six

Desmond sat watching Clarity and Cynthia playing hand games on the bed for a while before he smiled at something. "What?" Clarity asked.

"All I need is a burnett and I'll have Charley's angels." He almost laughed and Clarity giggled. "We should get dressed and I will take you home after I make the calls some families are waiting for." He stood up and stretched. His back was to the door when it slammed open again and he was tackled from behind.

"Quick Clarity! I'll hold him and you run!" The girl half yelled.

"Tracy! Get the fuck off of me!" Desmond snapped, annoyed by the intrusion.

"I won't let you hurt her! Run Clarity!" Tracy yelled again. The shock had worn off and Clarity laughed.

"Tracy you have it all wrong. Desmond wasn't hurting me. I don't think he ever would." Tracy let go of Desmond and sat up. It turned out to be a mistake.

"What do you mean? He's big and angry and terrifying and-" Her words were cut off by Desmond putting his hand around her throat and squeezing. Her eyes went wide as he slammed her to the floor. Her mouth worked to get air but she couldn't.

"Desmond don't hurt her!" Clarity shouted as Cynthia started to cry. Cynthia had never seen this side of him and he had been all to happy to never show it to her. "She thought she was protecting me! That counts for something!"

"Fine." He growled and let go of Tracy. "Get out!" He snarled at her and she quickly complied.

"Look what you've done now Desmond! You scared poor Cynthia!" She said in agitation as she pulled the small wailing child into her lap and held her close. There was a knock on the door and Simon stepped in.

"I hope everyone is dressed in here." He called jouvielly.

"No but we are decent. What the fuck do you want?" Desmond grumbled.

"There is a dragon down stairs and he is not happy."

"What does he want?" Desmond asked. He seemed to be on edge now.

"To talk to you." Simon shrugged.

"Why?"

"The police told him to."

"Why the hell would they do that?"

"Apparently his daughter went to school yesterday and never showed up at home. She hasn't called or texted and he called the police because it's not like her and they told him to come directly to you."

"What's his name?" Clarity asked.

"Sypherous Smithers. Why? Oh shit. You're his daughter.". Simon groaned as Clarity leapt off the bed and rushed out of the room still holding Cynthia. She didn't care if he followed her or not. Desmond's pants were sliding down her legs as she rushed down the stairs. Simon grabbed Cynthia from her as she reached the bottom and ran out of the pants that were around her ankles.

"Daddy!" She yelled as she threw herself into the arms of the enormous man. Shock and then rage flashed across his handsome face as he caught his tiny daughter.

"What did you do to my daughter?" His deep rumbling was the only thing that could be heard in the room. His presence was almost suffocating.

"Daddy stop it!" Clarity snapped angrily. "Nobody her hurt me!"

"Where are your clothes Clarity?" He demanded.

"I-I-I don't remember." She whimpered as tears welled up in her beautiful eyes. She turned to Desmond. "I can't remember Desmond. I can't remember what happened." She whimpered pathetically as the tears won the battle and started to flow down her cheeks.

She saw the pain on his handsome face for only a moment before sympathy took it's place. "It's okay, Clarity. You don't remember because of the drugs Timothy gave you." He said gently as he reached his hand out as if to offer it to her for comfort. "Sir, nobody here would ever dream of hurting Clarity. She made a mistake last night. She trusted someone she shouldn't have and she has suffered enough for that mistake."

"I know she was drugged! I could figure that out myself! Insolent pup! Where is your Alpha! I demand to speak to him at once!"  The booming voice of her father drew her back to reality once again. For a moment she was locked in that dark room again. She had been terrified that no one would save her from her horrific fate that night. But someone had. Desmond had. She looked at him again and rushed into the safety of his arms. He quickly closed his arms around her and guided her down a half hidden hall to a simple door. Once inside he sat behind a large mahogany desk and pulled her into his lap.

When she peaked at her father his eyes were glowing white. She whimpered and snuggled deeper into Desmond as he started to speak. "Simon close my door as you leave." The door snapped shut and she felt his head turn. "Mr. Smithers, I understand that you are upset. I would be too if was my little girl in this situation. Therefore I am going to overlook your disrespect in my house."

"Disrespect?" Sypherous hissed in disbelief.

"I am alpha here! I have been for the last four years!" Desmond snarled. "As to what happened to Clarity's clothes, they were ripped off of her last night by a classmate of ours. I will not allow my Luna to be seen in such a state of disrepute! I put her in my shirt to cover her when I removed her from the house."

"Wait.... your Luna? Does that mean that-"

"She is my mate. Therefore it was well within her rights to do as she did last night and grant a Luna's pardon."

"So the bastard that hurt her gets to live?" The deep growl of anger told Clarity that her father disagreed with the decision.

"No. He gets to spend the rest of his miserable life as a quadriplegic marked as what he is. A filthy rapist."

"Don't give me that she's your mate bullshit! I've seen alphas deny a Luna pardon!"

"Perhaps I could have. But Clarity wouldn't have trusted me enough to get her out of there. And she was not safe."

"So you beat him so badly that he will never move from the neck down again?"

"No. He took the express stairs. Unfortunately for him he forgot the safety harness." Clarity could hear the sadistic satisfaction in Desmond's voice as he spoke.

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"I threw down the stairs by his belt." An animalistic sound akin to a cat's purr bubbled deep in Desmond's chest and Clarity wondered if his wolf was in control. There was silence for a moment as Sypherous study the younger man and then he burst out laughing.

"You threw him?"

"He shouldn't have touched what is mine." Desmond growled.