Page 95 of Black Moon

Colt

Maxim Reid had lost sight of the line between man and wolf within him, or he wouldn’t have thrown himself at Linden in his fleshy, vulnerable pink skin. His snarl echoed in a raspy hiss around us, and when they first clashed, it was Linden’s strong, deadly wolf form against Maxim on two legs.

They tangled together, but Linden got the upper hand, leaving Reid to scramble away, rolling down the middle of the street and coming up on his hands and knees.

With a shiver, he transformed, crouching low and growling, drool dripping from his elongated fangs.

Reid was jet black, his fur matted and missing in patches. He looked wild, abused. Everybody said an alpha without an omega lost his way to his bestial nature, but I’d never thought it was this literal.

Reading about the change and seeing what it did to an alpha—those were two completely different things.

With yellow, flashing eyes, Reid sprang at Linden again. Linden crouched low to the ground, jumped aside, and twisted to claw at Reid’s back. Reid yelped, and it wasn’t so much the sound that made me jump as how Juniper’s fingers dug into my side.

Against my stomach, her arm was rigid. Her body was practically vibrating with the alpha need to jump in and defend her brother, her pack.

I slipped my hand into hers and held on tight. “Linden’s going to be fine.” Weirdly, as much as I should have worried about him right then, I could see in his movements that his head was clear. He was the son of a long line of Grove alphas, and his instincts were forged by generations of decent alpha wolves. He might not like fighting, but he could do it.

“I know,” she whispered. “He’s got to do this. And he will.”

Linden needed to show his strength on his own four paws, sure. But I had no doubt that he was so well loved by his pack that they’d descend on Reid with fury if Linden fell. No way was Reid leaving this street in one piece, and he’d never see Brook again.

This demand of his was desperate, foolish, and doomed. If I hadn’t seen how he’d hurt Brook with my own eyes, it’d almost be sad—a man abandoned by his pack, mad and bloodthirsty.

He crouched and growled at Linden, the pair of them circling each other before clashing again.

“Linden’s steel in a cozy sweater. We chose him for this,” I whispered. “He’ll be fine.”

It was like the universe wanted to put me in my place when Maxim Reid tore his claws across Linden’s chest. They stood up on their back legs, snarling, red already matting down Linden’s gray fur.

But Linden had a mastery of his center of gravity that Reid didn’t. He twisted, turned his head, and with a snarl, his fangs tore through Reid’s neck.

A fan of blood splattered the pavement. All four of Reid’s paws hit the ground, and he staggered to the side, unaware that he was finished until the strength went out of his limbs. He listed to the side, fell on his shoulder, and lay there flat on the ground. His breathing was labored and gargling, blood leaking out of him all the while.

He didn’t get up again.

Linden, even as a wolf, didn’t flaunt his victory, snarl, or cause any damage beyond what was necessary. He stood there over his foe, sadness in his cloud-gray eyes.

“Lin!” Juniper rushed a few steps forward, forgetting me completely.

Linden’s head snapped up. When his gaze fell on his sister, his shoulders shivered and some of that sadness disappeared. He stepped past Reid’s body, toward her, and she fell on her knees to hug his neck.

“That wasawesome,” she said into his fur.

“This is where you want to stay?” Dad asked at my side. I could hear the heavy frown in his voice, but I couldn’t stand to take my eyes away from Linden, who was safe. Who’d won. “Where they brawl and kill each other in the streets?”

I laughed, sparing him the briefest glance from the corners of my eyes. Behind him, Chase looked pale. Mom was quietly considering the Grove alphas.

“Mostly, we just pick apples.”

Cait came up to Dad and leaned against his arm. “I don’t know, I kind of like this place. All rural charm. And Mr. Sweater Vest has skills.”

“That’sDoctorSweater Vest,” I corrected with a smile. “And he does.”

Linden was more interested in saving lives than ending them, but he’d proven that day to the Reids, the Groves, and maybe even the Dohertys that he was capable of protecting his pack.

Cait’s red-painted lips quirked up on one side. “See, Dad? Colt snagged a doctor. That’ll play well online.”

I sighed. Even when she was being supportive, Cait was all about image. Still, maybe I couldn’t get exactly what I needed from my family, but in Grovetown, I was starting to think I could get everything I needed anyway.

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