Page 62 of Never Submit

“The little omega needs to learn her place,” I grind out.

Flora continues to ignore me. “Well,sheis the Moonstone now, right? You had said it sort of…absorbed into her?”

Mathis shifts uncomfortably, but I snarl. “That’s what she told us, yes.”

“If that’s so, you know what that means, right?”

Mathis and I exchange glances. I know what it means because I saw the half-shifted animal she turned into. Something happened on the top of the mountain to make Red like us. My wolf had sensed something special inside her before, but it would have recognized another wolf.

Like it does now.

Flora studies Mathis, her instincts clearly picking up on the emotions he’s trying to bury regarding Ren and the devastating news we both got. “The Moon Goddess has chosen her for some reason, so she’s important. She’s marked.”

The Goddess has a twisted sense of humor. Noble, that awful, entitled, wimpy bastard, is her mate. What the hell didNobiedo to deserve a mate? Let alone a mate like Red? Rage blankets me, twisting my mind. Impossible to ignore.

My beast struggles for freedom against my iron control and my back hunches forward with the pressing need to shift.

To escape.

Only Flora's presence gives me the strength to curb it because like hell I’ll lose control in front of an omega. Even one as tolerant as her.

After a moment, she brushes sandwich crumbs from her hands, purposely not looking at me. “Well, then,” she says brightly, “I guess I’d better tell the rest of the pack we’re moving to the city.”

“Flora, it’s a little soon—” Mathis starts.

“They need to know, Mathis. You have fifty wolves left, and they’re scared out of their minds. My Owen says it’s only a matter of time before they come back and take more women. If this girl is how we can stop Andras and bring our people back?—”

“Flora, please.” Mathis walks over to her, gently putting his hand on her elbow to lead her back to the door. “I’ll make sure we getallof them back. You have to trust me on this.”

If they’re still alive.To distract myself, I take another massive bite of sandwich. Extra ham and cheese on rye.

As if he can see my thoughts, Mathis looks back at me with a silent warning not to say shit.

Hard to talk with your mouth full.

Before leaving, Flora places a hand on Mathis’s cheek and offers him a tender smile. “You’ll understand one day, when you have your mate and a family of your own. How horrible the fear can be.”

Something like pain flashes across Mathis’s eyes, and I know it’s because we’re thinking of the same person whenever the word “mate” comes to mind.

Goddamn Noble.

But, in true alpha fashion, Mathis’s pain is quickly replaced with a show of confidence.

When Flora leaves, he shuts the door behind her with a soft click and trudges back to his desk. No lock. He refuses to put one in on the off chance someone needs to talk to him.

No boundaries, this one.

He sinks back down in his chair, the leather groaning under his weight, and tips it toward the wall, scrubbing a hand over his face. For the first time, I noticethe lines etched deep into his features, the gray hairs at his temples more pronounced than I remember.

Well, fuck. He looks older—like the weight of this pack is grinding him down, aging him faster than it should.

The dude has always had more energy and stamina than anyone I know.

The silence between us stretches, heavy, and I shift, the tension settling into my bones. My wolf growls softly, uneasy, but for once I listen to my human instincts.

It’s tough, though. I’m not used to it.

Maybe I should help him. If I can’t ease his burdens, I can at least rip the Band-Aid off about Red.

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