Moon Goddess, Name Him

chapter 29

POV Cassidy

I couldn't stand there and watch Theo die.

Without thinking, I launched myself into the battle. The supernatural strength from my partial shift was still coursing through my veins, making everything sharper, faster, more intense. The scent of blood filled my nostrils as claws and teeth flashed around me.

Marcus had cornered Theo with his two largest wolves—massive beasts that dwarfed my mate's brown wolf form. They attacked in coordinated strikes, one distracting while the others landed devastating blows. Blood streamed from Theo's wounds as he struggled against impossible odds.

I ran toward them, desperately trying to reach out with the Mind Link abilities Ruth had taught me.

Xander! I called through whatever supernatural connection we'd formed during training. Help! They're going to kill him!

One of Marcus's wolves broke away from the attack on Theo, his yellow eyes locking onto me with predatory focus. He was enormous, built like a battering ram, and he charged directly at me with killing intent.

I stumbled backward, knowing I had no chance against something that size and experience. He was almost on me when a large black wolf exploded from the tree line.

Xander hit Marcus's wolf with lethal precision, his jaws closing around the attacker's throat before the beast could reach me. The sound of bone and cartilage crushing made my stomach turn, but the threat to me died instantly.

Xander stood over the body, his gray eyes finding mine with fierce protectiveness before he turned back toward where Theo still fought for his life against Marcus and the remaining lieutenant.

"Go help Theo!" I gasped, pointing toward the center of the clearing where my mate was still locked in single combat with Marcus and another wolf who was now distracted by Xander.

What I saw next made my heart stop.

Marcus had Theo pinned beneath his massive bulk, jaws closing toward my mate's exposed throat. Theo's brown fur was soaked with blood, his movements growing weaker as Marcus pressed his advantage.

Something primal and terrible snapped inside me.

I ran faster than I'd ever moved in my life, my wolf speed carrying me across the battlefield in heartbeats. Marcus didn’t see me coming. I hit him with the full force of my supernatural strength, knocking him away from Theo just as his teeth would have found their mark.

Marcus rolled and came up snarling, his massive frame towering over me. Up close, he was even more terrifying—scarred from decades of fights, his eyes holding the kind of madness that came from too much killing.

"The little Luna wants to play?" he taunted, circling me like I was prey.

I didn't answer. I just kept his attention focused on me instead of Theo, who was struggling to his feet behind Marcus.

"You think you can save him?" Marcus laughed. "You're nothing but a weak female pretending to be a wolf."

"Maybe," I said, shifting slightly to keep Marcus's back to Theo. "But I'm the smart human who just gave my mate the opening he needed."

Marcus spun around just as Theo launched himself through the air with the last of his strength.

The killing blow was swift and decisive. Theo's jaws closed around Marcus's throat and the massive wolf who'd terrorized our pack dropped to the forest floor without another sound.

Silence fell across the battlefield like a heavy blanket.

Marcus's remaining forces took one look at their dead leader and fled into the forest, howling their retreat. The fight was over as suddenly as it had begun.

I collapsed to my knees, trembling from adrenaline and the realization of how close I'd come to losing everything. Theo shifted back to human form and stumbled toward me, blood streaming from multiple wounds.

"You shouldn't have come," he said, but his arms came around me with desperate relief.

"Yes, I should have." I pressed my face against his chest, breathing in his scent to reassure myself he was alive. "We're mates. That means we fight together."

Around us, pack members were emerging from the trees in various states of injury. Xander limped over, favoring his left leg but grinning with fierce satisfaction.

"That was incredible," he said to me. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"I didn't. I just did what felt right."

"Your instincts are remarkable for someone so new to wolf form." He squeezed my shoulder. "You saved both our lives tonight."

Other pack members approached, their expressions showing something I'd never seen before when they looked at me. Not curiosity or polite acceptance, but respect.

"Luna fought beside us," warrior Jake Morrison announced to the group. "Bled with us. She's earned her place through combat."

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the assembled wolves. Wolves nodded with approval.

"You protected our Alpha when he needed it most," some she-wolf said simply. "That's exactly what a true Luna should do."

As pack members began tending to wounds and gathering their dead, I realized something fundamental had changed. I wasn't the outsider anymore, wasn't the human playing dress-up in a supernatural world.

I was their Luna, proven through fire and blood and the willingness to risk everything for the people I loved.

Theo took my hand as we walked back toward the village, our pack family surrounding us like a protective shield.

"I'm proud of you," he whispered.

"We won."

"Yes," he said, stopping to look at me with eyes full of love and admiration.

The battle was over. Marcus was dead. And for the first time since arriving in Moon Hollow, I truly belonged.