Page 24 of Fat Forced Mate

Silence falls over the Hollow as Luna stands, dripping and magnificent, at the course's end. She's done it. Completed every obstacle using nothing but wit, magic, and sheer determination. Even Melissa seems speechless.

"Time!" Thomas calls. "Nineteen minutes, forty-three seconds. Well within the thirty-minute limit."

The crowd erupts in a mix of cheers and angry mutters. I barely hear them. Can't focus on anything except the fierce triumph in Luna's eyes as she meets my gaze across the distance. At that moment, she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen—powerful, proud, and absolutely magnificent.

My wolf howls in victory.

For once, I don't argue.

***

The pack's voices fade behind us as they return to town, leaving the Hollow wrapped in late morning silence. I track Luna's scent through the trees—lavender and sage mixed with lake water and the metallic tang of spent magic. She's headed toward Shadow Creek, either by accident or design. Probably design. She always was clever about leading me exactly where she wanted me to go.

Or maybe she wants me gone. Maybe she’s desperate for me to leave her alone to think.

Either way, the notion is unthinkable.

I find her in our old meeting spot, perched on the broad rock that overlooks the water. She's still in the trial outfit, though it's mostly dry now, the fabric clinging to her curves in ways that make my wolf crazy. Her wet hair has started to curl, copper spirals catching the sunlight that filters through the canopy, and as I watch, she curls the thick mass of it in her hands and wrings it out.

"Enjoying the view?" she asks without turning.

"You could have died." The words come out rougher than intended. "That rope wasn't meant to break. Someone tampered with it."

"I know." Now, she does look at me, and the fierce pride in her expression makes my breath catch. "I tried to tell you.”

My wolf snarls at the confirmation of sabotage. "Luna—"

"Save it." She stands in one fluid motion, power crackling around her like static electricity. "I passed your precious trial. Proved I'm not completely useless, even without a wolf. Isn't that what you wanted? Or do I have to make it through the other two before you finally quit looking at me like I’m some kind of bug under your shoe?”

"What I wanted?" I stalk closer, unable to resist the pull of her. "You have no idea what I want."

"Don't I?" Her eyes flash as I invade her space. "You were always the mighty Alpha’s son, so concerned with tradition and protocol—you’ve always been this way. Tell me, Nic, did it kill you to watch me succeed? To see the hybrid you rejected prove she doesn't need your protection? Did it kill you to know the woman you want nothing more than to do away with might end up being worthy of the one thing you don’t want her for?”

The taunt hits its mark. My wolf surges forward, tired of dancing around what we both want. "Is that what you think? That I wanted you to fail?"

"Didn't you?" But her breath catches as I close the final distance between us. "You made it pretty clear five years ago that I wasn't good enough for—"

I silence her with a growl, backing her against the nearest tree. She gasps as her back hits bark, but her scent spikes with heat rather than just fear. Nervousness, anxiety, curiosity, desire. So much all at once.

"I watched you create handholds in solid rock. Repair a broken rope with pure magic. Bend water to your will. And all I could think was—”

"Don't." Her voice wavers. "Don't say things you don't mean. Not again, Nic—I can’t handle it."

"Don’t presume to order me around, Luna." I brace my hands on either side of her head, caging her with my body. This close, I can count the freckles across her nose, see the gold flecks in her green eyes. "I wanted you. It’s the truth.”

Her magic crackles between us, making my skin tingle. "Stop it. You can't just—"

"Can't just what? I am your Alpha.” My lip curls. Looking down at her, I want to ruin her. I want to make her forget her name, I realize with a chill of desire.

"Nic." My name comes out somewhere between a warning and a plea.“Nic.”

I lean closer, drawing in her scent. Beneath the lake water and magic, desire rolls off her in waves. "Tell me to stop. Tell me you don't want this just as badly as I do. You can’t, can you? You were always a bad liar.”

Her hands come up to my chest, but she doesn't push me away. "This is a terrible idea."

"Probably." I let my fingers trace her jaw, feeling her shiver at the contact. "Tell me to stop."

Instead, she fists her hands in my shirt and drags my mouth to hers.

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