Chapter 15 #3
Kara and Lucy appeared then, emerging from the side of the pack house.
I didn’t know where they’d been but they’d obviously heard our conversation and come to intercept before Moira could spill any more secrets.
Kara’s dark hair was swept up in a beautiful twist, and she had an even smile pasted on her face.
Lucy, however, wore her usual annoyed expression.
“Moira,” Kara said sweetly, “I’m so happy you made it. I understand that you're eager to share our history with our new Luna, but I don’t think my mother would relish the idea of having another conversation with you about boundaries.”
Kara spoke with the air of someone who was used to getting her way, and as the princess of a powerful pack, I imagined that was exactly the case.
“I just thought she should know exactly what her future holds.”
“Only the moon knows what her future holds and you do not speak for the moon.” Kara’s voice was as smooth as butter. “I am sorry about Mariah, we all cared about her.”
“Don’t you talk about my daughter. If your brother had left her alone?—”
“She made her choice,” Lucy cut her off, clearly bored with the whole thing. “She was a climber, she wanted to be Luna more than she cared about staying alive. It’s done. Unless you want to live in a shack with the Gulfs, living off squirrels like they do, shut up and leave our Luna alone.”
Moira shook with rage but she didn’t retaliate, out of respect or fear I didn’t know.
“Moira,” Dinah’s voice rang out, loud and commanding from the porch steps. I turned to see her gliding towards us, an air about her I hadn’t seen before. “Come on inside. Join the party.”
“No, thank you.” Moira stepped back, her tone even.
“I just came to give my best to the new Luna. She has very big shoes to fill.” I wasn’t sure if she was talking about Dinah or her own daughter, Mariah.
She looked back at me. “I’ll see you at the ceremony.
I’ll be there, you know, when he takes you bloody.
Don’t forget to cry. Our beasts love it when our prey cries. ”
Chaos erupted beside me and I threw myself to the ground just in time to avoid the giant grey wolf who flew past me, taking my breath away.
The wolf tackled Moira, who shifted mid-fall into a smaller, tawny-coloured wolf, snarling and fighting back fiercely. But the grey wolf had her pinned in seconds, jaw clamped tight around her neck until red ran on her fur and the smaller wolf whimpered.
Siobhan pulled me behind her. Lucy and Kara flanked me as I stood, getting ready to run.
The fierce Luna wolf held Moira there, pinned tight until she finally relented with a snort. The grey wolf released her, lip curling as the smaller wolf limped away, tail between her legs.
She turned to me, and our eyes met. Her wolf was magnificent, so large that she towered over me. This was the first time I had been up close with one of their wolves when they weren’t trying to attack me.
Unsure what I was doing, I stepped forward, moving past my guard. The wolf’s fur looked soft, yet coarse at the tips. Uncertain if it was allowed, I reached out a hand. She bowed her head, giving me permission. My hand sank into her fur, warm and welcoming.
She was beautiful.
She was…familiar.
We stared at each other for the longest time and I wondered if she felt what I did. Did the same warmth swim through her system as swam through mine?
Our moment was shattered when, suddenly, she stiffened. She turned her head to the treeline beyond the pack house.
“Luna,” Siobhan grabbed my arm, “inside now.”
“What is it?” I was too busy following my senses to move. I peered into the treeline, straining my ears to find out what…and then…I heard it. Paws pounding the earth and heavy pants in the midnight air.
Lucy and Kara shifted into stunning wolves, Lucy grey and Kara black like her father. The pair of them howled, long and loud, and somehow I knew they were calling for help. Help from their Alpha who was too far away.
Dinah reared and pounded her feet, letting out a series of yips.
Short barks echoed through the pack house in response.
Females swarmed out, shifting one wolf after another until I couldn’t tell them apart.
Lucy and Allie flanked Dinah, and Kara I lost in the crowd.
Beyond that I saw nothing else as Siobhan dragged me inside.
“Is it the Gulfs?” I panted as she slammed the door behind us, the sounds growing ever louder outside. The females were furious. I could feel their energy humming. Inside, younger wolves remained, some shifted, some not. The older, better trained females must have all gone outside to fight.
“Yes.” She took my hand, pulling me across the hallway.
“Where’s Kole?” I hated that I immediately thought of him, but if there was a battle to be fought, we needed him.
“He’s already here.”
I forced us to a stop. What did she mean? My answer came in a series of answering barks, louder, deeper. They echoed all around us. Feet pounded on the roof, surrounding the house. I stared at her in shock as I realised what he’d done.
Alpha Carson wanted me dead. A pack house full of females and a vulnerable human Luna would be too good to resist. Especially with the Alpha gone on his own celebration.
Anger filled my veins, pooling in my gut.
“He used us as bait.”
No.
Not us.
Just me.