Unbelievable Faith

by Jess Bryant

  It had been over two weeks since Leo returned to the Crescent pack. More than three weeks since Michael had saved her from Maddox and the living hell he’d put her through. The full moon was due tomorrow and she was feeling restless and trapped in the lodge.

  She needed to run. Maddox keeping her chained during the last full moon had left her wolf nervous about what she would be put through this full moon. Luna wanted to shift and run, take in the fresh air and freedom and try to convince her wolf that all of that hurt was in the past. She didn’t want her wolf freaking out on Michael or any of the Moirae pack during their first full moon together so she’d been going for runs whenever she could manage to slip away.

  Unfortunately, those opportunities to do so alone were few and far between. Whenever Michael knew she was heading out for a run, he either insisted on going with her or sending one of the Enforcers. She loved the times he joined her. She did. But sometimes a girl also needed some space to breathe and put herself back together. She couldn’t lean on him for the rest of their lives no matter how strong he was. The Enforcers were worse. Quiet, solemn and serious, they trailed behind her, always in human form, always on the alert, causing her wolf to panic whenever she heard their footsteps at her back.

  She wanted to run alone but had managed it only a few times in the past month. She’d thought she had a clean getaway today. Michael had been locked in his office all morning with her brother, Rafe, Darius and the other Enforcers. Zoey was at home with a stomach bug. Maya was busy training and Nova had started her schooling again. She’d thought she was home free until she heard that voice she loved so much behind her.

  Turning slowly, she pasted a smile on her face, “Just out for a run.”

  Michael’s lips instantly pursed, “Feeling restless?”

  She nodded and he opened his arms. She walked into them immediately. God she loved how he read her so easily and always offered her the comfort she needed. She nuzzled against his chest, breathing him in until some of the tension that had been riding her all day began to seep away.

  He brushed his lips over her hair, “Give me an hour and I’ll go with you.”

  “No, ” She winced as she pulled back and saw the crestfallen look on his face, “I mean, there’s no need. I’m already heading out and I know you’re busy.”

  “I’m never too busy for you, besides, after sitting at my desk all day I could use a run myself.”

  She softened when he rubbed at his neck, “Is everything okay? The mood around here has been tense today.”

  “It’s nothing.” He started but when she pinned him with a glare he sighed, “It’s not nothing. It’s just… the scout teams that have been searching the woods for the last of the wolves loyal to Maddox are worried. They swear someone has been setting traps for them. A few of them have been injured.”

  “Oh my God, Michael.” She frowned.

  “None of the injuries have been serious. They’ll all recover. It’s just worrisome that nobody seems to have gotten a look at the person behind the attacks.” Michael swiped a hand over his face, “I don’t like the idea of you going out there alone while that kind of threat still exists.”

  Luna took a deep breath and let it out. She could feel his concern and his worry. She even understood it. But he couldn’t keep her caged here like a prisoner. That would’ve made him no better than Maddox and her beautiful, brave, kind, considerate mate was far, far better than that evil bastard had been. She knew he knew it and that was why he hadn’t told her that she couldn’t go, just that he didn’t want her to go alone.

  Luna moved forward and cupped his hard jaw between her hands, “I know you’re worried but I promise that I’ll be safe. I won’t leave Moirae territory. I won’t even go near the border. I’ll take the path Zoey showed me and I’ll run straight to the lake and back.”

  “Baby…” Michael shook his head but she cut him off.

  “I need to do this. I don’t know how to explain it. I just… I feel like I need to be out there right now. I need to feel the wind on my face and the grass under my paws. My wolf needs it and I think you need it too. You need to see that I can go but I’ll always come back to you. I’ll always come home to you, Michael. I promise. Just, have faith.”

  He stared down at her for a long moment and she could see the conflicting emotions on his handsome face. He didn’t like the idea. Not one bit. But he understood that this was something she needed and he’d vowed to give her whatever she needed. His dark brows knit together and finally, finally, when she was almost convinced he would cut his meeting short and insist on going with her, he dropped his forehead to hers and held her close.

  “You’ll be safe.”

  It was an order, not a request, and she smiled, “I promise.”

  “Straight to the lake and back, no stops in between.”

  “Okay.” She nodded, “But I’d like to stop in at the cabin and check on Zoey. You know she’s had that stomach bug for a couple of days now.”

  Michael snorted, “Stomach bug my ass. She’s pregnant. She’s just too damn stubborn to admit that Rafe is right and she’s carrying pups.”

  Luna smiled knowingly, “She doesn’t want anyone talking about pregnancy until after the official mating ceremony on the new moon. She wants them to be married, legally, first. She was human for most of her life, Michael. If she wants to pretend it’s a virus until she says I do, then I think it’s best for all of us to let her.”

  “So smart and kind and generous.” Michael brushed his lips over hers, “How did I end up with the perfect mate?”

  “Just lucky I guess.” Luna grinned for him and then brushed his lips with her own before pulling away, “I’ll stop and check on her. I’ll even call you from the cabin so you know I made it and I’ll let you know before I head back. Is that enough checkpoints for you, Alpha?”

  Michael snorted, “I suppose if my mate is set on visiting her sister in law before the full moon, I should just be thankful they’ve become such good friends and let her go.”

  “Thank you.” Luna tiptoed up and brushed her lips over his again, “I’ll find you when I get back and I promise, I’ll show you just how grateful I am.”

  A low growl came from deep in Michael’s chest, “Go then. Go before I change my mind and haul you off to bed.”

  Luna giggled and sidestepped his big paws when he swiped at her, trying to pull her close. He was grinning as she blew him a kiss and then turned and headed out of the lodge. She could feel him watching her so she put a little extra sway in her step as she headed across the yard but she didn’t dare shift. Not yet. She’d learned early on that her mate was highly possessive and though nudity wasn’t really an issue amongst most shifters, Michael didn’t like his pack members seeing her unclothed. It was kind of cute actually, that he wanted to keep her body for himself. He already had her heart and her soul so she figured he might as well get to keep her body for himself too. She waited until she’d reached the path in the woods and then stepped into a small clearing to shed her clothes, folding them and putting them aside for when she returned before letting her wolf rise to the surface.

  Her teeth elongated and her nails turned to claws first. A scream tried to work its way up her throat but she swallowed it down the way she’d been taught since she was just a child. Anyone that said shifting got easier was a damn liar. It always hurt. It always felt like being ripped apart at the seams. But that was the curse of the dual natured and the blessing was learning to control it and the power that came with it.

  Luna’s wolf rose from her crouch on the ground and shook her fur, readjusting herself to this world as she always did when she broke free. Luna was still there, but beneath the surface now. She was no longer the one in complete control. She could guide and help make decisions but her wolf was a separate entity, part of her but also with a will all her own.

  She knew that a lot of wolves that had gone through the kind of trauma she had lost control of their other half. She’d even learned in
the past few weeks that Rafe’s wolf had gone feral after the incident that took the lives of his parents and twin brother. He was still recovering. She supposed she was just lucky that her own wolf hadn’t broken from her like that and had instead burrowed deeper inside of her.

  Now that she was free, Luna let her do what she’d been begging to do all day. Run. Her wolf raised her head, scenting the air. When she didn’t recognize anything but the fresh, clean smell of the wind coming off the nearby lake and the damp, musky scent of the underbrush, she all but purred. With a shimmy of excitement, she pushed off her back paws, leaping over a log and taking off at full speed through the forest.

  She’d sworn to Michael that she would stick to the path and she didn’t break that promise. Not really. She stayed near it, criss crossing back and forth over it as she ran and jumped and played. Running on a well beaten down path wasn’t any fun. She was a wolf. A werewolf. A powerful, dangerous, magical creature that needed to feel the freedom of her animal side on occasion.

  It was wonderful. Beautiful.Liberating . Especially after spending so much time in captivity, to be running in the wide open forest alone with nothing but the scurry of other animals to keep her company. She loved it in a way that she never had before. Or maybe she’d always loved it, she’d just never truly appreciated it for the gift that it was.

  Maybe that was why, when a rabbit went scurrying past her on the path, she let her wolf chase it. Because it was fun. Because it felt easy and natural to become a predator when she was in this form. Because it made her feel strong and powerful. Even if, in the back of her mind, she reminded her wolf that they weren’t going to kill the tiny woodland creature, it was fun to play chase.

  They snaked in and out of the trees. Over fallen logs and under thick bushes. And it was only when she went plowing over a large grouping of rocks and splashed into the river that Luna jolted to an abrupt stop.

  Her head jerked up and her ears twitched. She swung her head back and forth and then sank lower into a crouch. She shouldn’t have been this far out but that wasn’t what had stopped her in her tracks.

  It was the scent that she’d caught on the air. Something that was familiar enough to make her wolf whine, but not familiar enough for her to place. Whatever it was, it wasn’t supposed to be here.

  She knew it and so did her wolf.

  Slowly, she crept back, retreating from the water. The rabbit was forgotten now and a cold sense of dread had replaced her earlier excitement. Her wolf hearing picked up on something, a sound nearby, close, and she bared her teeth at the thicket of brush just across from her. There was the smallest movement there but it was enough for her wolf to pick up on and she scrambled backwards on instinct now, rushing away from the danger she felt was coming for them.

  But it was too late.

  There was a snap. A hissing sound. And then a sharp pain tore through her left flank and took her to the ground with a thud. Luna’s wolf howled in pain when she tried to stand to limp away but couldn’t get to her feet.

  One glance down told her all she needed to know. She’d screwed up. She’d broken her promise to Michael. She’d left the path. She hadn’t kept herself safe. And now she was going to pay for it.

  The arrow sticking out of her left thigh was proof of that. Then the rustle of the brush came again and Luna jerked her eyes back to the threat. The person that had shot her stepped onto the riverbank, the gold of the evening light haloing her and giving her features a decidedly gruesome appearance when she snarled.

  Sasha. Luna whimpered. Sasha Devlin was alive.

  She’d escaped the Moirae pack. She’d stolen the crossbow and the supplies from the Crescents. She’d bandaged herself back together and instead of moving on, running away and starting over, she’d been out here all this time looking for holes in the Moirae defense.

  It all made sense now. Nova’s insistence that Luna wasn’t safe yet despite mating with Michael. The sense of dread she’d never quite been able to shake no matter how many times she told herself it was silly because Maddox was dead. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, in her subconscious, she’d known.

  Sasha was alive and she was here to kill Luna just like she’d always wanted to only this time, Maddox wasn’t alive to stop her. Michael wasn’t here to rescue her. And Luna knew that if she was going to keep her promise to her mate to come back to him, that she would have to find a way to save herself this time.

  Chapter 20

  Michael was at his desk when he felt a sudden surge of worry. He frowned and glanced up but nobody else in the room had moved. Darius and Rafe still stood by the big table with the map they’d been marking up all afternoon. Neither of them had so much as looked his direction as they discussed the best path to take to lure their predator into becoming prey.

  Suddenly uncomfortable, Michael shifted in his chair and shot a look at the clock. Luna hadn’t left all that long ago and she was no doubt enjoying her time alone in the woods, running and happy and free. He could tell when he’d run into her that she needed the time alone more than he needed to guarantee her safety. They’d compromised, as they were learning to do. He shouldn’t be any more worried about her than he normally was. She would be nearing the lake by now but there was no reason she should have called already.

  He had no reason to worry. None at all. Only, even as he thought it, a sharp pain lanced through his body and he shot upright, stumbling back from his desk as if something beneath it had bitten him.

  “Michael?” Rafe turned back towards him instantly, his brows knitting together, “Michael, what’s wrong?”

  “I…” Michael frowned, looking from his desk to his leg and back again before shaking his head, “I don’t know. Something’s just… off.”

  Another sharp pain lanced through him but this time, it made him nearly double over. It felt like his heart was being cut out. Like someone had taken a sharp blade and begun carving into him, intent on ripping his most vital organ out of his chest.

  “Michael!” Rafe was at his side now, catching him as he stumbled and lowering him back into his chair. “Breathe!”

  He sucked in a gasp and realized that he hadn’t been breathing. He’d been holding his breath, trying to ride out the sudden pain. He took a deep breath just like his brother said. He gulped in the fresh air but the movement only made the pain in his chest worse. He raised his hand and rubbed his palm over his left pec, just above his heart, as his mind raced and he tried to figure out what was happening.

  Was he having a heart attack? It didn’t make sense. He was young. He was healthy. He was in the prime of his life. He’d just found his fated mate. He was a werewolf with a mate and a pack and he could heal himself from almost any injury. What was happening to him?

  “Darius, get him a glass of water and…” Rafe began to bark orders and the big Enforcer was already moving towards the door when it flew open so hard that it crashed into the wall.

  Michael jerked his head up. Rafe kneeled in front of him protectively. Darius stumbled to a stop. But neither of them could block the intruder from his line of sight and as soon as he saw her, he knew exactly what it all meant.

  He wasn’t having a heart attack. Not in the traditional sense. But his heart was being ripped away from him and he felt it in every fiber of his being.

  “Luna.” He nearly choked on the name as a sob worked its way up his throat.

  Nova had tears in her eyes and she wiped at them with the backs of her hands, “She’s in trouble. She’s in trouble and I didn’t see it soon enough this time. I didn’t see it until it was too late.”

  “What did you see?” Michael swallowed past the lump in his throat.

  “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think… I knew there was danger but I couldn’t see what it all meant. Not until it was too late. I’m so sorry.”

  Michael growled when the young girl said those two words again. Too late. She kept saying it was too late. But dammit, he could still feel Luna. His heart hurt and he felt her pain but
the bond was still there which meant she was alive. So long as she was still breathing, there was nothing he wouldn’t do to get to her, which meant it wasn’t too late.

  He bared his teeth, “Tell me what you saw, now!”

  Leo stepped from beside his youngest sister and leveled a glare at Michael, “Don’t take that tone with her. This isn’t her fault.”

  “Are you implying that it’s mine?” He rose to his feet, his claws unsheathing of their own accord.

  Now was not the time for Leo to try and assert dominance. This was Michael’s territory, his pack lodge and it was his mate that was in trouble. Leo was her brother, sure, but mate trumped brother. And if it took shaking each of every DeLuca that was keeping secrets until they all fell out, he’d do it in order to find and protect his mate.

  A second figure stepped in front of Nova, shoulder to shoulder with Leo and a big hand shot out, stalling Michael before he could get too close, “Calm down.”

  Michael stopped to glare at his best friend, “Don’t tell me to calm down, Darius. You don’t have any idea what it feels like to know your mate is in danger, to feel her pain and her fear and not be able to stop it immediately. Until you’re mated and you have someone you’d rip your own heart out for to keep theirs beating, you don’t get to tell me to calm down.”

  Darius snarled and Michael instantly regretted the words. His friends eyes glowed gold and his teeth elongated. Never, not once in the twenty years he’d known the Enforcer had he seen Darius react so viscerally, he’d certainly never unsheathed his claws with the intention of harming his Alpha. Michael knew he’d pushed too far and lowered his gaze in apology.

  Leo made a growling noise himself and stepped between them but he didn’t face Michael. He turned to Darius. When the big man wouldn’t meet his gaze and continued to glare past him at Michael, Leo reached up and gripped his chin, hard, pulling that laser like intensity onto himself.