Page 6 of The Strongest Wolf

I’m not an alpha like Talis, and I’m not a beta like my mom was. I might’ve survived the Stone pack, but that doesn’t make me Luna material. But I know who is. Galen’s words in Dexter ring in my ear, haunting me.

Chloe is exactly the sort of Luna I’m looking for.

The moment I step foot in Galen’s house, his pack will be comparing me with the beautiful alpha that he was on his way to making Luna.

I fall short in every department. Galen seems to be the only one who doesn’t see it, but I do. And so will his pack. They’ll take one look at me and assume Galen is making me Luna in the misguided belief that he owes me a favor for saving his sister.

And if I’m thinking it, his pack will too. How could they not?

“What has Galen said?” Talis asks.

“He hasn’t said I’ll be Luna, or even that we’ll be mates.” But I see the softness in his eyes when he looks at me. Sooner rather than later, that conversation is coming.

If we were talking about someone other than an alpha, then maybe we’d keep things light, flirty, and fun. But alphas aren’t built that way.

They’re intense, possessive, and passionate. And Galen? He’s all that and more.

Any woman who sleeps in the alpha’s bed either becomes his Luna or she gets kicked out of it. There’s no ‘just dating an alpha.’ It’s permanent. Or it’s not. They play for keeps, and Galen looks at me like he wants to keep me.

Talis angles her head to study me with her probing gaze. “So you intend to bury your wolf and let the human lead? What happens if one day you go looking for your wolf and she’s gone?”

I look away.

The Stone pack left me and my wolf with so many scars that every time I let my wolf out, all I feel is her terror. But if I don’t let her out, I could kill her.

I love Galen, I know that. But I don’t think that’s enough for the battle I will have to face with his pack.

For two weeks now, I’ve watched Talis and seen all the things she does. As Luna, I would share the leadership role with Galen. I’d step in and mediate conflicts in the pack, but that’s not even the worst of it. When he isn’t there, the pack would expect me to lead them.

And I… I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do it, or even if I want to.

“Things might not be as bad as you think,” Talis says, gentling her voice.

“No,” I agree quietly. I know that not all packs can be as cruel as the Stones, but I doubt they can be as warm as the Blackshaws either. “They could be worse. A lot worse.”

2

GALEN

By the time I’ve stripped and stepped outside the cabin, leaving Talis with Sierra, the Blackshaws have disappeared into the forest. Only one remains leaning against the side of the cabin, a blond man in his late twenties with a short beard.

He’s as naked as I am. I take one look into his ice-blue eyes and sigh as I pull the door closed behind me. “Why am I getting the feeling you and your mate are up to something?”

Dayne shrugs. “Me? No. Talis, on the other hand…” His voice trails off. Straightening, he claps me hard on the arm. “Come on, the children can burn off some excess energy. We need to talk.”

The force of his clap rocks my body, but I soon right myself. “Children?”

“Nathan.” That’s all he says. That’s all he needs to say.

Shaking my head, I follow him into the forest, not necessarily disappointed by this sudden turn of events. “Fair enough. What are we talking about?”

“How about explaining why you haven’t bitten Sierra or asked her to be your Luna?”

I shoot him a narrow-eyed stare. “You know, I don’t think that’s any of your business. You may be alpha here, but you’re notmyalpha.”

“Thank fuck for that.”

We veer around trees, moving at a steady pace over soft, spongy and cool earth. With the trees above us blocking most of the moon and starlight, it’s almost pitch-black in the dense forest. But with shifter senses, we don’t need lights to see. “And that means?”

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