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“I’ll take the punishment or whatever you need to do. Take me back into the pack and help me if that’s what you require.” His eyes ran down my face before bouncing to Nyx. Then something changed, his eyes clearing up with a hard determination, and I braced myself for his answer this time. I could handle whatever punishment he sent my way. If it would save my home, my pack, and my mate? Well, I’d give up anything for that.
“Be my Luna. Combine our packs as my mate,” he said. I was so caught off guard I couldn’t speak. My mouth opened three times but I couldn’t find the words.
“Excuse me?” Out of all the options before us this was where his mind went? I guess I wasn’t the only one who was desperate here.
“By tradition, if you become my Luna then we can combine the packs as an official ally-ship,” he argued. But I knew this wasn’t about traditions anymore. It was about having me for himself. Yet I couldn't make sense of it. Why now?
“Fuck tradition, Torryn. It’s this or your pack falls,” I told him bluntly. He shook his head sadly.
“My pack has already fallen, I have nothing left to lose, Vanya. I’ve wanted you to be my Luna since I took this position. Hell, before that even. Now is my last chance,” he said evenly as he gave Nyx a pointed look. “Tell me. Did you even consider it once?”
My heart clenched at the vulnerability in his voice.
“The first time,” I admitted. “But I wanted out of this pack, Torryn. It wasn’t for me. This hasn’t been home in a long time. I was too ‘rebellious’ and that never fit with traditionalists like your father oryou,apparently. I’d have made a bad Luna.”
He smiled sadly. “No. You would have changed this pack. As Luna you would have had that power, council be damned.”
“You could have been that change,” I told him. “Iwantedyou to be that change. You knew as well as I did how bad things were here. Yet you let it go on.”
“Because there was no other way. I alone would have been challenged or overthrown. Then it would have been worse. I fought so hard for all of you, not myself or my pride. I had to bide my time and make changes slowly. But none of that matters now. This does. Be my Luna.”
“With all this happening, this is the route you want to take?” I demanded. “I have mates, you know that now. We can help each other and that is what’s important.”
“And I don’t want to be a failed alpha who gave up, Vanya,” he growled. “I’ve lost every bit of pride I’ve held onto for years. You are the only thing that’s ever mattered to me and I refuse to let go of it too.”
From the stubborn set of his jaw and fire in his eyes, I knew this was now the endgame for him. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Sacrifice my pack and my mates for my pride? Or give Torryn a chance to prove himself?
He was about to be in for a major culture shock and his character would have to shine through or he’d be exiled like he did to me. Callum wouldn’t stand for the bullshit he’d had to enforce here. So even if I agreed, and gave him a real chance, it wouldn’t be as simple as saying we’re mates. He’d have to prove he’s worthy of being one.
Fuck.My mates would never forgive me for this. In fact, if it was anyone else but him I wouldn’t entertain the thought. But I wasn’t lying when I said I’d considered being his Luna once, but this wasn’t the time or place to consider old feelings. And I wasn’t going to dive into a relationship with him just because he was trying to cling to a sense of normalcy.
“I wouldn’t stay here,” I reminded him. “You’d have to come and stay with my pack. And I’m not going to be your Luna in every sense of the word. That will take time and as I said. I. Have. Mates.”
“I’m not opposed to leaving,” he agreed far too easily. Then again, they had nothing to tie them here, not anymore. Like all the other packs under Grave’s radar, they’d been rendered weak and soldiers would be waiting on the sidelines, ready to make them become a part of the twisted alpha’s scheme. “To become my Luna, our first union has to be formed before we can become a mated pair. And in front of a witness.”
My laughter bubbled out before the words could even fully process. “Torryn, I’m not going to fuck you in front of someone, nor am I going to fuck you at all. This is about pride, not me.”
“Then you aren’t my Luna,” he said simply.
“You don’t get to win this, Tor. Either take my terms, or stay and die here alone. I’ll offer space to anyone willing to come with me.”
We had a silent stare off, both full of stubborn determination and unwilling to budge. This was honestly the first step in proving himself if he stopped being a dick long enough to see that. He glanced away and I took that opportunity to walk away and let him think it over. I made my way back to Nyx, not quite feeling like a winner.
“Look. I don’t know how far your trust can go,” I started. Nyx tensed and narrowed his eyes. “Torryn has agreed to help if I become his Luna, then as his Luna I can request the merge. It’s the only way he’s willing to combine the packs or help at all. They’re down half their team and are sitting ducks here, but this pack is our best shot.”
“Or I can kill him?” he offered vehemently. “Or we just leave and take those willing to join us. What do they have to lose?”
“Then the Bluffs fall, Nyx. We need him and they all wouldn’t follow. I don’t have much choice,” I argued. He studied me for a moment.
“You’re considering this?” he asked. There wasn’t anger or judgment in his tone, shockingly enough, just confusion.
“I am. If I can do this and save our pack and our alpha, how could I not try? This is bigger than just me.”
“This isn’t you being a martyr, this is him manipulating you into being his fucking mate, something he tried before,” he pointed out.
“I know,” I sighed. “And I considered it once. But I refused to stay here and I told him as much.”
“This is insane. He’s on the brink of a mental breakdown and he’s using that to force you,” he said bluntly. “Don’t let yourself get used or hurt, Vanya.”
