Page 105 of King Luna

Just in time for my stomach to reel, Viktor finishes off the Australian Alpha, shifting back to his human form. After sharing a deep kiss with Annika, Viktor carries a crowd of cheering with him as he strides to greet Waimarie and me.

Instead of making myself sick, I could do my best to keep Greenfield on Viktor’s good side—at least until Noah and Tane wear each other out. It could be a while, knowing my mate.

I rise on wobbly legs to greet them, hoping Annika and Viktor don’t notice how badly I’m shaking as they join my side.

That was just enough time for Tane to knock Noah’s wolf across the field.

I recoil, latching onto Annika’s arm as the wolves tumble. Holding my breath, I wait for Noah to stand. When he finally does, he shakes himself off in a cloud of grass and mud.

Waimarie and I catch each other’s strained stares, and we have to laugh.

At the sound of my distressed sigh, Viktor turns to me. “How’s it going, Luna?”

I swallow hard, recentering myself despite my pounding heart.

I have to remind Viktor why we’re all friends. “That Alpha didn’t stand a chance against you, Vik. Even with how hard Noah trained, I know he’ll be up for a challenge.”

“Is that so? You think he’ll still make it all the way to the final? Both of us?”

I’m relieved Viktor’s grin softens; maybe he’s not as upset with us as I thought.

But then his words sink in. “Noah’s not disqualified for breaking the rules, is he?”

“Nah. It’s nothing new, Luna.” Viktor chuckles, stooping to kiss Annika. They take their sweet time before Viktor turns back to me. “But he better be ready. I’m not letting him back out this year.”

“He backed out last year? From the final battle?”

Viktor and Annika exchange surprised glances.

Laughing, Viktor shakes his head. “He really doesn’t tell you much, just like the rest of us, huh?”

Annika gasps, softly smacking his arm. “Viktor!”

Viktor raises his palms, wincing. “Sorry! That came out wrong.”

It still sours my mood. “Noah isn’t required to tell me anything. I’m just curious what your thoughts were on it. And I’m not asking him about it this week so he can focus on fighting you, like he promised.”

“So you think he’ll take me as seriously as he did the first year he became top Alpha?”

My eyes widen. “You both fought in the final battle that year too?”

“Goddess, no. I didn’t stand a fucking chance against him. None of us did.” Viktor’s eyes zip to Noah’s prowling, rippling form, his voice softening. “That’s how I know he’s been holding back—ever since the first year he was King.”

We stare in silence as Tane struggles beneath my mate, barely able to paw to protect himself as Noah pins him down.

“No one else has ever won the King title in their first year as top Alpha, by the way,” Viktor mutters.

My stomach drops.

I thought I was hearing Viktor incorrectly, but the reality of this information stabs me in the chest; Noah was forced to be Greenfield’s top Alpha from the moment our dads were killed...

Then he became King Alpha of the world, on top of it all?

I shut my eyes, letting out a slow, pained breath. No wonder Noah doesn’t seem happy about Alpha Summits. That one year sounds like enough stress to last a lifetime.

But I can feel it in my mate this time—the same determination coursing through him since we agreed to take on Alpha-domination cultists through this Summit, stamping out their anti-Omega campaign, once and for all.

I step closer to Viktor, keeping my voice low. “I know this is all more complicated than that. What exactly happened last year?”

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