Kill The Luna

33

The sudden, terrifying silence that fell over the training grounds was heavier than a thick blanket. Alpha Michael stood tall in the center of the dust, his large hand still locked around Lucy’s wrist like an iron handcuff. He didn't blink, didn't move, and didn't relax his grip even a tiny bit. He just stared down at her with a freezing, dark glare that could have stopped a man's heart. The veins along his thick forearm were pulsing dangerously, and anyone looking at him could easily tell that a raging storm of absolute fury was boiling right beneath his skin. Lucy’s chest heaved with a sharp breath as she scrambled backward, stumbling away the very second his iron grip finally released her. Her face went completely pale, and she instinctively began scratching and pulling at her messy hair, her fingers trembling with a sudden wave of panic as she tried to think of a way out of this disaster.

Michael ignored her completely, turning his entire focus down to where I lay shivering in the dirt. His harsh expression shifted for a fraction of a second, a flicker of deep concern crossing his eyes as he reached down with surprising gentleness. He hooked his large arms under my shoulders, lifting my battered, aching body off the floor as if I weighed absolutely nothing at all. He held me steady until my feet planted firmly on the ground, making sure I wouldn't collapse from the dizziness.

"Fedora, speak to me," he murmured, his deep voice vibrating with a dark, dangerous rumble as he looked into my face. "Are you okay?"

My nose was throbbing with white-hot pain, and the sticky red fluid was still dripping down my cheeks, but I managed to swallow hard and give him a tight nod. I stepped back slightly, anchoring myself right beside his massive, protective frame as he turned his attention back to the bully.

Michael took a slow, menacing step forward, the sheer weight of his presence making the air in the courtyard feel incredibly thin. He glared at Lucy, his jaw clenching so hard that the sharp lines of his face looked like carved stone. "Lucy, what is this supposed to mean?" he demanded, his voice dropping into a low, terrifying whisper that made the surrounding crowd flinch. He gestured to the splinters of the shattered wooden table and the stains on my shirt. "How dare you pull a stunt like this on my territory? This is officially the highest, most unforgivable extent you will ever go to provoke my anger."

Lucy’s arrogant smirk completely vanished, replaced by a look of sheer desperation. She quickly bowed her head, dropping her eyes to the dirt as she tried to make herself look small and innocent. "Alpha, please, I didn't mean for any of this to happen!" she stammered, her voice shaking as she frantically pointed a trembling finger in my direction. "I was just minding my own business, walking across the field, when she came out of nowhere and violently pushed me! She started shouting at me, accusing me of being desperately jealous of her because she slept in your room! I was only defending myself!"

"Enough!" Michael roared, his voice booming across the training grounds like a sudden clap of thunder. The sound was so powerful it seemed to vibrate through the solid earth beneath our boots. He whirled around, his eyes flashing with a deadly light as he swept his gaze across the hundreds of spectators standing on the sidelines. "All of you, leave this area right now! No more training for today! Clear the fields immediately!"

A wave of intense panic washed over the crowd. Nobody wanted to be anywhere near the Alpha King while his beast was this close to the surface. The warriors and pack members scrambled over one another, packing up their gear in a frantic rush and running toward the exits until the massive training ground was completely empty and dead silent.

Once the crowd vanished, Michael slowly turned his body back around to face Lucy, his eyes narrowing into two icy slits. "And as for you," he growled, the coldness in his tone sending a shiver straight down my spine. "Your time of playing games in this pack is officially over. As of this exact second, you are no longer the leader of the female warriors. Every single rank, title, and privilege you have ever earned under my command is officially stripped away from you. You are nothing but a common pack member now, and you should consider this severe punishment a form of pure mercy."

Lucy’s jaw dropped in absolute horror, her face twisting into a desperate, self-pitying grimace. She took a step toward him, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes as she clutched her chest. "But Alpha, you can't do this to me!" she protested loudly, her voice cracking with anger. "I have sacrificed my entire life for this pack! I have contributed so much blood and glory to your army! You cannot just throw all my hard work away and treat me like trash, especially not because of this disgusting, useless freak!"

The very second that insulting word left her mouth, something inside Michael completely snapped. His dark eyes instantly bled into a terrifying, glowing crimson red as his Lycan beast took full control. Moving with a terrifying, supernatural speed that the human eye couldn't even follow, he dashed across the space like a blur of shadow. Before Lucy could even blink or draw a breath, his massive hand shot out and clamped brutally around her throat, cutting off her words in an instant.

He lifted her entirely off the ground with just one hand, hoisting her high into the air by her neck. Lucy’s eyes rolled back in pure terror as she began choking hard, her face turning a dangerous shade of purple. She frantically brought both of her hands up, clawing and scratching desperately at his thick fingers, but his grip was like solid steel—completely tight and absolutely unyielding.

I stood frozen by the broken table, staring at the scene with wide eyes. I had never, in all my time meeting him, seen Michael this incredibly angry before. A cold realization hit me right in the chest; I guess I had been looking at his soft, caring side for too long over the past few days. I had actually forgotten the brutal truth of who this man really was. He wasn't just a regular man; he was a ruthless, cold-blooded Lycan King who ruled over thousands with an iron fist.

Michael leaned in close to her face, his red eyes burning holes into her soul as she dangled helplessly from his fist. "Don't you ever dare to call her a freak in my presence again," he hissed, his voice dropping into a dark, demonic growl that made the hairs on my arms stand up. "If anyone in this entire territory is an disgusting, unhinged freak, it is you. And hear me clearly now—if you ever lay a single finger on her body again, you know very well that if I say something, I will execute it without a second thought."

Lucy let out a pathetic, wheezing gasp, her legs kicking weakly in the empty air as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"I am giving you your one and only warning, Lucy," Michael continued, his grip tightening just a fraction more to drive the point home. "The very day you decide to repeat this animal behavior under my roof will be the absolute last day you ever breathe air on this earth. I promise you that with my life."

Lucy’s strength completely faded, her hands dropping away from his forearm as she suffocated. She struggled to form words through her crushed throat, tears streaming down her bloody face as she choked out a desperate plea. "I'm... I'm so sorry... please... forgive me, Alpha..."

Michael let out a low growl of pure disgust, and with a harsh jerk of his powerful arm, he threw her body hard against the solid ground. Lucy crashed heavily into the dirt, rolling over twice before tucking her knees tightly into her chest. She folded herself into a miserable ball, clutching her bruised neck as she began sobbing and crying hard, her loud wails echoing across the empty field.

Michael let out a long breath, his glowing red eyes slowly fading back to their normal dark color as he fought to calm his inner beast. He turned his body back toward me, the terrifying aura around him vanishing as his handsome face softened with pure gentleness. He reached out, his thumb lightly brushing a stray strand of matted hair away from my forehead. "Are you absolutely sure you are okay, Fedora?"

I nodded my head up and down quickly, trying to give him a reassuring look, but my gaze was completely locked onto the crying girl on the floor. A dark, ugly feeling of pure resentment began to boil deep inside my chest. I touched my own face, feeling the crooked, broken bone of my nose and the sticky blood that was still dripping down my lips. A mere warning and a loss of rank was way too small of a punishment for the sheer amount of humiliation and physical pain she had put me through today.

My nose was completely broken. She had put her hands on the Luna, and she had to go home with a broken something too.

Michael’s lips were moving, his deep voice saying words to comfort me, but I didn't hear a single syllable he was uttering. I completely tuned him out, my eyes staring like a predator at Lucy as she lay there weeping in the dirt, thinking the danger had passed. A switch flipped inside my mind, and before my brain could even register the action, I sprinted across the short distance between us. I rushed straight at her, dropping to my knees beside her trembling form, and bit down on her neck with every ounce of vicious force I had left.