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My words dropped like a bomb, and I could see the fear and doubt in the eyes of those around me. It was time to drive my point home. “Make your choice, right here, right now. Are we going to stand together against our real enemies, or are we going to keep tearing each other apart?”
No one spoke, and I could practically hear the gears turning in their heads as they weighed their options. Then, slowly, the first murmurs of agreement began to rise, followed by nods and grudging acceptance.
“Fine,” growled a battered wolf in the back of the room. “You’ve made your point.”
“Good.” My voice was firm but not unkind. “Now, let’s clean up this mess and start working together. And someone check on Ridge. Now!”
As the shifters around me got to work, tending to the wounded and restoring order, I felt a strange mixture of relief and pride. For once, I’d embraced both sides of myself—thehunter and the shifter—and used them to bring about change. And as I watched the erstwhile enemies banding together for a common cause, I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, I was finally becoming the leader they needed.
But what did it matter? The only person who’d believed in me from the beginning, the only one I wanted to boast to, couldn’t share this moment with me. The only reason I’d had to stand up and act as a luna was because their alpha, my fated mate, was lying unconscious.
“Looks like you’ve got them eating out of your hand,” Jaxon said, his voice tinged with amusement.
“Hardly,” I snorted, rolling my eyes at him. “But it’s a start. And hey, at least they’re not trying to kill each other anymore.”
“True,” he said, a hint of pride in his eyes. “You did good, Tori. You’re going to be one hell of a luna.”
“Thanks,” I said quietly, warmth spreading through me at his words.
As the room gradually fell back into some semblance of order, Christie was hauled back to her cell, cursing and spitting the whole way. Martin, badly injured from their fight, was carried out on a stretcher, bound for the emergency room along with several other injured shifters. The chaos began to ebb away until only the lingering tension remained.
“Is everything under control?” I asked one of the officers as he passed me, dragging a subdued shifter along.
“Seems that way, Luna Blackwood.” He cast a wary glance my way. “You really know how to handle a situation.”
“Thanks,” I said blankly, stunned at him calling me by that name.I might actually be good at this leadership thing.
I scanned the room, looking for Ridge, but before I could even begin to worry about where he might be, he appeared at my side.
“Hey,” he said softly, his brow creased with concern. “You okay?”
“Me? What about you? You were knocked out,” I said, my gaze searching his face for any sign of lingering pain.
“I’m fine,” he said, his hand reaching up to touch my cheek gently. “But you? You were amazing, Tori.”
His words bolstered me, and despite the raw pain and destruction that surrounded us, a spark of hope ignited within me. Maybe, just maybe, I could do this. Together, we could lead our pack and protect them from the hunters who sought their destruction.
“Thank you.” I leaned into Ridge’s touch. “We’ll get through this. Together.”
“Damn right we will,” he said, pressing his lips to my forehead in a tender gesture of solidarity.
As we stood there among the wreckage of broken furniture and battered shifters, a new sense of purpose brimmed within me. I was no longer just a hunter or a shifter—I was both. And with that knowledge came a strength I never knew I had, fueled by love, loyalty, and a fierce desire to protect those I cared about.
“Jaxon, why didn’t you step in and take charge?” I asked as the idea occurred to me, irritation evident in my tone.
“Apologies, Tori. I didn’t want to get in the way of a fellow alpha,” Jaxon said calmly, his eyes scanning the room as chaos began to subside.
“Wait, what do you mean by ‘fellow alpha?’ Ridge was unconscious,” I demanded, narrowing my eyes at him.
“Exactly what I said,” he said cryptically, offering no further explanation.
“Ugh. You’re maddeningly vague,” I said under my breath, still not quite understanding his meaning.
Just then, Isaac Frost burst into the room, his eyes wild as they sought out any remaining Montana Pack members.
“Isaac, what’s going on?” I called out, catching his attention.
“Need to get our people out of here and in line, Tori,” Isaac panted, clearly flustered. “This whole mess is turning into a nightmare for everyone involved.”
