LUNA'S REVENGE: REBORN FOR LOVE

6: DANGEROUS GAMES

AMY'S POV

Watching Selena get banished should have been a victory. But instead, I felt like I'd just dodged a bullet I hadn't even realized was coming for me.

In my first life, Selena was the poster child for a good pack member until the day she arranged for me to be murdered. There was no poisoning, no hint beforehand of betrayal, no indications whatsoever that she would betray her own pack members.

But this time was different. This time, she'd shown her true colors far too early, and it had lost her everything.

The question remained: what else had changed?

"Are you alright?" Damian said as we made our way back to the main hall. "You've been very quiet since we came out of Selena's room."

"Thinking." I kept my voice steady, but internally, I was jumping for joy. If Selena's timeline had altered so significantly, what were the implications for the rest of what I believed I knew? How could I even begin to defend myself from dangers that may no longer exist?

"About what?"

In my original timeline, you and Selena worked together to cause my downfall, but now she's been expelled and you seem to actually care about justice. It's confusing how none of this is going the way that I envisioned; I'm left not knowing whether to consider this a lucky twist or something truly terrifying.

"It's about how individuals are able to conceal their real selves for so long," I said instead.

Damian half-stumbled, turning to face me squarely. "Is it a general observation, or do you have someone particular in mind?"

The passion in his voice created a tremor in my stomach, one that I would not acknowledge. Near, I could notice the golden sparks flashing in his dark eyes; I could scent him—pine, leather, and something indefinably his that elicited a purring reaction in my wolf.

"General observation," I lied.

"Hmmm." He examined my face like a puzzle he was attempting to solve. "You know, I'm beginning to think you could be one of them."

My heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're not what you seem to be, Amy Silverclaw." His voice was low, almost soft, but with a steely edge. "The question is: who are you, really?"

For a moment, I considered telling him the truth—the truth about time travel, how he had taken over my life, and the unborn child growing inside me, a fact he was still unaware of. Maybe this version of him would be different. Maybe he would actually listen.

Yet the chill in his eyes returned to me, that instant when he'd sent Selena off. The easy manner in which he'd spoken of pack law, invoking exile or death, stayed with me. He was still a man who could summon violence when he felt betrayed.

What if he found out that I was pregnant with his child in secret? Would that be the ultimate betrayal?

"I'm exactly what I seem," I said, forcing my voice to remain level. "Perhaps you're just not used to she-wolves that don't fall at your feet."

His slow smile spread across his face. "Now that's absolutely true."

I was about to answer when Sarah interrupted me, coming running to where we were, a gleam of excitement in her eyes.

Amy! Here you are. Your mom's been searching all over for you—something about assisting with the dinner arrangements." She looked back and forth between Damian and me, her eyebrows rising in interest. "Am I interrupting anything?

"Nothing," I said hastily. "We were just talking about the investigation."

"Yes. The investigation." Sarah's voice indicated she had her doubts. "When you've finished asking your questions, the kitchen will be requiring your attention."

I stepped to go after her, but Damian's voice stopped me.

"Amy." I faced him again, and he was staring at me with that stern expression again. "This isn't the end of this conversation."

It was both a threat and a promise combined.

When I arrived, the kitchen was in utter disarray. My mother had apparently determined that the best method of healing the breach caused by the poisoning incident was to throw a feast fit for kings. She had invited the help of three other women in the pack, and all four were all talking at once about the menu adjustments and seating plans.

"Finally," Mom said when she saw me. "I need you to run to the market in town and pick up some last-minute ingredients. Take Sarah with you; I don't want you going alone with all that's been going on."

Fine. I needed to speak with Sarah in any case, wanted her thoughts on how all this was so different.

The drive into town started off quiet, each one of us caught up in our own world. However, the moment we passed the edge of the pack lands, Sarah became a whirlwind.

"Okay, spill. What's really happening between you and Alpha Blackfang?"

"Nothing is going on."

"Bullshit," Sarah replied, her eyes sliding sideways to me. "I've seen how he looks at you, Amy. Like you're some sort of fascinating puzzle he's dying to solve." Her eyes narrowed a fraction as she added, "And I've noticed how you look at him when you think no one is looking."

"How do I look at him?"

"You know something that the rest of us don't. Like you're playing a game, and he doesn't know he's a player." She turned into the parking lot at the market and shut off the engine. "What aren't you telling me?"

Everything. I'm not revealing everything.

I just think he's more complicated than people give him credit for,” I said cautiously.

"Complicated how?"

"He could have thrown our pack under the bus when his wolves were poisoned. Could have blamed us and demanded payment or vengeance. Instead, he partnered with us to determine who was to blame." I unbuckled my seatbelt, taking a moment to think about it. "That shows integrity."

"Or it means he's smart enough to know war over a misunderstanding would be disadvantageous to everyone." Sarah studied my face. "Amy, I've known you since we were kids. Something about you is different now, and it has nothing to do with your new interest in taking over Alphas."

"Different how?"

"You're more reserved, somehow. It's as though you've been wounded in the past, and you're not going to allow that hurt to reach you again." She moved nearer, her fingers wrapping around mine in a soft clasp. "Is there something that's occurred, something you've not told me?"

You died, Sarah. In my timeline, rogues killed you because I wasn't powerful enough to save you. And the man I loved betrayed me so completely that I died thinking I was nothing.

"I just grew up, I guess," I replied instead.

Sarah didn't look convinced, but she decided to let it go. We talked and shopped for the next hour, although I could feel her sharp eyes on me, attempting to decipher the mysteries I withheld from her.

It wasn't until we were on the way home that all hell broke loose.

We were maybe five miles from pack lands when Sarah skidded to a stop and we halted on the empty road.

"What the—" I began, only to be interrupted as the smell filled my nose.

Rogues. A half dozen or so of them, I should say.

They emerged from the trees at the side of the road, walking with the stalking walk of wolves who had shared the hunt for years. Their eyes gleamed with a wild light, and their apparel was tattered and filthy. They were the very picture of rogues—wolves who had been cast out of their packs, now wild and unpredictable without the steadying presence of their old pack-mates.

"Remain in the car," Sarah snarled, her grip on the steering wheel tightening so that her knuckles were a stark white.

One of the goons had broken the glass, his hand stretching in to grab me. I took his wrist and twisted it viciously, the bones snapping under my hand, but two others were already at Sarah's door.

"Drive!" I cried out, but it was too late.

They'd surrounded us, and the car wasn't going anywhere.

Sarah shifted into her wolf in the driver's seat, her blonde fur bristling with rage. But there were too many of them, and we were in a confined space.

This is what had occurred in my initial timeline: Sarah had been killed saving me from the rogues, and I was too weak, too slow to save her.

But that was then. This was now.

This time, I was ready.

I shifted faster than ever before, my wolf bursting forth in a fury that surprised even me. I sprang through the shattered car windows, assaulted the nearest rogue, my jaws closing on his neck before he had a chance to react.

My mouth brimmed with warm, metallic blood, yet I pressed on. I couldn’t stop. Not this time. This time, Sarah was not dying.

The fight was short and frantic. These bandits weren't expecting two pack wolf veterans who fought like they had nothing left to lose. Sarah and I fought back to back like seasoned hunting partners, backs guarded, attacks coordinated without a word.

When it was over, six rogues lay dead on the sidewalk, and Sarah and I stood in the middle of the c*****e, panting.

"Jesus Christ, Amy," Sarah cried out, transforming back into her human self. "Where on earth did you learn to fight like that?"

I looked down at my hands, still covered in the body fluid of renegade blood, and realized I had just demonstrated powers I wasn't yet supposed to possess. I was a good fighter in my past life, sure—but far from exceptional—certainly not good enough to defeat three renegades on my own.

"Adrenaline," I whispered faintly.

"That wasn't adrenaline. That was training. Serious training." Sarah was staring at me like she was seeing me for the first time. "Amy, what the hell is going on?"

I did not get a chance to respond before the sound of engines roaring down the highway had both of us looking up. Three black SUVs hurtled towards us—SUVs that bore the emblem of the Blackfang Pack on them.

Damian's SUV skidded to a stop, and he was out of the car before it had even come to a complete halt, his eyes scanning the landscape of destruction. Four of his wolves waited behind him, ready for combat, each of them armed and on guard.

"Are you okay?" Damian said, moving in closer to me. His hands were on my shoulders, his eyes scanning me for any wounds.

"I'm fine," I told him, despite the fact that my voice shook now that adrenaline was departing my body.

"Both of you, in the car. Now," he ordered, his voice allowing no debate. "We're bringing you back to pack lands."

Damian was putting Sarah and me into his SUV. I was stuck between Sarah and him in the backseat, very aware of the warmth of his body beside me.

"How did you know it was coming?" I demanded imperiously.

"Your scent has changed," he answered matter-of-factly. "I could smell your fear, your anger, even from miles away. My wolf wouldn't let me ignore it."

I stared at him. "That's impossible. We're not mated."

"No," he concurred, his eyes locking with mine. "We're not. But that doesn't seem to matter where you're concerned.”

The implication of his words hit me like a freight train. Unmated wolves didn't have scent bonds. Those were for true mates, and only after they'd embraced the bond. Which was either a falsehood on Damian's part, or the mate bond between us was stronger than ever before in my original timeline.

Either way, I was in grave trouble.