Page 46 of Fat Forced Mate

The title sounds different now, almost intimate in the empty corridor. I'm acutely aware of every inch between us, of the slight acceleration in her heartbeat, audible to my enhanced senses.

"Talk to me," I murmur. "If you want things to change, ask me.”

"You expect me to trust you?”

"No," I admit, the honesty surprising us both. "But I've learned from my mistakes."

Something shifts in her expression—a softening, or perhaps just surprise at my candor. For a moment, I think she might say more, might bridge this final distance between us.

Instead, she takes a deliberate step back, breaking whatever spell had momentarily ensnared us.

"I should go," she says, voice carefully controlled. "Ruby's waiting for me."

I nod, ignoring the protest of my wolf. "Of course."

She turns to leave, but pauses. "Your pack needs every advantage, Nic. Including magic. Don't let old prejudices blind you to that reality."

Then she's gone, the echo of her footsteps fading down the corridor, leaving me with the ghost of her scent and the frustrating sense of an opportunity missed.

I lean against the wall, exhaling slowly, trying to regain my composure. My wolf paces restlessly, dissatisfied with the outcome, pushing against my control with growing insistence each time I encounter her.

"Alpha!" Thomas's voice shatters the moment. I straighten immediately, recognizing the urgency in his tone before he rounds the corner.

His face confirms my instinct—something is wrong.

"What happened?" I demand.

"Message from the Matthews Pack, out west," he says grimly. "They were attacked last night. Heavy casualties."

My blood runs cold. The Matthews Pack is—was—one of our strongest allies, their territory adjacent to our eastern border.

"Survivors?"

"Some. They've retreated to their secondary den." Thomas hesitates. "Nic, they're saying the attackers used some kind of magic. It matches what we’ve seen.”

The Cheslem pack. The corrupted magic we'd encountered at the border, now deployed in full force against our allies. The Matthews Pack is smaller than ours, but not by much.

"Send aid—medical supplies, fighters, whatever they need." My mind races through implications, strategy adjustments, defensive possibilities. "And get James, tell him what’s going on. We need to strengthen our eastern perimeter immediately."

Thomas nods, already turning to carry out my orders.

"And Thomas?"

He pauses.

"Find Luna. She needs to know about this."

He gives me a questioning look but doesn't comment on the instruction. As he leaves, I stare down the now-emptycorridor where Luna disappeared, acutely aware that the time for caution and tradition may have just run out.

The Matthews Pack fell in a single night.

We might be next.

Chapter 17 - Luna

The scent of old parchment and leather bindings fills my nose as I flip through yet another ancient text. The pack library is silent around me, dust motes dancing in the afternoon sunlight that streams through high windows. I've been here for hours, searching for anything that might help me prepare for the final Trial, mere days away now.

My back aches from hunching over the table, and my eyes burn from staring at a faded script. A wave of fatigue washes over me, more intense than it should be. Another pregnancy symptom I need to hide.

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