Page 30

“ Noah! ” I’ve never heard myself scream like this. Rabid, panicked shrieks escape my lips, extending seconds into ten times their length.

There’s no movement I can see beneath the collapsed tree, and no reaction within our bond.

But with chaos unfolding across the field, Reid doesn’t give me time to scream Noah’s name twice. He hoists me off the ground—just in time to dodge the stampede of angry, thrashing wolves.

My claws extend beyond my control. “No! I need to get to Noah!”

“Not until you’re safe. The global pack's hierarchy has been thrown off,” Reid shouts over the noise.

My eyes widen as bodies clash, threatening to shift and break all further control. Does this mean Noah was the one keeping it all stable, even more than we realized?

But as Reid keeps me high in his arms, fending off anyone coming too close, I have a better view of the field from up high.

Viktor slinks toward the tree in fear, his ears slicked to his head. That’s when I realize I’m still screaming at the top of my lungs.

“Noah! Noah! Get up, please! ”

Reid hitches through the end of his breath, clutching me tighter. “Oh, Goddess , Luna...”

Just when I’m ready to jump out of Reid’s arms, the fallen tree rustles over Noah.

Everyone freezes, craning their necks.

Viktor nudges the fallen tree trunk out of the way, freeing Noah’s wolf.

Please, Goddess, let him be okay. Let him stand up.

But Noah doesn't stand up; with the tree no longer crushing him, he leaps .

With a roaring snarl that drops hundreds of wolves to the ground in fear, Noah tackles Viktor’s face.

But a tackle isn't enough for Noah. As Noah sinks his teeth into Viktor, Viktor’s screeching wolf pierces my eardrums, splitting my heart with pain for him. He’s terrified, pinned to the ground beneath Noah’s angry teeth and claws.

Even though Viktor manages to squirm free of Noah's jaws, my mate rips out fur as Viktor struggles to defend himself.

Noah’s wolf snarls through our internal link, shocking me out of my stupor. No one can make my mate scream like that again! He could've killed you with me!

I wriggle out of Reid’s arms, my eyes zipping straight to Annika's shiver-inducing scream.

“Vik! Vik, run! ”

Oh, God, she’s just as scared as I just was.

I dash for Annika, reaching my fellow Luna just in time to catch her as she stumbles to the ground, nearly dropping Markus in her panic. She’s bawling and shrieking in Waimārie’s arms, and Markus screams with her.

Turning toward the field, I can’t stop my voice from coming out wracked with panic. “Stop, Noah! Don’t kill him!”

But Noah’s wolf has stolen full control, his side of our bond blazing with rage. He almost killed my mate by killing me! He's a threat!

He’s not listening.

Covering Annika’s eyes, Waimārie and I hold her, her youngest tucked between us as Tāne envelops all four of us in his embrace. I hold them all tight, extending my protective pheromones until my surroundings are flooded with my Alpha musk.

Mustering every ounce of power in me, I shout. “Noah, stop! ”

Whether it’s from my command or an unspoken body language between the massive wolves, they both come to a complete stop.

Noah’s fangs ooze over Viktor’s neck, his jaws wide open...

Hovering over Viktor’s throat.

Viktor is frozen, his bright wolf eyes as wide as they can stretch. I gasp, hugging Annika even tighter. Noah won't kill Viktor, but if it was a real fight, he could, judging by the position Viktor's in.

Which means Viktor just lost, even if he doesn’t want to officially submit.

Unfortunately, it’s not over—not if Viktor refuses to admit he did, in fact, lose.

But as every wolf hangs on the stretching silence, we tense as a collective global pack. Each wolf is as shocked as the next as Viktor relaxes onto his back, baring his belly to Noah in submission.

I sputter out a breath in disbelief. Annika breaks free from my hands, cradling her baby’s head to her chest to see the outcome for herself. As soon as she breaks into a relieved smile, I let out a weepy, giddy laugh.

Annika meets my eyes with an exasperated groan. “Thank the Goddess it's over!”

She crashes into my arms, laughing in near-delirium with me as Noah pops up, shaking himself off in a cloud of black fur. Noah’s big head towers everyone as wolves flood the field, howling and prancing around the two Alphas.

But when Noah's head dips down into the global pack, obscuring him from my view, my heart urges me to find my mate. To somehow reach him past the crowd of rowdy wolves, pulling him back to safety to never participate in this stupid shit again.

When he slowly rises, I realize he’s helping Viktor back onto his paws with gentle nudges and licks on his wounds: a loving nuzzle in truce.

Annika grips me, turning to me with a big smile. “My new Queen.”

My breath catches. “Luna...”

Nuzzling Markus’s cheek until his tears slow, Annika can’t stop sighing between every breath. “I wholeheartedly believed you, Luna, but I’m happy to report your prediction hasn’t come true. There have been no aggressive wolves sighted at our borders today.”

Waimārie cheers, diving into her mate’s arms. Tāne nuzzles her into a deep kiss, sweeping her off the field into the forest.

Their celebration makes it real; it really is over. We’re okay. We’re safe.

Drooping in pure relief, I heave out a slow, raspy sigh. “Thank the Goddess.”

Annika and I huddle close as our mates lick each other’s gashes with gentle tail wags—a symbol of solidarity between two old friends.

Until Noah’s wolf tells everyone he's had enough with a quick, irritated sneeze. Wolves scurry away, clearing a path. As Annika dashes to Viktor, Noah pads toward me, dipping his big head to meet my gaze with golden eyes.

Luna. My gorgeous Luna.

I laugh, extending my arms for him. I want to run to you, but now that Annika told me there are no ambushes to report, my body decided it’s done walking for the month. My legs are like wet noodles.

My poor Luna. Stay there. These wolves won’t bother us now. Noah slinks down to crawl to me, easing his huffing snout into my arms once he’s finally close enough.

I whine over him, kissing every scratch on his silky face. “My King .”

Noah freezes. The next thing I know, I’m covered in a wriggling ball of fluff, Noah hardly able to control himself until he crashes back into the mud, his excited huffs fanning my lap. My heart fizzles with warmth as I burst into laughter.

Noah purrs, his big tongue giving my belly the softest lick he can manage.

I roll over onto my back on instinct, and Noah shifts into his human form, melting over me with soft, desperate whimpers. “I love you. My Queen.”

At the sight of Noah’s breezy smile over me, I finally allow myself to laugh. Wolves howl as our lips crash together, Noah’s overheated, bleeding, and naked body draping over me. Slipping my braid over my shoulder, Noah gives my exposed neck such a heavy lick that my legs tremble.

The intensity of my pleasure startles us both, but Noah hums in a pleased growl. He cups his hand behind my neck, pressing his tongue deeper into my mark.

I release an uncontainable, breathy moan. Wolves howl even louder, heavy courting erupting into action all around us.

“Oh, my God, Noah, we’re doing it again. Everyone's about to mate.”

He chuckles, switching to heavy suckling on my neck until my hips rapidly buck into the air for him. “Good. You like it, don’t you? The thrill of everyone’s eyes on us. How we drive the wild side out of them.”

A shiver races through me, my fangs extending at the thought of us marking each other again.

“Yes. But especially because I’m doing it with you. My wolf is rolling over for her King.”

He chuckles. “And mine is drooling. Let’s let them have their fun.”

Tearing off my coat, I hike up my dress, baring my bottom half to my mate. He happily slips between my thighs, ready to grind a few moans out of me.

But when his full weight presses against my core, he freezes. “Fuck. Are you not wearing any—?”

Noah’s breath hitches; I smash my bare pussy in heavy circles over the underside of his cock.

I laugh. “I told you I’d treat you as my new King. My King Alpha-Omega.”

A spike of emotion crashes into Noah’s heart as he stares into my eyes, trusting in my smile; he knows I want him. All sides of him. Noah growls, his claws pinching my ass as he thrusts his shaft along the outside of my entrance, coating himself in time with each of my needy moans.

As he lines himself up to enter me, I can barely keep my hips still for him.

Noah grins. “You want me to mate out all this stress I put you under, huh?”

“Noah, please—”

He nips my earlobe, stilling my hips with a tight hug until my knees drop open for him. “What a good girl. Hold still for me.”

I whimper, struggling to calm my clenching core. He circles his tip over my entrance, swirling faster and faster, until he sinks into my dripping pussy with a hungry growl.

A pleased cry releases from my chest, butterflies filling my belly. Noah pumps a few times, each thrust sending a jolt of pleasure to my heart. I raise my hips, helping my mate hit deeper and deeper until he meets my cervix with a slow, massaging thrust.

“Ah— Alpha!”

Noah purrs, our kisses growing sloppy as we work each other faster—too impatient to last longer than a few minutes.

My head drops to the side in bliss, giving me a clearer view of the mating chaos around us. Annika and Viktor hump heartily in the dirt. Her white dress is coated in mud, caking her breasts, forearms, and left cheek as Viktor mates her into the earth.

My grip tightens on Noah’s ass, hugging him deeper as I lock eyes with Annika.

She cries out, her moans stealing my breath. Lust clouds her face as she gives me a weary smile, replaced by a sated drop of her jaw as Viktor slips his hand down her belly to give her clit a hearty rub.

As Viktor knots her in front of us, Annika’s airy moans make it difficult to breathe through the fluttering in my belly.

My chest flushes hot. “Noah, I need more—”

Noah regains my full attention, bottoming out inside me. As I turn back to my King above me, desperate to indulge in every inch of him, his pelvis kneads my clit with each bump of my cervix. My back arches, rapid, heaving moans escaping my lips as my inner muscles clamp down over his cock. It sucks the orgasm out of us both, Noah filling me with hot fluid as my legs jerk in pleasure beside his hips.

I laugh through the haze, unable to fathom how this is my life. That the wild, love-drunk man over me is my mate—and I'm having his baby.

Propping himself over me with one hand, Noah holds my head with the other, soaking in my every breath. Every whimper. Every subtle flick of my eyes.

He doesn’t need to say anything to tell me he’s beyond smitten, those sweet eyes cherishing me all over just as deeply as I cherish him. All I wish is for him to feel this loved, this happy—forever.

Noah’s eyelids flutter as my fingertips trace down that sweet spot on his neck.

“Can I re-mark you, my love?” I whisper.

His eyebrows arc. But he breaks into a soft, grateful smile. “Please.”

I tease him with soft kisses along every ripple of his scar, amazed by Noah’s shaky, breathy reaction above me. My wolf craves to hear more, her desperation buzzing through my incisors as my fangs extend.

By the time my tongue strokes his flesh, he’s rock-hard inside me again, his hips bucking on instinct.

I massage his scalp, combing his hair in reassurance as I widen my tongue over his mark with every lick.

His breathing deepens in pleasure, breaking into soft, pleading moans. “L-Luna...”

That sweet, aching pull in his voice stirs my Alpha side into action, warping my vision as she takes control. I purr, locking my ankles behind Noah’s pulsing hips to drag him deeper.

As we slow into lengthy, tender thrusts, my toes curl with the explosion of love in our bond. I want you to feel how much I adore you, Noah. Every little bit of you. Including this sweet Omega coming forward, showing me how powerful he is to brave existing in this world.

He whimpers, tears dripping onto my cheek as my licks turn into slow, hard suckling over his old mark.

Noah bucks harder now. I give little moans with each thrust, my core bubbling with pleasure. He cradles my head to his neck, his body shuddering.

“I can't believe how much I love you, my Luna... My Omega... My—” Noah’s breath hitches. “ Alpha... ”

It’s just a whisper, but it sets my heart on fire.

I’m no longer suckling. Fast, heated nips prickle his skin as I mate myself over his cock.

Noah pants, squirming over me as he stretches my swollen pussy to the limits, riding me on the edge.

I growl, craving to tease out every last drop of his pleasure. I love you, Alpha-Omega. My sweet, shy King.

My fangs sink into his flesh, a flood of sticky heat coating my tongue—followed by a burst of euphoria in our bond.

Noah moans loudly enough to draw every wolf’s attention, our clashing, wet bodies making enough noise as it is. Our bond surges as he pounds into me. Overwhelming bliss lifts me up and over the edge as I lap up his blood.

On an impulse, Noah's fangs scrape my mark. I bare my scent for him without hesitation, allowing my mate to mark me a fourth time. It restarts my orgasm at the tail end of itself, mixing with Noah's intense pleasure to turn us both into quivering mush.

Ethereal colors cross over my vision, numbing me to the outside world. I already recognize the vast fields when I arrive: the field where our wolves reside inside our bond.

When my consciousness skates toward our wolves in the distance, my heart skips. There’s something I've never seen here before: an object glowing beside my wolf.

As my mind zips behind the eyes of my wolf, she’s focused on Noah’s bleeding neck, healing it with tender licks. His wolf whines, nuzzling himself all over me, but beside us, there’s a faint glow nestled into the grass.

Then I see it’s a glowing mass. It’s fuzzy around the edges, a faint outline of fur tucked into a little ball.

Noah’s ears perk up with mine as I unlatch from his neck, taken with the sight of this little glowing ball. We stare at the odd mass, our wolf heads cheek to cheek as we continue to court. Noah's curiosity vibrates through me as he tilts his head, making my tail wag. I don’t know why, but the little glowing mass feels special to our wolves. It's something they’re keeping tucked away and safe.

My mate purrs, and the mass twitches like it heard him.

That’s when we see a tiny ear poke up to the sky.

Both of our wolves whine in unison, our bond bursting with a type of love I’ve never experienced.

Pup, I mindlink.

Pup. Noah’s wolf yips, urging me to my paws.

Our wolves frolic together through the field, overjoyed by not just our re-strengthened connection, but at how fast our family is growing.

As my wolf rolls over for Noah's, allowing him to snuffle hot, loving caresses over her expanding womb, I know my wolf trusts Noah with her whole soul.

When I come back down into my human body, it physically pains me to have to leave the comfort of our bond. But then I remember who I’m nestled under, a content sweetness overflowing from my scent glands as Noah cuddles me.

I’m happy-sobbing against Noah, his blood dripping across my collarbones and down my chin.

“Oh, my gorgeous mate—” Noah’s voice is so breathy with love that I whine even harder, crashing against his lips.

The remnants of our bond’s world fades into my subconscious. Rustling wind roots me back in Kiruna, Sweden...

But that's all I hear.

It’s dead silent in the field.

Shifted wolves surround Noah and me, but they're no longer facing us. All I can see is a circle of prickling, alert tails, tense bodies defending us as they tighten their circle.

Something is very, very wrong—and it’s something that only occurred within the past minute.

While Noah and I were absorbed in our bond, almost all top Alphas and Lunas shifted into their wolves. They form a barrier around us, their tails facing us as they keep their eyes locked on something else. On the barrier's innermost section, smaller and less experienced wolves huddle in, hiding behind our Alpha allies.

What could make even the strongest Alphas and Lunas so afraid?

Noah separates his body from me quicker than intended, making me wince.

“Fuck, sorry.” Noah stumbles to his feet, still dazed and bleeding from his fresh mark as he assesses the wolves around us. He doesn’t even look at me as he helps me to my feet, calling to the wolves. “Let me through. I’ll need room to shift.”

Wolves shuffle to create space for Noah, but only on one side. The front half remains tight, keeping something out.

I grip his arm. Noah, what are they defending us from?

I don’t know. But with how serious they are, I have a sinking feeling that you were right, and it’s my worst nightmare come true.

Regardless of his fears, Noah pushes through the crowd of wolves, and my heart pinches. I need to follow him.

I scurry after Noah in his footsteps, using his broad form to slip through the gap he creates in the crowd of wolves. When we reach the perimeter, we’re face to face with a horde of uninvited wolves. Noah’s shoulders rigidify.

How did they get here? Annika said we were safe.

Were our allies in on this?

Whipping my head around until I spot familiar faces, I’m horrified, but not because we’ve been betrayed; there’s no mistaking the raw, petrified fear in Annika’s eyes as she meets mine, screaming for help.

Waimārie and Tāne emerge from the brush, dashing straight to us with wide-eyed horror. As I clutch Waimārie’s hand, Reid pads to Noah’s side in his massive wolf form, as well as Viktor in his human form, the previous King panting in near-panic.

It’s dead silent. Why is no one saying or doing anything?

Luna, please stay near me. I need to be with you before this happens, Noah mindlinks.

Why is he making it sound like it’s the last time we’ll see each other?

As I huddle up to Noah’s side, he hugs me even closer, his Alpha musk exploding.

But it’s not just Noah’s musk. I have to cover my nose, my eyes watering on impact of an offensive, gut-twisting scent blowing across the field.

These aren’t just random wolves facing off with us.

They’re a massive pack of only Alphas.

And with one look at their snarling teeth and agitated tails, I can guess why they’re here. Especially when I recognize who's leading them.

Stepping to the front of the invading horde is Mason Hart.

You were right , Noah mindlinks.

My stomach plummets to the floor. I didn’t want to be.