I promised I wouldn't interfere. And I won't. I want her to feel strong as a wolf, to have the same shifting abilities as the rest of us, as any pup in our clan would. But I also don't like Gray's methods. I mean, I get it, but also…
Mona isn't fragile, though. She can do this.
I tell myself this over and over again, even as my legs eat up the distance through the trees. Ten yards in. Twenty.
Where is she?
I hear wolves howling in the distance, but nothing feels amiss. Maybe she's run off course.
I pick up my phone again, checking the time. Ninety-eight minutes. "Come on, firefly, where are you?" I call into the trees. I text Grayson again. And just as I hit send, I feel it.
A warm pull inside me. Tugging me towards her.
I know what this is. I've felt it hundreds—maybe a thousand—times before.
A grin stretches across my face, and I scratch my beard.
I don't know what's happening out there, but whatever it is—my mate just accepted her place in this clan.
One might think her acceptance as Luna is about me and Grayson, about her mate-bond to the Lune. But it isn't about us. Not just us, anyway. It's about everyone. The entire clan. Every woman, man, and child.
My mate is Silent Peak now. The scent of the mountains will cling to her, and any shifter she encounters will know by scent that she is not a rogue. She belongs to us. And we belong to her.
Smiling, I savor the moment, retreating toward the cabin to give her space.
I'm barely back through the clearing when it strikes—a searing flash in my chest. A second later, a howl—a warning, this time—cuts through the open sky, through the trees, screaming danger.
My gut twists with dread. My mate is out there. Mona is fucking out there.
I'm moving before my brain even catches up. I tear off my clothes as I leap, landing on all fours, and then my wolf bounds through the trees in a gallop. We charge past other wolves, all racing toward my mate, our omega. Our feet thunder through the forest, and it sounds like a wild stampede.
The scent of magic, faint at first, grows stronger with each step. And then I see Kellen, holding my mate in his arms, running full speed toward us. My wolf skids to a stop, and we shift back.
"What the fuck happened?" I barely get the words out before I'm ripping Mona's tiny auburn wolf from his arms. There's blood on her arm and leg, but no visible injury. I try tolook her over, but her whole body squirms, annoyed at being manhandled.
"Witches," Kellen rasps. "I need to go back."
"Go!" I shout. I left my phone in my pants pocket closer to the cabin, but Grayson will have run toward the foray. Kellen will tell him I have our mate.
I turn and sprint back toward the house while Beep growls and thrashes in my grip, claws digging into my forearms. But I lock my arms around her, no matter how much her wolf snarls.
When we finally reach the clearing by the cabin, far from the magic, I release her.
"Don't run," I command, setting her down. I back away, eyes never leaving her as I snatch my discarded clothes from the ground. Yanking my pants on, I wait for her to shift back. Beep's low chuff breaks the silence, and she turns to look back through the woods.
Then she sneezes, and on her exhale, I catch it—the scent of magic.
"Shift back," I tell her. "Now, do it now."
I barely have time to appreciate seeing her wolf for the first time. A tiny little thing, with a shiny auburn coat and white spots near her muzzle. I wait, and what should take only moments stretches into a minute. Then two, and three. Finally, her hind legs elongate, fur disappearing along taut stretches of skin.
I should look away.
I don't.
Freckles in a million shades mark her, more concentrated on her arms and torso.
Despite how much we've fed her since she came to stay with us, Mona still has that look about her—like she went too long without a proper meal. But she's filling in, taking on the shape of an omega. Thick curves. Wide hips, and on all fours while she catches her breath, I can't help it, my cock presses against mysweats, suddenly straining and sensitive as I stare at her shapely ass. If she parted her legs just a little more, I'd catch a glimpse of her pussy.
