Page 143 of King Luna

Noah, keep Viktor off his feet,I mindlink.

Rather than sticking to random nips or lunging attacks, Noah focuses on smacking Viktor to the ground with wide paws, forcing the current King to scramble back to his feet as quickly as he can—avoiding seeming too submissive.

It perks Viktor’s ears up; Noah’s ability to knock him around in a flash sets Viktor on edge, blurring his decision making.

Yes! Good job, Noah!

Noah breaks into a sly pant, his tail giving a soft wag.

Okay, I take that back. Heisa huge puppy, even when he’s a monstrous one.

But now he’s pissed Viktor off. The air shifts with stormy pheromones as both massive, black wolves come to an abrupt halt.

I stifle my breath alongside every wolf in the vicinity, stilling with the hulking beasts. The only sound is Markus’s soft crying.

Just when I meet Annika’s petrified eyes in sympathy, our mates break their standstill.

Loud, vicious snapping of their jaws riles every wolf into angry protests.

I can’t breathe. It’s happening so fast that it’s difficult to tell who's biting who, but I can see the blood staining their white fangs from here.

They rise onto their hind legs—snarling giants towering twenty feet tall. I’ve never felt so small.

I shudder through each breath. “I-I don’t like this, Reid!”

He tucks me tighter against his side, his lungs flinching with each clash of Noah’s and Viktor’s fangs. They’re not allowed to bite each other’s throats, but they nip each other’s necks below the ear—dangerously close.

I cry out as Viktor grazes my mark on Noah’s neck, piercing me through our bond.

Reid growls, tucking me closer. His torso stiffens against my cheek.

Noah breaks free with a bounding leap, turning over his tail and splattering a few Alphas with a mix of mud and blood.

Logan snarls. “Hey!”

When Noah stares straight at me, my heart drops to the floor.Sorry, Luna. I didn’t mean to let him bite me there.

Please, just focus! I don’t want to feel you hurting.

But Noah is too close to us—and the rest of the crowd.

We both realize it in the same second: Viktor darts in a wide arc, and with how fearsome Noah is, Viktor’s coming in fast and hard. With the crowd blocking his escape, Noah has no choice but to take Viktor’s strike.

There’s no mercy in Viktor’s snarling, loud strike of his claw, hurling Noah across the field. My mate slams into a tree with a sickening crack. The hundred-foot tree splits in half, crashing down over him.

Even before I know what fully happened to him, I crumble to my knees from the blast of pain in our bond.

All I can do is scream.

Chapter 30

“Noah!” I’ve never heard myself scream like this. Rabid, panicked shrieks escape my lips, extending seconds into ten times their length.

There’s no movement I can see beneath the collapsed tree, and no reaction within our bond.

But with chaos unfolding across the field, Reid doesn’t give me time to scream Noah’s name twice. He hoists me off the ground—just in time to dodge the stampede of angry, thrashing wolves.

My claws extend beyond my control. “No! I need to get to Noah!”