The Rejected Omega is the Moon Goddess's Heir

Chapter 9

Chloe's pov

Two women stepped out from behind the smithy like they'd been waiting for me, and the smile on the taller one's face didn't come anywhere near her eyes.

Ray had been walking me through the compound half the morning, pointing out buildings I'd need to remember, the kitchens, the healer's hall, the barracks where half the pack trained before sunrise.

Morning light cut low through the trees, and for the first time in longer than I could remember, my shoulders weren't up around my ears just from walking outside. That eased the second the two women blocked the path, one tall and sharp-featured, the other trailing a step behind her like a shadow that hadn't learned to walk on its own.

"That's Megan." Ray's voice dropped low beside me. "Wylie's younger sister. The one behind her is Leah. Megan's had her eye on Nash for years, so I wouldn't expect a warm welcome."

Megan's mouth curved into a smile that didn't reach her eyes as she closed the distance between us. "You must be the new Luna everyone's talking about." She dipped into a bow just shallow enough to be an insult. "Welcome to Red Moon."

Her foot shot out as she straightened, and I fell before I could catch myself, gravel biting into my palms and knees with just a little blood.

Laughter rippled behind me, Leah's high and delighted cackle filled my ears and heat crawled up the back of my neck at the sound of it, nineteen years of the same laughter aimed at me from a hundred different mouth.

"Does an Omega really think she's about to become Luna of this wolf pack?" Megan looked down at me like I was dirt she'd stepped in.

I pushed up off the ground, closing the distance in three strides and driving my shoulder into Megan's chest. She hit the dirt hard, and I dropped with her, my fingers twisting into her hair and yanking her head back.

She screamed, clawing at my wrist, but I held on, my knee pressing into her shoulder to keep her pinned.

"Even if I'm an Omega," I growled at her. "I will still be your Luna. You're going to learn to respect that, one way or another."

Nash's Pov

I'd been in that meeting hall since sundown, listening to border captains argue over patrol routes until my patience wore thin. I had to leave, only to find half my pack gathered in a circle, watching two women rolling in the dirt.

I recognized Chloe's dark hair, her knee planted in Megan's shoulder, her grip locked tight in Megan's hair while Megan shrieked loud enough to wake the barracks.

I stopped in my tracks. I hadn't expected that kind of fire out of the quiet, wary woman I'd met at the ball, and watching her hold her ground against a wolf twice her strength pulled my attention in a way I didn't examine too closely.

"What happened here?" I didn't raise my voice. I didn't need to; the crowd parted the second they heard me.

Megan scrambled up, cradling her scalp, her eyes already wet with tears that looked more calculated than genuine. "I was only greeting the new Luna, Alpha, and she took a dislike to me and pushed me to the ground for no reason."

"That's not true." Chloe stood her ground, dirt streaked across her knees, chin lifted. "She tripped me first. I was simply punishing her for disrespecting her Luna."

I turned to Ray, who'd been standing off to the side this whole time, her hands twisted together in front of her apron. "Is that what happened?"

Ray didn't hesitate. "Yes, my lord. Megan tripped her deliberately. The Luna telling the truth."

I looked back at Megan, whose tears dried up remarkably fast the second the tide turned against her. "Apologize to her."

Megan's jaw worked like she was chewing on a bitter reply, but she managed a stiff, "My apologies, Luna," before Wylie appeared out of the crowd and steered her sister away by the elbow, muttering a low complaint under her breath I didn't bother trying to catch.

I turned to Chloe instead, and for a moment I couldn't quite place what I was feeling, watching her brush the dirt off her skirt with a steadiness that most wolves twice her size didn't manage after a fight like that.

There was a pull in my chest I had no business feeling, given that I'd already marked my mate, given that somewhere out there a woman was walking around with my claim on her even if I hadn't found her yet. It didn't make sense. I'd spent every waking hour since that night at the border thinking about nothing but tracking her down. I stood there searching Chloe's face for a reason to explain it and came up with nothing.

"You handled that well," I said finally.

"I've had practice." Her voice was flat, guarded, like she expected me to turn on her next.

"That's not a skill you should've needed to learn." My words seemed to have an effect on her, surprise breaking through the guard for half a second before she smoothed it away.

"I didn't get the chance to dine with you last night." I held her gaze, surprising myself with how much I meant it. "I'm free tonight, if you'd like the company."

She studied me for a long moment, like she was trying to decide whether the offer came with strings attached. "All right," she said finally. "Tonight."