Luna Queen Pariah

Chapter 4: Stella the Victim

Chapter 4: Stella the Victim

Stella

I had done it! I had successfully framed that disrespectful b***h! Sterling would have her head on a platter. I limped out of the infirmary, supported by Scarlet and Ruby. We followed Miss Hora to her office where my brother and his Beta were waiting. Dozens of girls had congregated outside the principal’s office hoping to get a glimpse of Sterling and Raphael. They were both unmated and the girls were squealing and jumping up and down in excitement as though they were waiting on rockstars. I rolled my eyes. As if any of these losers were worthy of being mated to an Alpha or a Beta.

“Settle down girls!” Said Miss Gab in her thick sexy accent.

Honestly, she was a cool principal. She never tried to reprimand me like the petty teachers did. She understood how important I was.

The Fangirls cleared a path for us. Mr Crawford had stayed behind with that b***h after she fainted from sheer fright. I burst into the office. Sterling was seated in front of the desk next to Raphael. Other than their tall heights and muscles, they were opposites. Sterling was lightly tanned with blonde hair and blue eyes while Raphael was caramel complected with dark hair and dark eyes. Sterling and I weren’t biologically related but we looked like we were. Raphael and Ruby were biological siblings who also shared a resemblance.

I was so excited to see the guys, I forgot to limp for a second. I used to have a major thing for Raphael before I saw Rodney. I knew I had let the cat out of the bag and told my own secret but it was worth it. The whole situation would help eliminate Sariah as a threat to my relationship with Rodney and it would absolve me of guilt regarding spreading the secret. Obviously I had to tell it to explain why I got beaten up. Ha! 

“That b***h Pa…I mean that girl Sariah attacked me out of sheer jealousy after she spied on me and found out her crush might be my mate!” I explained.

“That’s despicable!” Growled Raphael.

I smiled. I still liked getting attention from him even though he was not the one. He was hot as f**k. Scarlet and Ruby were making heart eyes at my brother. Sterling stared at me.

“What?!” I demanded, annoyed by the lack of a reaction from him.

“So is the other girl worse off?” Asked Sterling looking at my bruises.

“No,” I mumbled.

“How is that possible? I taught you how to fight myself!” Said Sterling.

“She attacked me from behind,” I said quickly.

“We practice responding to surprise attacks all the time when we spar,” said Sterling, looking at me strangely.

Fuck. I had not expected him to question anything about my side of the story.

“Ow,” I cried, holding onto the desk as my knees wobbled.

Raphael scooped me up.

“Let’s get her to the pack doctor,” said Sterling. “This girl…it’s too bad she’s a bully lacking in discipline…she must be a fierce fighter.”

 “No!” Said Ruby getting jealous. “I pulled her off Stella easily! Stella has her period today and she’s stressed about her birthday party plans. She had an off day so I handled her attacker!” Reported Ruby.

“Good job,” said Raphael.

“Remind me of your assailant’s name, Stell,” said Sterling.

“Pa…Sariah Prince,” I said quickly. “She’s fat,” I added, feeling like it was relevant.

Miss Hora gave me a weird look but said, “I wish you a speedy recovery!”

“See you tomorrow,” I said to Scarlet.

“Tomorrow? I’ve given you a pass for the rest of the week,” said Miss Hora, opening her office door for us.

“Give her to me, Ralph,” said Sterling to Raphael.

I was annoyed at first to part with my old crush Raphael but being carried out by the Alpha in front of the growing crowd of girls was more dramatic so I relaxed. My brother held me carefully, making sure to avoid my injuries. The girls screamed as he and Raphael walked out of the office.

“Long live the Alpha King!” 

“We love you, Alpha Sterling!”

“I can’t believe s*x God Sterling is here!”

“I’m going to faint!”

“His Beta is a babe too!”

“Beta Raphael is so hot!”

“I want to be the middle in a Sterling Raphael sandwich!”

Ew. The gross comments went on and on. These girls had no shame.

“You should throw them all in the dungeon!” I muttered.

“For being thirsty?” Said Sterling incredulously, laughing to himself.

“You’ve been charged with excessive and inappropriate thirst towards the King, how do you plead?” Joked Raphael.

Sterling laughed loudly and the girls screamed harder as they followed us out to the parking lot.

“Guilty!” Blurted out Ruby.

Sterling looked at her and chuckled. Raphael glared at her and she quickly averted her eyes. Ruby and I sat in the back. I was lying down with my head in Ruby’s lap. Raphael drove and Sterling was in the passenger seat, typing furiously on his phone. He was probably updating Mom and Dad on my situation. 

“Will Sariah be sentenced to death?!” I asked bluntly.

“That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?” Said Raphael hesitantly.

I sat up suddenly.

“Sterling!” I said.

“Hmm,” he said, looking up from his phone.

“She tried to kill me,” I said bluntly. 

“And you want me to kill her?” Asked Sterling, his expression impassive. “You’re sure about that? You want your classmate put to death?”

I stared at him through the rearview mirror. I really thought about it. His tone made me question everything.

“Isn’t that the punishment for hurting a member of the Alpha King’s family?” I asked.

“Death is the punishment for causing serious wilful harm to the Luna,” said Sterling and I knew immediately he was thinking about his mother’s killer.

“Or the Alpha,” added Raphael.

“But some of the guys I fought with at school are my most loyal warriors today,” commented Sterling, stroking his chin.

“That’s why I insisted you hear her out to get a feel for how dangerous she really is!” Suggested Raphael.

Sterling nodded. I frowned.

“She will be severely punished, Stella, don’t worry,” said Sterling reassuringly. “If she lives she may wish she were dead. Either way, she won’t mess with you ever again. I can guarantee you that,” said Sterling, finally showing his protective side.

“We should get some truth serum for her trial and force feed it to her,” suggested Raphael.

Ruby and I looked at each other in horror.

“You okay? You’re in pain. That’s it, huh?” Asked Sterling, looking at my pallor in the rearview mirror.

I nodded.

“All this over some guy who may not belong to either of you,” said Sterling, shaking his head. “Do I need to reprimand the guy? Or anyone else for that matter?”

I thought of Pariah’s friends, Lala and Nora. Should I throw them under the bus or be fake nice to them to piss off Pariah and make myself look extra innocent?

“Rodney did nothing wrong. He won’t even know what happened yet,” I said.

“And your other classmates?” Prompted Raphael. “Do they pick on you out of jealousy?”

“Everyone is really jealous of Stella,” said Ruby quickly. “But Sariah is on a different level. She’s been psycho all along! She believes her own lies! I heard truth serum doesn’t work on insane people because they truly believe that their own delusions and hallucinations are real,” said Ruby.

Ruby was a lifesaver. I grinned at her and she winked.

“Sometimes,” said Sterling. “But there are many ways to get people to tell the truth. Does that school have surveillance cameras?”

This question was directed at his Beta.

“None are facing the old library where it happened as that building is abandoned,” said Raphael.

Duh. That was why we chose that place whenever we needed to teach someone a lesson.

“That girl has the same birthday as me,” I said, annoyed. “Do I have to attend her trial?”

I was feeling a little awkward about having to watch her blubber and beg for mercy on our shared birthday.

“Well, you’re the victim so yeah,” said Raphael.

“On my birthday?!” I whined, pouting, meeting Sterling’s gaze through the rearview mirror.

“Well, the point was to try her as an adult. We don’t have to do it on her actual birthday which would be your birthday as well. We can do it anytime after,” said Sterling. “But we’ll need to apprehend her before her birthday because once she gets her wolf, she could easily run away before the trial.”

“She’s fat so I doubt she’d run anywhere, wolf or not,” I joked.

Sterling and Raphael did not laugh but Ruby did.

“I was afraid she would sit on me and crush me when she attacked me,” I chuckled.

Ruby cackled.

“Pariah is such a loser…” I began, forgetting myself in the moment.

“Pariah?” Said Sterling, furrowing his brow.

“Sariah,” I said, correcting myself.

“So Sariah is a girl whom you call Pariah and say is fat,” mused Sterling.

“So?!” I said. “I’m just following the other girls. I didn’t give her that nickname!”

I actually did give her that nickname.

“Well, it seems as though this isn’t about a boy,” said Sterling. “There’s long-standing  animosity between you two, isn’t there?”

“What difference does it make?” I snapped.

“Stella,” said Sterling sternly, flashing me with his black eyes as a warning.

I knew it was time to pipe down. I bowed my head submissively.

“You’re asking me to kill a teenaged pack member hours or days after she gets her wolf so yes, the details matter,” snarled Sterling. “Just because I’m a beloved Alpha who knows his way around a battlefield does not mean I can sentence any and everyone to death without a proper cause or trial! This is the kind of thing that makes pack members and subjects revolt.”

Raphael nodded.

“Killing a young girl would be hard to justify,” said Raphael.

“If your attacker was older for instance, the trial would be more straightforward! A grown pack member attacking a teenaged girl is despicable but two teens fighting over a boy doesn’t scream death sentence to most people,” explained Sterling.

“So what you’re saying is Sariah needs to look really bad in the eyes of everyone to make it justified,” I said.

Sterling shrugged. We had reached our family’s estate. It was a fortress with a literal moat and drawbridge outside. Sterling’s ancestors had spared no expense to protect the castle that housed their Alpha lineage. The drawbridge was electric of course. This wasn’t the stone age. A manual drawbridge would be totally medieval. The moat contained sharks who sometimes feasted on the flesh of criminals. The drawbridge was lowered and we drove across it and then passed through the huge gates. The estate had high walls surrounding it. We drove along a straight road that led gradually uphill through a forested area. The castle was perched on the hilltop, a great vantage point for seeing approaching enemies. No one would dare attack us though. We had amazing warriors and Sterling was known as the Warrior Alpha.

Sterling and Raphael got out of the car. Castle workers rushed to help me out of the backseat. They put me in a wheelchair. The next thing I knew, I was in the castle’s infirmary being attended to by the most senior pack doctor and his nurse. My injuries were real but I had dramatised them a bit. The torn sleeve and scratches on my arm were my doing along with my skinned knees. I had just thrown myself on the ground quickly, making sure that I landed on my knees in a gravelly area behind the old library. Ruby had been reluctant to punch me but I insisted. I couldn’t give myself a black eye and a split lip, it was too difficult. She had ended up having to punch me twice to get the effect I wanted but it was worth it. I could not have Sariah sniffing around Rodney.

“Are you sure you want Sariah dead?” Whispered Ruby as soon as our brothers and the medical staff left us alone.

Ruby and her family lived in the castle as this particular Beta lineage was especially close to Sterling’s Alpha lineage. The two families had a long loyal history together.

I was taken aback by Ruby’s question. First my old crush Raphael, then my own brother Sterling and now my best friend Ruby! What was it about Sariah that made everyone pity her so much? The teachers all seemed so sad about her predicament especially Mr Crawford who lived just outside the castle’s estate. Our estate was in a secure gated community so it was a fortress inside of a fortress. Crawford was our nearest neighbour and he used to do the old Queen’s hair and makeup. My mother had let him go when she married the old Alpha King. She had her own hair and makeup people and she did not trust Crawford. I didn’t trust him either.

“I want Sariah out of my way,” I said, folding my arms.

“Can’t we do that without killing her?” Asked Ruby.

“Excuse you! Whose side are you on?” I snapped.

“Yours but I didn’t realise a death sentence would make our families look bad! Our good name is everything!” Insisted Ruby.

She was all about upholding the reputation of the Alpha and Beta lineage. Sure, she partied and skipped school just as much as me but she was good at not getting caught. She had taught me a few tricks honestly.

“What if sentencing her to death upsets Rodney?” Said Ruby.

That was a possibility. He would get over it eventually though especially if he believed Sariah had tried to kill his mate out of jealousy. I sighed. What if I could not get him to believe that though? Sariah had said she and Rodney had been childhood friends. I doubted even Sterling’s future mate could make him start doubting Raphael. They had grown up together. They knew what to expect from each other. Rodney might find this whole incident too out of character for Sariah and then he might distrust me instead. I couldn’t let that happen! I sat up straight, my heart pounding.

“What is it?” Said Ruby, alarmed.

“Sariah isn’t in custody yet! She’s just suspended for a week until the trial!” I shrieked.

“Calm down! So what?” Said Ruby.

“Sariah was sent home from school for a week suspension! Home, Ruby! Sariah’s house is next-door to Rodney’s! He’ll hear her version of everything first!” I cried, feeling panicked.

“Don’t worry! Sariah was in a dead faint back at school remember? She’s probably still out cold,” said Ruby confidently.

Perhaps.

“I need to talk to Rodney right now before I do or decide anything else,” I decided.

I needed to find out just how close they really were.