Page 46 of King Luna

Noah isn’t smiling. “It shouldn't. Right, Vik?”

Annika shoots Viktor a glare, and Noah huffs out his frustration, shaking his head.

So Viktorispissed about last year's Alpha Summit competition. What really happened?

Viktor rolls his eyes. “Fine. Sorry. I'll drop it already. I really mean it, though. I want to know who's making you—” He waves his hand over Noah’s tense form, one eyebrow raised. “Like this. I've never seen you so on edge.”

Noah chews on his lip, glancing at me.Are you okay if I ask about—?

My heart drops, but I’m no longer confused.Yes, you can ask them about my ex. But do you really think Steven’s worth mentioning? These two are important wolves.

And so are you. Whether he turns out to be a wolf or a human, he needs to be blacklisted.

Just because he's my ex? Isn't that a misuse of our power?

No, it's because what he did should never happen again. It should never have happened in the first place.

My throat thickens with nausea.You're right. I don't want that to happen to anyone else, ever.

The dread in Noah's emotions mixes with my residual anger. He closes his eyes with a heavy sigh.

But Viktor’s tone softens a little. “Alpha, seriously. Who is it? Are you both okay?”

“Someone I knew,” I say.

Noah stiffens at my admission, but I nod, urging him to continue.

His voice deepens as he leans in. “Do either of you happen to know a—” Noah winces like he swallowed spoiled meat. “A Steven Barrett?”

My stomach churns at Steven's name in Noah’s mouth, his tightened voice reflecting his repulsion in our bond. But when Annika and Viktor look at each other in thought, anticipation burns my chest. I can't decide if I want to hear their answer. I need Steven far away from us and our allies, so I don’t want tohear he’s close by, but not knowing where he is scares me just as badly.

“A Lycan?” Viktor asks.

“Or a human. It's... complicated,” Noah says. “I’m wondering if he used scent blockers. He isolated Aliya from friends and family, in part to control her, but it’s also very possible he was distancing himself so no other Lycans could scent him out, even with a blocker.”

Annika and Viktor frown, glancing at each other.

Oh, God. I hope they still believe me. I had no idea Lycans existed back then, so I didn’t know how to differentiate Steven's scent. And if Noah’s theory about scent blockers is true, Steven could’ve easily been hiding it. He’s right: Steven never met a single member of my family, and stayed far, far away from Amy, forever calling her “your clingy friend.”

Noah pulls me closer, giving my hip a soft squeeze.

But Viktor shrugs. “We don’t know a Steven Barrett. Not here, and not that any of our allies have warned us about. But we can ask them directly, in private conversation. If he’s violent and also this calculated, they need to know about it. He’s North American? Pacific Northwest origin?”

“Yep. I’ll give you a full profile. He’s somewhere near our territory, as far as we know. Which pisses me the fuck off. I can't find him anywhere, and—” Noah's wolf bristles in our bond, too angry to continue speaking.

Viktor dares to lean even closer, staring Noah straight in the eyes. His deep voice quiets to a low hum. “What’d he do? You look like you want to kill him.”

“No, I—” Noah’s jaw clenches. “Aliya and I discussed this, at length. And I agree with her; if he’s a human, we’re pursuing legal action, and if he’s a wolf, we’re capturing him—not killing him. No matter how much I fucking hate his existence, we’re not playing God, like he did.”

“Hurting him won’t magically erase what he did to me, it’ll only make me feel even worse,” I say.

Viktor frowns. “Well, sure, we’d do the same here in Sweden, opting for rehabilitation by social workers instead of inhumane punishment like most human societies choose. But like Anni has always told me, there are limits to which men like this will ever change.”

Meeting Annika’s somber eyes, a fire ignites in me. “I’ve struggled with that exact fear; I have my doubts he could be rehabilitated at all, no matter the amount of love, support, and training we could provide him. It’s his decision in the end, not ours. I can’t see the Steven I knew choosing to pursue compassion over power, maybe not even in his lifetime... But I won’t prevent us from giving him the opportunity. We’re planning to sentence him to some form of service that benefits survivors like me—without compromising anyone’s safety, of course. The rest will be none of my business.” I straighten, fueling my confidence with the heat in my gut. “But don’t underestimate his capabilities. Steven is a dangerous man to any woman he meets, Lycan or not. He— Um—”

My voice cracks, and I have to swallow my fear as it surges up my throat.

So much for confidence. I’ve never spoken about Steven so directly to strangers. This is already beyond my limits.

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