Chapter Sixteen
Luca
I gape at Sofia, marveling at how she is managing to resist Ryan’s alpha command. Her eyes are glassy, and her fists are clenched, but she’s not shaking or bowing to the pressure of the command. She’s resisting him.
And thank fate for that. I want her to accept our bond—Ineedher to. But not like this. Not because she’s been forced. I can’t believe my best friend tried to do that to his little sister. Tried to take away her agency and autonomy.
The snarl ripping from Ryan’s chest is unrecognizable, feral. His clothes shred along the seams as fur sprouts in jagged patches, his bones cracking and popping as if he can’t decide whether to stay human or give over to his wolf. The sound alone makes my stomach turn. I’ve seen countless wolves shifting, but this? This is wrong. Broken. It’s as if he is on the precipice of a shift and unable to hold on to his human self or even his sanity.
Fuck! Recognition crashes into me. My heart pounds, thudding against my ribs as I stay in front of Sofia, blocking her with my body. My claws extend even though it makes my soul ache tobe prepared to protect her from my best friend. My alpha. Herbrother.
“What the fuck is going on, Ryan?” My voice cracks, edged with panic I can’t hide.
A sharp knock rattles the door, cutting through the chaos. Sofia, quick as ever, moves to answer it.
“Thank you for coming, Doc,” she says, her voice trembling but steady enough to have my wolf puffing out his chest with pride. She thought ahead, saw the signs, and called for help before I even put the pieces together.
Doc steps inside, his gaze sweeping the room, landing on Ryan’s half-shifted form. Fur and skin ripple over muscle in grotesque waves, his snout pushing forward only to recede again, claws scraping against the wood floor. His bones crack repeatedly as he oscillates between forms. His growl is deep and animalistic, with nothing of my best friend in it anymore.
Doc doesn’t flinch. “Not to worry,” he murmurs, calm as can be. As if Ryan isn’t seconds away from losing himself entirely. He reaches into his bag and pulls out a tranquilizer gun.
“Wait—” Sofia screams, but it’s too late. Doc aims and fires; the dart sinks into Ryan’s shoulder. He lunges towards Doc, but his movements are sloppy. I grab him around the middle, wrestling him back. His body spasms against mine, muscles straining, but then the tranquilizer takes hold. His limbs go heavy. His body shrinks back into human form, collapsing in my arms.
I ease him down onto the couch, breathing hard. Sweat drips down my spine. My hands won’t stop shaking. “Doc—what the hell is happening?”
“Sofia mindlinked me about what was going on,” he says calmly. “I take doctor-patient confidentiality seriously, but I’m afraid Ryan can’t keep hiding the truth. He’s beginning to succumb to moon madness.”
The room spins. My knees nearly buckle. “What?”
Doc places an arm around Sofia’s shoulders, pulling her into a side hug before she sinks to her knees. She crawls to Ryan and sits on the floor in front of his slumped form, tenderly stroking his face. Tears stream down her face; their salty scent hangs in the air. Her grief slices through me like a claw to the chest. Fates, I would give anything to make this right for her.
“But he’s so young,” Sofia whispers, her voice devoid of its usual fire. “What do we do? How can we help him?”
“I used a magic-imbued dart designed specifically for use on alphas. They kick in quickly, as you saw, and he’ll be out for about half an hour. When he wakes up, he’ll seem more like himself again, but his illness is progressing. He needs to find his mate, and soon. Talk to him, encourage him to take a chosen mate. Before it’s too late.”
The words hang heavy in the air. We don’t need him to explain ‘too late.’ Everyone knows what moon madness means. It starts with agitation, but Ryan has already progressed to the stage of increased aggression and poor decision-making. Over time, he will lose more and more control. Shifting without intending to andstruggling to shift back. Eventually, he would lose the ability to shift back entirely, and it would be too dangerous to allow him to live.
All because he hasn’t found or picked his mate. Fated or chosen, the mate bond will prevent the madness that is enveloping him.
But if he doesn’t… we would have to put him down. Execute him. My brother in all but blood. Sofia would be left with no family.
My throat dries, and shame gnaws at me like acid. How long has this been building? I can’t believe I didn’t notice. I was too wrapped up in running the pack when he went on his trips—and trying to make sure no one saw my infatuation with Sofia—to notice my best friend was slowly losing his mind.
“That’s why he’s been gone so much?” I ask no one in particular. The words rasp out of me, more accusation than question. “He must have been trying to find his mate. How much time do you think he has?”
Doc takes off his glasses and cleans them. I’m not sure if he is buying time to figure out an answer or if he already knows it and simply doesn’t want to tell us.
“It’s hard to say. Ryan started noticing changes nearly two years ago. His wolf pushed him harder to find his mate. He has traveled to every pack in North America but still hasn’t found her. With every failed attempt, his wolf has grown increasingly restless. He has obviously gotten to the point of not being able to hide it. Using an alpha command to try to force a mate bond is not something I would have ever imagined Ryan would do, but neither was notintervening to protect Emily a few weeks back. I was horrified when he told me, but he seemed convinced it was for the greater good.”
As I try to process his words, guilt weighs heavily on me, causing a tightness in my chest. The magnitude of responsibility of being the pack beta feels heavier than ever, like a physical burden pressing down on my shoulders. My heart pounds hard, heavy with a mix of worry and regret, the emotions tangling together in a whirlwind of confusion. I should have seen this coming. I should have noticed something was wrong with my best friend.
Doc lets us know he’s needed at the pack hospital, but will check in later and to mindlink him straight away with any concerns before leaving us alone.
Sofia sobs quietly beside him. He’s the only family she has left. She can’t lose him. I’m struck by the similarity of the night her mom, Rose, left. I found Sofia crying and alone. I wanted more than anything to take away the pain she was going through. I couldn’t then, but this is different. Ryan isn’t gone yet.
“We’ll talk to him. Make him see sense,” I say, joining Sofia on the floor and taking her hand in mine. She doesn’t shake me off and allows me to intertwine my fingers with hers. My wolf puffs out his chest, proud that no matter what else is going on, at least our mate is letting us take care of her.
“That was smart, mindlinking Doc.”
