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“No. I don’t think so. I don’t think a lecture is going to get through to you. I think you’ll need an actual lesson. You threatened the happiness of my firstborn pup. You threw away the gift the Moon Goddess gave you, and for what? For a title that doesn’t belong to you? You could’ve had a wonderful life with your mate. If Selene is wise, she won’t give you a second chance mate,” Kara hissed. Some of her words confused me, but if I understood her correctly, Traci already met her mate and rejected him. What kind of wolf gives up the other half of their soul after meeting them?
A sick one. Like this one. I hope Mom beats the shit out of her, Tenoch growled.
Traci continued to beg as we headed toward the training grounds, grabbing the attention of people on the way as she wailed and struggled in Mom’s tight grip.
I mind-linked Dad to let him know what was happening. He would never forgive me if I didn’t tell him what Mom was doing. He sighed when I explained what happened and told me he’d be right there, finally catching up to us when we reached the training grounds. He walking into the training arena and pulled Mom aside with an order for Traci to stay. They talked briefly, and I saw Dad’s heavy sigh before he kissed her deeply. He shot Traci a glare that had her trembling before her previous alpha, before he walked over to us.
“I’m sorry,” Evie said quietly when Dad reached us. Dad took her from me for a moment and gave her a big fatherly bear hug.
“It’s not your fault. At all. Some people just don’t learn. I’m not worried about my mate, Evie. I’m worried for Traci. Kara is in full mama wolf mode right now, and I had to remind her Traci is only an Omega. An idiotic foolish girl that can’t defend herself the way Celeste has been trained.”
“You asked Mom not to kill her?” I wondered out loud, not sure what I wanted the outcome for Traci to be. I felt a lot of anger over everything Traci had done, but Dad was right; Traci wasn’t a fighter. But neither was Evie, which is why Traci thought she had a shot in hell at beating my mate.
“No,” Dad’s voice brought me out of my thoughts. “If it wasn’t for the technicality, Traci would have tried to hurt Evie, and I don’t forgive that. I simply asked Kara not to torture the girl if she was going to kill her in the end. She shouldn’t stoop to her level.”
“And if she’s not planning on killing her?” I wanted to know. Dad’s lips quirked into a half smile before he shrugged.
“She needs to learn a lesson somehow. Your mother had to put up with a few women who wanted to take her place simply because they wanted power. Women like that need to learn they weren’t given the power because they can’t handle it.” Dad turned to look down at Evie again. “You and Cory were born to take the position of alpha and luna because the Moon Goddess knows your souls. She knows that you can handle that kind of power and not abuse it, that you will excel and make life better for all of her children. No one has the right to mess with what the Moon Goddess has put together.”
Tears filled Evie’s eyes, and she hugged Dad again before squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin for all to see, slipping her arm around my waist. I gave a grateful nod to my father for explaining to Evie that she deserved the role of luna because of who she is much better than I could. I turned my attention back to the training grounds. As alpha, I would have to start the challenge. A big crowd gathered around the ring; everyone loved Mom and knew how good of a fighter she was. From here, I could hear them whispering about the foolishness of Traci’s actions with disgust.
I squeezed Evie’s hand before letting go and walking into the ring. I looked at Traci, who was trembling like a leaf.
“You’ve brought this on yourself, you know. All I ever wanted was my mate, and you threatened to destroy that for me.” Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked at the people around the ring, and I briefly wondered if she was looking for the mate she rejected. I shook my head in disgust, and explained the terms of the challenge for everyone to hear. I walked back to my mate before Mom nodded at me.
“Begin.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Evie
Too many emotions flooded my system when Traci challenged me for the position of Luna, and when Celeste and Kara took the fight in my stead.
Anger that Traci wouldn’t leave it be. The Moon Goddess had spoken, and even if I didn’t feel fully deserving of it, I was coming to embrace my position of Luna because it meant having a full life at Cory’s side.
Fear, for those few moments before Kara stepped in because I didn’t know if I remembered enough of my basic training to beat her, and I didn’t want to lose my mate.
Guilt that my mate’s mother was fighting my battles.
Determination that I could be better. I would be better. I needed to learn to defend myself.
Cory was a great man, an incredible alpha, and Crescent Moon was one of the best packs in the country. There would be many who would try to take that from us. Tezcatlipoca was also out there, building an army against the three packs, and they had already tried to use me to get what they wanted. I couldn’t let that continue. I felt Tozi flowing her strength to me as I made up my mind to ask Cory for training and focused on the fight that was about to begin.
Traci was looking around desperately for help, unwilling to attack Luna Celeste. Was it fear or respect? I honestly hoped, for her sake, it was a little bit of both.
“Come on, Traci. You were so adamant you wanted this when you thought you would be fighting Evie. If you love my son enough to do so, you should be willing to go through death itself to be with him.” Kara was still in control of their body. She cocked her head to the side when Traci looked away, still searching for someone to help her. “He’s not here. I sent him on an errand a few minutes ago. He’s on his way into the city, and this will be over before you can beg him to help you. I know he would, mate bond or not, because that’s the kind of man he is. He could be bleeding on the ground from the hurt you’ve caused him, and he would still crawl his way to you to help. This is the fight you chose, little girl, and you’re the only one that’s going to fight it.”
Traci let out a sob as she fell to her knees, and I almost felt sorry for her. Almost. From what I could gather, Traci rejected her mate, and now she wanted mine. Choosing a mate after trying to find yours and giving up was one thing. It was another thing to turn away the greatest gift a werewolf could find because you wanted power.
“I won’t even shift, and I’ll let you get the first hit in. How does that sound?” Kara taunted. She took a step forward to get closer to Traci, and the latter crawled backward in fear. Kara sighed in frustration. “The challenge has to happen. You have to attack. I don’t have all day. I have a luna ceremony to plan.” I hoped Celeste never smiled at me the way she was smiling at Traci. It was utterly terrifying.
“Up, little girl!” Kara ordered, and Traci was compelled to obey.
“The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can all move on. Attack!” she growled.
Traci shook her head emphatically. Kara sighed and looked over at Cory, who shrugged.
“This is the last mercy you’re going to get. Evie, come here,” Kara called out, and I tensed. Cory nodded down at me, and I saw Kara send me a friendly smile, holding her hand out. I walked toward her. “I leave this up to you. What would you like to do with her?”
