LILY POV
I gasped. Hazel nodded with sad eyes.
"He hid it very well. I never paid attention to any of the warriors, aside from treating them on occasion. That's why Jennine picks on me. She told everyone that I used James to try and become a higher rank in the pack. A lot of people believed her. They still do."
"Goddess, that's awful! I'm so sorry Hazel." I said.
"Thank you. And Lily, I swear that's not what I'm doing here. I just...I just thought you could use a friend. Goddess knows I could use one. I-"
I held up my hand to stop her and smiled. "Hazel, never once did I get any vibes that you were using me. And I do need a friend. It sucks coming into a new situation and a new home without having anybody. I'm glad you spoke to me today and I'm glad to call you a friend."
"I'm glad to call you a friend too." She smiled.
"And as your friend, I am going to do something for you. Don't ask me what," I said as she opened her mouth, "Just know that I am going to take care of you. And to do that, I need to go see Dimitri."
Hazel looked nervous now. "Oh...okay?"
I patted her hand on the bed. "Don't worry about a thing."
With that, I hopped off the bed and marched to the door, telling Hazel she could stay as long as she liked. Once I was in the hallway, I stopped to listen to see if Dimitri was in his room. Silence. So, his office then. I assumed, anyways. One of these doors must be it. Wandering past each door, I stopped to listen and also see if I caught his scent. Until I came to the door with a plaque on it reading "ALPHA'S OFFICE". Well. That was pretty obvious in hindsight actually. Gathering up my courage, I twisted the knob and opened the door.
Dimitri was sitting behind a large oak desk, papers spread out everywhere and a laptop open to his left. His head snapped up as I walked in and closed the door behind me. Taking a second to glance around, I took in his office as a whole. He had bookshelves stacked behind him with thick books covering every inch. A few pictures hung on the wall, more like the artwork I was admiring earlier. A comfortable looking black sofa was placed against the wall to my right, but my guess was he didn't use it much. It was spotless with no imprints on it at all. The walls were a dark gray and the carpet was black. Very manly.
"Ever heard of knocking?"
My attention was pulled back to my Alpha. He was annoyed, that was obvious. Whatever.
"I have." I replied casually.
"Good. Next time, do so."
"I need to talk to you."
"Yes, I gathered that. What do you want?" He sat back in his chair, and for the first time, I noticed how rugged he looked. His hair was a mess, as if he'd been running his hands through it. His shirt was ruffled, and he had the beginnings of stubble on his face. Actually, he looked hot as hell, not that I was going to point that out. Instead, I took the seat across from him and crossed my legs. I wasn't one for beating around the bush usually, so I decided to get straight to the point.
"Were you aware that your lead warrior was abusing one of your pack members?" I asked bluntly.
His jaw dropped slightly. Clearly that's not what he had expected when I barged in on him.
"What?" He asked.
"Your lead warrior, James. He manipulated a pack member into sleeping with him, and then shunned her, and started spreading rumors about her."
Dimitris jaw set. "You're talking about Hazel."
"Yes." I replied.
"I'm well aware of the rumors. There isn't much that's said in my pack that I don't hear."
"Okay. So what are you going to do about it?"
"Excuse me?"
"You are going to do something right?"
"That happened months ago."
"So?"
He stood up from his desk. "So... even if what you're saying is true, there isn't much I can do about it. She never came forward with any claims of abuse. And besides that, the matter is done with."
Now my jaw dropped. Was he serious right now?
"Are you kidding me?" I laughed humorlessly. "It's far from being done with!" I air quoted him.
"Look." He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I'm extremely busy. And, yay, you found a friend. But did you ever stop to consider that maybe she wasn't telling you the whole story? Or even part of it? Did you stop to consider that maybe she lied?"
My anger boiled over at his words. I flew to my feet and glared at him.
"Seriously?! She didn't lie! You just want to push the matter aside because you don't want to punish any of your precious warriors! Tell me, if Hazel had come to you months ago, would you have done something about it?"
"Of course I-"
"Bull!" I nearly shouted. "You wouldn't have because of who the person in question is, and his rank. It also doesn't help that his buddies backed him up. It would have been his words against hers, which makes her word count for nothing. Especially given her rank! Why would you jeopardize your lead warriors reputation over a simple Omega? You wouldn't have. As for the matter being done, it's clearly not. She is still being taunted and bullied to this day! Mostly by your girlfriend, I might add!"
His eyes widened at my outburst but narrowed when I mentioned Jennine.
"She is not my girlfriend." He gritted out.
I scoffed. "You should try telling her that sometime."
"So that's the real issue is it? You came here to yell at me because your jealous that I slept with someone before you?"
This man made me want to pull my hair out in frustration.
"I'm not jealous. I don't care who you slept with. I came here for one reason only, and that's because I heavily disagree with what James did to Hazel. Did you stop to consider that he might have done it with other girls as well?"
Throwing his words back at him like that made him stop for a minute. Whatever he was going to say clearly no longer applied, and I seemingly stumped him for a moment. Finally, he spoke again.
"It's not like he raped her. She was willing."
"She wasn't. She told him she wasn't ready, that she wanted to wait to see if they were mates. He manipulated her by flirting with other women in front of her, until she finally gave in. He brought her to this floor, to my room. She told me he was less than accommodating too, considering it was her first time. She may have been willing, but that doesn't make what he did right." I spat.
"James brought her here?"
I nodded. "While you were away on business."
His face darkened. "I'm going to need to speak to her. I need to hear this from her, not you. If she wants to make a formal complaint, then she is the one who has to come forward."
"Fine." I shrugged.
We stood in silence. Awkward silence. I didn't know what to do now and it seemed neither did he. Of course, he chose to break the silence by being an asshole.
"Don't think you can come in here anytime you want to yell at me. I don't tolerate disrespect."
"Right. Not from me anyways. Just from the men in your pack."
The next thing I knew, I was pinned against the wall, his hands on either side my head, his face inches from mine.
"What did you say?" He growled.
Nervousness pooled in my stomach and my hands started to shake. Despite that, I raised my chin defiantly and met his gaze.
"You heard me." I said.
"Listen to me, and listen good. You may be my mate and wife, but that doesn't mean you can disrespect my pack or me. Maybe James is an asshole, but he is one of many men in this pack, and not all of them are the same. You will not slander all based on your opinion of one. And until something is proven, it is just your opinion."
"Being your mate makes me Luna of this pack. As Luna, it's my job to care for pack members. I won't stand by if even one is being mistreated."
At my words, something in eyes changed, some emotion came to the surface. He blinked it away before I could decipher what it was.
"Regardless, you will wait until I've investigated the matter. I don't want you speaking of this until I have."
"....Okay."
Dimitri searched my face, looking for any hint that I would go back on my word. His breath fanned my face, his scent overwhelming me. Suddenly, the atmosphere around changed. His gaze went from searching to tracing my features, landing on my lips. I'd be lying if I said his closeness wasn't affecting me too. The mate bond wasn't that strong between us yet, as I hadn't fully shifted. I knew it would be much stronger afterwards. A part of me worried about that, because I still wasn't sure about Dimitri at all. I wasn't ready to be close to him, not yet. Right now it was fairly easy to ignore him and be away from him. But soon, all too soon, the bond would start effecting us both more, making us want to give into our base desires.
Dimitri moved closer and shocked rippled through me. Was he going to kiss me?! Now? After a fight of all times as well? Through the shock though, I couldn't find it in myself to move or push him away. My eyes closed as he came closer still. Another inch...
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*