The Betrayed Luna

11

Luca POV

Cassius showed his teeth the moment I reached for the SHADOWFEN keys. His golden eyes flashed as his wolf started to stir. If he didn’t control it soon, things would get messy.

I raised an eyebrow, daring him to challenge my wolf. That he got attached so fast didn’t sit right with me. If he needed a reminder that the pack comes first, I was ready to give it.

Before it got worse, Lucien stepped in between us. Big, broad, and solid, he didn’t just rely on strength his sharp blue eyes noticed everything, finding weaknesses in anyone who crossed him. His dirty blond hair and full beard gave him a tough, serious look that matched his role as alpha. “While Luca’s away, I’ll need your help setting up camp,” he said firmly.

Cassius hesitated, holding onto the keys a little longer. Lucien growled and barked his command. Even an alpha knew not to ignore him. Cassius glared, clearly wanting more time, but finally handed over the keys.

“Come on,” I growled, moving past Selena without a second glance. Part of me felt sorry for her a stray wolf rejected by two packs but our pack came first. Selena would only bring problems.

Being near her made her upcoming heat almost unbearable. She climbed onto the SHADOWFEN behind me, pressing close. Her knees brushed my hips, and her hands carefully slid around my ribs. I had to fight the urge to turn and kiss her.

Subordinate wolves didn’t understand how obsessed an alpha could get when an unmated female was in heat. Cassius had already lost control, and my own wolf strained inside me. Lucien stayed calm, but he knew what he was doing he had experience with female wolves.

Cassius’s dark eyes followed me, full of frustration. “Give her back her things when you drop her off,” he muttered.

Thanks to my sharp hearing, I caught it. He turned and followed Lucien toward the cave where we’d stored part of our cargo. Cassius was slim and athletic but dangerous anyone who underestimated him would pay. Still, Lucien’s strength kept him in line.

We were men, yes, but also wolves. Sometimes you had to handle things the wolf way. Selena wasn’t one of us. We owed her nothing.

I started the SHADOWFEN and didn’t waste time taking her on a twisting trail away from camp. I doubled back, looped around, breaking our scent trail. Her heat would grow stronger, which would help once she was far away.

We bounced over a rock down a steep hill. Selena cried out and pressed close to me. My wolf roared inside, desperate, but I forced it down. Her heartbeat raced, and she loosened her grip a little. I covered her hand with mine, silently telling her not to let go, then returned to the controls.

She whimpered again. Not from fear pain. Cassius had never said what happened to her, but now I understood why he had dealt with whoever had hurt her.

No matter how much I told myself it was just the scent of her heat, my wolf disagreed. He wanted to sniff her, decide if she was my mate. All the more reason to drop her off and leave before I lost control like Cassius had.

“What pack did you come from?” I asked over the engine, keeping my voice neutral. Any information could help us later.

Our pack worked because everyone knew their role. Lucien led with authority. I planned and thought ahead, making the journey safer. Cassius handled action, taking out threats fast and efficiently. Together, we were unstoppable but Selena would only make things harder.

“The Bloodfang Pack cast me out,” she whispered, her voice soft, sending a shiver down my spine.

I forced my mind to the dullest memory I could: the first mission Lucien and I failed, the only one we ever tried alone. That was before we built the pack.

“What happened to your mate?” I asked, keeping my voice steady. My wolf growled at the thought. Cassius had said her mate died protecting her, but I wanted to hear it from her.

“He rejected me,” she said.

Her words made the SHADOWFEN jolt as I sped up. I couldn’t see her face, but my wolf felt it. Her breathing changed, her heart raced. She wasn’t lying her frustration showed more than sadness.

“You didn’t want him either.”

“He’s the alpha’s son, but he and his friends made my life hell.”

She stopped suddenly, and my wolf perked up. There was more she wasn’t saying. Lucien was right to be cautious.

Cassius, though… he trusted too easily. His wolf probably thought Selena was his mate. That would explain why he acted the way he did. Her scent didn’t help either it was confusing him. But she belonged to someone else. When her heat ended, Cassius would snap back to reality.

I didn’t let her lie to me. “If he turned you down, you shouldn’t be in heat.”

“I thought the same,” she said, her voice flat.

Selena carried secrets, and both Lucien and I were naturally suspicious of female wolves. Cassius didn’t grow up with our rules he’d been exiled before us. He didn’t know why distrust came so easily to us.

After Cassius left, our old pack alpha died. Lucien’s ex and some other female wolves took over. They worked together to get us kicked out and a few days later, Lucien lost his brother. The betrayal left scars that never healed. I stayed with him as he let his anger out on any rogue alpha or lone wolf who crossed our path. Eventually, we turned that rage into something useful we built a pack, the Howling Echo.

We made a name for ourselves protecting trade routes and helping other packs. We stayed neutral, keeping out of politics while earning respect and alliances. Slowly, the pain of exile started to fade.

I found ways to cope. After deliveries, I sought temporary relief, mostly with men at first, out of respect for Lucien. I’d always cared for him, ever since our teens, and wished I could show him he didn’t need a female mate. I even tried to tempt him, showing him women interested in both of us but he stayed closed off, broody, and alone.

Cassius had once had a girlfriend in Moonblessed, but they split. Seeing him now drawn to Selena didn’t surprise me.

“Good enough,” I said, stopping at a steep cliff. I couldn’t figure Selena out, and that made her dangerous. Lucien would’ve sent her back, but I wasn’t about unnecessary cruelty. At least here, she had her back to the rocks any danger would come from the front.

“I want my knife back,” she demanded as I shut down the engine.

I raised a finger, listening for threats. Wolves could hear the SHADOWFEN for miles, so we had to be careful. Leading her around and doubling back had worked, but I needed to stay alert. She could act as bait wolves on our trail would follow her scent, not mine.

Her clothes were worn, shoes old, stance tired. I almost felt sorry for her. I rummaged through the SHADOWFEN’s bags and found trail mix and some jerky.

“Take these,” I said, tossing them her way.