The Last Luna Standing

chapter 16

Tamara

I walked next to North down the dirt path. Serena walked a few feet ahead of us. She moved with fast confident steps obviously eager to show me exactly how far behind I was, but I did not look at her.

I kept my head facing straight forward, but my entire focus remained completely on the man walking beside me.

North stayed very close to my right side. Our arms almost touched with every step we took. I could easily feel the body heat radiating from his muscular frame.

I thought about what had just happened some minutes ago in the small dirt ring. He had almost kissed me again. The intense physical attraction was still very present between us.

North kept his head facing forward, but I saw his jaw clenching and unclenching repeatedly. He was clearly stressed. I wanted to reach out and hold his large hand, but I kept my hands firmly at my sides.

We were mates, but we were still fighting a very difficult battle against each other. He wanted a physically powerful warrior. I just wanted a partner who accepted me.

We finally reached the end of the path and stepped out into the open area. This was the main training ring.

This was the first time I was standing around so many pack members at once since the day I originally arrived at the Night Sword pack.

On my very first day, the interaction was terrible. People had completely downgraded me and they had challenged my right to be there.

For some reason, I honestly believed they would have eventually come around by now. I thought that because I was training hard every day and staying out of trouble, they would start to tolerate my presence.

I was completely wrong.

As soon as we stepped onto the grass, the loud sounds of punching and talking stopped. Dozens of warriors turned their heads to look at me.

Everyone looked at me with weird curiosity. Their facial expressions were hard and unwelcoming. After a few seconds of staring with clear dislike, they all turned their heads away.

They resumed their training routines and completely ignored me. No one nodded in greeting. No one said a single word to me. They acted like I was completely invisible.

I felt a deep, heavy sadness inside my chest. I looked down at the green grass, feeling entirely isolated.

Suddenly, North took a step closer to me. His right shoulder brushed firmly against my left shoulder. It was a very deliberate physical movement. He stood tall and let out a low, warning growl from the back of his throat.

The sound traveled across the open field. He was reminding his pack that I was his mate, even if he struggled to accept me himself.

A few warriors lowered their heads in submission to his Alpha command, but their dislike for me did not disappear. North looked down at me. His dark eyes searched my face carefully, checking to see if I was okay. I gave him a small nod, appreciating his physical protection, even though it confused my feelings for him even more.

Serena turned around and gestured for me to follow her across the field. North and I walked behind her until we reached a large group of women standing near a wooden fence.

"These are the women who will be participating in the Luna Trials," Serena announced loudly. She pointed her hand at the group.

I stopped walking and looked at them. I realized quickly that there were about twenty women standing there. They were all tall, highly muscular, and covered in light dirt from their morning exercises. Some of them had visible scars on their arms and faces. They looked extremely capable and dangerous.

I felt very confused. I looked at the twenty women, and then I looked up at North. Did these women not have their own fated mates? Did they not want to find their own true mates? The Moon Goddess paired every wolf with a specific person.

I could not understand why twenty females would willingly enter a brutal, violent competition to marry a man who was not their fated mate.

But as I looked at North standing beside me, I slowly understood the reality of the situation. North was the most powerful Alpha in the entire southern region. He was handsome, incredibly strong, and he controlled a massive territory.

In a pack that only valued physical strength and dominance, mating with North meant gaining the highest level of power and respect possible for a female. These women were not fighting for true love or a mate bond. They were fighting for the prestigious title of Luna.

They wanted his rank. I was the only person standing in that field who just wanted North for the man he was.

I decided not to ask my questions out loud. I did not want to provoke them or start a verbal argument. I just stood quietly and waited.

"Since you think you are ready to spar, let us see exactly what you can do against a real Night Sword warrior," Serena said, smiling a highly unpleasant smile. She turned her head toward the group of twenty women. "Who wants to pair up and spar with our visitor?"

North stepped forward immediately. His large body moved to stand partially in front of me, shielding me from Serena. "She has trained enough for one morning, Serena. I will take her back to the pack house now."

His protective instinct came up instantly. He knew I was exhausted from our earlier training session, and he knew these women wanted to hurt me physically to remove me from the competition.

I placed my hand flat against the center of his broad back. I felt his muscles tense under my palm. "No, North," I said quietly but firmly. "I will do it. I want to spar with them."

He turned his head to look at me. His dark eyes showed clear disagreement and worry. Keeping his voice low so the others could not hear him. "You know you do not have to do this right now."

"If I walk away now, they will never respect me," I answered him directly. "I have to try."

North stared at me for a long moment. He saw my total determination. He sighed heavily and took a step backward, giving me the space I needed.

However, he stayed extremely close by, ready to intervene if the situation became too dangerous.

Serena clapped her hands together once. "Perfect. Eve, come forward and spar with her."

The group of women separated slightly. A female stepped forward from the back of the crowd. She looked completely different from the rest of the highly motivated warriors. She wore simple grey training pants and a loose black shirt. Her dark brown hair was cut very short, stopping right at her chin.

She walked slowly toward the center of the grass area. She looked completely uninterested in the entire situation. Her shoulders slouched slightly, and her facial expression showed complete boredom. She did not look angry or hostile like the others. She simply looked like she wanted to be somewhere else entirely.

She stopped walking a few feet away from me. She looked at my face, then looked down at my bandaged shoulder, and then looked back up at my eyes.

"I am Eve," she said in a flat, quiet voice. She did not raise her fists into a defensive posture. She just stood loosely on the grass. "I guess we are supposed to hit each other now."

I raised my arms into my proper fighting stance. I ignored the dull pain radiating from my shoulder. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the fresh morning air.

Before I moved forward to begin the spar, I turned my head slightly and looked at Alpha North one last time. He was watching me intensely. His eyes were completely focused on my body.

I saw a look of genuine respect appear on his handsome face. I hoped that He finally realized that even though I lacked the massive physical strength of his pack members, I had the courage to stand my ground and fight for my place beside him.

I turned my focus back to Eve and prepared myself for the fight.