Page 33
Story: King Luna (My Shy Alpha #3)
L aunching myself at the massive Alpha, my every claw digs beneath his coat, drawing blood, no matter our stark size difference.
He can't shake me off. My teeth meet the injured Alpha’s muscles again and again, my bites as rapid as the Alpha’s surprised cries. He twists to nip me off his flank, but before the Alpha's fangs can reach me, Noah’s jaws clamp on his shoulder with a heavy crack. The Alpha collapses, limp and yowling.
An eerie stillness falls over the forest—no other wolves in sight. As the Alpha continues to cry in pain on the ground, Noah nudges me into a less open forest clearing.
Before I have time to process what could be coming for us, my agitated wolf spots someone darting for Noah behind his massive form.
Tracking my line of sight over his shoulder, Noah bares his teeth, prowling at the wolf approaching. No, wolves.
Luna, hide now.
Dashing into the bushes just in time, I wince as Noah is ambushed by Matthew’s stocky gray wolf and several other large Alphas. I sink further into the leaves, sensing more wolves coming straight for us in the distance.
Except this time, they’re on Noah’s side.
Viktor’s pack streams in, more and more Lycans joining the fight by the second—not allowing the Alpha-domination Super Pack to continue their rampage.
When Noah shakes his coat to rid himself of Alphas like little pests, Matthew flies into the nearest tree with a reverberating thud.
But as our allies’ support frees Noah’s focus, Noah’s eyes lock onto something else—his tail rigid, ears pointing to the sky, and teeth bared. I follow his glance, only to find Mason Hart, his form obscured by the shadows beneath the trees.
Mason can’t see me, but he certainly sees Noah.
They stalk each other, pressing low to the forest floor as their allies clash in violent ripples of bloodied fur to their sides. Mason is already bloody as it is, his gashed chest still dripping from Noah’s claw marks at the start of the battle.
If this really is Steven, what was his life like before I knew him to turn him into this predator I see before me? His agitated form appears rabid—tense, corded muscles sending him off-kilter, even when he’s frozen, mid-prowl.
The Mason I know could’ve been hurt by Jack, like Noah. While Mason’s past doesn’t excuse his actions, Jack’s influence explains why Mason treats violence as his first course of action.
But the more I picture Steven in Mason’s shoes, the less I can tell their stories apart. Steven couldn’t bear discussing his parents often, blaming his mother for kicking his dad out. Like Steven, Mason must’ve grown up estranged from his father.
What if Mason’s coping method was to become spiteful toward his mother for “allowing” his dad to be expelled from the pack by Ritchie? What if he resents his father too, envisioning Jack as too “weak” of an Alpha to win against Ritchie, and therefore, Mason feels abandoned by Jack? Would this abandonment make Mason hate Jack enough to frame him for murder?
I know it firsthand; if Steven feels abandoned, there are no limits to what he might do to hurt someone he “loves.”
Oh, God. What if I really am looking at my ex’s wolf?
What would Steven gain from this? If he kills Noah, he’ll kill me too, yet he stalks me relentlessly as if my suffering feeds him.
Why is he so desperate to hurt me?
Noah’s paws lift inch by inch, one by one, stalking Mason in a slow circle. We have to get Mason to submit. If Viktor or anyone else kills him, the Super Pack will only get more agitated, and another Alpha will take Mason’s place as pack leader. That, and I have quite a few questions for him about how far this Super Pack reaches.
Okay, you’re right. We also need confirmation of who he really is—if we’re right about why he’s hiding his human form.
As Noah’s rage upticks, I huddle deeper into the bushes, catching my breath as silently as I can.
When Mason makes a sudden jerking motion, lunging into a full sprint, my heart drops.
This isn’t the usual Mason. He’s not relying on psychological attacks today; he’s going in for the kill. And no one else is covering my mate.
Fear pounds through my body as the wolves tumble. For once, Noah’s deadly clobberings don’t deter Mason. He's clearly trained hard with strong Alphas since he left our pack. Even if he can't kill Noah, Mason won’t stop unless Noah destroys his ability to move.
But I can’t help from here. If Mason sees me too soon, he could mindlink someone from the Super Pack to stop me. That would distract Noah and leave Mason a chance to strike.
There’s no more time to strategize. Multiple Alphas creep in the distance, inching closer by the millisecond to gang up on Noah.
Stained with blood and mud, my snow-colored paws don’t make a sound as they blast through the earth. Zipping through trees, I weave between any and all wolves in my path. None of them have a chance to catch me, my wolf far too agile for their delayed, fumbling reactions.
Within a second, I’m on Mason’s back, tearing out his fur.
My wolf snarls louder than I’ve ever heard her, ripping Mason to shreds with my claws and jaws, my entire heart behind each fang. Mason hasn’t even realized what hit him yet, yipping and squirming to pry my small, vicious wolf off of him. My ears twist as I continue to gnash, catching onto the sound of Noah tearing into the surrounding wolves with equal fury.
But then our bond dips in alarm.
One’s coming! Noah mindlinks.
I bound off of Mason with a wide leap, dodging one of the last supporting Alphas before scurrying back into the bushes. Noah’s subsequent snarling occupies every wolf’s attention in the vicinity, a few Alphas darting away with their tails tucked so tightly that their asses drag in the dirt. It’d be funny if I wasn’t panting my lungs out, my heart lurching rapidly at the thought of what just happened—an Alpha nearly got me. This almost ended in the worst way, and now all attention is on us.
But I refuse to give up.
As I draw a wide loop in the forest, I hunker back into a sprint, ready to back Noah up. I dart from bush to bush, careful to make as minimal sound as possible as I zip closer to Noah and Mason's violent clash.
No one has spotted me—probably because Mason has tripled his aggression.
And Noah has had enough. His rage kicks into overdrive, each bite strong enough to crush Mason’s bones—if Mason wasn’t scurrying out of the way.
But Mason is barely able to keep up. He stumbles, letting out stark whines between frothing snarls—a constant whiplash of fear and hatred coursing through his vibrant yellow irises.
Noah finally latches on. He bites like he’s starved, the white of his fangs no longer visible between rapid, devastating clamps of his bloodied jaws.
Then I see it: the fear Noah warned me about. The fear of a cornered animal clinging to his last hope for survival.
Mason lunges, his fangs gnashing at Noah’s throat.
I charge so hard at Mason, I can’t even feel my impact. Instinct overwhelms me, eating up every trace my senses give me as I act on them without any thought. I thrash over Mason until he’s cowering deep into the dirt. The stench of his fear burns my nose, but it only makes me angrier. Does he even know how afraid he makes others feel?
Mason attempts to roll over.
I don’t let him.
Pinning him to the floor, I bite harder, spitting his stringy fur over my shoulders. His cries echo through the forest, desperate pleas for life.
I swear I hear snarling, whining, and howls all around us, some even begging me to stop, but I don’t give a fuck. No one can hurt us like Jack and Steven again.
Mason’s wolf screeches, his body quivering beneath mine, but it’s not enough.
Luna, he's submitting! Stop! Noah mindlinks.
No! He almost killed you!
You don’t want to hurt anyone like this, Luna! Don’t abandon yourself because of him!
Noah’s words don’t make any sense to me.
Mason stands for everything that’s scarred us. And deep down, I know he’s the closest chance I’ll have to destroying Jack for what he did to Noah.
It’s only when a sharp pinch on the back of my neck yanks me off that I bite someone other than Mason, twisting as far as I can to nip the giant wolf lifting me like a pup.
Luna! It’s me!
I fall limp in an instant, allowing Noah to set me at his feet. He curls me beneath his massive wolf, plopping his huffing torso over me to use his body as a shield.
But no one comes to attack us.
I heave through pants, unable to stop whining. Dragging my snout from beneath Noah’s, I glance at our surroundings. Lying mere feet in front of my nose, Mason’s broken body quivers so badly that he can’t even hold himself up with one paw, let alone escape, forced to wriggle in the dirt with distressed whines.
As Viktor, Tāne, and Reid approach, poking him with their noses in confirmation of Mason’s defeat, it’s over, and Mason knows it. He offers no resistance to their prodding, giving up.
Viktor grabs Mason by the scruff, dragging him through bloody leaves. He’s flanked by dozens more wolves by the second, a massive army of beat-up, furious Lycans howling and snarling in agreement at their hunted catch.
Every Alpha-domination wolf in sight is either tracked down, submitting, or too injured to flee.
But as Noah licks my bloody cheeks, calming my shaking wolf with soft whimpers, I only whine more.
It’s okay, my love. It’s over. You did so well.
Noah, all these pack leaders... My wolf gives a soft, despairing howl as we gaze out at the still forest together, horrified by what the day has become. Wolves whimper and howl throughout the forest, cries of pain echoing from every direction. My paws and lips reek of Mason’s blood, only heightening my heart rate.
Noah drops his head over mine, attempting to cover my eyes with his snout. We burrow into each other, shaking in silence.
It’s not until I’m smothered under Noah’s secure embrace that it finally sinks in: Mason’s sharp blood on me smells familiar.
Colliding within my skull all at once, images flash before my eyes.
Noah nuzzles me, nibbling my mark as he whimpers with me. What’s going on, Luna? You’re panicking.
Panting, I whine sharper with every breath. It’s all coming back. That was him. That was Steven. I remember the scent of his blood beneath my nails.
Noah freezes.
Then he seethes, vicious growls colliding with gutted whines.
Wrapping his paws tighter, Noah cradles me beneath his massive wolf, every strand of fur raised on end.
Opening my mouth, I pant harder in the face of Noah’s horror, my wolf’s tongue lolling to the side. I know why he didn’t kill me that night. I completely forgot I clawed into him—until now. He tried to strangle me, but he must’ve also wanted to mark me. And I... I became the wolf backed into a corner. He couldn’t hold her down anymore—not like he had been doing for years, belittling me until I was a quiet, shaking shell. But she was not quiet. She came out to kill him first, even as she shook, and he ran. He never came back... Not until you found me to finally take me home.
Noah’s anxious panting settles with mine. To my surprise, he purrs, licking my mark with slow, steady strokes. Nothing about it feels sexual, even though it buzzes warmth throughout my belly—he’s thanking me. Not only for allowing him to mark me after Steven’s brutality, but for surviving the brush with death that Steven attempted to force upon me. I can feel it in the weepy gratitude beneath each of Noah’s purring whines, no human words capable of describing the bliss in our bond at the thought of us now remaining entwined, forever.
When I’m finally ready to stand, Noah’s coat brushes against mine the whole way back to the Community Center lodge. Neither of us mindlink a word.
Instead of following Viktor’s pack to their confinement den—where they keep their most violent prisoners—Noah’s wolf nudges me down the hall to our room. I’m too weary to question him, padding after Noah in my wolf form, even when he shifts back.
Ducking into the door, my wolf can barely squeeze inside our suite after Noah’s human form. Noah doesn’t persuade me to shift back, easing the door shut behind my wolf before burying his face into my coat.
I whine, hugging him tighter to me with my chin.
Noah lifts his head, and my heart drops; tears streak his cheeks. Cupping my big snout in his hands, it’s the first time I’ve felt so big compared to him—and yet, I feel smaller than I ever have.
Sweeping his palm up my snout, Noah eases my eyes shut as he kisses my wet nose. “Sweet, sweet girl. You’re safe now, gorgeous Luna. I have you here, and no one else is with us. You don’t have to shift back yet, but when you do, I’ll be right here to hold you, okay?”
Table of Contents
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- Page 33 (Reading here)
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