The Luna’s Choice by Kat Silver

I didn’t say anything. I hadn’t said anything since we left the city.

“He wanted to come with you, you know,” Alpha Harden said. “He didn’t even hesitate. He

would have given it all up.

“What stopped him?” I said hoarsely.

“Reality,” he replied. “There’s no way the Waar Pak won’t know he’s your true mate now

that you made your relationship public. If you both disappeared, they’d have an array of

people to go through to find you both. They’d go after the pack, his family, even his

allies.”

I closed my eyes. I’d never want that to happen. I tried to focus on the coolness of the

window against my face. Thunder rumbled outside as the rain became heavier. The storm

was getting worse. I knew how that felt.

“Alpha, we’ve got flood warnings coming up,” Gamma Blake said. “We’re heading right

into this storm, and it’s going to hit hard. I think we should find somewhere to wait it out.”

I felt Alpha Harden’s eyes on me.

“There’s a motel up the road,” he replied. “We’ll stop there. Let Ms. Garner get some

sleep.”

I didn’t want to sleep. The last time I slept, everyone I loved decided to ship me off to

goddess knows where.

I knew they were trying to protect me, and I appreciated that. But I was sick of it. I spent

ten years protecting myself and my mother and sister from loan sharks, bookies,

homelessness, and starvation. I should have had the choice.

So I wouldn’t let them take it from me.

We pulled into the parking lot of a motel as I started to formulate a plan. Gamma Blake got

out and ran into the front office to rent a room for us. He drove us to a room at the end.

Alpha Harden covered me from the heavy wind and rain as we ran from the car.

It wasn’t anything special, but that was fine. We didn’t need anything fancy. It was just

someplace to take shelter. I sat on the edge of one of the beds and tried to think of my

next move. Alpha Harden said it was a two–day drive to the safe house they had arranged.

I wasn’t going to let them get that far.

“We’ll give it a few hours for the storm to pass,” Alpha Harden said. “But we’ll need to

drive straight through once we get back on the road. So you should rest while you can get

comfortable.”

“How do you command someone?” I asked without looking at him.

“Theo said you were coming into your abilities,” Alpha Harden replied. “You’ll need to be

careful with that.”

“Then show me how,” I said. “Theo gave me an idea on how to use it, but I have to

concentrate too hard. That didn’t really help when I needed it.”

Alpha Harden sat on the opposite bed, leaning back against the headboard casually.

“Do I have to be looking at someone for it to completely work?” I asked. “I wasn’t looking

at my attacker. It slowed him down, but obviously not enough.”

“It just wasn’t strong enough,” he said. “That’s fine for some things. You need to know

how much strength to put behind the command. And no, you don’t have to be looking at

them. You only need the intent to direct it toward them.‘

”

“But you do have to speak the command?” I inquired.

“Yes, or send it through a mind–link,” he clarified. “But that may take you a little bit to

figure out. It’s hard to send that energy through that connection.”

“It doesn’t seem like I won’t have anyone to mind–link with anymore anyway,” I said under

my breath.

I slid farther up onto the bed. Gamma Blake sat in the chair on his phone.

“Why you?” I asked. “Is Randy working for you?”

“Not directly,” Alpha Harden said. “The Onyxcrown weren’t just allies. They were personal

friends. I knew your father well. He spent some time with the Blue Fang Pack. We were all

devastated by their loss. My family started hunting members of the Waar Pak Society. My

brother heads a group dedicated to bringing them down. Randall works for him.”

“Is this group how you learned about the Blessed One tale?”

Alpha Harden nodded. “Yes, it was part of the Waar Pak’s objective.”

“Why?” I asked. “What was so wrong with my family that they wanted them destroyed so

badly?”

“Because they believed that the Dominis family would make themselves kings,” Alpha

Harden said. “They thought the Onyxcrown would take control of all the packs. They

believed they would do this with the help of the Blessed One. The moon goddess

reincarnated on earth.”

“Wait,” I said. “Are you saying they think I’m the moon goddess? That‘ s the stupidest

thing I ever heard.”

Alpha Harden chuckled. “You heard the story. But yes, that’s what they believe.”

“What about you? You’re so convinced I’m the Blessed One. Do you believe I’m the moon

goddess?”

“I believe you are blessed. There is something about you that makes you remarkable,” he

said. “And you have abilities that no one else has. The Dominis family was known for that.

They are the oldest known werewolf bloodline. So, it’s more likely you inherited much of

your family’s gifts. Either way, it makes you powerful.”

“But I don’t want to take control of the other packs,” I said. “I just want to live my life.”

“We’re trying to allow you to do that, Ayla,” Alpha Harden said kindly. “We just need you to

trust us. Now, get some rest.”

I laid back on the bed, not bothering to take my shoes off, and turned my back to them. I

thought about everything I had learned over the last few days. Determined to find

something that would help me take back my life.