Kacie
“Are you okay, Luna?” Beta Jake asked me after we closed a meeting. It was definitely a loaded question.
“Do I not look okay?” I countered.
“Honestly?” He laughed, “No, you don’t.”
“I dropped his gaze as I tried to ignore the void in my chest. It continued to grow and it reminded me on a daily basis of what I was trying to avoid.
“I don’t know what you want to hear,” I said.
He reached for me but stopped. “All I need is Viktor and this pack.”
“It won’t be enough,” he said.
“What are you—,” I started.
“I wasn’t insinuating anything. I am loyal to my Alpha and to you. I was saying it won’t be enough.”
“It will be,” I growled. “What else do I need?”
“You need you,” he said with a shrug. “I’m not good at this… consoling shit babe but I’m trying. You can’t do this for everyone else, not just for them. They can’t be your only reason. You need to do this for you too.”
I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat.
“I don’t need to do anything for me, Jake,” I said quietly. “I’ve already received more than I’ve ever wished for.”
He stepped closer but the look I gave him made him stop. He gave me a bow before excusing himself.
Two weeks later
Kacie
A weight shifted on the bed and I turned my hands slipped into soft fur as I rolled towards the comforting heat of the body beside me. Viktor’s wolf form was massive but the bed was big enough to fit the both of us and still leave us some room.
Another groan in the room told me we weren’t alone and I fought to open my eyes, to where Jake lay in his wolf form curled on the couch. They both lay asleep, dead to the world and I took in a deep shaky breath.
Movement in the corner had me looking back to where Jake lay. Our eyes met, as Jake arched his back and stretched.
“Why are you in here?” I asked through a yawn.
Jake’s wolf stared back at me and cocked his head to the side. “It’s easier to talk to you guys when you’re like this,” I murmured.
He continued to stare at me and I wondered if it was for my benefit. When I didn’t say anything more, he shifted into his human form on the couch. He lay across from me completely naked and I glanced at the wall. When I looked back he had covered himself with one of the cushions.
“Good morning, Luna,” he said.
“Morning,” I grumbled.
“I’m guessing you don’t remember what happened last night at practice?” Jake asked. With his free hand, he reached up to scratch his head and flexed his biceps.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. The pull to mate his Luna was strong, thankfully he was a strong Beta and had the strength to fight it. In this setting, I could see how it would be harder to fight.
I shrugged.
“You can’t help it,” I said. Becoming Luna had changed a lot of things. I had more responsibilities, more duties, and people expected me to provide an heir for Viktor. We still haven’t discussed it yet but I was firmly against having a kid right now. I could only hope he saw things the same way.
“You still haven’t explained why the two of you are still in wolf form.”
“During training, Haley landed a blow that brought you to your knees,” he started. Haley had been assigned to help me train and she wasn’t the nicest. I was starting to think it was something else. He looked to me to gauge my reaction and when I gave him none he continued.
“It looked like you had passed out so Viktor was about to step in and stop the training. Before he could intervene, you got to your feet but your eyes, Luna, they were…,” he trailed off.
“What about my eyes?” I asked.
“They were red.” He flexed his chest muscles and I stifled a giggle when one of his nipples jumped. His eyebrow arched in amusement.
I shook my head.
“I don’t know if I should be happy or hurt that that amused you,” he laughed. “That wasn’t all,” he said. “Fire exploded from your hands and when you turned on Haley, the fire only magnified.”
Viktor stirred beside me and we both stilled to see if he was awake. I don’t say anything for a few seconds and neither does Jake. When we look back at each other his eyes search my face.
“Judging by your silence, I feel like I have to ask.”
I knew what he was going to ask but didn’t say anything.
“Has this happened before?”
“We can’t tell him before we’ve told Viktor,” Athena hissed.
“Viktor’s here and I’m tired of keeping it a secret,” I said to her. “It wasn’t my idea to keep secrets,” she cursed under her breath.
“I called on the flames when I was on the run from Ken’s men,” I said carefully. It wasn’t the first time but I didn’t need to say that.
“Is that how you escaped them?” Jake asked.
I nod.
“I never heard about what happened,” he said.
“Clara was working with Ken but it ended with her killing him.” The words were rolling off my tongue and coming up like word vomit. I hadn’t even told Viktor about what happened. Jake sat quietly and listened to my story.
“She gave me an opening, she held them off while I ran,” I continued. “But they eventually got past her and chased me. I don’t even know how long I had been running through those woods but they eventually found me.”
Jake’s hand tightened on his cushion and I swear I felt Viktor tense beside me but I couldn’t stop.
“A human boy helped me but they killed him and something in me snapped. I should have told Viktor about it when I returned but I couldn’t wrap my head around what happened.”
“The flames were easy to call on and when I shifted, my wolf was engulfed in flames,” I whispered.
“I’ve never heard of a wolf having that ability,” he mumbled. “And then what happened?” He asked in a hushed voice.
“And then… I killed them all.”