Page 5 of Conner's Luna

We are broken, he and I. Swallowing the bile surging in my throat, I start the truck. I need to shove Bailey in Trey's face. If Lydia doesn't leave him for me, then maybe Trey will leave her for Bailey.

If he's not a complete idiot, he'll grab his mate to his chest and never let her go. Unfortunately, he is a fucking idiot. I'll have to show him what happens when you leave your mate too... available.

My cell phone alerts me to a new message. I grab it and look down. Mom wants to know if I'm coming home this weekend. She's trying to decide if she needs two roasts or three.

I text back 'yes.' I need a break from Lydia and Trey fucking each other all weekend. It's their favorite hobby.I feel my lips twitch in a semblance of a smile as I remember Bailey's list of her 'hobbies.' 3-D puzzles. She is a dork. Adorable, but a dork.

When I pull out of the parking space, I grit my teeth. The act of shifting hurts my stomach.

I pull up to the house that Sarj, Sean, and I rented for the remainder of the school year. It's quiet, tucked away in the woods. My parents, all three of them, think it's too isolated, but Sean's dad, Nate, told me that I'd need privacy to deal with my wolf.

I walk inside and toss my keys on the counter in the kitchen before booting up the GPS program I have on Lydia's car. I'm a little shocked that it's gone undiscovered for nearly two weeks this time. I suspect that they know it's there, and Lydia is catching rides with Trey or one of her friends.

As I thought, her car hasn't moved since this morning, but she was in class today. Swearing, I close the laptop with a firm snick. I hate this. I can't stand the feeling of being so hobbled in my attempts to get closer to my mate.

I transferred here for her and made sure my schedule mirrored hers. There's nothing more boring on the face of the planet than taking graphic design courses I'll never use. Fuck, I already have my degree, but this was the only way I could be close to Lydia.

Dad refused to allow me to Challenge Trey for her. We're too young, but I think the real reason is that he secretly disapproves of Lydia and her decision. He told me that a female who would reject her own truemate isn't worth the risk to our pack when Trey's father goes to war with ClearHowl because I ripped apart their precious alphason. I pointed out that Papa rejected Mom for a hot second. I felt like shit when I saw the look on Papa's face. Dad then reminded me that Papa and Mom had been young teenagers at the time, and it was all over when he decided to take them both as his. When he gave them a hungry, predatory look, I ran out of our house like it was on fire. I don't need to stay to witness Dad cheering up his mates.

Alpha Challenges are legal within packs, but I'm not an alpha yet, and I don't want the RedMoon pack. I just want Lydia. Alpha Alex told me that this was my only chance. Dad says if Lydia doesn't wise up this year, I'm heading north to stay with my cousins in Canada until I turn twenty-five.

So, I lose my mate, and I'm exiled for two years from my pack. Fucking unbelievable shit, huh?

As if my thoughts called him up from miles away, my phone rings with Dad's ringtone. I contemplate not answering, but then a text comes through from Papa,Answer your father.

"Yo," I try to keep my tone casual. It doesn't fool my dad. It never does.

"Conner. You sound rough."

"It's been a shitty day, Dad."

"She's still with that little pussy? You get any action at all?"

I snort derisively. "If by action you mean I gave the motherfucker a black eye and got slapped in the head with a four-hundred-pound textbook, then yeah."

"Who hit you?" Dad's voice sharpens.

I feel my wolf fidget. I may be blushing. Why did I have to confess that little gold nugget? "Some girl," I mumble.

"A human?" Dad sounds astonished. He should be. I can't believe I let a tiny, dorky human girl get such a good hit in.

"She's small and when she swung at me, it threw her off balance, so I took the hit," I mumble.

I hear Dad make an odd noise and feel my shoulders slump. "What did you do to deserve that?" he rasps out. He's holding onto his laughter by a thread.

I inhale slowly. "I was at her car to talk to her, and she felt threatened."

"What did you do?" Dad snaps. The humor in his voice is gone.

"Not me," I said quietly. "She's been bullied because..." I pause. I don't want to tell Dad my plan for using Bailey as the wedge between Lydia and Trey. I know he won't like it, especially because Bailey is a human and therefore isn't as affected by Trey's actions as a she-wolf would be, but if I drag her deeper into this quagmire, she may get hurt.

I stiffen my resolve. Bailey will be fine. Trey won't hurt her. Wanted or not, she's still his mate and, of course, I'll protect her. "She's a genius or something. She gets bullied a little."

"The fuck?" Dad scoffs. "A genius is a good thing. This is why I don't like that university. I told Alex to stop giving money to them years ago."

"Yeah," I mutter. My wolf stops pacing to stare off into the distance. I wonder if he's thinking about Bailey, too? He starts moving again and I go back to ignoring him.

"How is your wolf?" Dad asks.

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