Page 168 of Conner's Luna

Bailey

A flurry of protests fills the silence that only moments before was broken by Lydia's asinine words. At least, I think it was ridiculous, judging by the fury and fervor that envelopes the people surrounding me.

However, the most chilling sight is the reaction of Alpha Carmichael, who loses his charming smirk to a lethally frozen stare in an instant.

"Shut up,puta," he snarls at Lydia. Growls and snarls fill the air. I feel like I'm at the zoo, and someone plunked me down in the lion exhibit at feeding time.

Unfortunately, or maybe it is fortunate, crazy doesn't respond to rational. Lydia snarls right back at Alpha Carmichael, "I'm the Luna! IChallengethat bitch!"

I lose sight of the wolves a heartbeat later. I'm a prisoner of warm, denim and cotton clad male bodies that don't respond to any of my smacks or protests.

"Hey! What's a Challenge? Can she do that? Can I do that?" I am shouting my questions by the end.

"No luna can be expected to fight while pregnant," Velia's disembodied voice finds its way to me through the wall.

"What about after I give birth?" I ask. Darn it. I hate exercise.

Velia doesn't answer. The sea of wolves parts again when a single, vicious howl sends welcome shivers down my spine. The dizzying euphoria lasts only as long as the cry lingers in the air before my world tilts crazily. War erupts all around me. My scream of fear is lost in the snarls and growls as other howls echo the first in the distance.

I crouch down as bodies fly all around me. Claws and fur erupt in unison. I'm lost in a sea of teeth blurred bodies.

"Ok, Ok," I chant softly, desperately as my eyes are drawn forward as if I'm just a helpless moth transfixed by the flame. A giant, dark beast attacks Alpha Wilkinson. My heart plummets to my toes. I know that wolf. He's my darn wolf.

Bodies flow around me, but nothing touches me, not even a brush of skin. It's statistically impossible to be in the center of a raging fight like this and not be knocked around. Yet, these LoboGris men and the few ClearHowl people manage to spare me. That fact, more than any other, sinks and settles into my bones. Wolf-people are dangerous.

Just as fast as the uneasiness and fear floods me, it leaves. I see my hubby's wolf stand with his maw soaked in blood and gore. His sides are heaving, tongue lolls out of his mouth, dripping in pink-tinged foam. It's a macabre sight,

"Conner," I breathe. The massive, dark-furred wolf is instantly recognizable. Every atom in my body is straining toward him as if my neurons are sparking up all at once. My body eases, the stress is gone, as he shifts back to his human-form, still panting, with sweat pouring over glistening muscles flecked with blood. The battle pauses. The wolves are waiting for the two alphas to decide... What happens next?

"Conner," I say again, a little louder. His muscular body, so different from the lanky, wounded man I met months ago, twitches as if in response, but he doesn't take his eyes off his target. Alpha Wilkinson has also shifted back to human... if he was ever a wolf, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure. He is on the ground, twitching, as blood pours from a wound in his left leg. Severed artery, I believe.

"You tried to harm my mate," Conner rumbles to the hapless man.

"I didn't!" Alpha Wilkinson chokes out. "She seduced me. I never harmed her."

"Coward," Conner taunts softly. "You brought her here," he sneers as his finger points toward a snarling Lydia. "Around my pregnant mate."

Alpha Wilkinson's eyes widen. "Luna Challenge," he manages.

Conner's chest rumbles deeply. "My mate," he states again as if it's all he can say.

"She wants you!" Alpha Wilkinson says frantically as he futilely tries to stem the blood flowing from his leg. I watch, a teeny bit dispassionately, as he keeps blindly insisting that Lydia is Conner's mate, wondering how long he can stay conscious with such massive blood loss. As I watch, however, the blood flow slows down.

"I'll come back to you, but she has to leave!" Lydia begs piteously from nearby.

"My mate," Conner roars. "No leaving!" Everyone takes a step backward. His eyes are glowing, his claws peeking out from his fingertips. He has a day-old scruff on his jaw, and his Willy Wonka bar is hard as stone. Adrenaline. Stop looking, Bailey.

"Conner," I call him for the third time. He slaps his chest like a silverback gorilla leading his troop... which... well... is kind of the reality. "Conner Constantine Grim." This time I see his body relax.

Conner chuckles. "My honeygirl," he croons. He holds out his hand for me without taking his eyes from his prey. Miraculously, the wall of men allows me through.

I link our fingers, and Conner pulls me to his side, nuzzling the place on my neck where he bit - I mean Marked - me. "My mate," he murmurs.

I pat his chest comfortingly, staring at the fuming, near-hysterical Alpha Wilkinson. Lydia has been forgotten for a moment, but not for long.

"She's not a she-wolf," Lydia sobs.

Alpha Wilkinson looks around in panic. "She's right! A human can't be a luna! How can she lead?" He glares at me in absolute hatred. "How can she be a pack leader without a wolf?!"

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