Page 41 of Betrayed Bullied Mate

I straighten up, trying to think about what my mom might have done in this situation. Though I didn’t know her well, I think about what Aris has told me about his mother, and wonder how she would deal with this situation. Her alpha was around during a time of peace, and I’m suddenly very envious of her position as luna during that time—until I remember how it ended for her.

Thinking of her, of the mother-in-law I never got to have, I know that I want to live up to her legacy. I want to be a luna that people reference when they tell their children what it means to fill the role. I’ll support the women in my pack and ensure they never have to go through a pregnancy or crisis alone. I’ll keep the men in line, ensuring they treat their mates properly.

“I am your luna,” I say, my voice coming out surprisingly confidently. Something in my stomach churns, and I get the bizarre feeling that my child is sharing in this moment of pride. “Do not tell Aris. If he doesn’t like that decision, he’ll have to deal with me.”

Eva still looks at me with a chilly gaze, but she gives me the slightest nod before shifting back into her other form and bounding toward the clearing, leaving me alone in the woods.

Chapter 23 - Aris

After slamming a shifter into the dirt below me and stepping on his neck until he stops fighting back, I sense Linnea’s heartbeat changing. If it’s possible, it starts to beat even faster, and I realize she’s moving away from me.

What is she doing? I try to look around, to find her, to assure myself that she’s still hidden in the tree, as she should be, but when I make my way through the chaos to get a glimpse of the platform on which I left her, she’s not there.

I growl as a rogue jumps on my back. With my size in my wolf form, many of these other shifters are puny compared to me. I toss him off me, watching as he lands at Percy’s feet. Percy makes quick work of him, but I can’t stay to enjoy the sight. My body urges me to find Linnea.

That’s when Eva comes bounding out of the trees with Linnea stumbling after her. In a second, I’m standing in front of Linnea. She glances around with fear in her eyes but relaxes slightly when she realizes we’ve finished off the last of them. Then, her gaze tracks up to me.

I’ve never stood before a woman before in my wolf form—I’d never stood before anyone besides during my first turning ceremony when I was sixteen, waiting with bated breath as they examined me. But that’s what I’m doing now, watching Linnea’s appraisal like it might make or break me. Like I’m not the strongest, most lethal shifter standing in this clearing right now.

I don’t know what I expected her to do—but it wasn’t to step forward, nuzzle her head into my stomach, and bury her face in my fur. I try to grab her gently and pull her back, but even though I’m covered in blood and gore, she won’t let go. After a moment, I crouch, bringing my arms around her, too. We breathe together for a moment, just the two of us, and when she pulls away, I can sense there’s something fundamentally different about her.

Is it just our mating bond strengthening? Looking her over, checking for injury, I try to determine what it could be, but Linnea smiles softly, running her hand over my forearm.

“Aris,” she says, taking a breath before finding my eyes. Surely, it must be disconcerting to look a shifter in the eyes like this when you can’t shift yourself, but she does it. “I have something to tell you—”

“Alright!” Byron hollers, running out of the trees on the other end of the clearing. “Yes, guys, that was incredible. It was like a freaking horde of zombies out here, and we just crushed them.”

A smile breaks across Linnea’s face, and she pats me on the arm, shaking her head.

“I’ll tell you later,” she says, which is the most frustrating thing I’ve ever heard. I wish our mental link was in place so I could command her to explain, but she just slips past me, running in the direction of the rest of the team, most of whom have already shifted back and re-dressed.

“That was incredible,” I hear Linnea breathe as she approaches the group, daintily stepping over the fallen bodies of the rogues. I notice her nose scrunch the tiniest bit, but that’s the only sign she’s bothered by the carnage.

“I saw what you did with that burly rogue, Eva,” Byron adds. “It was sick.”

“Is sick a compliment?”

“Fuck yeah, it is!”

“I wasn’t sure we were going to pull it off there for a second,” Bigby says, “But I’m glad we did.”

“Very well done,” Ado adds exactingly, which makes everyone laugh. After the quiet murmur of humor goes through the group, it’s like we all realize something is missing in this celebration. Heart pounding, my eyes swing around to find Percy, who’s sitting completely naked on a tree stump, his head bowed, breathing heavily.

“Percy,” Linnea whispers, moving toward him, but Bigby and I get there first. Bigby puts one of his massive hands on Percy’s shoulder. Now that I’m looking and focusing on him, I can feel that something’s not right. A little ways away, I notice a pile of vomit that must have come from him, though none of us noticed in our celebration over the victory.

“Hey, Man,” Bigby says gently. “Are you hurt? Let me get a look at it and we can stitch it right up.”

He’s burning up, Bigby sends to me, do you smell that?

I do. Something sharp and metallic, like licking a battery, emanates from Percy like it’s in his blood. My body urges me to take a step back from him, but I hold in place, watching as Bigby pushes his shoulder back until Percy finally looks up at us, a mix of steely resolve and fear mingling in his eyes.

As a group, I feel our eyes move collectively downward to where Percy has a hand pressed over his stomach. His hand is shaking when he pulls it away, revealing a thick, oozing liquid, glinting in the afternoon sun like silver.

I hear the commander’s voice in my head: …this serum is incredibly dangerous for shifters. Many of the test subjects are still being held in Varun’s testing compound—lost their sanity completely.

Percy bends at the waist again, and I step forward, wishing I could take some of the pain away from him. He lets out a low, whining growl, like an animal that’s been shot, and from the corner of my eye, I see Byron and Eva holding Linnea back from getting too close. Even in the midst of all this, I feel proud of Linnea’s willingness to come to Percy and try to comfort him as his luna.

But it could be dangerous for her, and that’s why Byron and Eva won’t let her come closer. We don’t know what this serum is capable of or what Percy might do now that it’s in his bloodstream.

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