Page 156 of King Luna

The Mason I know could’ve been hurt by Jack, like Noah. While Mason’s past doesn’t excuse his actions, Jack’s influence explains why Mason treats violence as his first course of action.

But the more I picture Steven in Mason’s shoes, the less I can tell their stories apart. Steven couldn’t bear discussing his parents often, blaming his mother for kicking his dad out. Like Steven, Mason must’ve grown up estranged from his father.

What if Mason’s coping method was to become spiteful toward his mother for “allowing” his dad to be expelled from the pack by Ritchie? What if he resents his father too, envisioning Jack as too “weak” of an Alpha to win against Ritchie, and therefore, Mason feels abandoned by Jack? Would this abandonment make Mason hate Jack enough to frame him for murder?

I know it firsthand; if Steven feels abandoned, there are no limits to what he might do to hurt someone he “loves.”

Oh, God. What if I really am looking at my ex’s wolf?

What would Steven gain from this? If he kills Noah, he’ll kill me too, yet he stalks me relentlessly as if my suffering feeds him.

Why is he so desperate to hurt me?

Noah’s paws lift inch by inch, one by one, stalking Mason in a slow circle.We have to get Mason to submit. If Viktor or anyone else kills him, the Super Pack will only get more agitated, and another Alpha will take Mason’s place as pack leader. That, and I have quite a few questions for him about how far this Super Pack reaches.

Okay, you’re right. We also need confirmation of who he really is—if we’re right about why he’s hiding his human form.

As Noah’s rage upticks, I huddle deeper into the bushes, catching my breath as silently as I can.

When Mason makes a sudden jerking motion, lunging into a full sprint, my heart drops.

This isn’t the usual Mason. He’s not relying on psychological attacks today; he’s going in for the kill. And no one else is covering my mate.

Fear pounds through my body as the wolves tumble. For once, Noah’s deadly clobberings don’t deter Mason. He's clearly trained hard with strong Alphas since he left our pack. Even if he can't kill Noah, Mason won’t stop unless Noah destroys his ability to move.

But I can’t help from here. If Mason sees me too soon, he could mindlink someone from the Super Pack to stop me. That would distract Noah and leave Mason a chance to strike.

There’s no more time to strategize. Multiple Alphas creep in the distance, inching closer by the millisecond to gang up on Noah.

Stained with blood and mud, my snow-colored paws don’t make a sound as they blast through the earth. Zipping through trees, I weave between any and all wolves in my path. None ofthem have a chance to catch me, my wolf far too agile for their delayed, fumbling reactions.

Within a second, I’m on Mason’s back, tearing out his fur.

My wolf snarls louder than I’ve ever heard her, ripping Mason to shreds with my claws and jaws, my entire heart behind each fang. Mason hasn’t even realized what hit him yet, yipping and squirming to pry my small, vicious wolf off of him. My ears twist as I continue to gnash, catching onto the sound of Noah tearing into the surrounding wolves with equal fury.

But then our bond dips in alarm.

One’s coming!Noah mindlinks.

I bound off of Mason with a wide leap, dodging one of the last supporting Alphas before scurrying back into the bushes. Noah’s subsequent snarling occupies every wolf’s attention in the vicinity, a few Alphas darting away with their tails tucked so tightly that their asses drag in the dirt. It’d be funny if I wasn’t panting my lungs out, my heart lurching rapidly at the thought of what just happened—an Alpha nearly got me. This almost ended in the worst way, and now all attention is on us.

But I refuse to give up.

As I draw a wide loop in the forest, I hunker back into a sprint, ready to back Noah up. I dart from bush to bush, careful to make as minimal sound as possible as I zip closer to Noah and Mason's violent clash.

No one has spotted me—probably because Mason has tripled his aggression.

And Noah has had enough. His rage kicks into overdrive, each bite strong enough to crush Mason’s bones—if Mason wasn’t scurrying out of the way.

But Mason is barely able to keep up. He stumbles, letting out stark whines between frothing snarls—a constant whiplash of fear and hatred coursing through his vibrant yellow irises.

Noah finally latches on. He bites like he’s starved, the white of his fangs no longer visible between rapid, devastating clamps of his bloodied jaws.

Then I see it: the fear Noah warned me about. The fear of a cornered animal clinging to his last hope for survival.

Mason lunges, his fangs gnashing at Noah’s throat.

I charge so hard at Mason, I can’t even feel my impact. Instinct overwhelms me, eating up every trace my senses give me as I act on them without any thought. I thrash over Mason until he’s cowering deep into the dirt. The stench of his fear burns my nose, but it only makes me angrier. Does he even know how afraid he makes others feel?

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