! Just like he always wanted!”
“You’re evil!” I screamed loudly, running up to Julianne and grabbing fistfuls of her hair. “How could you! You disgust me! You deserve to die! You evil heartless bitch!”

Before I could kick and punch her, I felt many pairs of hands grab me and pull me back. Closing my eyes, I breathed in deeply and turned my thoughts to Mya. I could hear her anguished howl deep within my mind as she fought against my willpower to take over. But there was one more thing I needed to know.

“Then you got lumbered with me didn’t you, which you hated,” I whispered quietly. “You hated the fact that now my parents were 'gone', you had to look after me. Is that why you kept me as a slave and beat me?”
“I saw your parents in you so much. Every time I looked at you, your face repulsed me,” Julianne shrugged nonchalantly. “I made sure that Louisa hated you too and told her to make sure she spread rumours about you so that you would get bullied. When you told me that James had raped you, I was so mad!”
“Mad? But why?” I asked in disbelief. “I was a pup and he violated me! Didn’t you have no maternal instinct over me at all?”
“No. Not one iota,” smirked Julianne. “I loved James and he loved me! Or so he said! When you told me he raped you, I saw your mother taking Paul away from me all over again. I had already lost Paul and I was adamant I wasn’t going to lose another love! Now you know everything! What are you going to do with me now, bitch!”
"I want to know where your daughter is. You haven't told me," I replied, trying to keep my cool. "She needs to answer for her part in all of this too!"
"I don't know where she has gone and I don't care. She left shortly after you ran away," admitted Julianne slowly, who was looking bored at the whole affair. "I guess she panicked as she returned home, got her stuff and legged it!"

Glaring down at the gleeful heap that was Julianne, who clearly showed no remorse for her actions, I smiled gently as I revealed the punishment that I had in mind for her.

“I will make sure that you spend the rest of your days living in the dark, wrapped in silver, encased in a silver tomb, never to see the light of day again. I will have you and your rapist boyfriend dewolfed, gagged and bound until the day you die. I will make sure that you lose all of your senses so that you cannot see, hear, feel, taste, or smell ever again. You will never know what time or what day it is. It will be 24/7 of pure darkness with only your mind for company! And I will find Louisa. Don't doubt me!”
“No! You cannot do that! That’s torture!” cried out Julianne desperately. “You will drive me to insanity!”
“Good. That’s all you deserve,” I snarled. “Be grateful that I don’t kill you with my bare hands! You will feel what my parents did!”
“Please, my Luna,” Alistair gently interrupted. “What about the werewolf court? Why don’t we put them to trial like we previously agreed?”
“There’s no need to get them involved!” I replied simply before turning my back to Julianne and began walking towards the staircase. “Throw her back into that cell and get ready to implement their punishment in the next few days. I want them taken to the dark crypts in two days!”
“Are you sure, Luna?” replied Alistair gently, resting his hand on my arm gently. “You will be condemning them both to a cursed life!”
“Yes,” I replied loudly, as i continued towards the staircase. “They will be at the mercy of their own minds now! Just like my parents were!”