Page 57 of King Luna

“Which I think makes absolute sense.” I open my mouth to continue, then close it—my nerves wash over me far more intensely than before, shifting into nausea.

Hooking his hand in mine, Noah gives me a gentle squeeze.You okay? Do you need backup?

They won’t like this, backup or not. I know it.

Probably. But this is what they all signed up for, yeah? And I’m not letting anyone ignore my genius Luna. I trust you, and so do they. Look at them.

That’s what’s making me sick. They look so sincere—so dedicated to their beloved packs.

And I don’t want this to be true either. But the more I think about it, the more I can feel it. We’re reading these cultists wrong.

Viktor’s shoulders ripple beneath his suit, his expression darkening. “Wait, you think the plan makes sense? Then what’s wrong? Why do you look so terrified?”

“Becauseit makes sense,” I mutter, unable to keep my voice from shaking. “I understand there’s a natural order to things. That customarily, you fight for dominance, wolf to wolf—just like at the Alpha Summit.”

“And? What’s wrong with that?” Viktor stiffens, and I freeze. He stares me down, and this time, I’m certain I shouldn’t hold eye contact.

“Vik,” Annika hisses beneath her breath.

“What? I’m genuinely asking.”

Noah clears his throat. That’s all it takes for everyone at the table to soften their glares, loosening in their seats. Still, it’s dead silent.

“What’s wrong with that is that this is whatyou allwould do as pack leaders. But these Alphas aren’t the same as us,” I say.

Viktor sighs. “Okay, that, I absolutely agree with.”

“Right. They don’t act like us, which also means they don’t think like us.”

This time, when it falls silent, no one dares to speak up in response to my thoughts. The collective scent reverts into a bitter unease, unsteady eyes latching onto me in the hopes I hold the answers for them.

A heavy pit forms in my stomach. “They have the perfect advantage to attack. We’re grouping global leaders all in one place, and they have multiple leaders on their side to infiltrate from within the Summit. I think we’re right about a possible global super pack forming, an alliance spanning across hundreds of packs for the sake of Alpha-domination extremism. And I think they’ll try to kill us all here.”

I expect Viktor to fight me on this, but Tane’s eyebrows shoot up his forehead. “Here?Where they’ll get beaten senseless by the strongest Alphas in the world, all at once?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” I mutter. “These are volatile, power-hungry Alphas, a large majority of them with records of abuse. And abusers can’t be reasoned with. Their decisions often don’t make sense because they don’t play by society’s rules. They don’t have to. Not when their manipulation, coercion, and intimidation breaks the whole game, forcing victims into a never-ending, losing battle: no limits, respect, or compassion in sight.”

Tane and Viktor exchange the subtle, fleeting glance I expected; the one I’ve seen many times as a woman trying to speak up for myself or my loved ones. I don’t expect a flash of anger to broil through me at the sight of it, but as fury rips through me, I know it’s not actually directed at anyone here. With the thought of these Alpha men barging in to not simply fight us, but likely take at least some of our lives, I quiver against Noah.

But his deep, rumbling voice stabilizes my breath.

“Think about it,” Noah says. “Maybe they challenged us face to face in the beginning, but in the past few months, have any of you fought cordially with a single one of our worst offenders while they played by our traditional rules?”

Silence.

My heart throbs faster; their silence is a horrible yet necessary validation. I grip Noah’s hand tighter, inhaling through the burst of pride Noah feels for me in our bond.

You’ve got this, Luna,Noah says.

“No one’s forcing Lycans to fight for dominance by the rules—we just do, out of respect for one another. But these Alphas want to put us in our place. Specifically us pack leaders, who represent everything they want,” I say.

“That’d be reckless,” Tane mutters. “Yeah, sounds like them.”

“Exactly,” Noah says. “That’s what pissed me off too—it proves her point, right? It isn’t just straggler extremists anymore. And the leaders using this dogma to abuse their own packs are just as reckless. What do these jackasses do to us every year at the Summit?”

“Fight way beyond their physical limits, nearly getting themselves killed.” Viktor’s voice has never been so quiet.

“And imagine them now, emboldened by how widespread their belief system has grown,” Noah mutters.

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