Chapter 13 LUNA MIA
Ivan, injured,had been taken away by his men because killing a pureblood Alpha was a crime and a sin to the Moon Goddess.
Alex would have killed him long before he turned an enemy but who was he? An ordinary hybrid Alpha. Aside the place he called a home that was filled with half enemies and half friends.
All others wanted him dead. Injuring Ivan meant putting his madness on hold for the time being.
The only crime his father ever committed was being mated to human and he paid. The pack made sure of it.
The docks were quiet.
Not peaceful. Quiet. The kind of quiet that came after gunfire. The kind that meant everyone was listening to see who would speak first.
And everyone was looking at Mia.
Gun in her hand. Viktor’s blood in her mouth. Eyes gold. Nails sharp. Not human. Not wolf. Something else.
Something Luna.
“Luna,” Luka said again. Then went to both knees. Head bowed. “Forgive me. I did not see.”
“Stand,” Mia said. Her voice did not shake. Which was strange. Because her hands were. “We are not done.”
Forty wolves stood. Council executioners lowered their guns. Viktor stayed on his knees, clutching his wrist. Staring at her like she had grown a second head.
Maybe she had.
MIA
I shot a man. I bit a Councilman. I have claws.
Thirty hours ago I was a barista who cried when customers yelled.
What is happening to me?
You chose, a voice said. Not Alex. Not hers. Deeper. Older. Wolf.
You chose to bleed. You chose to fight. You chose him.
So now you are.
Alex was behind her. Not touching. Not yet. He knew better. She was still buzzing. Still dangerous.
To everyone but him.
“Viktor,” Alex said. His voice was Alpha. Flat. Final. “You heard her. She is Luna. By blood. By act. By pack. Your ultimatum is void.”
Viktor laughed. It was wet. Pained. “She bit me. A Councilman. That is assault. That is—”
“That is a Luna defending her Alpha,” Kane said, walking up. He kicked Viktor’s gun away. “Pack law. Old law. Older than your Council.”
“The curse,” Viktor spat. Blood on his teeth. “You bond her, you both go feral. Law—”
“Law says a hybrid cannot take a Luna,” Alex said. He stepped around Mia. Put himself between her and Viktor. Again. Always. “It does not say a Luna cannot take a hybrid.”
Silence.
Then Yelena stepped through the smoke. Pack doctor. Face grim.
“He is right,” Yelena said. “The Codex is specific. Hybrid males cannot claim. It says nothing of Luna choice. And she chose.” Yelena looked at Mia. At her gold eyes. At the gun. “Did you not?”
All eyes on her.
MIA
I am not human right now. Look at my hands.
But I am still me. And me chooses him.
Even if it kills us.
“Yes,” Mia said. “I choose him.”
The bond slammed into her chest. Not pain. Power.
Alex exhaled. Like he had been holding his breath for five years.
Viktor’s face went white. “Then you are both dead. The curse—”
“Pauses,” Yelena said. “For thirty days. If the Luna is willing. If the bond is not forced.” She looked at Alex. “Is it forced, Pakhan?”
Alex looked at Mia. Only at Mia.
“I stopped when she said stop,” he said. “Twice.”
“Then the clock starts now.” Yelena pulled out her phone. Typed. “Twenty eight days. If she is unmarked by then, the Council votes. If she is marked and feral, we put you both down. If she is marked and stable...” Yelena shrugged. “Then we have a new Codex.”
Viktor stood. Staggered. “This is not over.”
“No,” Alex agreed. “It is not.” He nodded at Luka.
Luka fired.
Viktor dropped.
No head shot. Thigh. Shoulder. Message.
“Take him back to the Council,” Alex said. “Tell them their executioner is dead. Their Luna is awake. And if they come for her again, I will not send messages.”
Luka dragged Viktor out.
The docks were Mia’s now.
Mia made it to the SUV before her legs gave out.
Then her stomach.
Then her skin.
It felt like bees. Under her skin. In her bones. Like her body was trying to turn inside out and did not know how.
Alex was there before she hit the ground.
“Easy,” he said. Hands on her. Holding, not restraining. “Your body is confused.”
“Hurts,” she gasped. Claws scoring the dirt. “God, it hurts.”
“I know.” He pulled her into his lap. On the ground. In the dirt. In front of his pack. Did not care. “Breathe with me. In. Out. You are safe. You are mine. I have you.”
I have you.
Not you are mine.
I have you.
There was a difference.
MIA
His voice. It is the only thing that does not hurt.
28 days. To mark me. Or we die.
Thirty six hours. To present me to Council. Or he loses his title.
And all I can do is shake.
Some Luna I am.
“You are Luna because you shot a man to protect me,” Alex said. Quiet. Like he heard her. “You are Luna because you bit a Councilman for me. You are Luna because you are still here when any sane human would have run.”
“I am not sane,” she choked out. Laughing. Crying. “I am not human right now.”
“You are.” His thumb brushed her cheek. Gold eyes soft. Human. “You are the most human thing I have ever seen. Because you keep choosing. Even when it hurts.”
The shaking stopped.
Slow.
Her claws retracted. Slow.
Her eyes bled from gold back to brown. Slow.
And she was Mia again.
Sore. Exhausted. Covered in dirt and blood and Viktor.
But Mia.
“Better?” Alex asked.
“No.” She leaned into him. Because she could. Because she chose to. “But I am not dead.”
“Good.” He stood, carrying her. Like she weighed nothing. “Because we need to go. Before the rest of the Council grows a spine.”