Chapter 22 - Linnea

I have never seen this many shifters together in my entire life. Ever since I was little and I saw my parents shift for the first time, there was something that felt forbidden about it. Being unable to shift myself, it feels like a violation to see others go through the transformation. It's like a club I don't—and will never—belong to.

But when Aris leaps from my spot in the trees, flying into the clearing below and killing two rogues with sickening, wet, crunching sounds, I can't help staring at his form as his bones move and he becomes a weapon. He's huge—a hulking beast with long, sharp claws and lethal teeth.

I'm not afraid of him, but my body acknowledges the sheer wonder of him existing like this. It's like the feeling one gets standing in front of a waterfall—it's beautiful, but it could also crush and drown you with a single fell swoop with no mercy or guilt.

My head is still pounding, my body aches, and the familiar nausea lingers, roiling in my stomach and threatening to creep up my throat. I can't get sick here—it would give my position away, which would make Aris more vulnerable. I just want to help however I can, and right now, I know staying hidden is the best thing I can do for the team.

Even from here, I can smell the bleach and the herbs smoking in the embers of the fire pit, and I hope it's enough. Dozens of shifters fell into our traps—I heard them screaming as the others just trampled over them, not even looking back or offering to help—but it barely put a dent in Varun's forces.

I hate violence and I hate blood even more, but it's like I can't tear my eyes away from the fight taking place below me. Watching Aris like this is like watching a dancer perform their masterpiece. He moves gracefully yet with more force than I could ever imagine. I watch, stunned, as he turns and takes out six nearby rogues with relative ease.

Though he's shifted into his wolf form and is surrounded by other shifters, it's easy for me to find him. First, because he's by and large the biggest wolf in the field, and second, because my eyes automatically track to him, whether he's standing up or running on all fours.

His fur is the same dark brown as his hair, and I feel the odd urge to reach out and touch him. I wonder if it's painful for him to shift or painful for him to go too long without shifting. I realize that if we have children, I won't be able to help them with that part of their development.

Unless we have a child like me. A non-shifter.

But maybe a child like me would also have visions that could help the pack and protect their people.

A rogue leaps on Aris and knocks him to the ground, and I have to cover my hand with my mouth to keep from calling out after him. He told me to stay put, and to stay quiet, and for the first time since I saw him standing there, arms crossed, at the bar, I'm actually going to listen to his instructions.

That is until I catch sight of Eva moving around the perimeter. I watch her, confused by her style of fighting. While everyone else is in the thick of the action—except for Byron, whom I haven't seen once since the fighting started—Eva is prowling around the edge of the clearing as though she's biding her time for something.

My eyes track her carefully, which is why I catch the exact moment that two of the rogue shifters notice her, turning and running in her direction. Two more join them, and in a second, Eva has several rogues hot on her tail, following her away from the action.

She bolts for the opposite side of the clearing, but it's the edge that juts up against the cliff's edge, leading to the mansion above. Watching from here, I can see that she thinks she'll lead them into the traps we laid, but she's moving too far to the south. They'll just miss them, and she'll be cornered.

But she's close enough to me that I could help.

Before I know what I'm doing, my legs are moving, finding purchase on the branches below and lowering myself down from the tree, focusing on moving as fast as I can while not falling to my death. Luckily, Aris is too busy to notice my descent, or I know I would face his wrath at my decision to move.

But Eva is part of the pack, and something deep inside me—perhaps that urge to act as the luna would—is urging me to protect her. Once my feet hit the ground, I take off in the direction I saw her go, leaving enough space between me and the rogues that, hopefully, they won't sense my presence straight away.

I burst out of the trees, hitting the clearing just as Eva butts up against the cliff's edge. She turns, and though she's clearly cornered, isolated away from the rest of the team, I don't see the fear I thought I would in her eyes. Instead, she looks confident and unafraid, something I try to mimic as I shout, turning all of the rogue's attention toward me.

There's no way I'm faster than them, but I don't have to keep them behind me for long. I turn, sprinting as fast as I can in the opposite direction, my heart pumping, my lungs burning with whatever powder is in the air, and my brain jostling painfully in my head. Just as I can feel the rogues' breath on the back of my ankles, I leap, clearing the trench.

Pure luck must be on my side because the rogues are too caught up in the chase to realize they've run into a trap. I turn as the one closest to me snarls, something like vindication in his eyes, his jaws snapping but falling short as his body moves down. The rest of them follow, spread out enough that each lands on his own patch of spikes.

The first rogue dies instantly, but the rest are howling with pain. I know they were just trying to kill me, but I still have to cover my ears with my hands to block out the noise, like howling dogs whimpering with pain.

"That was very clever," Eva says, walking out from between the trees. She's shifted back into her human form, and I avert my eyes, realizing she's completely naked. Despite the fact that she would have had to run hard and fast to catch up with us, it doesn't even look like she's broken a sweat. I suppose that's what a regular training regimen gets you.

"Thank you," I heave before turning and hurling my guts into the bushes beside me. The last of the howls have died out, but the stench of blood and bile rises up out of the trench, which doesn't help with my nausea.

"I—" Eva starts to say, taking a step toward me, but she stops, her eyes widening before darting down to my belly and up to me.

Suddenly, as though the information was just simmering under the surface, waiting to appear, I remember what my mother used to say: Female wolves are more in tune with each other. If you had a sister, you might share your time of the month. My mother knew I was pregnant before I did.

I gasp, my hand coming to my mouth as everything snaps into place. The nausea, the fatigue, the sudden and even more intense yearning to be near Aris. My body wants me to protect my baby.

My vision. I picture my body on the bed, the way my head was tipped back, the blood spread out on the blanket. I was screaming in pain, but I wasn't attacked. I was giving birth—to Aris's baby.

The thought fills me with warmth but also with terror. I'm carrying Aris's baby, and I just put us both in harm's way to protect Eva, who's now looking at me with one eyebrow raised, disdain written across her face as her eyes flick between me and my belly. I put a hand on it protectively, thinking of the little life that Aris and I made together.

When Eva turns to go, I realize she could walk right out into the clearing and tell Aris right now. I can picture the look on his face and the way he would abandon even his team members to come to my side and protect me and his child. I can't let that happen.

"Please don't tell anyone," I say, lunging forward and grabbing Eva's arm. She turns back to me with a cool look, and I drop my gaze again, still uncomfortable with her nudity. I'm reminded of Aris saying we couldn't share a cabin because she would kill me in my sleep, and I drop her arm. Obviously, she wouldn't hurt me because I'm Aris's mate and her luna, but the current resentment rolls off her in waves. "I'll tell Aris, obviously, but… Now's not the time. I can't distract him."

"How do you think he's going to like that?" she snarls. "How do you think he's going to reward me when he finds out I kept the knowledge of his little heir from him?"

I straighten up, trying to think about what my mom might have done in this situation. Though I didn't know her well, I think about what Aris has told me about his mother, and wonder how she would deal with this situation. Her alpha was around during a time of peace, and I'm suddenly very envious of her position as luna during that time—until I remember how it ended for her.

Thinking of her, of the mother-in-law I never got to have, I know that I want to live up to her legacy. I want to be a luna that people reference when they tell their children what it means to fill the role. I'll support the women in my pack and ensure they never have to go through a pregnancy or crisis alone. I'll keep the men in line, ensuring they treat their mates properly.

"I am your luna," I say, my voice coming out surprisingly confidently. Something in my stomach churns, and I get the bizarre feeling that my child is sharing in this moment of pride. "Do not tell Aris. If he doesn't like that decision, he'll have to deal with me."

Eva still looks at me with a chilly gaze, but she gives me the slightest nod before shifting back into her other form and bounding toward the clearing, leaving me alone in the woods.