Page 54 of Unbelievable Faith
Chapter 24
Luna staredat her mate who looked absolutely devastated to see her on her knees. Everything inside of her yearned to go to him but Sasha held her in place at her feet. Michael had stopped walking as well. He stood motionless, his hands in the air as if in surrender, and she could only hope that it was a move meant to placate Sasha. She glanced up and saw that the psycho had the crossbow propped up with her other arm and was pointing it directly at Michael’sheart.
She growled but Sasha gripped her hair tighter, pulling in warning, “Shutup.”
“Hey, ” Michael’s voice was soft and calm, “focus on me. I’m the one you wantright?”
“Are you the one that killed my mate?” Sasha narrowed her eyes and Michael frowned inresponse.
“No.” There was an unspoken comment that said he wished it had been him but he didn’t dare voice the feeling, no doubt for fear of what Sasha would do to Luna if hedid.
“Your friend that tripped my wired explosive? Was he the one that murderedMad?”
Michael’s eyes drifted down the treeline, following the river to the spot that still billowed smoke. He dropped his eyes and Luna’s stomach clenched. She could feel his worry through their bond, worry and something else, something he was trying not to let show. She couldn’t place it though, couldn’t sift through all of his other emotions, the worry and the anger and the fear for her safety, to figure out what itwas.
He cleared his throat, “Yes.”
Luna bit her lip when it began to tremble. Darius. Oh God, Sasha had been right. They’d sent Darius to the spot to meet her. He’d triggered her trap. That explosion had been huge. There was no way he could have survived that, was there? Which meant that the man she had a feeling was meant to spend his life with her brother was dead. Darius was dead at the hands of this psycho just like so many others but Luna wasn’t going to let her add to thattotal.
Not with her and not withMichael.
“Then he’s already dead and I only have you two to deal with.” Sashahissed.
“Take me.” Michael immediately offered, “Take me and let Luna go. I’m the one you really want. Nother.”
“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 usdead.”
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 shiftcoming.
Her wolf. She was coming. She wouldn’t be held back a momentlonger.
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 beingreborn.
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 agrunt.
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 herneck.
Footsteps approaching sounded in the woods. She could hear them. Multiple sets. They were running and they were comingcloser.
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 ather.
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 herover.
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 usall.”
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 herfamily.
“Luna…” Michael took another step closer and she bowed her head andwhined.
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 forher.
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 ashell.
She washuge.
“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 holdyou.”
