38
Dave drives us deep into the forest, Noah’s SUV rocking over uneven dirt paths. Noah pulls me closer, stabilizing me in the backseat. The moon’s delicate glow buzzes over my skin, exciting my knee into bouncing.
As we pass the Greenfield Pack neighborhoods and Noah’s cabin, we head deep into the mountains where the forest grows thick with all-consuming trees. In the ceremony space itself, there’s a wide clearing, two-hundred-foot-tall trees acting as dark guardians at the perimeter. Everything is a soft shade of blue, dimly lit by the full moon.
I’m already shaking, but we’ve only stepped out of the car. Thousands of wolves mill about in hushed conversation, a crowd large enough to fill a stadium. I’m dizzy with overwhelm.
A sea of heads turns the second we arrive, lacing the atmosphere with quiet curiosity. I’m not the only new pack member tonight, but with how private Noah and I have been, I get the sense they’re curious about me in particular. Maybe even hesitant.
At the same time, serene, welcoming scents surround us, a majority of the pack holding space for its new faces.
Countless eyes track us as we make our way to the ceremonial stage, running my mouth dry.
But I catch a familiar, bright smile at the front of the crowd, framed by silky red hair.
Holy shit, you’re wearing the dress! Amy mindlinks.
I bite my lip, unable to contain my gushing smile. You were right, of course. I feel like a goddamn rockstar beside my rockstar mate.
You better own it, babe! Huddling against Kira, Amy shoots me a wink. You look gorgeous beyond words, girl. And not just you. Both of you look incredible, together.
Amy’s mindlinked words expand my ribcage with my rising elation, making Noah turn to me with a gentle smile. I proudly take his hand, and we stride up the stage steps.
With the river flowing behind us and the moonlight brushing Noah’s stubbled jawline, time slows into a trance-like state. Noah’s voice is soothing and deep, even when he has to project his welcoming speech over a massive crowd.
The Rogue wolves I’ve met are usually timid and dejected, but Noah takes his time to nip every one of their palms, sealing their blood bond into his pack’s family. Many of them weep with joy, their bright smiles warming my heart.
The intention behind Noah’s stoicism morphs before me, reemerging as a quiet respect for everyone’s emotional state. He meets us where we’re at, and he’s not putting on a mask of royalty. He’s present. A consistent, sturdy pillar, bracing our pack’s core.
With each new pack member, a tiny spark of newness buds in my heart, warming a little more space. I hadn’t realized how clearly we’re all connected until their emotions expand my chest, filling each breath with overwhelming joy. By the last member, I’m weeping. Noah does a double take, pausing the ceremony to dry my eyes. No one rushes him, in the same peaceful, loving trance I am, thanks to his gentle guidance.
He’s not what I initially pictured an Alpha to be like. But that’s why he’s loved.
And targeted, according to Amy. I hate the thought of that more than anything.
“Are you ready to be introduced, my sweet Omega?” Noah strokes my dried cheek.
I lean into his palm, breathing in his sweet scent. It peeks through a blend of everyone else his hands touched tonight.
“I’m in awe of you, Noah. I’m more than ready.”
But as I take center stage, my stomach sinks. Whispers flicker among the wolves. The fear of what they could be saying outweighs the kind smiles, threatening to strip away my sense of safety.
Noah’s hand on my back grounds me back into the present, allowing me to stand straighter. “It’s my honor to introduce my loving mate, daughter of our beloved, late Beta, Takahiro Matsuoka.”
At first, there’s only silence. One wolf lets out a soft whine, inspiring a rippling reaction of soft whimpers and sad howls for my late father - the pack’s last top Beta.
The howls shred my heart in particular; tears blur my eyes on impact. Noah draws me closer, nuzzling my cheeks in front of everyone.
“I’m here, sweet Omega. They’re here too.”
But I’m extra sensitive to anger after what I’ve been through. My attention zips through the crowd, sniffing aggression out.
When it dawns on them who my father’s mate was, a few wolves shout at one another. I can’t make it out, but I don’t have to – I hear the dissent in their tone.
Gaping on the stage in front of thousands, I watch my existence divide the pack that was whole just moments ago, fierce defenders on either side. Even with some support, my heart pangs with every hateful cry over my human mother’s blood in my veins. I cower behind Noah’s back, wishing I could disappear.
Noah reverts into someone more Alpha than he has seemed since we met. He whips off his vest and tunic, his bare, puffing chest daring to shift into his wolf form.
“If you’re challenging my mate, you’re challenging me.” Despite keeping his usual even tone, his voice is booming. Furious.
I’ve never seen such a massive crowd fall silent in a single breath. All that’s left is my rapid breathing, shallow and rocky compared to Noah’s deep, hot anger.
As I slip into panic, Noah turns to cup my cheeks. “You’re okay, sweet Omega. You’re safe. I’ve got you, and there’s nothing anyone can do to change that.”
I nod, struggling to slow my breath. But movement catches my eye. A wolf shifts in the distance, prowling at the tree line. They’re far behind Noah, but their shoulders shift with intention in every step, revealing us as their target.
I can’t speak past the uncontrollable flex of my lungs, but Noah senses my heightened panic. He peppers kisses over my mark, staving off his angry scent even though I can feel him still boiling.
But the prowling wolf charges - a flash of fur whipping through the trees. Pitch-black shadows beneath swollen canopies blur my depth perception, making the wolf impossible to track. All I see are blinking reflections over dark fur, catching in the moonlight like a flashing alarm. Each blip of frigid blue draws nearer, gaining in speed with violent, rippling leaps.
They’re coming for us. Coming to rip apart our flesh until we’re bloody, unrecognizable shreds of meat.
Fuck, that sounds like PTSD talking. Is this fear just PTSD? What if that wolf is just overly excited?
No, they’re bristling with rage, claws scraping through the leaves hard enough to hear the dissonant crunching from here. Whether they’re furious enough to physically harm us, I have no way of knowing for certain. “Never back a rat into a corner,” Dad used to say. The desperation in this wolf’s eyes is what scares me.
But what if they’re innocent? Noah might kill them if he thinks they’ll kill us. What if my panic forces Noah to be responsible for murdering an innocent member of his pack, and he has to live with that stain forever? Be exiled, or killed by angry Lycan families? Wouldn’t that make me the ultimate murderer in this?
Fuck, that sounds like OCD talking too.
What do I do? What’s the right answer?
I know there isn’t one. There never is. I sputter through squeaky breaths, hating every wasted second I’ve spent indecisive. My eyes are so wide that they ache, uncertainty raging like acid through my veins. But is this really OCD talking?
No, this wolf is surging closer. They see me looking at them, yet they stare me dead in the eyes. My skin ices over, battling the burning fire in my limbs that tempts me to scream. This wolf’s teeth bare wider with every breath, dripping incisors stringing drool as they open their mouth wider, wider, wider.
Until they’re mere feet from us.
Noah is still wrapped up in me, his back vulnerable. It feels like I’ve been standing here, frozen for minutes, when it’s been maybe three seconds. But I can’t warn Noah. The charging wolf beelines for his bare skin, nocturnal eyes glistening with killing intent now that they’re facing the full moon.
I choke out a panicked yelp - there’s no time for anything else.
That’s when I finally recognize them. Yellow, burning irises scathe Noah with unfaltering conviction, surrounded by brown fur.
This is that same wolf: the one who attacked Noah the day we met.
But this time, they’re not just stalking us to attack. They plan to kill. It rushes in with their scent on the wind, scalding my nervous system with the worst horror imaginable.
I don’t have time to think anymore.
But my wolf does.
I’m never letting my loved ones get hurt again!
An explosion of white confetti surrounds me, my dress bursting where I stand. I grunt through a ripping sensation in my chest, my body contorting in ways that shouldn’t be possible.
But I don’t care about that. My entire focus locks on the charging wolf. My target.
I lunge for their brown fur, baring my teeth.