Chapter 8: Respect
349 Words
The courtyard was silent.
Every pair of eyes was on Maya. Blood dripped from her hands, her knees, her hair. She felt exposed, raw, but she didn’t look away. She couldn’t.
Kade’s arms were still around her, shielding her from the stares, but she could feel the shift in the air. The doubt was gone. In its place was something new. Fear. Respect.
Selene was the first to break the silence.
She stepped forward, her face pale, jaw clenched. “She’s a novice,” Selene said, voice sharp. “One fight doesn’t make her Luna.”
Kade’s grip tightened around Maya. “She just saved my life. She killed a rogue twice her size on her first shift. What have you done for this pack lately, Selene?”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
Maya’s legs shook, but she forced herself to stand. Kade moved with her, keeping her steady. Her shoulder screamed in pain where the rogue had clawed her, but she ignored it.
“I don’t want to be Luna,” she said, voice hoarse. “I don’t want any of this.”
“Luna or not,” Kade said quietly, “you’re mine. And that makes you untouchable.”
A low growl rumbled through the pack. Not threatening. Accepting.
An older man stepped forward. Elder Ronan, if Maya remembered right. His hair was gray, his face lined with age, but his eyes were sharp.
“The moon chose her,” he said simply. “We follow the moon.”
One by one, the pack dropped to one knee.
Maya stared, stunned.
“Luna,” Elder Ronan said, bowing his head. “We pledge our loyalty.”
The word hit her harder than the bite, harder than the fight. Luna. Mate. Protector.
She wasn’t ready for it.
But looking at Kade, at the pride in his eyes, she realized she didn’t have to be ready alone.
“Get up,” she said, voice steadier than she felt. “We have rogues to deal with.”
Kade smiled. It was small, dangerous, proud.
“My Luna,” he murmured.
- Writer
