by Jess Bryant
Not with her and not with Michael.
“Then he’s already dead and I only have you two to deal with.” Sasha hissed.
“Take me.” Michael immediately offered, “Take me and let Luna go. I’m the one you really want. Not her.”
“Oh, I always intended to take you, Alpha.” Sasha sneered, “I’m going to kill you the way your pack killed my mate and I’m going to make your mate watch. Then she can die of a broken heart the same way I am. That’s how this ends, the only way it ends, with all of us dead.”
Something powerful and dangerous surged through Luna at those words. All of us dead. That was Sasha’s goal. She wanted to kill them all but it wasn’t going to happen. Luna wasn’t going to let it happen. This woman had a crossbow pointed at Luna’s fated mate and the anger that surged inside of her was so hot, so strong, it felt like her veins had begun to boil even before she felt the shift coming.
Her wolf. She was coming. She wouldn’t be held back a moment longer.
Luna screamed as her bones began to break and the sound must have surprised Sasha because the other woman released her hold on Luna’s hair and took a cautious step back. The shift was unlike any Luna had ever experienced in her life. A bright light blurred her vision and a flash of electricity skated through her every nerve ending. The pain was there, as it always was during a change, but it was overshadowed by the rush of strength and power that she felt take hold inside of her even as her wolf forced her way out. Instead of shrinking into her smaller wolf form it felt as if she burst free of her skin, exploding into the world as though she was being reborn.
When she landed on four paws, Luna’s wolf howled long and loud before turning a snarl on the woman stumbling backwards away from her. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she registered that she was nearly the same height as Sasha even in this form, that she was further from the ground than she usually was, but she didn’t have time to contemplate those changes. Instead, her wolf bared her teeth and advanced on the scrambling, terrified looking female who was struggling to turn the crossbow on her. Sasha shot but Luna ducked her head and the arrow missed. The recoil slung an already backpedaling Sasha to the ground and Luna’s wolf wasted no time, she pounced on the threat and closed her large jaws around the thin neck, sinking her teeth in and then jerking with a grunt.
She ripped Sasha’s throat out and spit out the mangled flesh. She used a big paw and swiped her claws down the lifeless body beneath her. She wanted to rip her apart for daring to threaten the people that Luna loved. She’d pointed a crossbow at their mate. She’d likely killed Darius. She’d helped Maddox imprison and torture her and her sisters and driven Leo from their land. She’d watched as Luna’s parents were brutally murdered. Death was too good for her. Luna wanted her in pieces but something prickled the back of her neck.
Footsteps approaching sounded in the woods. She could hear them. Multiple sets. They were running and they were coming closer.
She spun around, teeth bared, blood dripping from her fangs and growled just as a group of men came to a stumbling halt at the edge of the treeline behind Michael. Recognition settled her wolf as she realized the newcomers weren’t a threat. She lowered her head a little to show them that she meant them no harm but not a single one of them moved, they simply stared at her.
Rafe came to a stop next to his brother, just a half step ahead of him, as if he needed to be protected from her. Two Enforcers named Andy and Paul that she’d met before stood just behind them. Leo was there, his dark eyes wide and his mouth hanging open as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing and there, right next to her brother, shoulders brushing as if they couldn’t stand not to be touching but didn’t want to be overt about it, was the Enforcer that had taken care of them all for so long, the one that she’d been certain was dead. Darius wasn’t scowling now though, for once, he looked amused, a twinkle in his eyes as he looked her over.
Michael was the first to move, he took a cautious step forward, hands still up as if she might be threatened by the movement, “Luna? Baby? It’s me. It’s me, Michael. Your mate. You’re safe now. You can shift back. You’re safe. You saved us baby. You saved us all.”
Luna’s wolf whined at his tone and tilted her head in confusion. He was speaking to her as if she was feral but she wasn’t feral. Not even close. She knew exactly what she’d done and why she’d done it. She’d killed Sasha before the bitch could kill anyone else she loved. She’d had it coming. Luna had finally stood up for herself, protected herself and her family.
“Luna…” Michael took another step closer and she bowed her head and whined.
He couldn’t come closer. Her wolf remembered why it had been so important to stop him earlier. There were traps. Sasha was dead but there were traps. He could trigger one. Sasha could still kill him if he made one misstep. Michael’s brows knit together, “Luna, please…”
Her wolf shook her head back and forth but when Michael took another step forward she leaped off the porch. That stopped him in his tracks and to her utter incredulity a couple of the others took a step back. She sniffed the air and the ground as she moved toward her mate slowly but she didn’t sense any explosives or see any trip wires so she sidled up next to Michael and whined again when he didn’t immediately reach for her.
She butted her head against his middle and realized then that shouldn’t have been possible. Her wolf had always been small. She’d shifted with Michael enough to know that when he was in human form she should barely rise to his thighs. She glanced down at herself, twisting her head to get a better look and whining again when she realized why everyone was so scared of her and looked shocked as hell.
She was huge.
“Luna, baby.” Michael’s tone was still soft and soothing and he finally reached for her, smoothing a hand over her head and scratching behind her ears, “ It’s still you in there isn’t it? I can feel it. I can sense that you’re still you but... Jesus, what did you do baby? How did you do it? How’d you become an Alpha? Change back so I can see you’re okay for myself. Please? I need to hold you.”
Her wolf’s ears twitched at that word. Alpha. Michael had said she was an Alpha now. She blinked at him and as it sank in, she felt the rightness of the word. She was an Alpha. She could feel it too. In her blood and her veins, in her muscles, even in her soul, she could feel that it was true. She could feel the power and the strength radiating from somewhere deep inside of her and she was certainly large enough to be an Alpha now. She was strong, powerful and dangerous. She was a True Alpha’s mate now, an Alpha queen, but she didn’t know how it had happened any more than Michael seemed to.
With one last glance back at the porch to confirm that her enemy was indeed dead, Luna dropped her head and asked her wolf, nicely, to let her take control. She wasn’t sure what the new rules were now that her wolf was an Alpha. She’d never had to force a shift back to her human side before because her wolf hadn’t been dominant and her submissiveness let Luna always steer them, even from the back of her mind. Now, she didn’t want to test her wolf’s dominance so she asked to be let out and her wolf gave one last check of their surroundings, ensuring their safety, before slipping beneath her skin.
Luna whimpered as her body shifted back to her human form. It hurt. Oh, God did it hurt. Her bones stitched themselves back together in their smaller, frailer human form as her fur receded and her skin was red and splotchy when it reappeared. Her knees buckled and she ended up curled on the ground, shivering and shaking as she tried to wrap her brain around everything that had just happened.
“Luna, baby, I got you.” Michael’s voice was there, his hands soft as he draped something over her and brushed her hair back, “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
Her lashes fluttered open and she saw him kneeling in the dirt beside her. He looked less terrified now, more worried and if the small hint of a smile on his lips was anything to go by, he was also relieved. She tried to smile back at him but her mouth felt gross and when she wiped her
hand over her chin it came away bloody.
“It’s okay.” Michael soothed, “We’ll get you home and get you cleaned up. You’re safe now.”
“So are you.”
Michael chuckled softly and helped her sit upright, wrapping the jacket he’d put around her shoulders tighter, “I am. Thanks to you, we all are.”
“I…” Her voice felt tight and she shook her head, “I was so angry. I saw her pointing that crossbow at you and I thought Darius was dead and…”
“Darius triggered the explosive on purpose. We wanted her to think we were downstream. We’d tracked her scent back here already and we were coming for you.”
“Nobody got hurt?” She glanced past Michael to her brother and the Enforcer at his side.
“Nobody but that bitch you ripped apart.” Darius gave her what probably constituted a smile on his stone cold face. “Well done, Alpha Queen.”
Luna’s eyes widened and she shot her gaze back to Michael, “It’s true, isn’t it? I… My wolf… I’m an Alpha?”
“Yeah. You’re an Alpha.” Michael wiped some blood from her chin, “I can feel it through the bond. You’re still you but your wolf broke whatever was holding her back. She’s bigger, stronger, faster. She’s a true Queen now.”
“But… how?”
It was Leo that cleared his throat, “Dad had a theory about that actually…”
She looked up at her brother, “He did?”
“He told me once that he didn’t think you were truly a Beta. He thought, with your lineage, it was more likely that you harbored a latent Alpha wolf.”
“A latent Alpha?” Darius raised an eyebrow, “I thought that was a myth.”
“So did I until I rounded that corner and saw my sister’s wolf double the size she used to be.” Leo shrugged. “Something must have triggered her Alpha side finally. I’d have thought if she didn’t emerge during the ordeal with Maddox that she didn’t exist but maybe…”
“It was Michael.” Luna cuddled into her mate’s touch, “It was when I thought about Sasha murdering Michael that I lost control.”
“Your Alpha side is a protector.” Rafe spoke up with a nod of understanding, “She emerged to protect your mate and your family. She’s not just strong. She’s loyal and protective. A true Queen.”
Luna didn’t even realize she was crying until Michael swiped at her cheeks.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I know it’s a lot to deal with. You’ve been through so much but you’re safe now. We can talk about all of this later. Let’s get you home. Get you showered and cleaned up. You’ll feel better once you’re home.”
She shook her head, “It’s not that. I’m not upset I’m just… finally. I’m finally who I was always meant to be. A strong Alpha werewolf, a true mate to the Pack Alpha, to you. I’m finally the perfect mate for you, Michael.”
“Oh, Luna…” Michael dropped their foreheads together and held her close, “You were always the perfect mate for me. Always. I love you so much. Let’s go home.”
She hiccuped and hugged him hard. Finally, she felt whole. She felt like the person she’d always known she was supposed to be. As strong in her wolf form as she was in her human form. No longer submissive or susceptible to any sort of challenge that might take Michael away from her.
Maddox was dead. Sasha was dead. Luna was an Alpha. Michael was her mate. And they could finally start living for more than the present because they had a future. Together.
Chapter 25
Michael couldn’t stop touching Luna. He felt like if he let her go for even a moment that she would disappear on him again. He knew it was crazy. He knew she wasn’t going anywhere. Besides, even if she did, he had zero doubts after what he’d witnessed in the woods that she could take care of herself. Still, he wanted to keep her right there, in his arms, where she belonged and he wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to let her out of his sight again. At least not anytime soon.
Luna nuzzled his chest as the warm water from the showerhead rained down on them, “This feels like déjà vu.”
Michael smiled against her neck, kissing her softly, “That first night?”
“Mmm.” She hummed, tracing her nails up his back and sending chills down his spine.
“Only this time I didn’t save you. You saved yourself. And me”
“I still can’t believe that really happened.” She tipped her head back, her dark eyes meeting his, “It feels like a nightmare that somehow turned into a dream.”
“It’s real. I saw it with my own eyes, baby. You’re a fierce Alpha female.” He brushed her hair back, careful to keep it in the wrap she’d twisted around her head to keep it from getting wet, “You always were, you know? Strong and protective, loyal to the people you love. You were going to give yourself over to Maddox to save your sisters. You’re so strong and you’ve overcome so much. I’m just so, so happy that fate saw fit to gift me with such an incredible, beautiful female as my mate.”
Luna twined her arms around his neck, “I’m the lucky one. Without you, I don’t know where I’d be right now but I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today. You make me want to be stronger. Loving you, it makes me stronger.”
Michael’s heart ached and he leaned down to press a kiss to her plush lips. When she’d told him on the phone that she loved him, it had nearly shattered him. His heart had frozen like ice in his chest because he’d known she was saying it then because she thought she wasn’t coming home to him. She’d been telling him goodbye with those words but not anymore. Now she was saying them because they were real, they were true, and because they had a future together to look forward to. They meant so much more to him now, with her here in his arms, knowing she was safe and that loving her wouldn’t destroy either of them.
“I love you too, Luna. It’s not the bond. It’s not the mating. Those things are what brought us together but they couldn’t possibly make me love you as much as I do. I’m in awe of you. I ache for you. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life loving you and building our life and our family together.”
Her smile was soft and sweet as she brushed their lips together, “You want a family with me?”
“Of course I do.” His brows knit together at the absurdity of the question.
“What if…” Luna worried her bottom lip until he popped it free of her teeth with his thumb, “What if our pups are like me? What if they’re not born Alphas? What if they’re latent or Betas? The pack will…”
“The pack will adjust.” He cut her off with a sweet kiss, “Because they’re going to be royal little princes and princesses. Hudson and DeLuca blood running in their veins? Our children are going to be a force to be reckoned with no matter what kind of wolf they’re born with because they’re ours and we’re going to love them and if they get even an ounce of your beauty and kindness everyone else will too.”
“And your strength and intelligence.” She added with a smile.
“Exactly.” Michael chuckled, “They’ll take over the world.”
“God that…” Luna nodded, “That sounds perfect. You’re perfect and having a family with you… that’s exactly what I want.”
“Well, you know, if you want a family, we could start trying now.” Michael pulled her closer, rubbing her against his erection, “It’s still a full moon for a few more hours and you know what that means.”
“I’m ovulating.”
“Mmm…” He slid a hand to her ass and squeezed, “I want you, Luna.”
She moaned, “I always want you, Michael.”
“I went without you for a whole day. I thought I was going to lose you. I need you, baby. Need to feel you and be with you but…” He kissed a line across her collarbone, “You’re an Alpha now. You might not like it the way you did before, so if you want to be in charge this time…”
“I don’t.” Luna pulled him closer, backing herself against the shower wall, “I want you the same way I always want you. I want you to own me. You do own me. So take me. Make me yours.
Remind me that no matter what happens, nothing will come between us.”
“Never, ” He nuzzled her neck, “Nothing will ever come between us. You’re mine.”
“Show me.”
Michael groaned and sank his teeth into her shoulder, marking her yet again, needing to reclaim her all over again. She was the same woman he’d fallen in love with. She still bore the same wolf. But she was also an Alpha now, his equal in every way and he needed to claim this new part of her too.
“Yes.” Luna hissed, her nails scratching down his back. “More.”
He released the bite and licked the new wound that sealed almost instantly. Luna writhed against him. Her breasts pressed against his chest, her hard nipples rubbing against him and driving him out of his mind. He trailed kisses down her chest and when she arched her back, pressing her breasts at him, he took one soft peak into his mouth.
“Michael.” She gasped.
God he loved it when she said his name like that. All breathy and husky with need. He loved the sounds she made whenever he touched her. He licked and sucked at her nipples. He’d learned weeks ago that she went wild when he played with the sensitive tips. He ran his teeth over one nub slightly and Luna’s nails clawed at his hair just the way he liked.
“Michael, please.” Luna tugged his hair until he released her nipple with a wet pop and she took his mouth with so much passion that he felt like he was drowning in her when she finally nipped his bottom lip and pulled back, “Take me. Now. I need to feel you inside me.”
He groaned, “Are you ready for me?”
Luna took his hand and slid it down her stomach to the apex between her thighs and he groaned. Fuck, she was sexy. He loved it when she had those brief moments of wanton desire and took control from him. Put his hands where she wanted them, took him just the way she wanted him. She used both of their fingers to part her and slip through her swollen folds and it was the both of them that groaned.
